Fuel Mileage booster’s

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oldkimmer

FABO Gold Member
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As everyone knows the price of gas has hit record levels and still keeps going up. I have been looking at the EcoPlus. It plugs into your data link connector. Boasts up to 55% gains. Even if it only helped 10% it would help. Anyone try any of the many gimmicks out there. Thanks. Kim
 
I recently changed job locations and am having to commute everyday vs just being gone with a company truck. I love my Power Wagon in almost every aspect. Fuel mileage not being one of them.

I think most of those devices are pure snake oil. In general, I'd bet a person would gain more by changing their driving style. I'm going pay attention next week and see if I can do just that.
 
oldkimmer said:
As everyone knows the price of gas has hit record levels and still keeps going up. I have been looking at the EcoPlus. It plugs into your data link connector. Boasts up to 55% gains. Even if it only helped 10% it would help. Anyone try any of the many gimmicks out there. Thanks. Kim
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I'm suspicious too. The fuel/spark control systems of today are pretty well programmed to get most of the energy from the fuel into motion. There is probably some loss from emissions calibration but 55% improvement seems impossible. Even 10% is, to me, very unlikely.
Jerry
 
Someone here tried one and their engine blew a month later. The speculation is that it caused detonation.
 
mpgmike said:
If you want to better understand what some of the effective modifications are, there is a site that lists about 20 or so and how they work.

www.MPGenie.com
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I have been feeling that the device may have given the ecm a rich condition in order to make it drive the fuel delivery lean. Silly idea since the ecm runs things about as well as possible. Emissions rules in the ecm programming doesn't give up much fuel efficiency.
 
As far as the ECU is concerned, the absolute best "tune" on a stock engine is the stock tuning -- just ask any Federal judge! (Oh, by the way, I am recognized by the US Federal Court System as a "Fuel Economy Expert". Though it would have been nice to fill out the form and pay the fee, I earned that title the hard way! Thus my username mpgmike.) However, if you improve combustion efficiency, the stock tune is no longer ideal. That's why cam changes, exhaust upgrades, turbos for the love of Pete REQUIRE a re-tune to get the most from them. Fuel economy is no different. Without correcting the ECU's tune, most devices don't stand a chance of improving fuel economy by any noticeable amount. There are quick-fixes that at least get the ECU to give up 15% to 40% with proper hardware. For serious gains, more drastic measures are required.
 
...and you can put 4 ounces of red liquid in your rad and your engine will run 10 degrees cooler
...and you can use purple oil and a purple air cleaner and get better mileage
...and you can add a 6 inch pipe (H pipe) and get more HP and better mileage too!
Oh My!
 
Seandavid55 said:
I recently changed job locations and am having to commute everyday vs just being gone with a company truck. I love my Power Wagon in almost every aspect. Fuel mileage not being one of them.

I think most of those devices are pure snake oil. In general, I'd bet a person would gain more by changing their driving style. I'm going pay attention next week and see if I can do just that.
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Some of these suggestions are a bit extreme, but in the world of every little bit helps
100+ Hypermiling / ecodriving tips & tactics for better mpg - EcoModder.com
 
Even with a tonneau cover a pick up truck has two problem areas. One behind the rear window, the other behind the tailgate. You see those fold in flaps behind 18 wheelers, those are to help blend the air back into itself rather than creating a large drag zone. The whole reason for the flush glass on the rear of Daytona‘s and Superbirds rather than the Chargers suck zone.
 
Seandavid55 said:
I recently changed job locations and am having to commute everyday vs just being gone with a company truck. I love my Power Wagon in almost every aspect. Fuel mileage not being one of them.

I think most of those devices are pure snake oil. In general, I'd bet a person would gain more by changing their driving style. I'm going pay attention next week and see if I can do just that.
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My Forester goes from 24 to 26 when I do that.
 
As far as a modern gas engine, how many miles till it's "broke in" and what's the effect on fuel mileage during that period?

I assume it would get slightly better once everything is broken in.
 
I used to have a 1.8 turbo vw (chipped to run 17 pounds of boost)
I could go from 25 mpg to 34 mpg, just by getting out and letting my wife drive
 
I always use cow magnets on my fuel line. And clothespins. Neither of them do a damn thing but I get a lot of interesting questions.
 
Years ago there was a joke about some guy bought a VW, and THEN started adding every JC Whitney hack he could find, and then bragging about how good it was. "The guys" eventually starting sneaking over and ADDING fuel to his tank. Pretty soon he claimed he had to "drain some out"
 
I am always trying new things. 25 years back, I tried the 'broquet', invented by RAF engineer Henry Broquet. [ www.broquet.co.uk ]; good for 300,000 miles. Watch out for copy cats. It was claimed to improve economy. I didn't notice any economy improvement in my GTO, but I never did any controlled type of testing either.
What I did notice: a very distinct change in combustion sound. Hard to explain, but at WOT at high rpms, the engine is definitely smoother. You can feel it more than hear it.

Thank goodness not everybody dismisses something new/different as snake oil....or we would still be using solid axles & a crank handle to start our cars...
 
As stringent as the mileage requirements are year after year, I would think there's not enough room for a 55% increase, if there was, it would already be there.
 
RogerRamRod said:
Even with a tonneau cover a pick up truck has two problem areas. One behind the rear window, the other behind the tailgate. You see those fold in flaps behind 18 wheelers, those are to help blend the air back into itself rather than creating a large drag zone. The whole reason for the flush glass on the rear of Daytona‘s and Superbirds rather than the Chargers suck zone.
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It’s been proven that covering pickup beds decreases mpg. Putting a spoiler on the gate and vertical bed sides smoothes the airflow most effectively for better mpg.
 
One way to get fuel mileage boosters is to get fuel mileage boosters...
“OK guys we’re coming up to the gas station, everybody chip in!”:D
 
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