Higher than expected for a Jeep

[DifferentPointofView]

competition eh? well I'll have to go all out. I'm using 10% ethanol.. and it's not worth the 10 cents a gallon off. It sucks big monkey turds. I'm dropping from 23-24 to 21ish on this tank I'm sure of it.

[zjrog]

Don't sweat competition... I'm sure my mileage won't go too much higher. I haul plenty of extra weight you probably aren't carrying. And people. Besides, I will be rolling in the Neon for part of the summer too.

[Smoove]

Originally Posted by zjrog

I haul plenty of extra weight... And people.

Exactly. Unless I have to run some very quick errands, which is rare, the jeep doesn't roll unless me, my wife, my friend and his wife and all of our hockey equipment are inside. This weekend I am hauling a set of five tires and rims (roughly 275lbs) upstate NY for my cousin. The trip back will be the first trip I have made empty in nearly two years.

[zjrog]

Due to where I work and recreate, in the desert, I carry anywhere from 3 to 5 extra gallons of water, first aid kit, tools, floor jack (yes a 2 ton rolling jack), blankets and such. Not as much as a first responder, but in the desert it can be a while before help arrives. And I can't imagine NOT carrying a spare tire. I know that many of you remove the spare and count on a can of fix-a-flat, plugs and a cellphone. Even on my commute I'm often not in cell range... I know the weight hurts mileage, but the piece of mind is worth it.

And as mentioned, the commute is carpooling so I have 2 to 3 other people with me, and more often than not I don't go into the city by myself. I live in a growing small town 30 minutes from Salt Lake City, and work 50 miles west of where I live.

I find it interesting that there are so many Jeeps in general, but also so many Grand Cherokees here now. I think the owner of the site is getting his wishes for Jeep challenges...

[DifferentPointofView]

I carry things often with me too. I always have 2 people in the jeep, while the back seats usually have band equipment. I'm in a band, and we've been having some shows lately. We played a show this weekend, and we're playing another in may, then one about a week and a half later in june, then more after that. I'm the bass player, so I usually have a 15" stack amp and head (about the weight of a person) 2 guitars, a bass guitar, boss guitar pedals, and plenty of guitar cords.

And since I am in a band, and play the bass, it's pretty natural that I'd have a sound system set up as well. so I'm carrying 2 12" subs, and a big dual vented enclosure, which weight about as much as a typical female, all powered by 2400 watts of peak power. It gets loud, and mimics a concert which is what I like!

Exactly. Unless I have to run some very quick errands, which is rare

Oh, I hate it when my brother wants a ride a few blocks down the street. I always walk if it's within the village, but I don't know what's up with him. then he complains and then I have to take him and use gas anyway

I like a little competition though. Gives me better mpg's in the end anyway, and same to you guys.

[Nerys]

My very first car I bought 12 years ago and I still have it. Its my 1988 Jeep Cherokee XJ. I LOVE my jeep I would not give it up for ANYTHING. Even a pure BEV would be a hard decision and I would kill for a BEV. I have not driven my jeep in over 5 years. I wore the engine out (1.5 quarts of MUDD in the crank while wheeling did not help)

I have 452,000 or so miles on my baby. 31" tires Full Skids plates Rancho 9000's all around with incab control and a 4" suspension lift. 31" is the largest I could go without a higher lift and drive line mods AND the largest I could go and still use my factory rims which I refuse to let go (the 5 thick spoke alums with the JEEP logo engraved in them. LOVE those rims :-) So I actually have some pretty skinny 31's at 12.5inches.

A few years ago I bought another Jeep an 88 Wagoneer (cherokee with 4 lights and woody stickers) I spent a little money on it and made it a donor for my baby.

I FINALLY this past week finished that process. My baby now has a new heart with only 119,000 miles on the ticker (if you have used 4.0 I6's you know thats a virtually virgin engine) I replaced and redid everything short of actually getting to the pistons. Purrs like kitten. I will have her on the road withing 1-2 weeks.

Now I have a big issue with Ethanol. I lost 14.5% of my economy in my club wagon and nearly 30% of my economy in my Voyager and I can directly connect these to ETHANOL.

I really hate ethanol. My baby has never had ethanol. I am praying it does not get hit so bad. I was averaging 24mpg in my Cherokee. (unless I went upstate to the mountains then the larger tires KILLED my mpg :-)

One time on the highway I managed 25.4mpg !! on an 88 Cherokee with 31" tires lift full skids Spare on the roof 3 people and gear!! (we literally went from gas station to onramp to next gas station 410 miles away. I did not trust the gas gauge so at 400 miles on the odo I stopped for gas. Was surprised there was much of anything left in the tank!!

I did the same thing on the way home. 25.3mpg!

I have never duplicated THAT run again :-) hehe

but averaging 24mpg in the summer and 22mpg in the winter was easy.

with ethanol I doubt I will ever hit those numbers again sadly (as it is with some technique and modding maybe)

I love my cherokee. I had someone offer me $500 for her onces. I pointed out the window and said see those 4 tires.? your $500 could not buy 3 of them. GO AWAY :-) hehe

Keep it up jeepers! We can be greener and ecomod too !! and remember while its BAD for aero NO clean jeep is a happy jeep :-)

[zjrog]

Very interesting. While I share many sentiments, I hate to crawl under and work on a dirty Jeep. On the trail there is no choice. But I try to clean mine now and again. Not so much mud here though. Your 31s, whats the sidewall say? Most are 31x10.5, I'm looking at some 31x9.5s, though, they are an extremely aggressive tire, the price isn't too bad. They are Interco SSL Radials @ about $130/tire.

Higher levels of Ethanol haven't made it here yet. And E85 stations are few and far between.

An interesting thought here though... Has anyone taken into account altitude in there MPG calcs?

[Nerys]

Hmmm maybe they are 10.5's I just remember that the place said they were the skinniest the skinniest 31's they had at the time and were Just skinny enough to fit the stock rims (keeping the stock rims was a requirement for me) When I see the jeep tommorrow I will try to remember to write down the numbers. Been a long time :-)

And when its time to work on the jeep sorry baby out comes the hose :-)

Here we have the 10% ethanol 90% gasoline which for me at least has been disastrous. IT must be relatively unique to me or something as I imagine more people would complain if they lost 30% of there economy or are people just that not caring?

On my van I was able to show conclusively the 14.5% drop in economy. At the time when I noticed this massive drop and thought something was wrong I noticed the Ethanol notices. SO I went to a pump WITHOUT the stickers and asked. They confirmed they were not on ethanol yet. So I filled up there. by the next fill up my mpg jumped RIGHT back to where it was before.

Alas they eventually all went to ethanol addition of 10% and almost instantly my economy dropped 14.5% again. I did the math. 10% ethanol means 10% less foreign oil but a 14.5% decrease in economy means I am actually now buying 4 % MORE foreign oil. Go Figure and its sucking up our water and raising the cost of grain. Joy. :-(

Hmm I do travel to the mountains now and then but there is no way I can see to separate the effect of altitude from the effect of the mountainous terrain itself :-)

[DifferentPointofView]

What size tank does the cherokee have? I usually go atleast 400 miles, and only use about 19 gallons. the tank is a 23 gallon tank, so I know I can go about 500 miles on a tank.

Ethanol does suck. I dropped back down to 21mpg's again from using it. back to regular

Does anyone know where I can get new o-ring seals for my 90 degree elbow for my fuel filter? And for a power steering pump, should I get one from a donor 242?

[Nerys]

I have the cherokee (the small one NOT the grand cherokee IE the XJ is what I have)

My tank is 20 gallons alas around here its not optional THEY ALL have 10% ethanol mixed with the gasoline :-( I would gladly pay 30+cents more for regular gasoline. I would still pay less money than I am not with this ethanol crap :-(