Really good gas mileage

9

93_xj

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Hampton, VA
My jeep: 97, 4.0 / AX-15 / 200,300 miles.

People find it hard to believe, but im getting way better gas mileage than what Jeep advertised it at, and better than most other stock XJ owners get.

I live in Virginia but still go back to my "home" in Connecticut very often, so I make the 550 mile drive up 95 in my cherokee. I put 18 gallons in it, and routinely get 25mpg on these highway drives.

Is this unheard of or a common occurrence for a stock cherokee. A lot of people in my club find it very hard to believe that I can get 25+ MPG out of a cherokee.


I just made the drive today, put 18 gallons in from empty, and drove to VA. I got stuck in traffic on the Cross Bronx Expressway for about an hour, so I wasnt getting good mileage there, and then did a bit of city driving in NJ to visit my buddy. When my tank was at half, I was at 235 on the trip meter. I do 75mph or so and at 5th gear im running around 2100-2200 rpm's. When I stopped to get gas again, I was at 464 on the trip meter. Had I not been stuck in traffic, had I not did some city driving, and if I went 65 the whole way, and drafted some 18 wheelers, Im fairly confident I can get 500 miles out of 18 gallons of gas, which would equal about 27.7 MPG. Any tips of anything I can do to the jeep in terms of a tune up to squeeze a few more miles out of my tank? I really want to try and hit 500 miles. Next time I make the drive in November, Im gonna bring a gas can in the back and just run it dry so I can really push the limit.

Any tips/advice, or anyone else who gets really good miles out of their jeep?
 
Man, if you could only feel the peeved glares being directed at the screen!

J/K

I'd just keep doing what you're doing. Trying to eke that extra mile out of a gallon might upset your sweet little mule, and she'll punish you by flashing angry codes! That, or she'll start spontaneously leaking coolant from a spot you simply cannot track down.

On the other hand, lots of magazine folks seem to like the Fitch fuel catalyst. Maybe give that a try!

:)
 
I almost get near 25mpg. I take long trips about two time per month 300 miles long each way. I get about 23mpg. 2001 4x4 XJ. This not hard. I Always use good gas, k&n air filter. And take these road trips at night. Less heat from the road & from the air. means lower engine temperature.

www.BlueXJ.Com
 
On a road trip i took this summer i was shocked at the gas milage i got. IIRC it was 23-24mpg!!! this is a bone stock 98' XJ, 4.0, 5 speed 4x4. I will say everything was running right, meaning it is tuned well, good grounds, all fluids changed, tire pressure ect. however the alignment was slightly off but not bad, so that def hurt. Anyway i was doing 70-80mph for a good portion of the trip, floored it numerous times, got stuck in traffic ect ect! i filled up with 380 miles or so on the tank. I could not believe it. My usual milage is about 15-15.5mpg (city) b/c i get on it several times per tank and drive how i like to. I do not torture myself in trying to get max gas milage. O yeah and on that trip i took i had the a/c at full tilt the entire time!
 
damnn im kinda jealous too. OP, i basically have the same setup ('97 4.0 ax-15 235,000) and i only net about 19-20mph. i havent had this one too long so maybe after a more complete tuneup (plugs, wires, diff fluids etc) ill be able to snag an extra 5mph. hopefully that will help even out the 9-10mph i get with the lifted pos :twak:
 
damn that sucks. with 4.88s, lockers,33's, a huge huge confer rack filled with camping gear, auto, exhuast leak, sliders, skids, tons of other added weight from the cargo area being full of camping gear and spare driveshafts and axleshafts, 3 full grown men, and i only get 13.5 mpg. major tune up, lots of adjusted sensors, new sensors, etc etc it used to be around 17mpg. i would be very happy to get up to even 18mpg. i have new injectors waiting, along with exhaust manifolf gaskets.
 
My DD gets me from so. orange county to HollyWood and Vine everyday, with around trip of 110 miles. I get 380 miles out of an 18 gallon fill-up ( 20mpg ). I hit that lovely So-Cal grid-lock on the way home, so I might be able to squeeze out 1 or 2 more MPG's but 24-27 is great. BTW my '89 has 360,000 on original everything.
 
I average around 21-22mpg hwy. in my 89
 
Congratulations on getting great mileage.



But.

DO NOT "run it dry" Doing so will damage your fuel pump, as it's lubricated by the gas.

I have a tough time believing the accuracy of your numbers... I suggest you need a slightly more scientific system for measuring fuel consumption. Are you sure your Odometer is accurate?
Also, the xj fuel gauge is wildly inaccurate. If you want to get a better idea of fuel consumption, start with a full tank. Record your mileage, run a few carefully measured tanks through, then fill it up again and record your mileage.
 
I have a tough time believing the accuracy of your numbers... I suggest you need a slightly more scientific system for measuring fuel consumption. Are you sure your Odometer is accurate?
Also, the xj fuel gauge is wildly inaccurate. If you want to get a better idea of fuel consumption, start with a full tank. Record your mileage, run a few carefully measured tanks through, then fill it up again and record your mileage.
Click to expand...


To those who said my odometer might be off, its all verified by GPS.

I put exactly 18 gallons of gas in it, which is verified by the gas pump.
 
I've got a 97 with stock gears and 31's, 2" budget boost, auto trans and NP242. On the highway I'm very lucky to get 19, although my typical highway run is pretty well loaded, and I drive with a leadfoot (80 is about average). Around town it's in the 16~17mpg range, empty, again with the heavy foot on the skinny pedal. I've also got an 08 Ford Escape (4cyl 2wd auto trans) that my daughter drives, she gets 26 with that, I figure it's the price I pay for being able to go anywhere I want and having a real drive line in my vehicle. I have a house in North FL that is a mile off paved roads and I dive in areas that are not accessible otherwise - I'll pay the penalty in gas to be able to live the way I want to.

Mark
 
No one believes me up here either! I'm running pretty street friendly 33's on my 93 auto and I routinely get upwards of 23 mpg. For a vehicle with 350,000 kms that in my opinion is outstanding. Just one of the lucky ones I guess. I'm running 3-4" of lift with a huge front bumper and winch so I'm not light either. But I never forget when I was bone stock, I was getting 640 kms to a tank of gas, switched to full synthetic oil and overnight it went over 700 kms to a tank! amazing! 660kms=410 miles, 700kms=435miles, 350,000kms=217,480 miles
 
XJPhoenix said:
On the other hand, lots of magazine folks seem to like the Fitch fuel catalyst. Maybe give that a try!

:)
Click to expand...

http://www.nlcpr.com/Deceptions3.php

The "Fitch Fuel Catalyst" is no better than a Vortex or a throttle body spacer or any the multitude of magnet devices that are supposed to improve performance. It simply doesn't do anything.

EDIT: More links about how these products cannot back up any of their claims, including some government performed tests.

http://www.mynrma.com.au/cps/rde/xchg/mynrma/hs.xsl/6450.htm
http://www.fuelsaving.info/catalysts.htm
 
Last edited:
tkjeeper said:
No one believes me up here either! I'm running pretty street friendly 33's on my 93 auto and I routinely get upwards of 23 mpg. For a vehicle with 350,000 kms that in my opinion is outstanding. Just one of the lucky ones I guess. I'm running 3-4" of lift with a huge front bumper and winch so I'm not light either. But I never forget when I was bone stock, I was getting 640 kms to a tank of gas, switched to full synthetic oil and overnight it went over 700 kms to a tank! amazing! 660kms=410 miles, 700kms=435miles, 350,000kms=217,480 miles
Click to expand...


I'm in the same boat, 33x12.50's and 3.5" lift (no bumpers or anything), stock 3.07 axle ratio... with a mix of probably 50/50 city/highway I would sit at around 17-18 (+/- 1) mpg. Best I recorded was 22mpg on that setup. GPS verified. I never used 5th gear and cruised at 75-85 mph regurlarly at 2400-2700rpms and she loved it. Mind you that was 2 years ago before the XJ went into storage (now out of storage and the rebuild has begun; now working on the floor pans) so hopefully I didn't lose any of the magic over the past couple years :D Can't wait to see what I can do with 4.10s or 4.56's. Should improve my city mileage a bit without hurting the highway mileage since I will still have an extra gear to make up the difference. lol.

Oh, that was with non-synthetic oils all around. Just your basic walmart special stuff in the axles, engine, tranny and transfer case. Maybe I should start running synthetic oil! Looks like the common link between most of the high fuel economy XJs is the AX-15. Huzzah 5-speeds.
 
JWFokker said:
http://www.nlcpr.com/Deceptions3.php

The "Fitch Fuel Catalyst" is no better than a Vortex or a throttle body spacer or any the multitude of magnet devices that are supposed to improve performance. It simply doesn't do anything.

EDIT: More links about how these products cannot back up any of their claims, including some government performed tests.

http://www.mynrma.com.au/cps/rde/xchg/mynrma/hs.xsl/6450.htm
http://www.fuelsaving.info/catalysts.htm
Click to expand...

Good points. As many have said, 'if it's so good across the board, then why haven't the OEM's slapped it on their cars?'

:)
 
My 89 231 disco and 145k on the clock gets(got) 26mpg regulary, I haven't been on any highway trips lately. 19-22 on daily driving. This is with 30's and 3.07's in a manual calculating for difference. I recently changed to 3.55's and added a heavy bumper so the math will make my brain hurt. Its still doing well so I'm not worried,

When I bought it, it got 14. Replaced O2 sensor- up to 20. Oiled Air filter-21. Downpipe back exhaust (2.25 dp 2.5 cat and back) 26. Also throughout all this I cleaned the ccv line out and played with stuff I shouldn't have :) Still have yet to replace my spark plugs and wires although thats coming. I wonder if my disco has helped with it at all, I don't know. Front skid as air foil-maybe I don't know.

Maybe get a front skid if you don't have one.
Take your roof rack off if you do have one.
Drafting is good.

Anyone know if it would be bad to coast in a manual on the highway? Downhills and what not.
 
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