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Okay, here is a story of a major success:
I bought a 96 Jeep Cherokee XJ because I live in east central Nevada at 7100' ASL, and I needed something that I could rely on to get through the snow that inundates this area from September until June. I never dreamed that it could get great gas mileage. It has the 4.0l 5spd, the gears were changed from 3.07 to 3.55:1, I put on 235/75R15 Michelin LTX MS2 tires, since they have a good reputation. It also has a 2.5" lift. It has a few mods, but nothing major: it has a K & N air filter and a homemade cold air intake. Plus, the injectors were changed out to Dodge Neon injectors. I think this is about it.
The speedometer is off quite a bit because of the gear change, but I have confirmed the mileage many times with a GPS; I do know the speedo shows 15% more than it should. Anyway, before all of these mods, it got a best of 19mpg highway. Now, I have seen a best of 30.16mpg (3.05 gallons to go 92-miles; with an average of 27mpg highway). Nobody believes it when I tell them, which is getting pretty frustrating. I try to tell them so they can try the mods, but they don't think that it is worth it. Even driving around Salt Lake City, Utah (I go there quite a bit), I never see worse than 20mpg in the city, so I, definitely, find these mods to be well worth it. I mean, shoot, I am getting better mileage in the city than I was on the highway!
Now, I am going to do a dual electric fan conversion and see if this will bring it up even more. I may change out the cam, too, since this could be tweaked a little. The other nice thing about, is the Jeep Cherokee XJ weighs less than 3000lbs, and with a 200hp I6, it is pretty fast; I see 0-60 times of mid-7s. Plus, they are know to be one of the best off-road vehicles, too. I guess it is possible to have your cake and eat it too!
--John, in Nevada
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