If you want to increase the fuel economy on your diesel pickup, there are many ways you can do it.

Do you want to get better fuel economy from your diesel pickup? Here are some great tips that will help you squeeze a few extra MPGs out of your diesel powered pick up truck. Some of these tips are good for a few 10ths of an MPG, while others will give you substantially more miles out of every gallon of whatever you’re burning in there.

Tip 1 – Drive with the tailgate up. Sure, this flies in the face of everything you’ve been told about pick up aerodynamics since you were a kid, but it is true. Why does driving with the tailgate up get you better fuel economy than driving with it down? After all, when it’s down the air flows right over the roof, through the bed, and out the back. When it is up, the air slams into the tailgate, slowing down your truck, right? Wrong!

When the tailgate is raised, the air does not slam into it. What actually happens is that a rotating vortex of air forms in the truck’s bed. This vortex actually guides the air over the bed and deposits it gently beyond the tailgate, forming a nice smooth airflow over the bed and beyond. Opening the tailgate destroys this vortex, creates more aerodynamic drag, and kills your mileage.

Tip 2 – Drive and accelerate slower. Why sure this is another one that you’ve heard since you were a kid, but this one happens to be true, and more so if your truck is jacked up into the stratosphere. Trucks are about as aerodynamic as the proverbial barn door, and the more it’s jacked up, the worse the aerodynamics are. It’s is a matter of both frontal area and a statistic called drag coefficient, which is a measure of how much resistance the vehicle presents to the air as it moves past. The combination of the two measures how hard it is to get your truck through the air. Jacking up your truck hits you with a double whammy. It increases the frontal area and makes your drag coefficient worse.

Since air resistance increases with the square of vehicle speed, relatively little air resistance at slow speeds turns into huge walls of air standing in the way of your truck at higher speeds. That means driving twice as fast will actually cause 4 times the air resistance. That means it takes 4 times more power to push your truck through the atmosphere at 70mph as it does when you’re driving 35mph. Take your foot out of it and you’ll save fuel.

Tip 3 – Clean up your act. All those tools you keep in the bed of your truck weigh a ton. Well maybe not a ton, but probably a few hundred pounds, especially since you keep them in that steel bed box. The combination is a heck of a lot of weight you’re carrying around every day. If you don’t use them all the time, remove them, or at least change the box to a lighter, plastic variety, especially if theft isn’t a concern. Every pound of extra weight you’re carrying takes more fuel to accelerate and take up hills. Even if your truck can tow 10,000 lbs, those 250lbs of extra tools you’re lugging around will still cost you money. It also burns up your brakes faster when you stop, costing you even more money. You could get .5% – 1.5% increase from this alone.

Tip 4 – Get an aerocap for the bed. This is a smooth, faired cover for the bed that extends form the top of the cab to the top of the tailgate. It significantly improves aerodynamics over the bed area. In fact, tests have revealed a 4% fuel economy improvement at only 55mph, with high speeds promising even better returns. These things must be expensive, right? Hardly, you can build one for less than $100. Even if you buy one and get it color matched for your truck, it should still set you back less than $500. Obviously you’ll have to remove it if you’re carrying anything in the bed that is too large.

Tip 5 – Conserve momentum when driving. This is one of the most effective driving techniques to increase fuel mileage. One of the reasons that hybrid vehicles deliver such outstanding fuel economy is because they recapture energy through regenerative braking. Since you can’t do that in your truck, you are going to conserve the momentum you have already built up.

There are 2 keys to accomplishing this. The first is to look far ahead when driving and anticipate when you might need to stop. Every time you use the brakes, you are turning your momentum into useless heat. That heat cost you precious fuel to get. Look at the traffic signals and traffic ahead of you. If traffic slows or the light turns red, get off the accelerator and coast. Your goal is to coast up to the light and get there after it has turned green, so you never have to stop. The same with heavily traffic situations. If traffic is slowing to a crawl or a complete stop, try to anticipate the flow, so you can slow down, but never entirely stop. In heavy traffic you’ll often be foiled by drivers cutting in ahead of you, but it is worth a try.

This technique avoids wasting the fuel it takes accelerating from a complete stop or a very slow speed, and sometimes can save you 10% depending on driving conditions.

Tip 6 – Drafting large trucks ca save substantial fuel, but can also get you killed. If you use this technique, make sure you’re not too close. Even having a large truck 100 feet ahead of you can offer substantial aerodynamic gains at freeway speeds. The problem is that at 65mph, you’re only about a second behind a vehicle at 100 feet. Thatb is about half the distance experts recommend for safe driving. Sure you can use the “I can stop faster than he can.” logic, and that may well be true when you’re talking about an 18 wheeler, but it is a big risk to take. If you do this, it is essential to be paying 100% attenuation at all times.

Tip 7 – Replace your factory air intake with a free flowing, after market unit. This reduced restriction in the intake tract, often leading to a 3% – 5% fuel economy improvement, depending on the truck you’re driving.

Tip 8 – Replace the exhaust system with a free flowing exhaust. Similar to the reasons that cause your engine to operate more efficiently when you change the intake system, you can do the same thing with the exhaust. Any time you lower the resistance, especially on a turbo charged engine, where exhaust tuning is less of a concern, you will improve fuel economy, throttle response, and hp/torque. All in all, a great deal.

Tip 9 – Maintain your truck. There is no sense in spending any money on any sort of add on if your truck isn’t operating at peak efficiency in the first place. Proper tire inflation, clean air filter, clean fuel injectors, and regularly changed oil all factor into your truck’s fuel mileage. Keeping your injectors clean is a matter of using a fuel additive at regular intervals. Crawling under your ride every few months to check on things, change the oil and lube things up isn’t a bad idea, either. A fuel additive will also help ensure there is no water in your fuel system and increase fuel lubricity, both of which are important to maintaining optimum performance. After spending 2 hours at the side of a road, in the middle of nowhere, waiting for a tow because the F-350 I was driving had gotten water in the fuel system, I can vouch for the fact that water and diesel do not mix.

Modern electroncis have done wonders for driveability, performance and feul economy. Thankfully, you can take it even further with some minor mods.

Tip 10 – Add an Electronic Control Unit (ECU) programmer targeted at increasing fuel mileage. These days virtually all engine and transmission functions are controlled by one or more electronic processing units. So it was only natural for people to soon try and market ECUs optimized for more power and better fuel economy. There a half a dozen or more of these things on the market from such manufacturers as Hypertech, Edge, Bully Dog and Jet. You’ll not only get improved fuel mileage, you’ll typically get improved performance as well. Several of theses units let you change the tune for your application. That means if you’re towing, for example, you can set the ECU in tow mode to increase low and midrange torque. It is easy to set it back to fuel economy mode for increased fuel economy in normal driving when you’re finished towing. As an added bonus you’ll often get lower exhaust gas temperature, lower noise, and better throttle response when using these performance ECU systems.

How to Tell If Engine Modifications Pay Off

It is all well and good to spend several hundred or thousand dollars on increasing your fuel economy, but will you ever get your money back, and if so, when will that payoff arrive? It is all a matter of simple math.

Say you drive 20,000 miles per year and your truck averages 14mpg overall. That means you’ll burn about 1,428 gallons of fuel in a one year period. As this is written, the national average for diesel fuel is $3.07 a gallon. That means that you’ll spend $4,384 a year on fuel at current prices. If your modifications net you a 15% fuel economy increase, your mileage will go from 14mpg to 16.1mpg. Your annual fuel usage will drop to 1,242 gallons, costing you $3,813, and saving $571 per year. How much did your modifications cost?

If you spent $1,000 on an ECU programmer, a performance exhaust, and a free flow intake, you’ll be earning money on your modifications in only 21 months If you are going to keep your truck for longer than that, it makes sense to go ahead and install those modifications, because they will pay for themselves fairly soon, and then save you almost $600 per year.

To find the best deals on exhaust systems, intakes and ECU programmers for your truck click here now.. Ends 12/30/10. Restrictions apply.

Modern clean diesel power plants are not only fuel efficient, but they’re pretty darn fun too. That is because they have prodigious torque, delivered low in the power band, at least compared to a similar sized gas engine.
Here are some of the fun, new clean diesel powered vehicles you can buy right off your local dealer’s lot this very day.

The 2010 A3 TDi - A heck of a lot of fun and it sips fuel, too.

2010 Audi A3 TDi – This new Audi is one really cool ride. It uses the same 2 liter turbo direct injection (Wait, aren’t most diesel engines direct injection?) diesel you can find under the hood of the new VW Jetta and Golf TDis. The compression ignition engine is coupled to Audi’s 6 speed automatic tranny, their acclaimed, dual-clutch DSG box. The 2010 A3 should be in showrooms about the time you’re done cleaning up your kid’s Halloween candy. One sad note to report; the A3 TDi is not yet available with Audi’s signature Quattro all wheel drive system.

Base MSRP $31,950 – Figure another $1,400 for the sport package, containing sport seats, 18″ five-tri-spoke wheels with 225/40 summer performance tires, and sport suspension, because really, why would you order this car any other way?
HP: 140 – Torque: 236 – Drive Wheels: front
EPA – 30mpg city, 42 mpg highway, 34 combined
0-60mph time = 9.0 seconds – That’s stock. The good news is that it is very easy to make these TDi powered cars much quicker, and sacrifice very little in terms of fuel economy. (Unless, of course, you just can’t seem to keep your foot out of it.)

The 2010 VW Jetta is easy on the wallet when you buy it and also when you feed it. (Just hope you don't have to take it to the doctor!)

2010 VW Jetta TDi – Kind of like a larger A3 for people with a smaller auto budget. Same power train, except you can have your Jetta with a 6sp manual trans, or the DSG automatic box.
HP: 140 – Torque: 236 – Drive Wheels: front
Base MSRP $22,660 – add $1,000 for the DSG automatic transmission…..or don’t. There have been several recalls for the DSG. In addition, it costs about $500USD for a fluid change every 40,000 miles. Ouch! Although it is one of the best functioning transmissions on the road from any manufacturer, it just may not be worth it. Might want to stick with the slick, 6sp manual tranny. Take the extra grand and spend it an intake and ecu upgrade. You’ll have cash left over and an even funner ride to boot.
EPA – 30mpg city, 41 mpg highway, 34 combined
0-60mph time = 8.2 seconds – Again, that’s stock. A simple intake, exhaust, new injectors, and an ECU mod = way more hp and torque, but still spectacular fuel mileage. Owners of modified TDi powered cars regularly display dyno sheets with torque figures near 300 lb-ft.

Light up the tires, but still get 35+ mpg......Awesome. Welcome to the 21st century!

2010 BMW 335d – Now we’re talkin’! This thing is really quick, courtesy of the 425 lb-ft of torque generated by the turbo diesel lurking under the standard 3 series skin. Not only can it scorch the 0-60 clock at 5.6 seconds, but it also returns 36 mpg on the highway. It’s a BMW 3 series, the same vehicle the car press fawns over every chance they get, so its driving dynamics are guaranteed to be superb. Add that to the BMW cachet, and you’ve got one heck of a great car. Keep your foot out of it though, or your rear tires will be going up in so much expensive smoke. The 335d is only offered with a 6-speed automatic trans, there’s no manual to be had here.

In Europe BMW offers other diesel power plants, such as 2.0 4 cylinder with 204 horsepower and 295 lb-ft  of torque. Fitted to the smaller BMW 1 series coupe, the engine returns 45mpg on the freeway, while still giving a 7.0 0-60 time. The extra 200lbs in the 3 series would doubtlessly slow that figure somewhat, but it would still be around 7.3 seconds, not half bad for a 3 series that would be on the far side of 40mpg.
HP: 265 – Torque: 425 – Drive Wheels: rear
Base MSRP $43,900 (2 Jettas) Be careful, like many premium German vehicles, you can quickly get a bad case of optionits (for many items you’d think would be standard on such expensive vehicles) and tack on another $5,000 – $10,000 before you realize what happened.
EPA – 23mpg city, 36 mpg highway, 27 combined
0-60mph time = 5.6 seconds

So, you can get a diesel powered vehicle that is a blast to drive, yet will let you go sailing by gas stations with impunity. If BMW would bring the 120d over here, we’d really have some frugal fun, to the tune of 50+ mpg. Australian road tests of the 5 door hatchback version of the 120d averaged over 57mpg, which is doubly impressive, in light of how hard auto journalists tend to drive their test vehicles. Driven like you stole it, the Australian 120d also rips off 7.4 second 0-60 times. 57 + 7.4, now that’s good math.
If BMW and other automakers would bring cars like the 120d to the U.S., we’d have some nice, fun to drive cars that would keep us from spending all our money on fuel.,/p>

If you want the best of everything in a fuel efficient SUV (except the ability to tow or go off road) The new BMW X5 35d is your kind of vehicle

Just in time for ski season and trips over the river and through the woods to grandma’s house, is my post to pick the best rated SUV. I’m looking at things from a gas mileage perspective, among other things. Obviously you don’t typically buy an SUV with fuel economy as your first requirement. If you looked at things from a fuel economy first point of view, you’d be motoring around in a Mini Cooper or Honda Fit.

No, it’s typically mundane requirements such as how many kids and their gear can I fit in it for soccer practice, or can it take the whole family skiing or camping? Other considerations enter into the picture as well, if you have any off road aspirations or even have the occasional need to venture into the back woods for camping or exploration. Then there is the question of towing? If you have need of a tow vehicle, what you’re after in an SUV will obviously change a bit.

Recently some manufacturers have introduced clean diesel technology. How do those clean diesel engines compare from a power and driveability standpoint to their gas fueled brethren? Should you consider one?

Okay, here are the picks for an SUV to drive,  if you want to keep a larger share of your fuel budget in your pocket instead of your tank.

Luxury / Performance SUV – BMW X-5 x-drive35d
If you want to roll around in an SUV that actually handles and goes more like a sports sedan, the BMW X-5 is on your short list. It has almost no competition in the area. For all it’s street cred, it was short on fuel mileage with the V-8 engine. That’s nothing to be ashamed of in this category, where no mid or large sized SUVs really excel. Enter BMW’s new twin-turbo, 3.0 liter diesel, torque monster.

I’ve always been a big fan of diesel engines in SUVs, due to their amazing torque curves; perfect for towing, pulling your boat out of the water, and crawling around in the muck. The new BMW twin turbo definitely doesn’t disappoint in the torque category, furnishing 425lb-ft of beautiful twist. What does all this torque do for you? Zero to 60 in a very sports sedan like 6 and a half seconds, but it feels even faster. It’s no off roader, even with all wheels driven, what with it’s more summer oriented rubber, but it does great in the rain, as long as you’re a bit judicious with your right foot.

What’s the damage at the pump for the BMW X-5 x-drive 35d? A huge amount better than you’d expect. The EPA combined rating is a respectable (for a mid sized SUV) 22mpg, but it gets even better. The TV show Motorweek got a very nice 27+ mpg out of their X5 -x-drive 35d during its stay with them. As per the norm with journalist test vehicles, the vehicle received more than its fair share of flogging, what with the numerous 0-60 and quarter mile acceleration runs it was subjected to. You might even get better mileage out of yours. Any way you slice it, that’s great fuel economy for an SUV, especially a mid sized one that can scorch its way to 60 in almost 6 seconds flat.

Sure the X5 is a bit pricey, at around $60,000, but you can offset some of the pain with an $1,800 federal diesel vehicle tax credit.

Luxury SUV – Alternate – Lexus RX450h – Hybrid
If your preference lies more toward the luxury end of the spectrum, the Lexus RX450h is right up your alley. It’s smooth as glass, quiet, and screwed together with the top quality we’ve come to expect form Lexus. To top it off, it returns stellar gas mileage numbers, with an EPA combined rating of 29MPG. As with all hybrids, you’re distribution of highway / city mileage will have a significant influence on your mileage numbers. If most of your driving is done in town, where the hybrid drive train can strut it’s stuff, you’ll see better mileage, than if you do most of your commutes on wide open freeways.

While it’s not as sporty as the X5, the RX450h is a jewel and will save you even more at the pump. The Lexus is undoubtedly reliable for the long term, but how it will stack up against the BMW diesel after 150,000 miles or so remains to be seen. Then again, few purchasers of either of these two vehicles will probably keep them around for anything approaching that length of time.

The new 2010 CR-V addresses the down on power issue of the previous CR-v (somewhat)

Small SUV – Honda CRV AWD
Honda has been known for smooth, efficient power plants for decades, and the CRV uses the corporate 2.4l in-line 4, which is the very picture of unruffled, almost rev happy bliss. The small Honda covers just about the whole $20,000 price range, with the least expensive AWD CRV fetching less than $23,000, and the mack daddy, EX-L Nav version nearly touching $30,000.

Technical wizardry such as variable valve timing and a drive by wire throttle helps give the CRVa broad power band for a mid sized four cylinder. The high tech power train is also a large part of the reason  the CRV returns such great gas mileage, despite the fact the 2010 CRV has significantly more power (180hp) than the ‘09 version. (166hp) The EPA says you’ll average 23 mpg in the AWD CRV, although many magazine tests have recorded substantially better fuel economy. For example a Car and Driver test of an earlier model got over 25mpg, and the 2010 is supposed to be even more efficient.

A knock on the CRV has been its lack of get up and go. The added power on board you’ll not be buying a V6 CRV anytime soon. Seeing as how this is a fuel economy oriented blog,  that’s not the end of the world, but more power is never a bad thing if it comes with too larrge of a fuel economy penalty.

The plus side for the CRV:
Great handling and fuel economy, substantial cargo room for a small SUV, Honda reliability, vehicle dynamics, and overall quality. Improved looks for 2010.

The negative side:
The aforementioned power deficit, not enough zip, could be faster, a bit more torque would help things along some, only has a tow rating of 1,500lbs.

As the Fuel economy leader among SUVs, the Ford Escape Hybrid 4WD deserves an honorable mention here. However, at over $32,000, it is about $8,000 more than the CR-V. Looking a the Escape’s thrifty, fuel sipping EPA mileage rating of 29mpg, you may well be impressed. I know I was. However, even if the price of regular unleaded hits over $4.00 per gallon, it will take you about  220,000 miles to get that money back. If gas prices stay at about $3.00 per gallon you’re looking at almost 300,000  miles before you see a return on your hybrid investment. If you buy and Escape before April Fool’s Day, 2010, you’ll be eligible for a $487 Federal income tax credit, so you’ll want to figure that in as well. Also remember to add in the cost of a battery pack replacement, because if you keep your escape hybrid for over 200,000 miles, you’ll be needing one of those, too.

For those of you who plan on keeping your vehicles that long, or just want to make an environmental statement, by all means break out with the Ford. If fuel prices should hit around $6.00 a gallon, you’ll look like a genius and be laughing all the way to the bank. The above ROI calculations ignore any interest expense you might be paying should you have financed your Escape purchase. Since the vast majority of people do finance their automotive purchases, these should not really be ignored. As for me, I’ll take the CR-V.

If you need the ginormous variety SUV, you’ve really got only one choice in something that gets any kind of decent gas mileage, the Hybrid Chevy Tahoe / GMC Yukon. If you’re up for dropping about 60 large, the Mercedes GL-350 BlueTec is almost as large as the TahUkon and gets a respectable (for the Titanic) 19MPG combined, and actually out does the Hybrid GM twins on the freeway, where it delivers a decent 23mpg. However, many folks with the new clean diesel engines actually do even better than the EPA estimates on the highway, and so may you.

I’m awaiting some developments in the SUV arena, namely the TDi Diesel powered VW Tiguan, which should deliver spectacular mileage, decent handling, and a hint of luxury at a not quite luxury price. With any luck it will have some off road prowess as well.

This proves that if you need an SUV, (although  for many folks, a mini van would actually be a better choice) and want to do your part to save gas (or diesel) you have options, and these are my picks for fuel saving SUVs for 2010.

If you have one of the recalled Fords, take it in before you end up like this.

The Ford Motor Car Company, not wanting any of its loyal customers to meet a fiery death, issued a recall for some of it’s vehicles, about 4.5 million (more) of them to be precise. Why more? This recall is actually related to similar recalls in the past, it just expands the scope some. It concerns a faulty switch manufactured by Texas Instruments, that can reportedly cause the vehicle to burst into flames, or at least start smoldering a bit.

It works like this: Switch leaks flammable hydraulic fluid, said fluid commences to ignite, and vehicle is toast (literally). As this can happen even when the vehicle is off, simply leaving your rig at home is no defense. In fact, you might come home to find you no longer have one. How often has one of these switches actually caused someone’s Ford to end up in the well done state? According to a 2008 piece in the New York Times, about 1,500 of them!

Here are the vehicles affected by Ford’s latest recall:

1995-2003 Windstars, 2000-2003 Excursion diesels, 1993-1997 and 1999-2003 F-Super Duty diesels, 1992-2003 Econolines, 1995-2002 Explorers and Mercury Mountaineers, 1995-1997 and 2001-2003 Rangers and 1994 F35 motorhomes

If you’ll notice, many of the vehicles affected by the recall are Ford Explorers. Remember back to the cash for clunkers program, and you’ll recollect that that same Ford Explorer was one of the most traded in to be destroyed. I consider myself to be extremely lucky, having once owned a 2000 Explorer XLT from which I thankfully escaped unscathed.

Okay, so why might this not be the largest recall in Ford’s history? Well, it still is, but not by the margins you’d think at first. Why? Cash for clunkers, of course. The Ford Explorer saw the most action at the trade in lot during the cash for clunkers program, with some 68,500 of them going to the crusher. Ford’s Windstar van, another vehicle listed in the recall notice, was also strongly represented in the cash for clunkers trade in department, with roughly 20,000 of them biting the dust. So, counting the predestroyed vehicles, this round only affects about 3.8 million vehicles, not 3.9 million.

Bottom line – If yours is one of the vehicles listed, don’t wait, get it in to be fixed ASAP! Happy motoring!

Back in the day when this bad Boss 429 was roaming the streets, some of the gas saving tips held true, but not anymore.

Your EGR is an integral part of your emission control system. EGR stands for Exhaust Gas Recirculation and it does exactly as the name suggests; recirculates some of your exhaust gas back into the intake manifold, where it mixes with incoming air. This helps lower combustion temperatures and as a result, decreases oxides of nitrogen (NOX) emissions.

Many people believe that plugging the EGR or bypassing it will in some way increase their gas mileage and give them a few more precious horsepower. Can simply bypassing the EGR give you better gas mileage? Can it be that simple?

No, it can’t. In modern engines, you will actually stand a better chance of losing a few percent in the MPG department, rather than making any gains. You really gain nothing by bypassing it. Your car actually does it for you under acceleration, when an EGR block swings into action to prevent it from functioning. So if you have a modern gasoline engine, forget the notion of saving a little bit of precious unleaded by just bypassing your EGR. It doesn’t work.

What about some other easy ways to get better gas mileage you may have heard about? You can always drive slower,but how much fun is that? No, I’m talking about tricks, like the 100mpg carburetor or the magnetic fuel molecule aligner. More to the point I’m talking about things that have been long reported to save gas, but actually don’t.

The first thing on the list is a having a clean air filter. That mileage myth has some basis in fact, but it no longer holds true. In the past, back in the glorious days of Holley double pumpers or Rochester Q-jets, a dirty air filter could cut back on your power and gas mileage. Now however a dirty air filter will still cost you power, but it won’t really hurt your mileage. Why not? Because now days cars are so much smarter. They use electronic engine management systems connected to a host of sensors to meter the fuel, rather than a bunch of venturis, tubes, and holes in some brass. As the air filter gets dirtier and the airflow decreases, the electronics compensate by also decreasing the fuel flow so the air/fuel mixture is always correct. The problem is that you’ll lose plenty of power, so don’t let that filter get too dirty.

Here’s another one; leaving the tailgate down in a pickup will save gas. Actually according to recent tests it doesn’t. Remove the tailgate entirely and put a net across the opening.

Still more old timers myths that are supposed to increase your gas mileage, but in most cases, do little or actually have a detrimental effect on it include the “put it in neutral when going down hills” piece of advice. Although this actually works in older cars, it doesn’t in newer vehicles. That’s because in newer vehicles the electronic engine management systems actually shut off the fuel flow entirely when you are moving forward with the throttle plate in the closed position. That is only true when your rig is in gear. When you put it neutral the fuel cut off is not in effect, so you’re burning gas. Keep it in gear, just take your foot off the gas, and your cars ECU will stop feeding your engine for you.

These are just a few things that people just know are true about ways to get better gas mileage; except they really aren’t.