j99xj said:
I drive about 10,000 miles a year.
Saving $265.00 a year on gas doesn't sound bad at all to me. That will easily pay for an electric fan, throttle body spacer, and the time to take out the silencer from the airbox.
Ok, I agree, IF those mods lead to those savings. As I said, I've done the throttle body spacer and removed the silencer and saw no improvement. Now, I only calculate my mileage in my head, and I round it off to the nearest even number, but I've had my cherokee for 10 years and know how many miles I get out of a tank of gas. I'm comfortable in saying there was no appreciable change; certainly not the 1.55 mpg j99xj says those two mods are worth.
Also, I'm having a hard time believing the belt-driven fan is costing 1.5 mpg. I haven't changed the one out on my Jeep, but I have on my 70 Chevelle with a 400 SBC. Not long after building the engine, I swapped the stock fan out for a fiberglass one. I saw no improvement in mileage or power, but at least it was less noisy. A few years later, I went with an aluminum radiator and put in dual electric fans while I was doing it. Again, very little change; MAYBE a .5 mpg increase, but then the question arises as to whether that was caused by the electric fan, or the cooler operating temperature from the improved cooling system as a whole.
Now, the fan on my Cherokee is half again smaller than the fan on my 400 SBC, I'm having a real hard time believing it's costing us 1.5 mpg. The factory was already installing one electric fan in later-model Cherokees (like mine), I just can't imagine their not going to dual electric fans to gain 1.5 mpg. Gas mileage was always a problem with Cherokees and SUVs in general, I believe they would have made that change in an instant to unlock that 1.5 mpg selling point.
j99xj said:
Let's leave the Jeep spectrum and look at the the best mileage cars for a few moments. I want to explain TRUE FOOLISHNESS when it comes to saving money on cars/gas. This is what the car companies DO NOT want you and I to know.
Here is my comparison: A 2006 Honda Civic Hybrid, and a 2006 Honda Civic, they cost $22,150, and $14,760 respectively, and get 49 mpg, and 30 mpg city respectively.
As stated, I drive 10,000 miles a year. So the annual fuel costs would be $612 for the hybrid, and $1000 for the regular Civic, assuming $3.00 per gallon price. So I'm saving $388 a year with the hybrid......sounds good.
BUT WAIT A MINUTE! The hybird costs $7390 more up front! If I save $388 a year on gas, it would take me 19 YEARS to start saving money from the hybrid. Not to mention the poor little car would have a whopping 190,000 miles on it. (Which I doubt the hybrid was designed for, you would still be pushing it even with the regular Civic with that kind of miles on the car).
Unless the prices for hybrid comes down significantly, they will NOT save you a dime until the year 2025. Everytime I see a hybrid on the road I think to myself "What the hell were they thinking!?"
I totally agree. My best friend moved out into the country a few years ago, and now constantly complains about the cost of the commute in his Expedition. Like the flood of other people over the past year or so, he was ready to dump his Expedition for a smaller, more fuel-efficient car. The problem is, big SUVs are trading at an all-time low, and the stampede of people rushing to buy high mpg cars means there are no deals available.
I sat him down and made him do the math with me. When we did so, we found it would be 13 years before he saw any savings. I managed to talk him into waiting a bit until the manufacturers hit the market with a greater number of fuel-efficient cars and competition would force the prices down, and the current hysteria died down a bit and his trade-in value rebounded.
The problem isn't just with new cars, though. A woman I work with called her "mechanic" and asked how to get better mileage. He suggested a tune up, which cost her 240.00. There was nothing wrong with the way the car was running, and it only has 35,000 miles on it. She was at work the other night saying how thrilled she was to have a 2 mpg improvement. I didn't say anything, but I did a little math in my head. She bought the car in 2001, so she's putting about 7,000 miles per year on the car. Even at 3.00 per gallon, she's only saving 105.00 per year. That means it'll be more than two years before she breaks even, but there are more things to consider.
First, I question whether a car that is designed to go 75,000 miles between tune ups actually needed one at 35,000 miles.
Second, I'm not convinced she's actually seeing a 2 mpg improvement. People see what they want to see. She'd told people at work what she was going to do before she did it, and several of us pointed out that she shouldn't need a tune-up till 75,000 miles, etc. She would've looked pretty stupid if she'd come back in and said no improvement.
Third, who's to say any improvement she actually did see didn't come from having the tires properly inflated or the dirty air filter replaced (she'd only changed the oil "two or three times" since she bought the car, and I don't see her as someone who regularly checks her tire pressure).
I have used my Cherokee exclusively on the road since I bought it; I always knew I would. I waited till the end of the model year to buy to save money, but my selection was limited. I ended up finding one with everything I wanted (except power mirrors), but, it also had the Up-Country package, which I knew I'd never need. I'd negotiated a good enough deal that the cost of the package wasn't relevant, but it has either 3.73 or 3.55 gears, and I would have preferred 3.07.
Now, the rearend has been howling since I bought it, and there's been a "slipping" sound when I turn a corner after driving on the highway for any length of time for the past 25,000 miles or so (I think it's the clutches in the posi unit slipping). Both have been getting steadily worse, and it's time to get the rearend looked at. I've considered changing over to 3.07 gears when I do, but, since I'd have to change the gears in both differentials, the cost would wipe out any potential savings.
By the way, does anyone know how I find out what rear gear ratio I have? I found a VIN decoder, but it doesn't show ratios. Is there a build sheet in Jeeps? Also, does my Cherokee have a 7.5" or an 8.5" differential?
