Fuel mileage think tank thread
The wife and I have been trying to sell our GV because of the amount of fuel it goes through on her 70 mile round trip daily commute. Unfortunately, we are having difficulty selling it for the price we are asking. I guess the economy is really tight.
So, this brings up my point of this thread. How to improve the economy of this thirsty beast. My full sized Mercedes Benz v-8 powered suv gets only about 3 mpg less and is twice the rig. This is disappointing. But other than fuel usage, we love the little thing. My wife really loves it and really does not want to part with it. So, lets discuss different things to improve mileage and keep the discussion open.
My rig is a 2000 GV V6 with slightly oversize tires. The tires make a 3.8% difference in speedometer error. Taking that into consideration, my wife is averaging around 21.5mpg in an almost 50/50 split of city and highway. I would like that number to break 25mpg.
I currently have synthetics in the engine and semi-synthetic gear oil in the diffs. The engine is in a good state of tune. Here are my suggested planned mods. You guys tell me what you think the end result will be in mileage.
*K&N or other air filter in stock air box
*Remove stock cooling fan and replace with electric. Wired so it comes on when hot and when the AC pump is on.
*Replace fluid in transmission, transfer case and diff's with 100% synthetic.
*Install manual hubs on front axle
*Replace entire exhaust system with a free flowing (but quiet) system. High flow cats, 2.25"-2.5" piping, etc.
*Keep tires at 35psi (I am at 32 right now)
Now it is your turn. On this forum there must be some people who have done some of the above mods or know the link to threads where they have been done. Lets discuss these, what the end result you think they will net, and if you have additional ideas/thoughts.
$4.00+ per gallon is coming.
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