TV modifications to increase gas mileage

Marceline · September 2019

ChanW said:

@rh5555 , if that's the case, then you need to keep the mirrors, and deploy them only when you have a tailwind!
Better yet, get two or three sets, and mount them on the tab too!
At 3mpg per set, you'd be making fuel in no time!

Sails! We all need roof-mounted sails!

N7SHG_Ham · September 2019

There is debate currently about allowing camera systems instead of mirrors on semi trucks, right now you still need mirrors to be legal, not sure on personal vehicles, but you might want to check legality of NOT having mirrors.

rh5555 · September 2019

I'll keep the regular mirrors, just forget the extensions (https://www.etrailer.com/Custom-Towing-Mirrors/Jeep/Cherokee/2019/CM11980-2.html?VehicleID=20194300580 ). The regular mirrors give a somewhat restricted view behind; the camera will fill that in.

COHiker06 · January 2020

Cold air intakes are about $300 but take a look at what it is. If you look at the stock air box where your filter lives, its a choke point. Its a large box but has a small inlet behind the grill. What does a cold air intake do but eliminate that box, remove the choke point, and allows more air flow to the throttle body. In my Jeep there was a tube about 2" in diameter from the exterior in to the middle of the box. I cut the box in half, threw away the lower half along with the tube, made a pair of L mounts from aluminum stock, attached those to the fender and the upper half of the air box. Replaced the stock filter with a K&N filter and did a computer reset (disconnected the battery positive and cycled the ignition switch). That process may be different per vehicle but started the Jeep, it revved high for a few seconds while it read air flow then settled down. You can feel the difference at 2400-2800RPM especially and 3-5 more MPG on average. I also pulled the rubber hood seals out of the corners of the engine compartment to allow the hot air under hood to flow out. The computer on my 05 Grand Cherokee is in the upper right corner and the trapped heat caused a shutdown twice in the summer. Now the airflow along the fenders and over the hood pulls the hot air out from under the hood; no shutdowns and more cooler air pulled in to the engine compartment. YMMV!

Cbusguy · January 2020

the cold air intake thing is a myth. If it truly added 3 mpg then every manufacture would add them for an easy mpg gain.

if your jeep is shuttin off because of overheating components in the engine compartment I think you need to return it to the dealer for warranty repair or return it under your states lemon law. That jeep with that engine should tow a tab with zero issues.

tabiphile · January 2020

Don't forget to turn the air cleaner filter cover upside down. That's also a proven performance booster;)
An occasional cleaning of the MAF can benefit a motor as will regularly replacing the stock paper filter and especially if you've been hauling on dusty roads. Removing intake restrictions can't hurt but as has been noted earlier, modern engines are tuned for optimum performance without an intake kit. Fooling around with a K&N, cleaning, oiling etc... to reduce filtering is not a good idea for a stock motor. Unless you are running a performance modified motor allowing more dirt though to increase flow, is that a good idea? Not on my buggies....

ChanW · January 2020

A pair of cow magnets, one on either side of the fuel line, will increase your mileage. They align the something or other before the fuel goes into the whatchamacallit... 🤔

Sorry. Couldn't stop myself.

That was something that made the rounds in the 70s.

There became a shortage of cow magnets, much to the consternation of ranchers and farmers.

And yes, I was one of those that tried it... 😬

DougH · January 2020

@ChanW ; Embarrassed to say I went through that phase too.

Add magic tweak A. Break part B. Rebuild A, B, C and gain 50Hp... but break D, E, F, G. Rebuild again and have a tuner 500 miles away tweak out every bit of power with a day of dyno-tuning. Have to replace parts H through N. In my defense, that was before NuCamp brought out the modern T@B, so we had nothing else to spend our overtime on.

A cold air kit can add power at wide open throttle, but shouldn't normally do much for everyday gas mileage. But can be an ingredient of a broader multisystem improvement.

DenisP · January 2020

I tow with a Tundra 5.7l which I have a K&N cold air intake which I installed when new before the Tab 400. I have towed 20k+ miles cross country thru the Rockies, Big Horn, Canadian Rockies... and during ascent it may be at full throttle and I assume benefiting from the cold air intake. On my last big trip 9500 miles the truck averaged 12.2 mpg. for Tundra is pretty good. Other than the nice sounds it makes under throttle, I don’t know the degree of benefit it provides for mpg. On another note, just changing the air filter to a K&N on my wife’s Honda CR-V increases the mileage by a couple MPGs.

tabiphile · January 2020

DougH said:

@ChanW ; Embarrassed to say I went through that phase too.

Add magic tweak A. Break part B. Rebuild A, B, C and gain 50Hp... but break D, E, F, G. Rebuild again and have a tuner 500 miles away tweak out every bit of power with a day of dyno-tuning. Have to replace parts H through N.
A cold air kit can add power at wide open throttle, but shouldn't normally do much for everyday gas mileage. But can be an ingredient of a broader multisystem improvement.

Teeeheee…..so true...before you know it you've been through everything and what started out as a simple project has become a total overhaul...of course if you are into the motor you also need to lighten the driveshaft, rebuild the diffy, etc.. and to think, it all starts with an intake kit and changing the under-drive pulleys.

Cbusguy · January 2020

I think we all went through that phase. I went through the stripping my car of everything unnecessary to reduce weight, anyone remember they hydrogen generator......

N7SHG_Ham · January 2020

I am not a fan of air filters of the K&N style. They may improve airflow, but the filtering is poor until they get dirty. I have been following the Dodge Cummins vehicles and driving one for last 20 years and know at least on the engine (turbo diesel) they pass more dirt than a standard paper filter.

Honing your internals at expense of maybe slightly better mileage and cooler sound doesn't seem like a good deal when a Cummins is going to cost $10k+ to fix.

DenisP · January 2020

Thankfully I have only had good luck with K&N filters on a variety of vehicles (Landcruisers, Porsche’s, Honda and my current tundra). A few of the vehicles with over 150,000 miles driven with K&N filters. I religiously clean and re-oil the filters along with having scheduled oil changes with Mobil 1 oil. As with everything your results may vary but IMO, the K&N filters have been worth the money.

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