Is it possible to get better fuel economy from a Jeep Wrangler TJ?
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Here's my mpg average over the last 44k. Daily driver, approximately 30 miles a day round trip to work.
https://www.fuelly.com/car/jeep/wrangler/2003/rich1961/331258
https://www.fuelly.com/car/jeep/wrangler/2003/rich1961/331258
so I just sold my old fun driver - it got slightly worse MPG then my TJ.....but it was 35' long , weighed over20,000 lbs and had a 8.2l Detroit diesel turbo - and still got over 10mpg!! TJ is getting just a little better than that!
Ha!
Tell us all about your TJ... tire size, engine size, transmission type, and if you know it what axle ratio is installed. Just over 10 mpg can usually be helped.
I was running 33s on my TJR best ever was 17mpg, but regularly under 14mpg.
I went to skinny, lighter 7.50R 16s, 31s, and now regularly get 17mpg with best milage of 22mpg on long trips where I stay off the loud pedal. Still nothing beats my '87 YJ, with the dreaded carbed 258 engine, 33s and 3.07s..... 25mpg in 4th gear.
But 10mpg, where, interstate at 75mph? Around town in the winter? Running 35s? Drag from speed and drag from rolling resistance are the biggest factors affecting gas mileage for anything. My gas mileage is best when I run between 2Krpm and 3K rpm. Over 3Krpm it drops off.
I went to skinny, lighter 7.50R 16s, 31s, and now regularly get 17mpg with best milage of 22mpg on long trips where I stay off the loud pedal. Still nothing beats my '87 YJ, with the dreaded carbed 258 engine, 33s and 3.07s..... 25mpg in 4th gear.
But 10mpg, where, interstate at 75mph? Around town in the winter? Running 35s? Drag from speed and drag from rolling resistance are the biggest factors affecting gas mileage for anything. My gas mileage is best when I run between 2Krpm and 3K rpm. Over 3Krpm it drops off.
My wife's 100 percent stock 2004 TJ, 4.0, NV3550, 3.73, with 30-9.5 -R15 @ 30psi.
got 26.1 mpg with summer spec. gas.
This was on a 500 mile road trip on 2 lane Colorado highways with 4 people at 65mph.
Buy comparison our 2.5 l. 5spd. Subaru Forester AWD would only get 28 mpg on the same trip.
That's one of the reasons the Subaru had to find a new home.
got 26.1 mpg with summer spec. gas.
This was on a 500 mile road trip on 2 lane Colorado highways with 4 people at 65mph.
Buy comparison our 2.5 l. 5spd. Subaru Forester AWD would only get 28 mpg on the same trip.
That's one of the reasons the Subaru had to find a new home.
I’m amused by this old thread about fuel milage. It’s the same as a Prius owner asking “What can I do to my Prius to make it run the trails in Moab better?”
I get great milage on my TJ. I can hit the trail ALL day and not have to fuel it up. Works for me
I get great milage on my TJ. I can hit the trail ALL day and not have to fuel it up. Works for me
CRV doesn't give good milage at all. I get 16 in city and 22-24 on Freeway.
500 miles in a TJ with 4 people? - I call shotgun!!My wife's 100 percent stock 2004 TJ, 4.0, NV3550, 3.73, with 30-9.5 -R15 @ 30psi.
got 26.1 mpg with summer spec. gas.
This was on a 500 mile road trip on 2 lane Colorado highways with 4 people at 65mph.
Buy comparison our 2.5 l. 5spd. Subaru Forester AWD would only get 28 mpg on the same trip.
That's one of the reasons the Subaru had to find a new home.
I get 15 - 16 mpg on my commute, which is max 50mph, average probably more like 35 - 40 mph. 2003, manual, 2.5" lift, 30x9.5" tires.
I consider that as good as it gets. I don't really drive much at all on the freeway, so not sure what my best case cruising at 65 mph would be. My guess is 22 mpg in perfect conditions.
I consider that as good as it gets. I don't really drive much at all on the freeway, so not sure what my best case cruising at 65 mph would be. My guess is 22 mpg in perfect conditions.
Sorry that's my wife seat!! My 2 grown daughters rode in the backseat with
our duffel bags, kind of cramped but they are good sports! And TJ owners
Honestly 250 miles one way isn't that bad in a 100% stock TJ.
Kind of a different trip in my modded TJ
Not comparable from gas to diesel without math. Diesel contains approx 138,000 btu/gal and gas 115,000/gal (winter) plus a compression combustion engine is more efficient than spark ignition engine. Generally more compression= better efficiency. I get what you are saying though- our little aero bricks don't shine for mpg but sure are better on the trail than that 35' long rig.
SolarColumbia
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Our 2008 CRV gets at least 27 hwy. My 2004 stock height wrangler 4.0 42rle 3.73 on 30 × 9.5 stock wheels will do 18 or better hwy in summer with the Softopper on it. 16 mpg hwy in winter with the hardtop.
I think it's funny when people claim a Jeep, EPA rated at 19 mpg highway on a closed course, under ideal conditions, get 23-30 mpg under normal driving conditions. I'm guessing they bought one of these.
p.s. I ran a couple of my Jeeps from FULL TANK to OUT OF GAS. 18 mpg highway was the best I ever got. Now I don't care.
p.s. I ran a couple of my Jeeps from FULL TANK to OUT OF GAS. 18 mpg highway was the best I ever got. Now I don't care.
Your mileage may vary.........I think it's funny when people claim a Jeep, EPA rated at 19 mpg highway on a closed course, under ideal conditions, get 23-30 mpg under normal driving conditions. I'm guessing they bought one of these.
p.s. I ran a couple of my Jeeps from FULL TANK to OUT OF GAS. 18 mpg highway was the best I ever got. Now I don't care.
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I think it's funny when people claim a Jeep, EPA rated at 19 mpg highway on a closed course, under ideal conditions, get 23-30 mpg under normal driving conditions. I'm guessing they bought one of these.
p.s. I ran a couple of my Jeeps from FULL TANK to OUT OF GAS. 18 mpg highway was the best I ever got. Now I don't care.
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EPA is a very bottom baseline. If I ever dropped down to EPA numbers on any car I've owned I'd be checking the drivetrain out to see what was wrong.
Driving like a sane person helps a lot, learning how to drive to maximize mpg helps even more. Not many people bother with any of that. So the manufacturers aren't going to quote numbers that most people won't get.
Sort of. The way you drive does matter, the drive cycles, the road type, wind, elevation, any warm up, etc. The EPA ratings are not the automakers choice to publish. It is a predetermined series of drive cycles at given temp and not on street gas. Test is done on indoline. So yes- some can do a little better and some a little worse. Wildly different numbers from EPA ratings are almost always people checking MPG incorrectly. When I wanted to test a fuel or a car i tried to run a replicated route and closely comparable weather over 10 tankfuls. Even then you need to park at the same pump, same direction, and either let the nozzle self click off (pretty variable even at that) or fill slow to overfill. Folks just don't do that. EPA at least weighs the fuel even though they use that stupid indoline. The other big variable is winter vs summer. Winter temps, winters dense heavy winds, winters low btu gasoline fuel (more volatile light ends) make it a lot harder to get respectable MPGs.
One other thing about Jeeps- if you put tires on that are larger than stock and did not correct odometer gear/ gear ratio then your miles driven probably are not right anyway so MPG is not right. With 31's vs factory 30's, no odometer gear change or change from 3.73 ratio i drive something close to 5% more miles than my odometer reads. Thus my real MPG is better than perceived.
I don't care much- my Jeep is not a DD- it is just a tool for the trails that my car will not do.
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Cold air intake, Tornado, fuel line magnet plus some “miracle” in a bottle. Fuel milage should doubleI think it's funny when people claim a Jeep, EPA rated at 19 mpg highway on a closed course, under ideal conditions, get 23-30 mpg under normal driving conditions. I'm guessing they bought one of these.
p.s. I ran a couple of my Jeeps from FULL TANK to OUT OF GAS. 18 mpg highway was the best I ever got. Now I don't care.
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Have a 2000 wrangler sport and my 4th Prius. You don’t have to Baby a Prius at all! Your mileage of 53/54 mpg remains the same! NOT true with the wrangler! It sucks @ 13 mpg! Bad for our planet!
