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. In most cases these mods not only give you better fuel economy, but added power too. It’s kind of like getting something for nothing or buy one, get one free.

To find the best deals on exhaust systems, intakes and ECU programmers for your truck click here now.

Did you know that the EPA has calculated that if only one-third of the vehicles on American roads ran on clean diesel, the U.S. would use 1.5 million fewer barrels of oil each day. Remember, that’s barrels, not gallons! Would we be subjected to lifetime of merging difficulties and other symptoms of dull, boring, and slow vehicles if we were driving to swap our gas powered cars, trucks, and SUVs for force-fed oil burners? Hardly!

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.

Even though, on average, diesel engines get better fuel mileage than gasoline engines, there have been many after market devices introduced for increasing diesel mileage. Do any of them even work? If so, what is the best device for increasing diesel mileage? That is a question many drivers want answered, and even more will be clamoring for an answer to that question if fuel prices continue climbing.

Some of the recent proposed congressional legislation promise to push fuel prices even higher, in the name of cutting back on greenhouse gasses. The more fuel costs, the less people drive, and the less carbon comes out of the tailpipe. The strategy will doubtlessly be effective, as the high fuel prices in the summer of 2008 caused people to tun to fuel efficient vehicles in droves. Those higher fuel prices will almost force motorists and business turn toward more fuel efficient vehicles, or modify the ones they already own to get better mileage.

The other factor effecting fuel prices is that increasing the domestic supply is frowned upon for environmental reasons, leaving U.S. Citizens to depend upon an increasingly volatile region for the bulk of it’s oil supply. Business hates uncertainty, and that is reflected in higher oil prices. Rest assured, you will pay more for diesel in the not too distant future.

Many modern diesels, especially those found in trucks lie the GM Duramax, Ford Powerstroke, and the Dodge Cummins diesel produce prodigious amounts of torque right off the showroom floor. The problem for truck owners is the mileage sin’t all it could be. Much of this can be traced to steps undertaken by the manufacturers to curb emissions from the big diesels. While they produce tremendous amounts of torque, the torque peak is shifted higher in the RPM range than it should be for optimum efficiency. This is done in an effort to combat tailpipe emissions, but consequently these trucks get about 15 – 20% worse mileage than they should for many drivers.

With cars like the Volkswagen Jetta TDI diesel routinely getting over 45mpg, their drivers are already well ahead of the typical motorist in terms of fuel economy, unlike the aforementioned truck pilots. You can always improve things, and owners of large diesel pickups or 18 wheelers are constantly looking for ways to improve their mileage. In many cases the drivers of such vehicles are using them to earn a living, and every dollar spent on fuel comes straight out of their bottom line. Even if you’re just using your Cummins powered Ram to tow your boat or travel trailer on weekends, saving a bit of fuel is always welcome. If the price of diesel fuel starts heading up over $4.00 a gallon again, it will become essential to find ways to get your diesel better fuel economy.

The question is, how much can the mileage be improved? The easiest and cheapest fuel saving modification you can make is to your right foot; lighten it up a bit. It won’t cost you a cent, but can definitely return a savings at the pump. Why is it so important to keep your weight off the right foot with modern diesel engines?

It all comes down to one thing; boost pressure. Modern diesels are turbocharged, which does wonders for their power and efficiency. A side effect of turbocharging however, is that when you dip into the throttle, the boost pressure goes up, causing a massive power surge. Unfortunately for the mileage minded among us, it also tells the ECU to increase the injector’s duty cycle, so the engine gets the extra fuel it needs to keep up with the air forced into the engine by the turbo. Extra fuel in means worse mileage out for your diesel.

So short of driving like GranMaMa, what after market goodies can you add to your diesel powered rig to bring out it’s parsimonious qualities? Probably the easiest and most cost effective add on is going to be a low restriction intake system. This is simply a smoother, more direct shot from filter to intake manifold, rather than the somewhat convoluted path the factory sets up for the air to travel on its way into the engine. At the entrance there will be a low restriction air filter. By freeing up the engine’s ability to pull in air, this device will increase not only mileage but also power and throttle response.

What a bonus! Low restriction intakes are made by many performance oriented after market manufacturers, such as Bully Dog, Banks Engineering, and K&N. They are fairly inexpensive, ranging from about $200 up to the $400 range. All in all an intake is a pretty cost effective mileage modification. You might see up to a 10% mileage increase with the addition of an intake, but you’ll also hear more noise from the intake tract.

Be careful if you use an oiled filter, as some people have reported problems with their MAF (Mass Airflow Sensor) units due to excessive oil leaving the filter and coating the MAF. Properly oiled, this shouldn’t be a problem, and I have used a reusable, oiled K&N filter myself for over 125,000 miles without a hint of trouble. You should just be aware the potential for problems exists.

Speaking of noise, you’ll find the other cost effective mileage mod dedicated to getting things out of the engine, and it will definitely increase the noise level a few decibels. A high performance, low restriction exhaust system will help increase your diesel mill’s efficiency. Like the intake, you’ll gain on both ends of the spectrum, picking up some power and torque, along with your gain in MPG. How much of either you’ll get depends on the exact system you install.

Another exhaust related mod that is fairly popular is the DPF elimination kit. DPF stands for Diesel Particulate Filter, and is an integral part of the emission control system on trucks made since 2007. As the name suggests, it’s job is to filter particulates out of the exhaust. That’s why most modern diesel engines don’t smoke like a factory from the Civil War era. As the DPF fills up with trapped particulate matter, the emission control system uses one of several ways to clean it out, restoring the flow.

The process of burning out the stored particulates is called regeneration, or regen for short. Your engine will monitor sensors in front of and behind the DPF to measure pressure differential between the front and rear of the filter. When the number exceeds a factory specified parameter, you get all manner of fun. The idle speed increases (keep your foot firmly on the brake when stopped in one of these vehicles, lest a sudden increase in idle speed send you nosing ahead into the car in front of you. It’s great fun at the Mikey D’s drive through.) and you’ll see some light colored smoke out of the tailpipe as the old soot burns off.

There are two problems with the DPF. Problem one is that even when the flow is restored to as-new levels, the DPF still provides a restriction in the exhaust system. Number two is that the regen process uses extra fuel when it happens, usually every 150 – 500 miles, further decreasing your fuel mileage. By eliminating these two problems, a DPF elimination kit will increase your diesel mileage, and as with a performance exhaust system, add some power as part of the bargain. Unfortunately when you eliminate the DPF, you’ll also eliminate something else in most cases, your vehicle’s warrantee, and your pristine exhaust.

In addition you’ll run afoul of the all-powerful Environmental Protection Agency, which is why these devices are only to be used off road, not to increase your mileage when towing your boat to the lake. The nice thing about eliminating your DPF is that it is a cheap and effective strategy, and who doesn’t like those? The not so nice thing is that it turns you from law abiding into a law breaker and voids your warrantee, so install one at your own risk.

All modern internal automotive and light truck engines are controlled by computers that would put those used by NASA for their 1970′s space missions to shame. They have reign over virtually every system in your vehicle, from engine and transmission operation to keeping you at a comfortable 72 degrees while you enjoy The Herd on ESPN Radio, courtesy of Sirius/XM. The computers in question are called Electronic Control Units (ECU) or Electronic Control Modules (ECM). In a diesel engine they control the injectors and the turbo boost, in addition to the transmission shift points, slippage, and torque converter lockup. You can see they have a huge potential to affect the mileage and power your truck puts on the road.

In the beginning, ECU modifications (also known as an ECU flash and an ECU remap) were mainly targeted toward increasing power and torque so drivers could improve their acceleration and comfortably tow big loads. Then the auto manufacturers started boosting power on their trucks, so that right off the showroom floor many trucks had over 600 pound feet of torque. That’ll pull your horse trailer! Right about the same time diesel prices went from less than $2.00 a gallon to over $3.00per gallon. Suddenly, increasing mileage was a much higher priority for drivers, especially as their trucks were so well endowed straight from the factory.

The upshot of this was that many of the aftermarket ECU manufacturers started developing devices that were targeted at increasing fuel mileage, rather than boosting power and torque. In most cases they actually did a bit of both, however. Some of the better known and more reputable after market performance chip tuning brands include Bully Dog, Banks Engineering, Hypertech, Superchips, Edge, and Jet. Most of them are adjustable, so you can vary your tuning according to your specific needs. That way when you are doing heavy towing through the hills, you’re not running the same ECU set up as when you’re driving in traffic in the valley.

Some will also let you check or reset your trouble codes. That’s nice because you can see what is up before you spend the time and money to visit the repair shop. Another advantage is that since they control the transmission, you can change the shift points to help increase your mileage, and firm up the shifts. Firming up the shifts will increase transmission clutch pack longevity, acceleration and fuel mileage, all at the same time.

There is actually a distinction between the types of ECU mods. You can get a new, reprogrammed ECU or install a device that simply attaches to the existing wiring harness and changes the program of the existing unit. These add on units are also known by the moniker programmers, performance programmers, or some such nonsense.

Some of names used by the mileage enhancing ECUs are MaxEnergy (Hypertech), Mileage XS (Superchips), and MileageMax (Edge).

Do they work to increase mileage? With the newer diesels many people report getting an overall 2 – 4 mpg increase, in addition to the increased power and response they enjoy. Obviously, that will depend a lot on driving conditions and how deep you depress the accelerator. Given that the after market ECUs are so easy to install (just a simple unplug the old, and plug in the new in most cases. Some of them also “piggyback” on the old ECU, which is what I was describing above) it is a pretty nice mod. In most cases the install takes all of 20 – 30 minutes, and you don’t even have to get your hands dirty!

If you’ve added other performance parts, such as air intakes or exhaust components, you’ll likely see a bit more improvement than installing an ECU upgrade alone.

On an MPG per dollar basis, and ease of installation basis, plus given the fact that it adds substantially more power on turbocharged diesel engines, while simultaneously increasing power and torque, the performance ECU has to be the best after market device for increasing diesel mileage.

Most of the reputable ECU manufacturers make a good product, but the MileageMax from Edge seems to give the best bang for the buck, since it is about $50 – $100 less expensive than the others. To find out more, and see what customers who bought the Edge and other performance ECUs have to say – click here now.

Stay tuned for some modifications to increase the mileage (and maybe power) on diesel cars, such as the VW TDI diesel.

America has a new President, Barack Obama, who has a very different set of ideals and views than those that have come before him. Weather you agree or disagree with him, he is our President, and as was his mantra throughout his election, change is on his agenda.

That change may extend into all facets of your life, including what you drive. President elect Obama has some very ambitious targets. His programs are, to date, a bit short on specifics, yet long on promise. One thing is for sure, the old wheels will undergo a bit of transformation in the coming 4 years if our new President has his way. Just how will those changes affect what you drive to work every day?

A brief glimpse at his agenda sheds some light on the subject (President Obama’s proposals in bold)–

• Increase Fuel Economy Standards.

Questions – Fuel economy standards are already set to increase substantially in the next revision of the CAFÉ standards that are due to phase in completely by 2020. The revised CAFÉ standards provide for an increase from the current 27.5 mpg to 35mpg. Is Obama proposing an acceleration, a further increase, or is he just referencing those standards already set to take affect?

Development lead times on vehicles currently 2 – 5 years. That is for vehicles using current technologies. A radical revision of fuel economy standards would require advanced technologies, and subsequently longer development times for vehicles using them.

Americans have shown a propensity to desire larger, safer, more practical (until you have to park them) vehicles. They have also demonstrated a willingness to pay the extra in fuel costs is takes to drive them up to a point. The point was exceeded about late June of this year as drivers fled large SUVs and pickups like voters running away from the Republican Party in November.

This increase in fuel economy will have a negative effect on tax revenue, as I discuss further below.

• Get 1 Million Plug-In Hybrid Cars on the Road by 2015.

This is an extremely ambitious target, especially given the current state of the automotive landscape. The first plug in hybrid on the horizon is the Chevy Volt, set to debut in 12 – 18 months. This should be followed in short order by the Toyota Prius plug in. If you’ve looked at these vehicles, you’ve found they are not inexpensive.

The Volt in particular is far out of reach of the average car buyer, who stands to never recover the $18,000 difference between that and the 4-cylinder Chevy Malibu (by most accounts a pretty nice car). The Malibu gets 25 mpg, so it isn’t really a gas guzzler for a car that comfortably seats 5 adults.

One will note that vehicles rushed through the engineering stage tend to exhibit more flaws, technological glitches and malfunctions than those that have a longer technological gestation period. That’s something to think about when having a target of 1 million such vehicles on the road in only 6 years.

• Create a New $7,000 Tax Credit for Purchasing Advanced Vehicles.

This would doubtlessly offset some of the budget crunch Americans will feel when purchasing the much more expensive advanced technology vehicles. It also brings up another question, to whit – where is the money for this going to come from? There are currently generous tax incentives for such purchases put into place by President Bush. These new ones proposed by Obama are about 90% higher that the existing tax credits. This will cost taxpayers quite a sum of money.

It will assist the development of some new technologies by increasing consumer demand, but at what cost? You could watch for a healthy Federal gas tax increase to both make advanced technology vehicles more attractive to drivers by increasing the price of fuel, and help fund the tax credits. Fuel has a relatively inelastic demand, so revenue tends to rise as tax levels increase.

Hybrid and other advanced, fuel efficient cars will also drain from the nations coffers in another way. Currently, roads are largely financed by users in the form of motor vehicle fuel taxes. That is basically fair. The more you drive, the more you pay, and the heavier and harder on the road your vehicle, the lower its fuel economy, and the more you pay.

President Obama will probably have to push for Congress to increase the Federal fuel tax rate in order to avoid a drop in aggregate motor fuel tax revenues. Many politicians are loathe to do this, especially after the high fuel prices the nation endured this summer. No matter how they feel, the politically astute among them are well aware how raising gas taxes looks when the next election rolls around.

High motor fuel taxes are not conducive to rebuilding the economy, as it costs businesses, and thus consumers, dearly. It will also cost jobs, because when they are confronted by price increases in one area, businesses look to cut costs in others. The largest cost component of almost every business is labor. That means it is also the most likely to be cut when other costs increase.

• Establish a National Low Carbon Fuel Standard.
• A “Use it or Lose It” Approach to Existing Oil and Gas Leases.
• Promote the Responsible Domestic Production of Oil and Natural Gas.

The extent of which this occurs will go a long way to determining three things; maintaining low fuel prices, national security due to increased supply reliability, and the reduction of our dependence on foreign oil.

In addition, does anyone think other areas of the world are actually more environmentally conscious than we are in the US when exploring for and extracting oil? That would mean that the more oil we pull out of the ground here at home, the better off the world is environmentally. In addition to the lower environmental cost of production, there is a lower environmental cost of transporting locally produced oil.

One more thing to examine is the tremendous number of different environmentally required gasoline blends currently in use throughout different areas of the United States. That incurs increased transportation costs, poses a greater environmental impact, and lowers delivery efficiency. It also drives up fuel prices and causes localized availability problems. This is one area that stands to be looked at and in the spirit of the new Obama administration, changed.

So, how will President Obama change what you drive? Who can tell for sure, but here’s what it could be like:

It will get much better fuel economy, possibly through much more advanced hybrid technology.

Power plant for the Obama car – A very small, algae-biodiesel fueled (this would help meet his targets for lower carbon emissions) turbo diesel that would run constantly at its most efficient RPM and be used only to charge batteries. In many cases it wouldn’t run at all and the car would be driven solely by its advanced electric motors. They would be used for greater efficiency and lower weight. Advanced technology batteries could be charged from a standard 220 or 110 volt wall socket if needed.

Weight is the enemy of fuel economy so look for advanced materials in everything from power window motors (rare earth magnets) to body panels (fiber composites). In addition, you’ll be leaving your boat at home, since vehicles large enough to tow them may be levied a special tax in order to help consumers decide not to drive them. Such a tax exists now, but isn’t applied to trucks and SUVs, only cars. This policy could change.

Look for tires and wheels to get lighter in an attempt to reduce rolling resistance and rotational inertia. This will help increase fuel economy, vehicle performance, and ride quality.

Cars will get smaller, but safety targets won’t, so look for advanced safety technologies to be used, as long they don’t substantially increase the weight of the vehicle. Radar and Lidar proximity sensors will be coupled with stability control, inertial sensors, and GPS systems to help avoid crashes.

Advanced materials will be required to maintain the structural integrity of the passenger safety cage, while reducing the size of heavy, energy absorbing crumple zones. The crash energy will still have to absorbed and dissipated before reaching the hapless passengers trapped inside the vehicle, or deaths and injuries will rise.

The light weight vehicles and high torque electric motors could give us greatly enhanced fuel economy with pretty spritely 0-40 times. This will be great fun around town, but it’s possible that the heavy hand of government knowing what’s good for us may step in to limit our fun – in the name of fuel economy, environmental responsibility, and safety, of course.

We will drive some advanced vehicles, but we’ll probably live in interesting times.