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So, what can I look at to improve in town MPG?

Cranky1

Cranky1

Banned Old Stinky Fart
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Jun 4, 2011
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Location
Paserdener TX
I generally drive for good mileage and know how. Coasting for a light going yellow that's 3 miles down the road (JK JK) and no jack rabbit starts and the like. Keeping a steady foot on the gas is always good etc etc etc. But what can be done to the truck? Truck in question is a 96 Dakota reg cab short box, V6 with 3.55 gears. The brakes seem to have the normal slight drag. Tires are new 235-75-15 Micky's on 8" wheels and are inflated on the high side of the recommended inflation rate. I'm thinking that a 3.90 gear would help more than anything but man, my 95 which is basically the same and has an even taller rear tire and it has much better in town MPG......15-16 vs 12-13.
 
Remove all the unneeded stuff from your truck, it's not uncommon to have 200 lbs plus in tools parts and things you just don't need to carry in your vehicle.
 
Taller tire, right there is a big difference. A taller tire mimics a lower gear, giving you that improvement in milage.

I drove my dad to school when he broke his leg. A little driving in the suburbs, then on to the highway. I drove from every stop like a race car driver, foot on the floor. Got to speed and settled in at cruising speed. Dropped him off and drove home the same style. My dad did the numbers and I was getting two or three miles more per gallon. I may have used more gas to get to speed, but was there faster, using less overall in the process. Well, that's what we figured. The only car that I drove like a grandma for mileage was a Geo Metro go kart. POS three cylinder five speed. That got insane mileage if you drove it properly. I've always drove that way, and have gotten pretty good numbers in many cars, trucks the best I've had is 15 maybe 16.
 
My plow truck only gets 10-11 without the plow, with the plow it's worse. My new to me Colorado gets 18.5-19, it saves me a lot, so the plow truck got pushed to the side until the snow falls.
A chip/tuner may help with mileage.
 
Rusty Junk said:
Remove all the unneeded stuff from your truck, it's not uncommon to have 200 lbs plus in tools parts and things you just don't need to carry in your vehicle.
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Always run empty....and in town usually don't have a spare in it even!


LocuMob said:
Taller tire, right there is a big difference. A taller tire mimics a lower gear, giving you that improvement in milage.

I drove my dad to school when he broke his leg. A little driving in the suburbs, then on to the highway. I drove from every stop like a race car driver, foot on the floor. Got to speed and settled in at cruising speed. Dropped him off and drove home the same style. My dad did the numbers and I was getting two or three miles more per gallon. I may have used more gas to get to speed, but was there faster, using less overall in the process. Well, that's what we figured. The only car that I drove like a grandma for mileage was a Geo Metro go kart. POS three cylinder five speed. That got insane mileage if you drove it properly. I've always drove that way, and have gotten pretty good numbers in many cars, trucks the best I've had is 15 maybe 16.
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Actually, the taller tires makes the 3.55 act more like a 3.15 and that's going the wrong way for in town mileage. That's kinda like jumping on a 10 speed bike and starting off in 8th gear. And whenever I tried to drive briskly in town, my mileage got worse. Haven't tried that with this truck but the others that I did that with, the mileage went down.

65 sporty said:
My plow truck only gets 10-11 without the plow, with the plow it's worse. My new to me Colorado gets 18.5-19, it saves me a lot, so the plow truck got pushed to the side until the snow falls.
A chip/tuner may help with mileage.
Click to expand...
Didn't think the computers in these older Dakotas were accessible?
 
You will have to find someone that does.Scanners that do anything but read data or code are just crazy in price.
 
Weeell, mileage has been getting better.....last tank with some highway and in town netted 16.8 so maybe all is not lost! :D
 
Strange how vehicles adapt to different drivers. Even more so with the ones that the computer adapts to driving habits. I have had some gain over 10 mpg.
 
Since winter has got here and they start using "winter blend" fuels, my mileage on my Colorado has gone down a little, 16.5-17.5
 
7mopar said:
Strange how vehicles adapt to different drivers. Even more so with the ones that the computer adapts to driving habits. I have had some gain over 10 mpg.
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Was the 1st year OBDII capable of doing that? I'm thinking this truck probably did a lot of sitting around and doing short trips before I got it. My 95 does a lot of short trips but it's ODBI and doesn't seem to matter much if it does do longer drives.


65 sporty said:
Since winter has got here and they start using "winter blend" fuels, my mileage on my Colorado has gone down a little, 16.5-17.5
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Not sure when they start doing the winter blend here since it usually doesn't get cold here until January. Heck, it's been in the low to mid 70's for the last few days and today it's supposed to be 76. Also filled up at a different pump if that makes any difference these days....
 
I think the learn thing started in 2002 or 2003. I know our 2003 had it. It was great for one driver not so much for two.
 
My fuel mileage in my Expedition drops from 17 to 13.5 as soon as it gets cold and my driving is 70 percent hyway. If I stay at 55 it stays at 18 or 19 but the city driving kills the mileage. It takes fuel to accelerate 6300 lbs.
 
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