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  #1  
Old 01-02-2011, 08:15 PM
bigcountry bigcountry is offline
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Default bettering mpg and performance

ok so i thought after i came back from fort jackson i would do some mods to my truck and see where i can get the little 3.0. So i ordered a AFE Power 51-10741 stage 1 pro dry air intake syetem here is the link http://www.summitracing.com/parts/AFE-51-10741/ it does not replace the intake tube just the box with an open element style filter. Now after installing the new filter and box with regular 87octane gas i averaged about a 1 to 2 mile per gallon increase with 92 to 93 octane gas i averaged about a 2 to 4 mile per gallon increase thats both on the same roads same speeds not playing speed racer just the speed limit not flooring it at a green light just light throttle all the time this was filing the tank to where the pump stoped not adding anymore after the pump stops i ran the tank till i got a fuel light every test i tested both for a week monday through friday after traffic in the mornings and before traffic in the afternoon same amount of miles per week which if im not mistaken was anywhere from 235 to 237. (also my tire pressure was at 35psi everyday i checked all 4 tires that was the cold psi not the hot psi) now these were my findings i can get a picture tommrrow of the intake. my next upgrade to the truck will be the fitch fuel treatment system i will run the same amount of test to the same extent for the next upgrade my goal is to get a combined increase of 5 to 10 if not better mpg let me know what yall think would be a better way of increasing my mpg or anything i should try as my next upgrade
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General Geroge S Patton
2007 3.0
automatic trans, 4.10s with L/S
ported and polished TB
4brand new speakers with inslation in doors
smoked tail lights
20%tint on driver and passenger windows
5% tint on back window
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  #2  
Old 01-02-2011, 08:43 PM
FX4 Mike FX4 Mike is offline
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Default Re: bettering mpg and performance

Better MPG? get a fiesta, much better mpgs and getting better millage from switching to 93 octane? higher octane is for higher compression and to prevent engine knock, your truck is supposed to run on 87 right? my friend put 93 in his celica and sunfire both he though did better 0-60 times and more mpg... same 0-60 and same exact mpg.

i doubt there is any change with higher octane fuel other than losing change in your wallet...

do a mass test with many miles and same exact situation with different octanes and you will see no difference between them
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  #3  
Old 01-02-2011, 08:52 PM
bigcountry bigcountry is offline
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Default Re: bettering mpg and performance

a mass test? explain and i will try that next? hmm you got me thinking now i dont want to put wrong info on the net
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Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity."
General Geroge S Patton
2007 3.0
automatic trans, 4.10s with L/S
ported and polished TB
4brand new speakers with inslation in doors
smoked tail lights
20%tint on driver and passenger windows
5% tint on back window
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  #4  
Old 01-02-2011, 09:06 PM
FX4 Mike FX4 Mike is offline
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Posts: 154
Default Re: bettering mpg and performance

well a test over time and possibly with other vehicles testing it too... like run 93 octane for a month and keep a meticulous track of driving habit, temperature and factors... do the same with 87 octane the next month and compare results...

compare highs and lows i bet you will see the same highs if you get similar driving conditions.


other thing is price well in NY gas is 3.21 for 87 and 3.45 for 91... now 1-2 mpg more is it worth it?

my truck will do lets say 15mpg on 87 so at 300miles it costs $64.20

with 91 lets say i do 1mpg better so there is 7% more distance traveled. so 320 miles would cost $68.70 with 87 and with 91 $69...

not worth it as you see

i bet if i found 93 nearby it would be +$3.65 so at least $73 for 20 gallons at the expense of maybe 1-2 mpg.
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  #5  
Old 01-02-2011, 11:40 PM
bigcountry bigcountry is offline
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Default Re: bettering mpg and performance

here 92 is 3.05 or less and 87 is 2.87 give or take where you are and i see what you are talking about i will try that out for 2 months
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Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity."
General Geroge S Patton
2007 3.0
automatic trans, 4.10s with L/S
ported and polished TB
4brand new speakers with inslation in doors
smoked tail lights
20%tint on driver and passenger windows
5% tint on back window
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  #6  
Old 01-03-2011, 12:28 AM
MooDib MooDib is offline
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Default Re: bettering mpg and performance

Quote:
Originally Posted by bigcountry View Post
Now after installing the new filter and box with regular 87octane gas i averaged about a 1 to 2 mile per gallon increase with 92 to 93 octane gas i averaged about a 2 to 4 mile per gallon increase
That sentence shows there is something wrong with the way you are doing this. As FX4 Mike said, octane should do absolutely nothing with mpg. If there was an easy way to increase mpg it would have been done at the factory. Your expensive air intake probably did little to nothing in boosting your mpg also. If you really want mpg you will need to do major overhauls such as swapping out the engine, adding a turbo, and/or re-gearing. Even if you did all of this you will still not get a very good mpg because you are driving a truck. If mpg is all you are looking for go buy a Prius.
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  #7  
Old 01-03-2011, 12:35 AM
S13minus1 S13minus1 is offline
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Default Re: bettering mpg and performance

no, higher octane nets higher mpg. higher octane means its more resistant to knock. in these modern trucks, timing is pretty much infinitely variable and controlled primarily by the knock sensor. so, with higher octane you can run more advanced timing, which nets more power per rpm, meaning your engine is more efficient. more efficiency, better MPG. i notice a 2-5 mpg increase using 91 octane. thats all i run in my truck
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-Alex
'10 Ranger XL 2.3L Manual
Mods: Stereo, Tint, Weatherguard rain shields, Intake silencer removal, LED brake, turn signal, reverse, license plate, and dome lights, DDM HID's (currently removed), lowered, 17" wheels with spacers, Explorer autodim mirror with Autolamps, Magnaflow exhaust, Buggman LED 3rd Brake Light...
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  #8  
Old 01-03-2011, 02:30 AM
MooDib MooDib is offline
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Default Re: bettering mpg and performance

Quote:
Originally Posted by S13minus1 View Post
no, higher octane nets higher mpg. higher octane means its more resistant to knock. in these modern trucks, timing is pretty much infinitely variable and controlled primarily by the knock sensor. so, with higher octane you can run more advanced timing, which nets more power per rpm, meaning your engine is more efficient. more efficiency, better MPG. i notice a 2-5 mpg increase using 91 octane. thats all i run in my truck
If you have no idea what the octane numbers mean you are fooling yourself into thinking you are doing your vehicle good. You will not get better mpg from a higher octane and not using the recommended octane level or close to it will cause more harm (financially) than good. The trucks were built and designed with a certain octane in mind and computer timing will help if the octane is off but your vehicle won't run any better. Hopefully these links will help you.

FTC's Facts for Consumers
High Octane Gas Myth
http://consumerist.com/2010/10/avoid...-the-pump.html
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K&N Performance Air Filter
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  #9  
Old 01-03-2011, 02:30 AM
MooDib MooDib is offline
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Default Re: bettering mpg and performance

Accidental double post.
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  #10  
Old 01-03-2011, 02:37 AM
S13minus1 S13minus1 is offline
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Default Re: bettering mpg and performance

those links all have proven what I said. i know plenty about gasoline, as well as cars, engines, and quite a bit automotive in general. have you ever watched dynamic timing on a running engine under load with higher octane and one with lower octane? the car with higher octane can advance timing quite a bit more than the lower octane. are you saying youre not getting more power (aka, efficiency) with advanced timing? if you dont know what a knock sensor is, and how it works, and what it effects, youre fooling yourself into thinking 87 octane is perfect.
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-Alex
'10 Ranger XL 2.3L Manual
Mods: Stereo, Tint, Weatherguard rain shields, Intake silencer removal, LED brake, turn signal, reverse, license plate, and dome lights, DDM HID's (currently removed), lowered, 17" wheels with spacers, Explorer autodim mirror with Autolamps, Magnaflow exhaust, Buggman LED 3rd Brake Light...
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awe come on alex be a man!
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  #11  
Old 01-03-2011, 03:00 AM
MooDib MooDib is offline
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Default Re: bettering mpg and performance

None of those sites agreed with you other than higher octane can stop knocking. You get the same amount of energy out of high or low octane fuel and octane only modifies when the gasoline is ignited. If it is the same amount of energy, how can you get better mpg? If those sites weren't enough check out these:

http://www.autobytel.com/content/sha...cle_id_int/890
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-high-octane-fuel.htm

If you don't agree with these find something that backs you up.
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2003 Ford Ranger FX4
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K&N Performance Air Filter
Bosch IR Iridium Fusion Spark Plugs
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  #12  
Old 01-03-2011, 06:45 PM
zx6rrdan zx6rrdan is offline
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Default Re: bettering mpg and performance

Pretty good discussion and information in the post... one aspect I haven't seen is ethanol content varying by gas purchased. While higher octane in itself won't improve mileage the difference in % of ethanol and additives in the gas promoting a cleaner burn will affect horsepower and gas mileage as ethanol produces 34% less power than gas so you get 34% less miles per gallon on 100% ethanol.

In North America we don't run 100% ethanol but often 10% ethanol so a loss of 3.4% mpg. Unsure of US but in Canada Shell has 10% ethanol in the lower octane gas but no ethanol at all in the supreme so right there you will see a 3.4% improvement in gas mileage with the higher octane gas ... not because of the higher octane but because of the absence of ethanol.


The biggest improvement I've been able to make is in driving style and measuring with my scan gauge II to see what works and what doesn't. It also makes it easy and quick to see what changes work or not... UltraGauge looks like a much cheaper option than the ScanGauge too.

Quote:
Originally Posted by MooDib View Post
Even if you did all of this you will still not get a very good mpg because you are driving a truck. If mpg is all you are looking for go buy a Prius.
Quote:
Originally Posted by FX4 Mike View Post
Better MPG? get a fiesta...snip....
Does anyone actually think anyone would buy a truck because all they are going for is MPG? of course not that's ridiculous but just as ridiculous is to think that someone who drives a truck should be totally ignorant to ways to improve there gas mileage... because someone owns a truck doesn't mean they shouldn't care at all or even discuss how to get the best out of all aspects of performance of there vehicle including mileage.

Last edited by zx6rrdan; 01-03-2011 at 06:55 PM.
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  #13  
Old 01-03-2011, 08:29 PM
MooDib MooDib is offline
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Default Re: bettering mpg and performance

There is no problem trying to get good mpg, except when you are fooling yourself into thinking you can get 10mpg better. Also, the gas with less ethanol will give you more energy and a better mpg, but it would be negligible. If you get 20 mpg with pure gas filling up with 10% ethanol will still give you 19.32 mpg. Less than a 1 mpg difference isn't really enough to be noticed considering other factors such as having a heavy foot at times. I will agree with you that the best way to improve mileage is to drive conservatively, not mod your truck.
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