Topic: Questions about fuel economy/daily driveability

[Jeffy]

Not many really get that good of Mileage.  Maybe a Sportster does get closer to 55Mpg.  My Heritage classic only about 40-45.  Lots of the sport bikes get really lousy Mileage.  My old 750 Katana only got 30-35 on a good day most times it was lower.

Here is a guide.

http://www.totalmotorcycle.com/MotorcycleFuelEconomyGuide/2012-MPG.htm

You will notice the High Mileage bikes are in the 250 Range.  That size of Bike you need to stay off the freeway and no long distance 50 -60 Miles and it will get very uncomfortable.

Suzuki S40, SV650, Honda CBR250R, Kawasaki EX250, BMW F650GS, G650, F800GS, ect...  A CBR250R or a EX250 will easily keep up and pass on the highways.

[stan98tj]

Stan... I can't afford a new CAR like that. If i did spend big money on a vehicle, it would have to be a 4x4 with a good towing capacity (at least 2-3000lbs) where I would trade in/replace the Heep. I looked at CRD Libertys which have a 5000lb tow rating, but they have a fairly high cost of ownership due to crappy designs in the trans and several emissions system issues. There are known fixes too but it kina scared me away. Looking again at them though because of the outrageous pricing on the TDI's. People with modded (EGR delete, Eco tune, Suncoast Torque converter) Libbys are claiming 30mpg highway.

Sharp, I don't do too much extra driving and there is no greyhound available. I am hoping that there is perhaps a carpool I can take advantage of perhaps.

Has anyone hooked a Scangauge to their Jeep? I think i have the wrong speedo gear, will that effect it?

Im not talking new about the TDI. I've known a handful of folks with late 90s/early 2000 model TDI with a ton of miles on the clock, superb mpg and very few maintenance issues. AS for the Fiesta, I wasn't real serious in that suggestion, but it can be had for around 14k.

[grumpygy]

I had a Suzuki 1000 Yoshimura long time ago (pistons, rods, cams & springs, carbs and exhaust) and was getting about 25mpg
idle was about 1500rpm

But what was your 0-60.  My old 94 750 Katana was right around 3 sec.  I too had the Yosh Pipe and had it re jetted(which I had to do myself cause the guy screwed it up) and changed my Gearing went with a Bigger rear sprocket.  Lost some of my top end but gained big on Acceleration.

[sharpxmen]

But what was your 0-60.  My old 94 750 Katana was right around 3 sec.  I too had the Yosh Pipe and had it re jetted(which I had to do myself cause the guy screwed it up) and changed my Gearing went with a Bigger rear sprocket.  Lost some of my top end but gained big on Acceleration.

it was way too fast (at least for me anyway), had to replace the tire with a soft one as it was constantly spinning the one it had on when i bought it (really scary).

[grumpygy]

Maintenance on bike normally eats up any savings you get by mileage.  Chains gears and tires. 

  Sure those little bikes can stay up, but they will beat you up.  Also semi's on a lighter Bike can be scary.  Running on the freeway also wears them out much faster.

[Tr00b]

After re-figuring my math, it was determined that the 31" tires are 13.9% bigger than stock (using an english to metric tire size converter and then a tire size calculator to find the % difference). So if thats a safe number, I multiplied the number of miles I drove by .139, added the result to the amount of miles from the last fill up on the odometer, then divided by the number of gallons went in the tank. Had been using 8% before.

Long story short the teal bomber got 19.6 mpg on the last tank of gas!!! Thats pretty darn survivable for a wrangler...

I did find 2 CRD Jeeps, a Grand Cherokee and a Liberty, as well as a VW Golf TDI I really like, all within the price range where I can keep the Jeep.

[sharpxmen]

After re-figuring my math, it was determined that the 31" tires are 13.9% bigger than stock (using an english to metric tire size converter and then a tire size calculator to find the % difference). So if thats a safe number, I multiplied the number of miles I drove by .139, added the result to the amount of miles from the last fill up on the odometer, then divided by the number of gallons went in the tank. Had been using 8% before.

Long story short the teal bomber got 19.6 mpg on the last tank of gas!!! Thats pretty darn survivable for a wrangler...

I did find 2 CRD Jeeps, a Grand Cherokee and a Liberty, as well as a VW Golf TDI I really like, all within the price range where I can keep the Jeep.

i have doubts about those numbers to be honest (both the tire percentage and the mpg)

[Tr00b]

I am not taking them as gospel either, but my old method of google mapping the miles out...  address to address.... then diving the amount of resulting miles by the amount of gallons purchased to full... That is just tedious as ****. Theres got to be something where I can get an accurate MPG.

[sharpxmen]

I am not taking them as gospel either, but my old method of google mapping the miles out...  address to address.... then diving the amount of resulting miles by the amount of gallons purchased to full... That is just tedious as ****. Theres got to be something where I can get an accurate MPG.

if you have a gps you can calculate that percentage better (using the speed comparison), 31 vs stock is about 10.5% difference but i don't know for sure. the other thing is the sample size for which you calculated the mpg, if you only drove 100 miles it is very likely to get an error when filling the tank, the slight difference in the Jeep leaning to one side or the other or front/back can give you like a 1/2 gallon error and your calculations go out the door especially if you drove a short distance. The other thing is driving on the hwy if you start at 1 point and go only one way and fillup at the destination it could be that's more downhill, or fav wind, got to go both ways. 19.6mpg would be a really amazing achievement. Best is to get that speed comparison percentage (borrow a gps if you don't have one) and average your mpg over a few tanks, (at least 10 to 15 gal for each fill-up and add them up) and would be as accurate as it can get.

[Tr00b]

Thanks sharp! Thats a killer idea. I forget those things exist!

Looking like the actual difference is around 6-7%. My parents have an old GPS they don't use anymore and I snagged that up. When I'm going 50mph the GPS it says 53. When going 45 dash GPS says 47-48. Which would make the original fuel fill up around a more realistic 17.5-18 mpg based on that guesstimate.

Will have to wait until my next fill up this thursday/friday, and then I can track actual miles via the GPS.

[sharpxmen]

Thanks sharp! Thats a killer idea. I forget those things exist!

Looking like the actual difference is around 6-7%. My parents have an old GPS they don't use anymore and I snagged that up. When I'm going 50mph the GPS it says 53. When going 45 dash GPS says 47-48. Which would make the original fuel fill up around a more realistic 17.5-18 mpg based on that guesstimate.

Will have to wait until my next fill up this thursday/friday, and then I can track actual miles via the GPS.

the GPS travelled miles are not always accurate (it will give you the distance between points if you lose the sattelite signal), that's why the best way to do it is by what you did with the speed and then use that percentage to add to your odometer, should be accurate enough,

[sharpxmen]

another thing you could do is use the mile markers on the hwy and compare to your odometer, if you have a trip of 50 miles that would be enough for a good estimation and probably the most accurate for your mileage reading. I've been tracking the mpg on my Camaro since last year in August, i've seen it as low as 18.7mpg and high at 24.6, in the end is the average that matters and it comes to 21.1mpg over almost 6900 miles and 326 gallons total - what's important is to accurately track the gas you put in at the pump, if it's 12.24 gallons don't use 12.2  or 12, and keep track of your miles reading for each fillup (i use the notes on my cellphone and write it in there every time i get gas).

[chardrc]

or you can use an old fashion vehicle log book they are all of $2.50 at office max and make it easy to look up gas millage trends and keep track of when oil changes are due.

[Tr00b]

If you go by how many miles the GPS registers versus how many miles the odo registers, its about 9.8% differnence. This last tank yielded 17.2 mpg, 40% city, 60% highway. I was admittedly harder on it this week than i was last.

My whole perogative here is to know how truly bad or good it is, because I need to make a decision whether it will be better pinching pennies and driving this, or getting something else. Thats what it all boils down to.

[Tr00b]

I got 17.2 last week sometime then the tank after that I got 15.9 with the top down all week. THAT was nice. I've had the Jeep for 4 years and had the top down once before that. Its coming off again... SOON!

I doubt this is a cliffhanger for anybody, but I decided to keep the Jeep and I ordered a Misch's Big Boy seat bracket, found a passenger side seatbelt at the J-yard for $30. Waiting on my first paycheck before I get any more parts.

For a long time I was looking for a replacement for Redline MTL for the AX-5 because nobody carried it locally but many people carried AMSoil. I finally found that AMSoil sells an MTG, which is an equivalent fluid. However, nobody carries the MTG specifically. So I wasted my time and will have to order the AMSoil just the same.

A still unanswered question...

Anybody have a ScanGauge in their 1997ish TJ?

Still torn on this...

Anyone with any more experiences/input on how going "back to stock tire size" has effected fuel economy/power/driveabilty?

Stage 1... This weekend!

Fix pass side seat belt
Install Big Boy Bracket
Flush P.S. Pump
Fix Leaky rear diff and put in fresh fluid
Change front diff fluid

Stage 1.5
Synthetic AMSoil MTG

Stage 2...

All new front brakes... MAYBE Black Magic brakes
New Unit bearings
Fix exhaust leak
Do an alignment

Stage 3 This summer
Find teal rust free fender and non- bent grille.
Clean and paint frame/underbody/axles
Penetrol the fenders/bumper ends/side steps
Install more than just 2 speakers...