In a world where Jeeps get horrible gas mileage....

[EcoJeeper]

.... I drive one.


Hey all. I'm new to the community but looking forward to working with you guys on getting better gas mileage. I've been pretty impressed with the knowledge I've learned so far in reading various posts on the site. For one thing, I never knew how much difference little things could make in gas mileage numbers. Anyway, on to the vehicle.

I drive a 1994 Jeep Wrangler. It is the 4 cylinder 5 speed manual model with a soft top. I would like to get a hard top for it eventually both for looks and for a potential lessening of drag (I would just assume with the various little air gaps between the soft top and half doors that it would be worse for gas mileage than would a hard top with full doors). Anyway, it's got around 138,000 miles on it and still runs pretty good.

As you might guess by my driving a Jeep, I enjoy 4-wheeling tremendously. I've wanted a Jeep for about as long as I can remember and just recently got in a position to own one. I thought I was pretty much sunk as far as fuel economy was concerned until I found this site. Now I have a bit more hope for improving it (when I first bought the Jeep I was only getting around 13 mpg).

Thus far I've done some small stuff to the Jeep to see if it improves mileage. It needed an oil change when I bought it, and I have since changed it out with Mobil 1 Full Synthetic 5w-30 oil. I also folded my mirrors in, aired up my tires to 1 psi below max, put new plugs, wires, distributor cap and rotor in and only drive 55 on the highway. Still on my list of things to do are transmission fluid, transfer case fluid, differential fluid, air filter and fuel filter. I also have some ideas for some simple aero mods I can do to the Jeep (since I feel that is the vehicle's weakest point as far as fuel economy goes).

Anyway, expect some writeups from me in the future on how the various mods and maintainence have affected my gas mileage. Maybe my results will give others in similar boats hope for better mileage as well.

[SVOboy]

Hey there! Welcome to the site, don't forget to add your wrangler to the garage to make the info easier for all of us to access, .

Thanks for stopping by,

[Stan]

Welcome to Ecomudders!

A couple of years ago I stopped to fill up our TDi in Santa Cruz (on the coast west of San Jose), and a guy pulled up to the next pump with a diesel powered older soft-top Jeep (CJ-5?). We got to talking and he claimed 30 mpg on the highway at 55 with its VW 1.6L TD and (IIRC) a Toyota tranny with a super-tall 5th gear. Sorry, don't recall much additional detail.

On the aero side, be sure to read MetroMPG's thread on Autospeed article: adding a chin undertray to a 1st gen Prius. A 4wd Jeep has to be a lot "dirtier" than a Prius, so should have proportional benefits from cleaning up the airflow even a little.

[LibbyMetro]

wow ive never even heard of a wrangler getting that bad of mileage with the 4 banger, my neighbor used to have a 1990 with the 4 banger, and it got around 22-23 with the soft top, tune up should definitely help though

[MetroMPG]

Ecomudders. That's funny!

Welcome to the site.

First thing's first: set up a garage entry for your Jeep & start tracking your mileage in the Fuel Log. We know which way you want your fuel consumption graph to be trending. ("What graph," you ask? The one I'm going to be adding in a day or so.)

[DifferentPointofView]

Noice. Well, at least your not alone buddy. Technique for me is the key. I've tried various things to try and help it, but the 2 main things that I actually notice is driving technique, and always driving with a warm engine. And city driving is hell. Drive as much as possible without stop lights/signs, and you'll see a considerable improvement. If you drive, the best way is to try and stay in last gear. You can get it up. If I can with a 4.0L I6 in a ZJ, you can do it in a Jeep half it's size with a 4 banger.

[EcoJeeper]

Thanks for the kind words everyone! It's ironic, though, but now that I've posted this thread (and made my user account name) it seems as though my finances might dictate that I need to sell the Jeep soon. No worries, though. I'll still be around either way. I also own a 1996 Toyota Corolla that I've been implementing some of the gas-saving techniques with for a while (mirrors folded in, antenna down, tires aired up).

I'll keep you guys informed of what happens, but again, I really appreciate the warm welcome.

[AndrewJ]

Where are you from in Missouri? Springfield?

I was recently a Columbia resident.

[SVOboy]

Columbia is the best! Well, it's no chillicothe...

[AndrewJ]

mmm, just got my first and second favorite bbq sauces in the mail (with thanks to my parents) My second-fav is from Chillicothe, it's no Perry though...