New to here and Ecomodding

[makeitso]

Hi everyone,

Love this site!
I have a Ranger 4.0, recently purchased an Ultra Gauge and installed it. Still on the first tank but am in the process of calibrating now. I am getting 22.4MPG now after following tips from here with a mix of city/hwy driving. I've never got that good from this vehicle with city driving in the mix.

I have a lot of questions for you folks after I get some basic data figured out first. I am going to take the step tubes off to start and probably install an electric fan in the near future. Any mods I do will need to be inexpensive and neat in appearance.

I am not going to change out the vehicle any time soon but would like any advice any one has to increase the mileage I'm getting from this hog. I have a topper on it I could get a lot better MPG without but I have to have it on for work and play purposes.

Jack

[orange4boy]

Welcome! It's we, with the trucks, who can make the biggest impact on reducing fuel use.

Study the driving tips. If you need new tires get LRR. Keep you tire pressure up to max sidewall. Avoid using the brakes... ie: Time your lights and coast when you can. Slow down. Grille block.

Have fun and adopt a chill cruiser attitude to driving. Get out of the rat race mindset. It's more relaxing and makes driving fun again.

Cheers and good luck.

[makeitso]

I changed my driving attitude. That is the single most important thing I have done. I drove a 150 mile round trip on Tuesday and was in the two slowest lanes almost the entire time at 65 MPH. I may even slow down more next time to see what I can do.

I live in the SoCal desert so the grille block may not be an option in the summer. I plan on getting one happening this winter while it's cool to see how much it helps. I will take it off before the heat comes back to monitor the engine temp then put it back on to see the effects. If the engine temp seems okay, I'll leave it on. I definitely don't want to damage my truck.

I just put new tires on, have about 8,000 miles on them so won't be going there. I will up the pressure in them. I am trying to get a baseline with just driving technique before I do any other mods.

Jack

[mikeyjd]

Originally Posted by makeitso

I changed my driving attitude. That is the single most important thing I have done. I drove a 150 mile round trip on Tuesday and was in the two slowest lanes almost the entire time at 65 MPH. I may even slow down more next time to see what I can do.

I live in the SoCal desert so the grille block may not be an option in the summer. I plan on getting one happening this winter while it's cool to see how much it helps. I will take it off before the heat comes back to monitor the engine temp then put it back on to see the effects. If the engine temp seems okay, I'll leave it on. I definitely don't want to damage my truck.

I just put new tires on, have about 8,000 miles on them so won't be going there. I will up the pressure in them. I am trying to get a baseline with just driving technique before I do any other mods.

Jack

It sounds like you have a good basic understanding of what you want. That is a great start.

A truck topper is often better than driving without one, it all depends on the shape. There are allot of great articles here dealing with this topic.

I'd predict going from 65mph to 55mph you'd be in store for a very significant mpg gain.

[makeitso]

The shape of my topper is not good. It sticks up over the cab by about three inches and out the sides by a few. It also has a rack on it that adds a few more inches.

I don't know if I can drive 55. I'll slow down to 65 for now instead of the 75 I used to drive. Instead of going 55, I may just stick behind a semi going 65 or so.

I did fill the truck up today and the real mileage I got is 20.0 MPG, not as good as the UltraGauge said at 22.4 but better than I was getting before. The most I've ever got out of a tank before is around 325 miles, I could have easitly went 375 on this one, maybe even 400. The 325 was almost all freeway where this tank was about 35% city.