Squeezing MPG's out of a Jeep - or atleast trying.

[RoboMike]

Hey Fellow EcoModders.

I feel that I've complained enough, and after the "reality" calculation (see Background)

I have to also admit that even though I've slowed down a little, I haven't tried all of the hypermilling techniques that I could be comfortable with.

I'm also a dork and need another project (like working full time, and trying to start a robot company is not enough).

This thread is meant to track the changes that I make to the Jeep and the Driver to see if I increase the mpg's of my jeep - or see if it's possible.

Feel free to post along!

[RoboMike]

Today is the day that I'll begin my project. Here's a picture of what my jeep looks like today .... Not bad for a jeep that has been rolled over, eh?

[SVOboy]

Ah, I never assumed it was a wrangler. Perfectly easy to chop the top on!

[RoboMike]

update:

I cleaned all of the unnecessary junk out of my jeeps glove box, just leaving the tow strap and jumper cables.

I removed the soft top completely off of the jeep, along with the associated hardware.

I removed the windows (yes , they're easy).

Still more to do....

[MetroMPG]

Okay, you can't say "not bad for a Jeep that has been rolled over" and not explain!

Looking forward to watching your progress.

[reformed]

Is that a 4 or a 6?

I actually might be picking up a wrangler myself in the near future (4cyl) and was hoping someone else would have some tests/numbers done for that truck. I'll definitely be watching your progress in the meantime

[RoboMike]

Hi Metro y Reformed,

I guess this has been old new to me since I've been a jeep owner since I graduated college 8 years ago..(gas was much cheaper than, and I lived much closer to work).

I had just come back from a weekend in the mud, where me and Bricky was having a good time. It was the following Monday and my turn for to get lunch. This day was very rainy; and I figured cool -- clean jeep!

I grew up in Florida and this rain storm was from a tropical storm, not a big deal in Florida (where all of the roads are flat).

Long story short - I came down a hill, had to make a turn, hydroplaned across collected water, and hit the curb sideways... Rolled over and over, down a hill, and 5 feet from a little stream.

If I was going to roll over in any vehicle, well ... it'll be a Jeep (and I will never, ever, ever, remove those roll bars).

I know ... not what you were expected to hear. I'm sure you wanted to hear the story on how RoboMike was trying to climb that boulder! Well ... Jeeps are really good at that

Oh Reformed ; my jeep is an I-6 (straight 6cyl) - not a V-6 (they don't make those for Jeeps; less torque).

[RoboMike]

Now that we've been bringing back the memories, I've been thinking about some of the things I remember or have learned about my Bricky. Maybe these will be helpful next week (that's when I will start keeping an accurate log).

Here's my neurons firing:

Idling - Jeeps; especially Wranglers, will lose more gas Idling than traveling at 80MPH. I remember being on a date, and the car was on idle as we spoke. I kid you not . .. you can watch the gas gauge go to zero quickly.

<What I will start doing next week> Turning off of the engine to prevent Idling at red lights (especially those lights that I know take forever).

Soft tops are bad - Soft tops actually act like kites or drag chutes. Just think of a tent being blown around in the wind; not to mention they are loud (Loss of hearing occurs over 70 MPH).

Cruise control - the Sahara has one; i'll be using it more next week. I actually have been using this method this week.... I didn't really notice it preventing the gas hemorrhage - but I did realize there are lots of ecomodders / hypermillers out there - as they were just coasting along behind me.

side note: I hate prius drivers; I think every one of them flicks me off.
another note: I don't think I have ever seen so many Civic's on the road in my life.

I think that's what I have for now, still have parts to remove tomorrow....

[FastPlastic]

Love the Jeeps, built like tanks. As seen by yours after a couple of rolls. What better place to start but something with the worst aerodynamics of all cars (No offense). With a coefficient drag of .58 just .07 higher then my Cherokee, the only thing you can do is make it better.

[zjrog]

JEEP!

Hmmm, maybe lay the windshield back some more?