MPG's again. The dead horse is back....

[zdas04]

I always run in sport mode and in my '05 I averaged around 18.5 over a pretty wide range of conditions (it is a work truck and I spend a lot of time on some barely developed Oil & Gas Lease roads and more mud than I'd like to see). I have 4,000 miles on my '08 and have been closer to 17.5-18, but I have the added weight of the winch. I live at 5,200 ft, so there may be something to to high altitude conjecture mentioned above.

David

 

[toddjb122]

I always run in sport mode and in my '05 I averaged around 18.5 over a pretty wide range of conditions (it is a work truck and I spend a lot of time on some barely developed Oil & Gas Lease roads and more mud than I'd like to see). I have 4,000 miles on my '08 and have been closer to 17.5-18, but I have the added weight of the winch. I live at 5,200 ft, so there may be something to to high altitude conjecture mentioned above.

David

Wow, that is great mileage for the type of driving you mentioned.

And work or not...that sounds like fun! Sounds like you get to utilize the all terrain performance on a daily basis. I'm jealous.

 

[techboydino]

(short story, skip if you dont want to hear it)
My plans of buying an LR3 came from me watching Armed Forces TV in Iraq. I watched the local channels which always was a story of insanely rich people in Dubai. Thats when i first saw them. Thanks to my tax free paycheck (and all your tax money) i was able to afford one of these stylish beasts when i got home.

I was going to buy a TDV6 through the military program. I was pumped, one of the few that would be in the states. That idea was shot down by the dealer the instant i asked. Noone would work on them and they said forget about parts. So I settled for my 4.4. The first few months i was happy with 16mpg, been on the decline ever since. Noone buys an LR3 for gas mileage, I just hating stopping to fill up every 200-225 miles. Hence my annoying posting this thread. Wish I wasnt wasting those 10mpg's on boring roads.

 

[joey]

The question is how much Ethanol is in the fuel where you buy your fuel? Ethanol kills fuel economy.

 

[techboydino]

good question. i tried every different type of gas i could. tried to hit all the major refineries and even some native local types. no different. used 91 and 93 octane, tried some lucas fuel additive (even though the stealer nearly forbids it) still all with the same results. the best i get now on highway is about 13-14.

 

[Hollywood LR3]

I have the SE V6 and get 19 to 23 on the highway and 13 to 15 city the best highway was 500 mpg per tank full and I have put on over 10k in the last 2 months.

 

[zdas04]

The Ethanol question may be important. Where I live it is not added. In Albuquerque it is added. Driving from home to Albuquerque (180 miles) uses about 9 gallons of 91 octane gasoline (no Ethanol). Driving home uses about 11 galons of 91 octane with ethanol. I've recently started just making the round trip on Farmington gas and accepting that I'd get home with less than 80 miles on the range indicator.

It is fun four wheeling for pay, but sometimes playing in the mud does get in the way of getting a job done.

David

 

[Houm_WA]

Is the return trip the same in terms of uphill/downhill? Could that be a factor? I think your experiment may need a few more considerations. I agree though that "cheaper" gas, usually containing more Ethanol (upward of 10%) is not as good.

 

[broiler]

Ethanol is evil!

That said, in a related question, I have several long gradual hills on my commute and I tend to just put in neutral and coast down them to save gas. Is there any problem in doing this? I am mostly worried about the transmission when I put it back in gear when going ~55 mph. It seems to match the RPMs with no problem and there is no "lurch" or anything. My mileage goes way up when I do this, but on the other hand I don't want to hurt my vehicle.

 

[richpike]

Ethanol is evil!

That said, in a related question, I have several long gradual hills on my commute and I tend to just put in neutral and coast down them to save gas. Is there any problem in doing this? I am mostly worried about the transmission when I put it back in gear when going ~55 mph. It seems to match the RPMs with no problem and there is no "lurch" or anything. My mileage goes way up when I do this, but on the other hand I don't want to hurt my vehicle.

Interestingly, you are actually using more gas than if you left it in gear. When you put it in neutral the car has to idle, which uses gas. When you leave it in gear, the engine stays running based on the wheels driving it - I know it seems illogical, but it actually doesn't use gas in this case (assuming you aren't giving it any gas to keep your speed). The best thing you could do is leave it in 6th and hopefully the engine braking doesn't slow you down enough to require you to use the accelerator - if you can do that you will actually save even more gas.

Oh, and putting it in drive from neutral at 55mph shouldn't matter - the car is intelligent enough to handle it.

-Rich