any tips to get more miles per gallon?

Question

I have a minivan Plymouth Voyger 6 Cilinder, I think its terrible in terms of milles per gallon ratio, does anybody have any tips to get more for the money, Thanks

Answer 1

Make sure you use the grade of gasoline specified in the manual. Using a higher grade than required increases your gas bill and creates gummy deposits in the throttle body.

Making the vehicle as light as possible helps you obtain better gas mileage. If you do not use all of the seats, remove the ones you do not need and store them in the garage. If you carry everything but the kitchen sink, take out what you do not use routinely.

Check the inflation of your tires EVERY time you buy gas. Make sure you inflate the tires to the proper PSI found on the sidewall of the tire.

Rotate your tires and have them balanced as often as possible. On my vehicles, I have the tires rotated and balanced each time I have the oil changed. Every other oil change I have the alignment checked. In between alignment checks, if I feel the vehicle pulling to one side or the other, I take it for an alignment then.

Have your oil changed at the interval suggested in your manual. Every 3 months or 5,000 miles should keep your vehicle in great shape. Some manufacturers suggest 3,000-mile intervals, so check your manual. If all of your driving is within a city, then definitely stick with the 3,000-mile interval. If at least 33% of your driving is over the open road, 5,000-mile intervals work just as well. The more you stop-and-go, the more often you need to change the oil.

A hot engine is not an efficient engine. Have your cooling system flushed every 24 months in the warmer states and every 12 months in colder states. Your state qualifies as cold if they put salt and/or sand on the roads frequently during the winter.

A minor tune-up may increase your gas mileage. Change the spark plugs, distributor cap, and distributor rotor. If your plug wires are more than two years old, you may need to replace them as well.

Avoid hard take-offs from traffic lights or stop signs. Start smoothly and gradually increase your speed. On the highway, use your cruise control “Warming up” an engine is a practice long ago outdated by modern vehicles. There is no need to crank the car two or three minutes before you begin driving. This extended idle-time needlessly wastes gas and creates more air pollution. You may need to weigh the pros and cons of warming the vehicle in the wintertime to make for a more comfortable drive versus getting more miles out of a tank of gas.


Good luck!

Will D
Enterprise AL
http://www.notagz.com

Answer 2

You may can save as much as 25% fuel by not going the speed limit or over it. If the limit in the highway is 70-drop to 60 or 65. Even on smaller roads it the limit is 55, drop to 45-50. Always use cruise control when possible. Keep the windows closed and use the a/c. Just don't go so slow as to create a traffic hazard. Also if you do a lot of in town driving-avoid "jack-rabbit" starts. Don't gun it when the light changes-take off slower. I drive a 99 ford Taurus with a v-6. My mpg changed from about 20.2mpg to 27.4mpg. That's a large difference. I have checked and re-checked. If you car has close to 100,000 miles on it-I would make sure it is tuned properly.

Answer 3

Inflate the tires to the max pressure they permit... not the van door recommended pressure but the tires stamped max... also keep the windows up it has MUCH less drag that way... and one trick that the auto makes went to several years back is low viscosity oil... 5w10 or even 5w5 has less friction than 10w40 or 15w 50.... maybe a could middle ground is 5w30 with some slick-50.... slow take offs watch ahead for traffic lights the fewer times you have to start from a stand still the better mileage you will get even if you are only rolling 5mph when the light turns green that's much better than starting for a stand still.... If you have over 50 thousand miles try a can of this stuff it is like a miracle drug I have been using it in ALL my cars once every year for almost 20 years now... BG-44K
http://www.bgprod.com/products/fuelair.html

Answer 4

1) minimize A/C usage
2) inflate tires to recommended levels and keep them there
3) change driving style so you don't brake and accelerate hard
4) MPG is optimized for around 60 mph, so the closer you stay to that the better your mileage will be.
5) close moon/sun roofs and windows while driving
6) If you're not using it already, you can get away with 87 octane (the lowest) gas. The worst that will happen to your engine is some knocking sounds, but no mechanical damage. Seriously.

Hope this helps!

Answer 5

Have it serviced regularly. Make sure plugs and wires are good. Don't do jack rabbit starts. Going over 55 does use more gas. Use cruise control if you have one. Keep the tires to a max. pressure. Leave the windows open and don't use the a/c. Right off, that's about all I can think of. I hope this helps.

Answer 6

Replace filters and keep up maintanence. the a/c only causes 1 or 2 miles per gallon difference in mine, so you choose on that one.

Additives like carb/injector cleaner can help also


Using The wrong grade of gas whether too high or too low will cause pinging in engine which will cause engine problems.

Answer 7

very good suggestions so far.
also keep your van at optimal performance standards. don't wait to change your fluids. use fuel additive in the gas tanks. change your air filter on time before it gets too dirty.
its expensive keeping all these parts rotated properly but so is the gas and making sure you keep your van running smoothly will ensure a longer driving life.

Answer 8

complete tune up all new filters oil change and synthetic oil air those tires up and possible get the wheels aligned thay could be putting a drag and the van if out of line

Answer 9

Passive driving habits.

Answer 10

buy gallons of feed instead of gas and ride a horse