Better Mileage in a Range

[unstable bob]

Originally Posted by derangedrover

ur dumb

And I take it you don't just work on rockets, you fly them, too?
Actually, I think you are the dumb dumb, since you need a wanna be Hummer to sport some kinda image. There are cheaper ways to compensate than driving a pimp mobile if you need help in that dept:

http://www.alibaba.com/catalog/11021...nt_System.html

And BTW, if you take some of the hot air outa your head and install it in your tires, you will be using one of the proven methods of increasing MPGs

[GasSavers_Red]

Well since I doubt this thread is going anywhere, is it an 06 rover? Dont you guys have some kind of sport setting on your suspension that drops you an inch? Lower it, belly pan it then beat the hell out of it on the street, you wont get far off road in that thing otherwise.

[Fourthbean]

I don't see the crime in a person wanting to increase the mileage in the vehicle they already own instead of buying a new one. I was getting 16MPG in my car and decided to keep driving it and improve my driving style over going out and finding something that would net me better numbers. At the time I did not have the funds for such a venture.

I don't see anything wrong with suggesting a change of vehicles, but I also think we should atleast answer the question instead of getting off on how bad the mileage is already. Obviously that has been realized and is the reason this post exists...

In answer to your original question, I think the biggest thing (if driving highway much) would be to keep the speed down. How far down depends on a lot of things. Getting something like a "scangauge 2" would tell you where your optimal speed is by giving you instant MPG readouts as you drive.

On that vehicle you may not want to be installing aero mods ( I know I didn't want to on my vehicle if not for the stupidity on such a classic fear of it's resalability ). Verifying that your engine is in tip top shape with a fresh tune up is a good thing. From what I understand having a turbo can HELP fuel economy if used correctly. Please correct me if I am wrong but from what I have read the goal is to use the boost without the computer thinking you need the extra power and enriching (throwing more gas in than need be). The scangauge should help to find that spot so that you can avoid it.

Good luck on your goal, you are a smart person to know where you are at and where you want to be. Hope we can help you get there!

[oneinchsidehop]

Originally Posted by derangedrover

Hi I have a supercharged range rover sport and I was wondering any tips to get some better mileage. I'm averaging about 11 now and would like to get it up to 14 or so. Thanks in advance.

All joking aside (don't think I didn't get a ration of $#@% when the Vintage Triumph Register and my SCCA buddies found out I had bought a Ford Escort wagon, it's been 20 years and I still get ribbed) the goal of 14mpg is definitely within reach.

The advise to get a scangauge II (links all over the place here) is probably the best. That's what will give you feedback immediately. My mileage in a Subaru Wagon went from 24 to 46 just by changing the way I was driving. Granted, I made some pretty big changes (it's fun, kinda like sport rally racing but slow, on purpose) but even with small changes I jumped from 24 to 32.

There are a lot of things you can do that will help mileage and help you in the snow as well. Taller, thinner tires come to mind first. I live in VT and see 18-36" snow falls on a regular basis and I used to work at a snowmobile shop. Hakkapelita and Dunlop both have some pretty efficient thinner tires that make a HUGE difference in the snow. (remember, you want the the tires to cut through the snow down to traction) And run higher pressure low rolling resistance tires in the other 9 months. The only reason to run wide tires on a big truck like that is sand racing and looks. I figure your not sand racing so find the thinnest rim/tire that you can stomach.

The belly pan is another really good idea. I put one on an old car I had just so it would slide over small snow drifts with out getting hung up on the frame/undercarriage. Smoothing out the airflow down there will make a huge difference I think.

But the scangauge? In your case it's going to be GOLD. (errr, no bling references intended.)

The other, more PC option is to get a plow truck and and smaller FE car. (me? I want a LOTUS. )

But I like Rovers, the 2 or 3 I've been around have been reliability nightmares, I hope yours is better.

[oneinchsidehop]

Originally Posted by derangedrover

Hi I have a supercharged range rover sport and I was wondering any tips to get some better mileage. I'm averaging about 11 now and would like to get it up to 14 or so. Thanks in advance.

BTW, I think "Basel" can do much better than 24... just sayin'

Oh, and welcome.

[Sludgy]

Originally Posted by derangedrover

Hi I have a supercharged range rover sport and I was wondering any tips to get some better mileage. I'm averaging about 11 now and would like to get it up to 14 or so. Thanks in advance.

Gee, I thought my F350 was a ripoff, mileage-wise. But it gets about 18 mpg overall. Finally I can say Neener, Neener, Neener! to someone who bought a worse fuel pig.

[2TonJellyBean]

derange, some of your posts have a troll taint but I'll still give you the benefit of the doubt in case you're serious.

MPG is somewhat of a backwards measure so forgive me if I point a few things out in metric. Your current consumption is 21.4 litres per 100 kilometers and your goal is 16.8 LHK, a savings of over 4½ litres every hundred kms. You have a high consumption vehicle but you could save enough fuel by driving economically to keep a Prius in gas. There's an opportunity for big savings albeit that opportunity comes from a fairly excessive vehicle to begin with, especially the supercharged part. That said...

To achieve your goal, you have to recognize that your vehicle has to stay in its most efficient state as much as possible. That's probably a speed of about 33 - 40 mph. Use your trip computer to monitor your current mpg under enough conditions (roads are seldom flat and the wind is seldom still) so that you have an idea of what the vehicle can do on its own once warmed up steady state.

Next, you'll have to change your driving habits to try and keep your 5900# vehicle in that zone. That's a lot of weight to accelerate. With 400 hp on tap, your acceleration needs to be much gentler than what you might read about for some of the other cars, because any significant RPMs and your supercharger will kill your mileage. Likewise, short trips will kill your mileage since an engine uses a multiple (like 3 or more) of its normal flow per hour while warming up.

Hills are also an issue. What you'll need to do is try and get up to a good speed on the flats so that your inertia can climb the hill. The idea is to have the speed to get up the hill quickly without having to use much engine loading to climb it.

Likewise, you'll need to drive thinking way down the road so that you can anticipate traffic so that you can keep the changes in inertia to very small levels. You neither want to have to press the brakes nor touch the gas pedal anymore that you absolutely need to.

If you have body protection bars on the vehicle, you'd be well advised to remove them.

I look forward to your results. Will you be logging your consumption?

[lovemysan]

[QUOTE=derangedrover;72855]Omaha, so 4wd is necessary like 4 month of the year. The image has nothing to do with any job.[/QUOTE

I would like to know why 4wd is necessary. I live in Kansas city, mo. They don't plow my road until days after a major snowfall. My saturn has a goat like ability to go anywhere I need it to go on Mich harmony all season tires. Before this care I had a2wd dodge diesel with an open diff. All I needed to do was fill the bed with snow and again I could go anywhere.

Please don't get offended when people make suggestions to you, you have more vehicle than you need. We're not trying to put you on the defensive.

[kickflipjr]

As for snow. Most fwd cars will do plenty good in the snow with some studded tires. I know in pittsburgh there are only a few days of the year that the roads are semi-slick (where 4wd might come in handy).

[bowtieguy]

Where's Skewbe? and the GW relationship to range rover type vehicles.