Gas Mileage after SCT

[Silver03MM]

Okay I used the SCT on my Marauder and its great! The thing is I went from getting 17 mpg to 13mpg. The car is stock except for a panel K&N but my question is - Would an Intake and a full exhaust with the SCT counter lose of mileage? I would like to have the car get decent mileage, maybe even throw in some denso's to see if that helps. Maybe even one step further and throw in the Tornado! :bs:

[SID210SA]

Wow....thats the same milage my '86 Bronco 4X4 got....

[Zack]

You should pick up 3-5mpg with a tune.

[KillJoy]

Are you stomping on it more now that your have your tune?

That can account for ALOT of gas!

KillJoy

[Silver03MM]

No i'm not, its the DR Tune and the RPM's run higher and shifts are firmer but somehow i'm losing mileage. I thought it was because I didn't have an intake or an exhaust.

[Zack]

Could it be because your into the gas more now that its faster?

[SergntMac]

Zack's right...(sigh) Again!

Arrrrrrrgggggg!

I'm still testing this for final publication, but we put a "stock out of the blue box" SCT tune for the CRD1 EEC on my #3 Marauder. This, along with pints of Seafoam (1 pt. in the crank case, 1 pt. in each full tank of gas), took me from 16.3 MPG to 21.1, in just three tank fill-ups.

I'd like to wait for another tank full for verification, but the present tank full is burning up at the same rate as the last, and without the SeaFoam additive in the gas. I'm expecting 20+ MPG.

No, I'm not pounding on the car. I'm driving it just like the '91 Gran Marq it replaced. Daily use, all street "stop and go" driving. Haven't even tried a burnout yet, so, I don't know what to expect from this "blue box" tune in performance. But, I am enjoying the MPG, it's over +5 better than my '91 with a 302 pushrod.

Next test will be highway mileage, I'll keep y'all posted.

[KillJoy]

What is SeaFoam?

KillJoy

[ckadiddle]

I have had so much fun since loading the Reinhart tune I am deathly afraid to calculate my gasoline consumption.:burn:

[Marauderjack]

I saw a pretty good increase in fuel economy with the SCT tune but not much improvement with the DiabloSport tune......but I think that has more to do with the blower!!:banana2:

The absolute worst I ever got was "Test & Tune" in town when I installed the blower...16.5 MPG??:shake: Most of the time I get 19-20 around town and 22-24 on the highway....PRETTY IMPRESSIVE FOR THE SIZE OF THIS CAR AND THE POWER IT HAS NOW!!!:beer:

Try to establish a base line for mileage with the tune in and then go back to stock for a tank or two and you will see what you are really doing.....If you can stand driving it in the "Stock" mode!!:censor: :argue:

Marauderjack:bandit:

[Marauder386]

I have had so much fun since loading the Reinhart tune I am deathly afraid to calculate my gasoline consumption.:burn:


I dont give a damn about gas mileage...if I did I would probably be driving a freekin Yugo or Festiva or Cooper....

:coolman:

[natedog1284]

No i'm not, its the DR Tune and the RPM's run higher and shifts are firmer but somehow i'm losing mileage. I thought it was because I didn't have an intake or an exhaust.

When I installed my tune I already had the JLT CAI and cat-back exhaust, and I didn't really notice any improvement in my mileage than what I had already gotten. The biggest difference I noticed was after I had the headers and high flow cats installed. But as Zach suggested, this was only when I drove as the law dictates that I should. :rolleyes: When I first did the tune, I just stomped it to watch the volts guage drop (what a cool effect to go with the sound!) so it's hard for me to say if it helped my mileage any. But it was my experience that, as far as gas mileage goes, the cold air and exhaust did more for me than the tune.

[natedog1284]

btw, sorry Zack, I didn't mean to spell your name wrong! :o

[merc6]

My lidio tune and proguard from DR may have helped me with my mpg. as long as I don't drive under the influence of K&N+Magnaflow I can do 390 MI range, when I was under the influence at one point I was lucky to get 150 range!

[STLR FN]

What's "Stock Mode" Jack???? :D I wouldn't know, esecially now since I'm outta warranty. Let the real fun begin. :eek: Sorry for the thread hi-jack.

Actually I haven't really paid attention. But I did get 262 outta half a tank each way going to Chicago. And I had an ave. of 21-22mpg at 80mph.

[SergntMac]

SeaFoam is a gasoline additive like STP, Gumout, and a lot of other crap on the shelves at any auto parts store you visit that call themselves "fuel system/injector cleaners".

'Cept that my father introduced me to SeaFoam in 1968, when I introduced him to Gumout, so, it's like both have been around a while, right? From carb/pushrod engines, to EFI/DOHC engines.

This stuff is not an octane booster, but an engine cleaner.

http://www.seafoamsales.com/

There's also another reliable product, Auto-Rx. I haven't used it much myself, but it has a good rep too. Bob?

http://www.auto-rx.com/

Y'all can think of this as "snake-oil" illusion, but as sensitive as these engines seem to be, IMHO, not using a cleaner/additive even once in a while, is a waste of fuel, which is likewise a waste of performance gains too. A 4.8 gain in MPG is a performance gain too, yes?

My #3 has 72K on the clock, and it has not been maintained very well before I bought it. Now that it's mine, maintenence schedules will improve, trust me. And, what ever works, or, doesn't work, will get reported here.

[RCSignals]

What is SeaFoam?

KillJoy


http://www.seafoamsales.com/motorTuneUp.htm

[94_302]

Zack's right...(sigh) Again!

Arrrrrrrgggggg!

I'm still testing this for final publication, but we put a "stock out of the blue box" SCT tune for the CRD1 EEC on my #3 Marauder. This, along with pints of Seafoam (1 pt. in the crank case, 1 pt. in each full tank of gas), took me from 16.3 MPG to 21.1, in just three tank fill-ups.

I'd like to wait for another tank full for verification, but the present tank full is burning up at the same rate as the last, and without the SeaFoam additive in the gas. I'm expecting 20+ MPG.

No, I'm not pounding on the car. I'm driving it just like the '91 Gran Marq it replaced. Daily use, all street "stop and go" driving. Haven't even tried a burnout yet, so, I don't know what to expect from this "blue box" tune in performance. But, I am enjoying the MPG, it's over +5 better than my '91 with a 302 pushrod.

Next test will be highway mileage, I'll keep y'all posted.

How much of that increase would you say is due to the tune vs seafoam?

[RF Overlord]

There's also another reliable product, Auto-Rx. I haven't used it much myself, but it has a good rep too. Bob?

ARX is highly respected among those of us who take an above-average interest in oils, filtration, and lubrication in general. It is totally different from most of the other "miracle-in-a-can" snake oils out there in that 1). It actually works...2). It does so slowly and gently so as to not dislodge any major chunks of crud...and 3). It is not harmful to any part of the motor.

If you have owned your car since day one, and taken proper care of it, then ARX will most likely not do anything for you, but if you acquire a vehicle of unknown or suspect background, then SeaFoam and/or Auto-Rx can be very useful, as Mac has demonstrated.

[jawz101]

Since my DR tune I avg probably 13.5mpg. I've had as low as 11.5mpg (I was running on about 22psi in the tires at the time). I know why my mileage sucks now though; my leadfoot.

I had called Dennis once and he sent me a different tune to load but I don't even think I recognized a difference. Leadfoot again. I have tried driving conservatively for a tankand my mileage shot back up.

Try driving conservatively (reserving the urge to floor it) and see how you do on a tank. If that doesn't give you an idea of your new and improved driving habits you may want to ask Dennis what he suggests. I've noticed my mileage shot back up to 16-17mpg if I really try to control myself.

It's probably true that some things done in an aftermkt tune would increase mpg but realistically there are probably performance changes made that offset some of the other gains. It's probably like tweaking a computer settings and overclocking it at the same time. At some point overclocking is going to push the envelope. and some tweaks may hurt your performance if you're computer isn't set up for the tweak's intentions.

A custom tune is probably the best since a tuner can adjust for your specific car.
Dennis or anyone can always give you a tune that isn't as aggressive.

[SergntMac]

Jaws...Improperly inflated tires are a very big D R A G on performance. Why so low of PSI?

[Dennis Reinhart]

Okay I used the SCT on my Marauder and its great! The thing is I went from getting 17 mpg to 13mpg. The car is stock except for a panel K&N but my question is - Would an Intake and a full exhaust with the SCT counter lose of mileage? I would like to have the car get decent mileage, maybe even throw in some denso's to see if that helps. Maybe even one step further and throw in the Tornado! :bs:

There is no reason for this drop in MPG if you have a tuner from me call me I will look at the file and will get this back to where it should be

[Dennis Reinhart]

Also the Pro Guard has shown to give a MPG gain but again I can not see the tune causing a big loss again give me a call if I can help

[Marauderjack]

:burnout: :burnout: :burnout: :burnout:

Possible reason??:beer:

Marauderjack:D

[Pat]

Mileage, smileage, since I put in the 4:10's and Lidio tune I only watch for LEO's and listen to the rapture of a DOHC engine revving to 3K.

Took a road trip this weekend and kept the tack at 2K, speed about 65 MPH, seemed economical enough.

[Petrograde]

Could it be because your into the gas more now that its faster?
^^exactly what I was thinking^^

Even my SCT 1725 with a 'canned' tune improved my MPG.

Now that I have a proper Dyno Tune I can get just over 400 miles out of a tank of 93 octane,... IF I keep my foot out of the injectors! :burnout:

[jawz101]

Jaws...Improperly inflated tires are a very big D R A G on performance. Why so low of PSI?

Weather got cold quick on me this winter. Didn't snow but once for a little bit here... (I hate Oklahoma winters lately). I usually check once a month at least but for some reason at least 1 tire just dropped dramatically- the others were fairly low too. No doubt it was a drag because I gained at least 2-3mpg after getting them properly inflated again.

[Silver03MM]

Thanks Dennis, I'm going to keep monitoring my MPG if it stays bad and its not me I'll let you know.

[SergntMac]

Just finished the tank of gas without the SeaFoam additive...18.3 MPG.

I need to try this again before I can say the Seafoam additive is a benefit, because it's six bucks a pint.