V8 Jeep Grand Cherokee

[rockhound12]

hi folks,

I drive a 2001 Jeep Grand Cherokee V8 4.7L (you all are cringing about now) auto tranny
full time 4wheel drive ...(now you all are pulling your hair out)

I have a K&N air filter atm
and bosch platinum plus 4 plugs

I currently get about 22 MPG on the highway 16 MPG in city

looking for tips and tricks to getting better MPG

(selling it at this time is not a option)LOL

currently looking at buying one of them chips that claim more MPG

and looking at grill blocking also over inflating the tires see how that helps

anything else you guys and gals can think of?

thanks

[brick]

Welcome! No worries, I don't think anybody's pulling their hair out. If you haven't already, hit the Articles section and read the "Hows and Whys of Hypermiling" writeup. That's a great catch-all for the techniques that are available to you. The best I can tell you is to forget the chip and make gradual changes to the way you drive. There's a lot to be gained from that and it won't cost you a dime.

[southerncannuck]

No cringing here! Your doing well for that truck. 16 city tell me that you drive well. Pump up the tires first. It's the easiest place to start. I run mine at 5 PSI below the sidewall max (51 PSI). It has made the ride harsher, but at my new speeds that really doesn't affect me.

Which bring up the next thing. Your Jeep is a great off road truck. But it has the aerodynamics of a parachute. Try to never go over 60 MPH. Buy an MP3, put good music on it and calculate the time difference between 75 MPH and 55/60 MPH.

I bet it won't make more than 5 minutes of difference on most trips. It will make a great difference on economy. I have a scan gauge and get to see what going fast does.

Start a mileage post. It's motivating to try to improve in a public forum. You'll find that on the left side of the page

Anyway, good luck.

Louis b

[laurieaw]

welcome. you do have a challenging vehicle, but i appreciate your humor and the fact that you realize there are things to do to improve. nice to have you on board, and good luck.

[ngzcaz]

I have a 1995 Jeep G.C. w/ the V8 ( think mine is a 5.1 liter or approx 318 c.i. ) with 170,000 miles, nothing done to engine or trans. Being VERY easy on the pedal gets me close to 17 combo driving and 21 to 22 trip if under 70 mph. I over inflated my tires a bit, put a K & N air filter ( didnt see a change ) and a tuneup.
The key to decent mileage for this vehicle is its ability to have a feather touch on the pedal and still have enough power to maintain speed. Also thanks to the 4 speed with overdrive auto which really knocks the RPMs down on the interstates. I also had a highly touted 6 cylinder smaller Jeep Cherokee which got several mpg LESS mileage than the larger version.
I recently purchased a little Ford Ranger w/ the V6 with very low mileage and all I can get is around 23 to 25 on the interstates. Hardly worth the harder ride and feeling of safety one gets with the Jeep. And the 23 to 25 is with the 5 speed standard trans. Plugs are clean & lean, runs fine, just not the mileage I thought I could squeak out of it, although the factory estimate was 23 so....

[98CRV]

Get yourself a scangauge 2 if you can. It will help you.
Keep coming back here.
Welcome!

[diamondlarry]

Originally Posted by rockhound12

hi folks,

I drive a 2001 Jeep Grand Cherokee V8 4.7L (you all are cringing about now) auto tranny
full time 4wheel drive ...(now you all are pulling your hair out)

I have a K&N air filter atm
and bosch platinum plus 4 plugs

I currently get about 22 MPG on the highway 16 MPG in city

looking for tips and tricks to getting better MPG

(selling it at this time is not a option)LOL

currently looking at buying one of them chips that claim more MPG

and looking at grill blocking also over inflating the tires see how that helps

anything else you guys and gals can think of?

thanks

Welcome to CleanMPG! Sorry I missed you until now. I see that we're practically neighbors so if you would ever like to get together sometime on a weekend maybe I could try to give you some driving tips. You are already doing pretty good though. Keep reading and asking questions.

[desdemona]

Hey nice to have a fellow rockhound (though I am more of a hidden one) on the board.
I like you guys driving slowly, I can draft you then. :-)
(Hey just kidding on the drafting!! Though seriously you'll do something to block the wind on my Corolla. Got passed by 2 semis, 2 SUVs and 2 cars in close succession. I saw my Scan gauge jump about up quite a bit. )


--des

[ngzcaz]

The scan gauge is really a worthwhile item. A similar device came standard on my 95 Jeep G.C. and its tells more than what you may realize. Example : A few years ago I started using more gas and the gauge never went to the max of 99mpg when off the pedal while going down a steep hill. A little while later I started hearing a slight chirp of the tires when going around sharp turns. A trip to the internet Jeep website suggested a bad viscous coupler ( very expensive ) but a trip to the dealer confirmed it. It was replaced and everything went back to normal.
Dont know that scan gauge works exactly but mine has trip mileage, mileage till empty, miles driven, current mpg, average of miles driven, compass heading and a few more I'm probably missing. They dont make a scan gauge for my 1989 Ranger or I'd have one on by now.

[Vooch]

a iFCD will get you to increase your mpg by another 10- 25% - you'll be getting close to 30 MPG on the highway