I have a '02 Ford Ranger 4.0L V6 and I have had it for about 2 years now.  For the whole time I have had it I have got 15 mpg city and 24 highway.  My drive to work and back is all city and for the last 2 weeks that is all I have driven.  When gas made it to $3 I decided that my driving style would need to change a bit, no hard starts, no passing gear use and keep the speed down.  I started watching the tach and try to keep the RPM's below 2500 and 2000 if I can even on take offs.  I'm not winning any drag races but I get by.  I filled up today and check my mileage and for city driving I got 21 MPG for all city driving.  I will continue to drive like this until gas drops and it doesn't kill my bank account, $44.50 to fill up my truck and $31.00 to fill up my wifes Civic.  At least gas dropped to $2.899.

Our daily drivers right now are a 2002 Ford F150 with the 4.2L and a 92 Explorer with the 4.0L, for increasing my gas mileage I have found siphoning Gas out of Cop cars works real good....


Seriously I do the same you do, though I lower my tailgate (one time I took it off I wound up needing to haul stuff,amde it a PITA) I ma getting around 27 Highway and around 20 in the city.


both vehicles are manual 5 speeds, (overdirve gear as fith on the explorer, proper 5 speed on the F150)

With a brand new magnum with a v8 340hp hemi, Im still in the mood to speed. But I fill up at half a tank so it doesnt seem like its a lot of money. But I dont drive this car a lot so its not too bad.

slowed down, keep it under 2500 rpms.
but still at 70 i still at 2500 rpms.
03 f-150 w/a 4.0 v6

average 17 mpg highway and city and county roads

I have a V8 Explorer that I will not be driving for a while unless the snow comes early.

I'm not rich, but the prices haven't put a hurt on my budget yet. Tunnel ram intakes and dual quads still sound good.

Strange thing I have noticed too, at 45mph I run 2100 ish RPM but at 50 MPH it is around 1700 RPM ish so I do tend to speed a little too.  

If you haven't done so, synthetic lubricants will improve your mileage slightly, usually 5-10%, as well as cutting wear a lot.  As a bonus, you can safely leave them in a lot longer. In fact, Mobil has some "long drain" synthetics that are warranteed for 15,000 mile oil changes.  Change out your gear oil in the diff and your power steering and auto fluid as well and you should see a noticeable improvement.

Jetta TDI with 50MPG. I commute at 70-75 mph in the left lane all the way. If anything I find myself drivning more as of late because the kids are back in school and Dad's Taxi is back in business.

I ride my bike because I liked too...


After being trapped in a severe thunderstorm... I don't like riding it anymore

Quoted: I ride my bike because I liked too... After being trapped in a severe thunderstorm... I don't like riding it anymore

What would you do in the snow?

Quoted: Quoted: I ride my bike because I liked too... After being trapped in a severe thunderstorm... I don't like riding it anymore What would you do in the snow?

Ride!

Don't hurt so bad when you wreck then... the snow softens the fatal rock shots to the ribs.

Quoted: Our daily drivers right now are a 2002 Ford F150 with the 4.2L and a 92 Explorer with the 4.0L, for increasing my gas mileage I have found siphoning Gas out of Cop cars works real good.... Seriously I do the same you do, though I lower my tailgate (one time I took it off I wound up needing to haul stuff,amde it a PITA) I ma getting around 27 Highway and around 20 in the city. both vehicles are manual 5 speeds, (overdirve gear as fith on the explorer, proper 5 speed on the F150)

I don't remember where I read it, it may have been popular machanics, but they said that lowering your tailgate increases drag.  I know it seems counter intuitive, but it had something to do with air turbulance or something like that.

Lets say you drive 1000 miles in a month.  At 20 mi/gal that is 50 gallons of gasoline.  

50 gallons of gas @ $2/gal = $100
50 gallons of gas @ $3/gal = $150

OOOOHHH! A whole $50 more per month if gas goes up an entire dollar per gallon.  Doesn't really break the bank.

So, no, I'm not going to drive "super special" like to try to save maybe a few bucks in gas.

Quoted: Quoted: Our daily drivers right now are a 2002 Ford F150 with the 4.2L and a 92 Explorer with the 4.0L, for increasing my gas mileage I have found siphoning Gas out of Cop cars works real good.... Seriously I do the same you do, though I lower my tailgate (one time I took it off I wound up needing to haul stuff,amde it a PITA) I ma getting around 27 Highway and around 20 in the city. both vehicles are manual 5 speeds, (overdirve gear as fith on the explorer, proper 5 speed on the F150) I don't remember where I read it, it may have been popular machanics, but they said that lowering your tailgate increases drag.  I know it seems counter intuitive, but it had something to do with air turbulance or something like that.

Yes, this is correct.  No one believes me until they do a back to back test.

TacticalPenguin, when I drove a pickup truck, I used to leave the tailgate off thinking I'd get better gas mileage.  Wrong!!!   I just read a research article done by a car magazine (I'll try to find the link).  They found that having the gate down decreased mileage and increased drag.  Taking off the tailgate altogether was even worse.  It has to do with the airflow over the truck.  Without the tailgate, aberrant vortexes were created, that increased drag.  Counterintuitive, I know.  

I too have taken to rolling slowly up to speed, letting off the gas long before a stoplight, and trying to be less aggressive with the gas pedal.

Semper Fi

ETA:  SkyCat, you beat me to the punch!!!  I should have read the entire post.  Funny, we used almost the same words.

I stopped mashing the pedal.  I keep RPM's to a nominal. I hold clutch in and idle down most long hills. I turn off vehical while waiting at bank, long red lights, trains etc.... Kepp good check on tires and general tune ups.

I drive my 98 Lumina about 22miles, each way, to work five days a week.  I used to drive about 73-75mph, sometimes more.  On this last tank, I never drove over 70, usually averaged around 67mph.

Before, about 23mpg
After, at 67mph, about 27mpg

Since I was always dodging around trucks and back into the right lane, I'm not sure it's worth it.

1999 GMC K-3500 pickup, standard cab, longbed, single rear wheels

I find when I drive 70-75, I get 13 MPG.
At 55, I get 16 MPG.  
At $3.50 a gallon, it cost me about $8.25 an hour to drive 70 mph.

A few easy ways to stretch your gasoline mileage. Be sure the tires are inflated to the recommended pressures. Personally for me, I inflate them beyond the factory. The higher the pressure the less the rolling resistance, for me that is an 5-10% increase in mileage. The factory recommended tire pressure assume a a boulvard-type ride. If you put in more, the ride could get a little more pitchy or harsh.

Is your intake air filter clogged?  That will cut gasoline mileage. Remove and replace or blow out the dust with an air hose.

The best indicator for gasoline mileage is press down gently on the accelerator, pretend that you've got an egg between your foot and the pedal.

The tachometer is not a good indicator of good gasoline mileage. You may want to get vacuum gauge. On vacuum gauge try to keep the vacuum as high as possible. You will notice that if you floor the throttle the vacuum will go to zero indicating poor gas mileage. But if you gently press down on the throttle, keeping needle as high as possible, this is where you're getting the best gas mileage. Of course "your mileage may vary."