Performance Chips and MPG saving?

[BPage]

Hey guys
I have a 2005 LJ Rubi with 4" lift and 33" tires... my gas mileage sucks. On average 10-12 mpg which is eating my wallet up. So I have been looking online for a solution and so far the best I can find (without swapping out my engine for a diesel) is a performance chip?

Anybody have any luck with these? Or have any recommendations on if these things work or which one is better than the others?

[kc0tma]

Is the gearing in your differential still stock? Upgrading that might help your mileage some.

[Purple People Eater]

You should be getting better gas mileage than that. Re-gearing would be first on my list of where to put the money. Also, I put one of those chips in my other Jeep. Didn't do crap.

[Christian P.]

Forget the chips. pure scam.

[kc0tma]

So if the chips are a scam, how about those "Trail Jammer" kits? Those are the ones with the cold air intake, the throttle body, and the so called electronic performance module.

And while we're on scams and fuel mileage, does Royal Purple oil really do what it claims to do? I use synthetic and pour in a bottle of that additive stuff (it actually does keep my temps down a bit) and that is a lot cheaper than buying Royal Purple, but if Royal Purple is really as amazing as they say it is then it might be worth the extra expense.

[NOMADIC_LJ]

How are you measuring your fuel mileage?? Cause if you didn't change your speedo gear then its going to be off. I would suggest using a GPS if you still have the stock SG.

I have exact same set up as you have and I average about 17hwy 14city

About the only things you can do:
- Check tire pressure
- Get rid of any extra weight you don't need
- shift at 2k rpm (if manual)
- Stay the speed limit and keep off the skinny pedal
- Make sure your airfilter is as clean as possible
- All C02 sensors are operative

Lets face it, we're basically driving a rig with the areodynamics of a barn with a tent on top. Nobody buys a Jeep with MPG in mind though I will say yours are a cause for concern

To kcOtma - Cold air intake and throttle body spacers don't do a damn thing. The CAI look cool but thats about it.

[wardrow]

For some real help I suggest a TRUE cold air intake like this one http://www.skinnypedal.net/index_files/mcai.htm after the cold air intake you should open up your exhaust with a good set of headers and flow through muffler. Also, If you have not already done so you should consider re-gearing. All of the above will net you about a whopping 3-4 mpg increase.:wings:

[kc0tma]

- Stay the speed limit and keep off the skinny pedal

To kcOtma - Cold air intake and throttle body spacers don't do a damn thing. The CAI look cool but thats about it.

I did a K&N FIPK a while back and didn't see any gas mileage increase, but it seemed to have a little more zip at red lights.

And I second staying at or below speed limit. Highway speed limit in Montana is 70 and when I spend all my time driving that fast I usually record about 14-15 mpg. But when I ease down to 60 I seem to get closer to 17. Going 10mph slower isn't too much of a hassle either, it makes my commute to work about a minute and 40 seconds longer but I'm not ever in any hurry to get here so it is ok.

[BPage]

You should be getting better gas mileage than that. Re-gearing would be first on my list of where to put the money. Also, I put one of those chips in my other Jeep. Didn't do crap.

My gearing is stock for a Rubi (4:11's), and I would like to keep them. They do well offroading.

Which chip did you buy and what type of Jeep did you put it in?

[The Swiss]

Forget the chips. pure scam.Well I disagree. I have a Jet Stage I in my JK. Even though the MPG did not increase dramatically, about 1/2 to 1 MPG over all compared to stock, throttle response and shift points definitely improved making driving more enjoyable.

But I have to agree that gearing probably will get you the better improvement than a chip or programmer. Also make sure your tires are inflated properly for road use. Plus, wide 33s will suck fore gas than skinnies.

Cold air intake can improve your mileage.

Any way your Jeep could go on a diet? Anything that adds weight (bumpers, winch, racks, hilift jack) costs gas. Just bring your jack and 8 ton tool box with you when you go wheeling.

Look at your driving style. Not too much you can do in stop-and-go, but every time you have to use your brake you waste gas. Note: every time you have to use the rear bumper of the car in front of you to slow you down you are equally wasting gas, and other components of your Jeep :elkgrin: Look ahead and drive as smooth as possible

[Mamontof]

Try that ,

http://www.blackbearperformance.com/

some people Happy :wings: , other said it ok :ylsmoke:

[robert j. yates]

Chips will not deliver any fuel economy gains nor will they deliver any meaningful power gains. The Jeep Jtec OBDII is very unforgiving and most of the chips such as the TrailJammer and the like only deliver power gains at WOT and even at that, the dyno results are typically within the margin of error for most dynos which makes the claims highly suspect IMO.

Speaking to the comment that a good header and a CAI will improve mileage, well if that were really the case, your Jeep would come from the factory like that seeing how Jeep needs all of the fuel economy it can get to off-set the hemi's in the full size rigs.

Your Jeep is already optimized to deliver the best economy and lowest emissions possible. Adding weight, larger tires, lift and not regearing will all have a huge and increasingly negative effect on mileage. Using a chip to try and off-set that will only lighten your wallet even faster than shelling out at the gas pump.

The poster who said to use a GPS to check speedo accuracy to dial in your odometer was spot on. That should get you a couple percent gain right there but the sad reality is that 10-14 is pretty common on a well built Jeep depending on the model year.

[Scotsmanspride]

You say that you want to leave your gearing...? well that is where you will notice a reasonable recovery of some of your mileage loss. I have been into hypermiling for awhile and you can make some crazy gains just with thinking and reserved use of the brake. One thing you can look into is a scangauge. It will help you keep track of your style of driving on the go. Again spend the money and replace the speedo gear. This will throw numbers off. Consider an electric fan swap. Ultimately if you want great mileage go get a hybrid or diesel. however you can get into the 20's with a jeep as long as you take your time and do it right. It is not one BFH that is gonna fix it all(aka the chip) however many small changes that will net you a huge gain in the long run.


1. Fix the speedo gear
2. At least consider gear ratio change
3. Get a scan gauge and read up on hypermiling. I won't go into details but basically learn when to coast, when to use the gas, when to drive a little slower. Hard at first but challenge yourself and make it fun
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypermiling www.hypermiling.com
4. lighten the load. small things like steel to aluminum wheels can save 10 lbs. per corner. Also going from a 17" to 15" wheel will help. The rotational mass is closer to the center.
5. lighten the engine load. Things like an electric fan are small but add up. And cheap if you learn to go to the junkyard and find a taurus fan for super cheap.
6. Tire pressure. Always keep it on the high side and check at least once a month.

7.Underdrive pulleys.... slows things down and can also help cooling in some regards. Goes well with electric fan
8. Run your fluids a little thinner. Sounds dumb but again... its the multiple LFH theory.
9. Diet diet diet. Try to keep things light. Kinda hard to do with a jeep but use your brain and be creative.
10. A/C use. Learn when and when not to use. In town turn it off and roll down the windows. Highway speed is better to use the ac and roll up the windows.
11. Do one change at a time and then track the difference over a 1-2 week period before the next change.

[wardrow]

For some real help I suggest a TRUE cold air intake like this one http://www.skinnypedal.net/index_files/mcai.htm after the cold air intake you should open up your exhaust with a good set of headers and flow through muffler. Also, If you have not already done so you should consider re-gearing. All of the above will net you about a whopping 3-4 mpg increase.:wings:

Again I quote myself this will work!

[BPage]

Good all incompassing response... THANKS!!!! :sombrero:

Fixing the speedo gear and electric fan sound like quick fixes that I can get done right now...
And I will take a look at some of my armor platting and see what I can switch up to aluminum. Just need to find a fab shop that can cut me some aluminum pieces and make me copies of what I have.

The hypermilling, I will have to look into...

Thanks again.


You say that you want to leave your gearing...? well that is where you will notice a reasonable recovery of some of your mileage loss. I have been into hypermiling for awhile and you can make some crazy gains just with thinking and reserved use of the brake. One thing you can look into is a scangauge. It will help you keep track of your style of driving on the go. Again spend the money and replace the speedo gear. This will throw numbers off. Consider an electric fan swap. Ultimately if you want great mileage go get a hybrid or diesel. however you can get into the 20's with a jeep as long as you take your time and do it right. It is not one BFH that is gonna fix it all(aka the chip) however many small changes that will net you a huge gain in the long run.

The hypermilling, I will have to look into...

Thanks again.



1. Fix the speedo gear
2. At least consider gear ratio change
3. Get a scan gauge and read up on hypermiling. I won't go into details but basically learn when to coast, when to use the gas, when to drive a little slower. Hard at first but challenge yourself and make it fun
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypermiling www.hypermiling.com
4. lighten the load. small things like steel to aluminum wheels can save 10 lbs. per corner. Also going from a 17" to 15" wheel will help. The rotational mass is closer to the center.
5. lighten the engine load. Things like an electric fan are small but add up. And cheap if you learn to go to the junkyard and find a taurus fan for super cheap.
6. Tire pressure. Always keep it on the high side and check at least once a month.

7.Underdrive pulleys.... slows things down and can also help cooling in some regards. Goes well with electric fan
8. Run your fluids a little thinner. Sounds dumb but again... its the multiple LFH theory.
9. Diet diet diet. Try to keep things light. Kinda hard to do with a jeep but use your brain and be creative.
10. A/C use. Learn when and when not to use. In town turn it off and roll down the windows. Highway speed is better to use the ac and roll up the windows.
11. Do one change at a time and then track the difference over a 1-2 week period before the next change.

[BPage]

Again I quote myself this will work!

Hey thanks for the link on the MCAI... I am reading their forum blog's and these guys rigs are setup just like mine, and they are seeing some 3-5 mpg increases with just adding the CAI.

Does anyone on this forum use the MCAI? If so would love to get your take on it...

Thanks again for pointing me to this website, seems to be a gold mine!
:wings:

[wardrow]

I am!

[BPage]

I am!

What do you drive (mod/gearing/tire size included) and what type of MPG saving did you see? Did you notice an increase in horsepower?

any info you have would be greatly appreciated...
:coffeedrink:

[Scotsmanspride]

so far with hypermiling i have gotten 24 mpg at my best. I could probably hit close to 30 with it but it would have to be the right area and not very much traffic at all.
Here is something i found from a guy on another forum...



hypermiling the jeep
spent the past 2 days hypermiling the jeep wrangler. i have to say it was
really difficult to do. 4 trips @80 miles each... the trip(my commute) consists
90% of hilly highway @ 55mph limit. only 4 traffic lights.

basically hypermiling is a screwed up way to drive. trying to maximize
mpg(and not piss off other drivers too much). luckily my commute sees very
little traffic and its mostly two lanes.

the tecniques i used:

pumped the tires up to their rated 44psi.

on flat roads i spent most of the time in 5th gear @47mph@1600rpm..very
little pressure on the gas pedal.... this is bare minumum rpm for 5th gear on
the jeep to maintain speed and without creating a lot of wind turbulence.

kept the tires out of the ruts and close to the white line(this is called riding
the ridge..less tire friction than riding in the tire marks..helps on non flat roads).

shut off the engine if it looked like i will hit the beginning of a red light...and
just coast to the light. brakes were heavy but worked fine. acceleration from
a stop takes forever...short shifting at 2000rpm..normal jeep shifting is 3000rpm.

did a bunch of pulse and glides...slowly got the car up around 50-52... put it
in neutral...and coast until it hits 35. put it in 4th to get back to 40mph..and
5th to get back to 50....rememeber accelerate slowly...repeat.

on uphills..stayed around 47mph until 3/4 up the hill and then let off the gas
a little and let it slow down enough to get over the hill at 30mph...

if on a small downhill.. coasted in neutral until speed dropped to 35.

if on a big downhill.. shut the motor off.. turned it back on at the bottom
of the hill or whenever the car felt slow..i have 5 opportunities to shut it
down on big hills on each 80 mile leg. sometimes i couldnt due to another
car nearby. free 3/4 mile on each shutdown.

the jeep normally gets 19mpg. 18-20 is my typical range when i commute.

and the results of driving like grandma on weed:
325 overall miles..12.53 gallons. 26MPG!!!
it's a 15 gallon tank.. i had plenty more.

each 80 mile trip took only took about 15minutes more than normal,
with an increase of 7mpg. i can live with that.

[baca327]

Again I quote myself this will work!

Must say I agree. Being a factory trained technician through a chrysler program. The I6 is over a 50 year old basic design. Granted fuel injection and ignition have made leaps and bounds in technology. Fuel economy can be improved with the aftermarket. There are many factors that go into a engine for a vehicle such as NVH (Noise Vibration Harmonics), emissions levels, fuel economy and the power to weight. The main one is meeting the emissions standards for that year because if the emissions are not up to standard that engine cannot be sold in the US, followed by the fuel economy because thats usually a key selling point. The basic design of an engine as all of you may know is essentially a air pump. If you make this more effective you will use less fuel to make more power. The CAI will create louder cabin noise, and the exhaust the same. Not all people would like to be heard coming down the block in there brand new vehicle granted most jeep owners would not mind. The gains from a CAI and exhaust will not only increase fuel economy but also improve engine longevity although the latter is such a small difference it is not notable. By feeding your engine colder air temps you are essentially feeding your engine more oxygen, which is why when your vehicle is at sea level it seems to wake up compared to say 5,000 ft. Yes more oxygen usually means more fuel but getting up to speed with less effort and maintaining that speed with less effort is what increases the fuel economy. So the manufacture does not have fuel economy and power at top priorities its always emissions and always will be.

[wardrow]

My Jeep is a very heavy 06 unlimited Rubicon manual transmission http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=30269
I still run the stock gears and 255/85/r16 toyo mt's. Before the mcai i was averaging 14-15 highway (using gps) now I am averaging 17 highway.

[BPage]

Outstanding...
Thanks


My Jeep is a very heavy 06 unlimited Rubicon manual transmission http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=30269
I still run the stock gears and 255/85/r16 toyo mt's. Before the mcai i was averaging 14-15 highway (using gps) now I am averaging 17 highway.

[BPage]

Sorry Nomadic_LJ that I didn't hit you back sooner, your post got lost in the responses...
I have been measuring my mpg by tripometer (miles) and gas reciepts (actual fuel used).
example: 200 miles driven / 15 gallons used = 13.3mpg

I have a GPS, will try that method out as well.

Thanks

How are you measuring your fuel mileage?? Cause if you didn't change your speedo gear then its going to be off. I would suggest using a GPS if you still have the stock SG.

I have exact same set up as you have and I average about 17hwy 14city

About the only things you can do:
- Check tire pressure
- Get rid of any extra weight you don't need
- shift at 2k rpm (if manual)
- Stay the speed limit and keep off the skinny pedal
- Make sure your airfilter is as clean as possible
- All C02 sensors are operative

Lets face it, we're basically driving a rig with the areodynamics of a barn with a tent on top. Nobody buys a Jeep with MPG in mind though I will say yours are a cause for concern

To kcOtma - Cold air intake and throttle body spacers don't do a damn thing. The CAI look cool but thats about it.

[Jim K in PA]

Good thread. I also have an '05 LJ Rubicon 6-speed. I bought it used (barely - 7500 miles) and it already had a K&N FIPK in it. I am running Maxxis BHs, 255/85-16. I now have about 75k miles on it. With a dirty filter, and the hardtop on it, I got 17.5 mpg on the last tank. I shift at 2500-2750 most of the time, but get on it when needed. I do not hypermile. My commute is ~40 miles each way, combo of highway and side roads with rolling hills.

BTW - with the 255/85s, my speedo is off about 8%. If your speedo error is the same, your 200 miles on 15 gallons goes from 13.3mpg to 14.4mpg. If your LJ has an auto trans, that would account for another 1-2mpg loss.

I don't know if your area is required to have oxygenated fuels in the winter, but in our area we do. Every year I notice a drop of 1-1.5 mpg when the oxy-fuel switch happens, and an increase by the same amount in springtime when it goes away. This is not just with my LJ, but with every car I have owned and paid attention to since the oxy-fuels were introduced.

[Nightkrawler]

I have the edge full system on my 97 TJ with 33's a 4" tera flex and with the 3:55's ( I know waiting for the axle upgrades) I get around 15 mpg corrected with her loaded for a week trip and the hard top on.
Side note the Edge throttle body has an annoying whistle at 2k rpm when crusing on the freeway. tried to hone the map sensor bypass out and its better but still there.
I'd do it again in a heart beat the cat back, banks header, and the edge make the tires seem like the 31's.