Quote:
Originally Posted by grswat
Anyways I plan to keep this thing for a long while and do quite a bit of modding. First simple things I did was upped the tire pressure to 40 psi and removed the luggage rack cross members. My first 2 tanks have yielded a little over 14 mpg...not so great.
Some future stuff I plan to do (in no particular order):
Injector kill switch/pushbutton start
Alternator cut off switch/deep cycle battery
Electric fan conversion
Grille blocks/front air dam/belly pan
2 inch lowering springs
Switching from 265/70/17 tires to 255/75/17 tires or 265/70/18 wheels + tires
Possibly changing front/rear differentials from 3.73 to 3.55 or 3.31
I would love to hear feedback, ideas, comments, concerns, hatred, whatever you want to say.
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Don't tell me its 4wd too...
Go big or go home when it comes to gearing changes.
My mom used to drive a 2012 Explodition EL, she would get 14 mpg with it. She now drives a 2015 Mazda CX-5 and gets 26 mpg.
When delivering birdseed with it in essentially ALL CITY driving with lots of stops, me and my older brother would get 13-14 mpg with it. I once squeaked over 20 mpg with it in a city trip, probably the only time that suicidal utility vehicle ever broke 20 mpg in our ownership.
Are you still a mobile mechanic? I would think that a car with a trailer to hold all your tools would be more efficient, but you already made up your mind. Thankfully you came here to find out how to burn less fuel, so we will give you credit for that.
I would focus on things that would help that big engine/transmission warm up faster. Get a block heater and an oil pan heater. Consider making an adjustable grill block and have it completely blocked during warmup. Definitely do the electric fan swap.
There will be plenty of drag from those big tires, if you can make optimized tire deflectors then you can drop tire drag a good bit, and without adding any frontal area.
Big suicidal utility vehicles like that are known for eating wheel bearings, check yours. Check the brakes too of course, and consider making some brake drag reduction springs.