Tips on how to improve gas mileage

Unfortunately some of us have to drive large trucks either because of climate, work, location, or any combination of other things. Most of these large vehicles get very poor mileage, but but with proper care and maintenance we can improve it slightly.

Step 1 Get a topper or cover for your truck

Mythbusters have proved that these aren't the most fuel efficient when the truck is empty, but they didn't try it when it was full of wood or old appliances. A topper can really help when you are hauling bulky unaerodynamic objects by reducing the drag from wind.

Comments

[Ciuschi]

Hi. I suppose that in the USA big cars with smaller engines are truly ugly, so they are not a realistic choiche. Here in Europe there are also hot or cold places, and also there are people who need huge cars for job, family or hobby, but usually biggest engines are 2 litre gas or 2.5 litre Diesel, and they're enough! IMHO it's a matter of marketing/history/culture. For example: automated gear transmission never had success in Europe: it was just for extra-luxury cars, or for people who just weren't able to use manual gears for phisical issues. This UNTILL Ferrari used "robotized" gear-boxes in their Formula1 cars, meaning that new tecnologies of automatic transmission was for very active and cool people. Since then new fuel-efficient automatic transmission cars gained increasing success, in all the segments of the market. I hope your domestic industry soon get interest in efficient but attractive (also big) cars.

[SG1Oniell]

you'll find that we Americans tend to like bigger, bolder and more aggressive vehicles. That pretty much sums up "American Muscle" cars for you. European automotive manufacturers in particular prefer sleaker, subtler designs that have more of an elegance about them.

[zehcnasytridmi]

Blocking the cold air from your engine is not going to help anything (in my opinion). "keeping your engine warm in the winter" will only result in power loss and a less efficient vehicle due to the motor being restricted from adequate intake and ventilation. Did you find any gains in fuel economy by doing this? I have never heard of any rigs doing this either...

[SG1Oniell]

Where have you been living? I see big rigs with a cover over their grill all the time. They put these on their trucks because diesel runs more efficiently the hotter it is (ever notice how some diesel vehicles have an engine heater for use before you turn them on?). The cover also helps to prevent moisture from freezing in the radiator, and that restricted airflow on the radiator actually causes the truck to warm up faster, both the engine and the cab I believe. Oh, and it helps prevent the moisture in the air from causing rust.

[jmcdermott]

thats why you get a geo :)

[cheftpm]

IF YOU HAVE A 4 WHELL DRIVE ITS BEST TO KEEP IT 2WHEEL MODE TO SAVE ON FUEL

[Darwinfish]

You don't drive 4WD when you're worried about fuel economy. You drive 4WD in mud, ice, or snow, where 2WD would strand you.

(Besides, driving 4WD when you don't need to is really hard on the car.)

[abadfart]

wow you have really low miles

[Derin]

for coolant on vw engines:
ONLY USE APPROVED COOLANT!!!!!!!!!!!!!
_{approved coolant will be red}

[LinuxH4x0r]

Does it really matter? NO!

[Derin]

actually,it does
from the manual:"Using unapproved coolant may damage engine."

[alanfreefal]

thats so vw makes money... theyre all the same whether you like it or not.

[Jonny Katana]

 Ethylene glycol = Ethylene glycol.

GM's Dex-Cool coolant shouldn't be mixed with other generic coolants, though, there's the possibility that the two can react and form a gel within the cooling system. Nasty stuff.

[Derin]

oh ok

[Derin]

*late facepalm*

[LinuxH4x0r]

*rolls eyes* whatever<br/>

[abadfart]

don't forget to upgrade your air filter and take out parts that have no use i am missing lots of parts from my car to make it lighter 

[Hmff]

you have some good points ill try them on my f150.

[Hmff]

Great idea. I live in wiscosin and its always cold here that ill help my truck alought.

[Walis]

The thing is that AC takes 5 - 10kW from the engine power anytime, no matter if you go slow or fast. Open windows change the aerodynamical resistance of the vehicle, but this depends on your speed. So I would say - leave the windows open until you go faster on the highway.

[Walis]

Basic advantage of fully pressurized tires is that you must not overpower the tire roll resistance, which can make about a half liter / 100km (european units). The advantage of tires circumference is not so important since the tire always squeezes to its nominal diameter. Therefore keep the tires checked by every refuelling and inflate it to recommended value, maybe slightly more, so the tire does not look squeezed (but careful about the maximum pressure!!! - you risk tire explosion when driving in extremely hot weather and bad roads!!!!) And DO NOT change oil viscosity or type!!! The engine is designed to run in certain temperature range and you can damage the engine gradually because the parts will wear more when not lubricated properly, either by lower viscosity or by old and filthy oil. The only way is to change it regularly.

[Walis]

The ideal RPM to fuel consumption efficiency is just on the top of the torque diagram of your engine - you get the most power out to drag the vehicle. So get that, read carefully the RPM for max torque and try to be always around that value. The "highest gear + lowest RPM" works only with old gasoline cars with carburetors. Coasting described works great in hybrids, but also in usual car, if you run faster than you need and do not use the gas pedal, you are braking with your engine inertia and the ECU switches the gas injection off if the engine RPM are above certain level. So if you need to decrease your speed slightly, just shift the gear one step lower and release the gas pedal and you save some gas again:-)

[Walis]

You can get the engine operation temperature faster by covering the radiator in winter (front grille). That means switching the ECU to normal operation mode after cold start, which consumes less fuel due to different injection modes (for cold start and low engine temperatures (NOT INTAKE AIR TEMP!!) you need more fuel.The colder the air, the more efficient cycle - that is why we use intercoolers between turbo and intake valves... And thanks to the higher power resulting from more air in the cylinder, we can avoid pressing the gas pedal so hard :-)

[arionisa]

Synthetics have NO effect on fuel mileage, a 5-30 "dino" and a 5w30 synthetic will get you the exact same mileage. The viscosity rating is set by the SAE standard, which means a dino or synth of the same viscosity rating will have the exact same qualities. What a synthetic WILL do is allow you to go longer between oil changes. Synthetics don't break down as quickly as dino's do, so using synth's you can go longer between oil changes, Heat is a major factor, in engines that are constantly running "hot", a synthetic will last a LOT longer than dino, engines that run coll most of the time you won't see much difference. Engines that run extremely hot (like turbines) MUST use synthetics because dino oils can NOT withstand the extreme heat of operations. Changing the oil when it needs it WILL help improve your mileage because your not wasting engine power trying to pump sludged up oil, but in any car that gets regular oil changes there will be no noticeable difference between synth and dino as far as fuel mileage goes.

[superdudemanguy]

The threshold for MOST vehicles in terms of window drag is 50 mph. Therefore for best results use the AC on the highway while using cruise control at 55. Realistically rolling down the windows is best in all non highway driving.

[JacobAziza]

If you aren't concerned about looks, you will get an aero benefit if you block the grill in front using plastic instead of behind it with canvass

[HARMON_RACING]

No actually they dont. Now, I'm not saying that ALL of them are a waste of time. Because you do have some good points. However you also have some ideas that just won't work (they were good theories however). But what we need to keep in mind is that NOT ALL CARS (or trucks) ARE THE SAME!!!!! What may work for you probably wont work for me, or the next guy. Different Cars (even if there the same year, make, and model) are just plain different. So if they DO work for you then Congrats :) !!!!!! But that doesnt mean it'll work for everyone. P.S. "Hondatunerkid" you need to chill dude, not everyone is a car Genius ok, so cut the guy a break man. So what if he made a mistake. Hes human aint he (or she)

[HARMON_RACING]

If your looking for an additive for your oil. go to any local Wal-Mart, or auto parts store and get the Zmax oil additive. It cleans up any deposites on your engine, and it actually does make a differance. They are completely worth the trip to the store. The price is worth the trip, and they have fuel additives as well. Using the fuel additive will clean out the injectors, increasing efficiency.

[HARMON_RACING]

This step is not neccessarily true. All vehicles have a resistance sensor in the CPU. This sensor measures how much force is needed to turn the crankshaft to complete it's cycle.If you are towing, you need more power to get moving. The sensor will pick up on the lack of power to the wheels, and increase the FUEL in the cylinder to make up for this deficit. Using higher gears (even if your not towing or have any cargo) can imitate a heavy cargo load as well. So by putting it in a higher gear, you make the engine have to work harder to move the vehicle (just like if you were towing another vehicle, ect.). So in reality while you ARE turning fewer RPM's (Revolutions Per Minute) your actually using more gasoline to turn those RPM's. So really your better off putting it in Neutral and coasting to a stop.

[HARMON_RACING]

hey "iwilltry" you must not know that no matter what you do to keep your engine warm, eventually it's going to cool down to a specified temperature. I mean what do you think the ENGINE COOLANT is for? Once your engine hits a certian temp. the fans behind the radiator will kick in, instantly stabalizing the temp. keeping it COOL. No matter what you do to keep it hot, the vehicle will automatically cool itself to attempt to prevent damage to the engine. Anything to prevent this automatic cooling process could potentially end in engine damage.

[servant4truth]

A must for keeping MPG (or increasing) is a vehicle tune up. Depending on manufacturer/vehicle type/driving conditions/mileage (see your owner's manual) tells you when a vehicle needs one. Also, keeping tires properly inflated helps to keep up your MPG. If you do use syth oils, don't buy the cheapest! Royal Purple will increase your MPG, but I don't know if it's worth it yet.

[Yerboogieman]

You mean a canopy?

[human_aft3r_all]

fight! fight! fight! no seriously. chill out.

[beff50]

don't let things fool you, trucks still have bad gas millage, a good truck will get 15 mpg, but if you drive with the tailgate down, with a pro net or with a cap, you are significantly reducing your mpg because you are disrupting the air flow that truck were designed to have.

[beff50]

what about when you arnt haling. it is better if you don't have one because most people don't keep things in thier truck. so put it this way. if you put a cap on then you are ruining the buble inside the bed even tho most of the time you arn't even carrying anything. it is better to stay away from thes caps.

[f5mando]

What is the 'buble' (bubble?) inside the bed to which you refer? How does ruining it affect MPG?

[beff50]

when you don't have a cover over the bed on a truck a bubble of air forms in the bed, it goes over the top of the cab the cold air quickly sinks down, lightly deflects off the tailgate and pushes on the bottom of the cab, and escapes out the sides of the bubble, and that increases your mpg. if you put any kind of cover or it you drive with the tailgate down, you are reducing the gas millage of your truck. this was proven by Mithbusters.

[f5mando]

I had no idea about this. I'd always thought pickup trucks were the least aerodynamic of all (outside of "real" trucks and semi-trailers). Shows how little I really do know, eh?! Thanks for setting me straight, with a diagram, no less!

[StarBlades]

dont buy synthetic oil.. its not a freaking race car ...waste of money

[kooler]

the only synthetic oil that give gas mileage is royal purple... we use it in about 45 of our customers.. they notice power and increase fuel mileage... they run it 12000 mile before changing it but change the filter every 4000 miles and it saves 20$ over using other oils like castrol...etc...