Increase gas mileage??

B

blackmagic

New Member
hey, so im relatively new to working on my truck, but im going at it with open mind and taking everything in to learn what i can.
ANYWAY! I am wondering if i get a Cold air intake or Ram air intake, with a catback exhaust would help in both performance and gas mileage,
mostly the latter. any other ideas and what not?
 
how many miles are on your truck? what engine does it have? try replacing the plugs and wires if you have a lot of miles on it. and clean your throttle body and iac.
 
buy a prius for a daily driver use the truck when you need a truck
 
^ exactly you wont get gas mileage in a Ranger best you can do is get a Chip or Tuner which is pricey and even that will only give you maybe 2mpg
 
its a 1999 ranger, 3.0L, Flux V6. and im really wondering if it's worth shilling out the $$$...
and overall i would love same/better MPG and definately want it to be more fun to drive around...
it's so sluggish, and its a brand new motor... >25k miles...

also im under the assumption that i have an OBD2, and i have access to getting that tuned too. would it help much too? performance or mpg or both?
 
It will help but not much If you got a tuner your most likely only going to get 2 extra mpg to a tank. Maybe more maybe less but I honestly don't see it being worth 200 or more bucks for something thats only going to get me that.
 
blackmagic said:
its a 1999 ranger, 3.0L, Flux V6. and im really wondering if it's worth shilling out the $$$...
and overall i would love same/better MPG and definately want it to be more fun to drive around...
it's so sluggish, and its a brand new motor... >25k miles...

also im under the assumption that i have an OBD2, and i have access to getting that tuned too. would it help much too? performance or mpg or both?
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A cold air intake may help...very little though. The 3.0 engines are known to be sluggish as well. Your best bet is keep a fresh tune up on it at its mileage increments also a tuner COULD help, it has a bit for me. Also make sure tires are inflated properly, and keeping up on basic maintenance. Depending on how you drive it, steady or lead foot makes a world of difference too.
 
are you running E85 or unleaded regular? cause the E85 you will get less MPG
 
I have an 03 with a 3.0 5speed in it. I put new Motorcraft wires, plugs, electric fan from an HHR. Also 120 amp alternator, new timing chain and intake gasket, Fram washable air filter.
I installed a new Motorcraft coil for a 2007 3.0. It has higher voltage so I opened the gap up to 52 instead of 42.
I have 4:10 gears so I went to 16inch rims with 215/85/16 tires. The tires are 5% larger diameter than the stock 235/75/15. My truck has about 85,000 miles on it.
I am getting 22mpg around town.
 
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Be careful using "non-stock" tire sizes on computer controlled vehilcles.
The computer is designed to regulate the vehicle, at least in part, according to road speed.
If the computer thinks you're going slower (or faster) than you really are, it could be trouble.


Dean
 
DeanMk said:
Be careful using "non-stock" tire sizes on computer controlled vehilcles.
The computer is designed to regulate the vehicle, at least in part, according to road speed.
If the computer thinks you're going slower (or faster) than you really are, it could be trouble.


Dean
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I appreciate your advice, but I have been running oversize tires on Rangers for almost 10 years. I swap them back and forth from summer to winter. Absolutely no issues in over 80,000 miles. The speed difference is 5% which isn't anything to worry about. At 60mph it's off by 3mph. The factory settings are usually off by that much. All USA vehicles have the speedos set to read faster than you are actually going. It has been that way for years. I think it's some law. I set mine by my GPS anyway.
I am a licensed mechanic and have been modding vehicles for 35 years. I think I will be ok.
The whole tire size / computer thing may matter on some vehicles, but not on any that I have worked on yet.
I think that computer thing is a story some one made up to discourage kids from running 20inch diameter tires on vehicles that had 28inch originally. Or an old wives tale by someone who did not comprehend modern automobile electronics.
I would never run smaller tires than stock. That is dangerous and usually illegal (I know it's illegal in my home state). Larger tires (within reason) increase drive-ability. Ever drive a Ranger with stock 14" tires? It's like a go kart compared to 15inch tires.
If I was going 20 or 30% difference, I would be concerned, but not at 5%.
As a final note a 16inch tire was available stock on my year Ranger. 235/75/16.
 
DeanMk said:
Be careful using "non-stock" tire sizes on computer controlled vehilcles.
The computer is designed to regulate the vehicle, at least in part, according to road speed.
If the computer thinks you're going slower (or faster) than you really are, it could be trouble.


Dean
Click to expand...

That is pretty dumb if you think about it. Almost everyone who owns a truck has a larger the reccommended tire size, so is the whole world in danger? Think of the computer like this if you are punched in the arm and it hurts, your brain is telling your body o that hurt, Over size tires will just tell your computer hey I have to turn a little more and will be going a little faster then normal. It doesnt matter. simple as that just a sign.
 
Dudes, please, smoke a dube and mellow out.
I used to work as a professional mechanic, too.
The warning I issued is information I learned during a class I took on computer control systems.
Apparently that warning is now out-of-date information and I apologize for upsetting anyone who took offense to it.
I only issued it from a safety standpoint.


Dean
 
DeanMk said:
Dudes, please, smoke a dube and mellow out.
I used to work as a professional mechanic, too.
The warning I issued is information I learned during a class I took on computer control systems.
Apparently that warning is now out-of-date information and I apologize for upsetting anyone who took offense to it.
I only issued it from a safety standpoint.


Dean
Click to expand...

I was thinking about it, and it may make a difference in ABS. That's the only system I can think of that it would possibly matter. I'll admit that I don't have an excessive amount of knowledge on ABS. I know the basics. I imagine ABS systems operate differently at different speeds. I am guessing it's an under 25mph vs over 25mph type of thing. Just guessing.
 
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