Makeover??? - Now I know I've been watching Trading Spaces way too much and turning the remote over to my wife way too often.

Anyway, after AlM kindly pointed me to Project MPG (http://performanceunlimited.com/projectmpg/), I looked at what they did and the numbers that they got and I couldn't see how the alterations wouldn't pay for themselves over time.

So, I thought I'd check with y'all to see if anyone out there has done a full or partial Project MPG of their own and the results that they got.

Be sure to include cost of the "makeover" and the results, I may have to convince my wife that we need these mods more than we need a new coffee table (damn interior design shows).

ps: It'd be great to improve the mileage and emissions so I could wave them in the faces of the anti-SUV crowd. One of the joys of working in Boulder, CO is the opportunity to get looked down at because you don't ride your bike the 20+ miles to work and you actually wear deodorant and eat meat. Give me some ammo here, please!

 

I've done the (cheap) intake side, but not the exhau$t upgrade$.
I spent ~$35 on a K&N drop-in and ~$10 on foil-faced self-adhesive sponge insulating tape and I could tell an immediate (but subtle) difference after each one.

 

Where did you get the insulating tape??? I have been looking all over.

Thanks

 

These projects are great adverising for aftermarket products, but you are smart enough to realize that they will never pay off in $.

Face it. The Big Bronco is a gas guzzler and you cannot change that. The best you can do is keep it in tune and keep a light foot on the gas pedal. You may get suggestions here about intake and exhaust systems and aftermarket ignitions. Waste of money. Ford already engineered it as best they could, starting with a heavy box-shaped truck with a V-8.

If you want to appease the anti-SUV folks, you probably would have to trade for an electric Rav4, or at least the new hybrid Escape. A CNG conversion would be "greeen", but to extreme for the average owner to tackle.

Jim

 

Actually, I beg to differ on ford engineers already designing the engine at its best....

WHich is why the same engineers went to the modular engine design...

among some of the things to improve mileage are:

1. air filter, the easier the engine can breathe cold air, the easier it is for it to create power.

2. Headers, one of the best known bolt on modifications that renders the best bang for your buck and creating an instant difference.

3.Roller rockers, effectively reduce valvetrain friction/heat while allowing the engine to create power to its full potential

4.electric cooling fan, increases overall mileage due to the elimination of
pulley torque needed to drive the sucker all the time...this also frees up horsepower.

5. underdrive pullies also decrease pulley torque usage and therefore frees up ponies and ups mileage

6. Overdrive transmission will bring the cruising rpm range down and allow the engine to deliver decent milage on freeway speeds.

7. throttle body block off valves to keep the hot coolant from shrouding the
air going into the TB assembly.....cooling the intake charge has a positive effect on building horsepower, more ponies means the truck is easier to push
down the road.

8. engine coatings, thermal barriers, thermal dispersant coatings and dry film lube coatings all help in thermal manipulation upping volumetric efficiency and manipulating the coefficient of friction of moving metal parts inside the engine.

9.roller camshaft, will also reduce total rotating assembly friction, this is another power building perk that will also allow for an increase in mileage
and helps build torque while keeping driveability good.

10. MSD ignition, although the duraspark works good, the MSD throws out multiple mini sparks to fully burn the air and fuel mixture off idle....and a good solid spark at higher rpms, this increases combustion efficiency and this means power and mileage.

11. MAF system creates a fuel management system that times each injector
for the cylinder, bank firing speed density systems fire all 4 injectors at once and waste lots of fuel....this can increase mileage by at least 10%.

12. airflow, porting the heads, or getting aftermarket heads, intake etc....
will alter the airflow pattern of your engine. We all know the more air the engine moves, the better it can make power...this should be limited to
professional portwork techs and MAF systems.

13. keep your foot light on the pedal and respect the fluidity of smooth driving.

14. keep windows up at higher speeds and take them 20 fake cb/tv and cell phone antennas off the truck....drag is a huge milage enemy...

15. keep a good state of tune on your engine, take it to the dyno and have them check the A/F numbers through the rpm ranges...and have the ECU chip
adjusted accordingly.


There are ways to get better mileage and no, the engineers did NOT design these things to give out the very best mileage.....Engineers designed these engines to operate given a wide range of operational scenarios....and they formulated the useage of these trucks as off road weekend vehicles, not daily drivers.

The main question you have to ask yourself is.....given the fuel costs, will the mods to improve mileage, power and emissions pay for themselves in a timely fashion? ie:better mileage, engine longevity, power and cleaner emissions.

My finding is YES.

I know of vintage mustang owners getting 28mpg out of their small block strokers while delivering 375 hp to the ground.

do some research and you will see that decent mileage is attainable

 

I found the thermal tape at Home Depot, but not at Lowe's. It cost me about $2.40 a roll, and it took 2 rolls to do my Bronco. I noticed a 1.5 MPG increase on my next fill-up, but other factors could have easily contributed to that. But, I haven't seen 12 MPG in quite a while...

It seems to me that after warm-up, the throttle doesn't seem quite so subdued while accelerating while cruising, but it's not a huge difference. I'd still recommend doing it.

 

RMbros,
10” wide aluminum rims $12-1500 – lighter than steel and the wife could use the steel ones to design a coffee table



4.95 wax, 2.95 rain-x, look on bikers face as you discard your rib bone out the window, priceless

Hey, it's biodegradable

I was suv-ing when suv-ing wasn't cool (66ford bronco - RIP)

 

I have done several mods to my 1990 bronco with 351w and this is what I have found. #1 and cheapest, bump the timing to around 14 degrees and you will notice a nice improvement. Gives the same affect as installing a chip. You will need at least 89 octane, but this mod increases hp as well, so its worth it. Installed an electric fan and replaced the manual with a slight increase in performance. Installed headers with no significant increase, but I have been told I need to replace the cat as well before I will notice anything. Took the coolant lines off the TB with no effect. I went from 9-10 mpg to 12 mpg. This is consistant for me. Oh yeah, anything to lighten it up will help as well since they are heavy beasts.
I know I will be hated for this but was wondering if anyone had any experience with changing the tire size and increase in acceleration as I want more performance. Anyone gone from the 235/75/15 to 31X10.5 or vice a versa and what was the outcome on performance, top end etc. I am very curious especially while running a 351. I am thinking about a 275/60/15 as I don't off road that much, but do tow a light trailer now and then. What kind of gains can I expect if any.

 

I have no numbers to compare because of spedometer errror, but when I ditched 32" tires for 255/70-15 Bridgestone A/T's, the overdrive gear became usable. 255/70's are about the same diameter as stock, so the spedometer does not need to be reprogrammed. The only problem is that they do not look as good as the 32's, but they do work well on and off road.

Insulating the airbox is one mod that does look promising for summer. The timing change looks good too, as long as I remember to put it back before a smog check.

Jim

 

I have no numbers to compare because of spedometer errror, but when I ditched 32" tires for 255/70-15 Bridgestone A/T's, the overdrive gear became usable. 255/70's are about the same diameter as stock, so the spedometer does not need to be reprogrammed. The only problem is that they do not look as good as the 32's, but they do work well on and off road.

Insulating the airbox is one mod that does look promising for summer. The timing change looks good too, as long as I remember to put it back before a smog check.

Jim

 

whats the tape for and were do you put it ..allso were in home depot did you get it and whats it called ?...i will try any thing...lol thanks

 

Look at the ProjectMPG website and you'll see where to put it.

I found it near the plumbing and water heater stuff, next to the water heater stovepipe parts. I found it in the same place at two different Home Depots. It comes in a clear bag with orange and black printing.

 

/bump

I am reviving this thread because I want to do this mod... and I'm hoping more people have since last post. I read on the project MPG webpage that he used 120' of insulating tape to properly insulate his factory airbox. and he noticed about a 40 degree difference in temperature with a 460... which we all know will make more heat than our 302s and 351s.

So, I'm wondering if anyone has used that much tape on their trucks, and if you noticed comparable decreases in temperature. I'm thinking I would like to get headers and wrap them too, but I want to do this mod first. Maybe use the 120' of insulation tape, then if that's not pretty enough, cover it with some aluminum tape. I'm not big on too much chrome under the hood, but I'm also not sure how it will look with just the insulating tape.

Also, I wonder if one could use some extra insulation between the tape and the plastic, like the fiberglass we've all got in our houses. Obviously, the colder the better, and it's already getting air straight from the wind in front of the truck. As temperatures and gas prices rise here in TX, I'm stuck between the gas mileage of my Altima and the pure fun of my topless Bronco. If I could get just 15 or 16 MPG out of my 351... well then I'd be in heaven.

BTW, I went to 33" tires and I think I'm oing to leave the 3.55s in there. I know many of you will gasp at this, but with a few performance mods, I'll still be better than stock acceleration and I'll get even more MPG because of the lower cruising RPMs. Tonight I'm going to reprogram my speedo to accommodate the 33"s and then top off my tank. I'd like to bun a whole tank like that before I do the other MPG mods so that I can measure the increase. I know that I was getting about 11.5 city / 12 hwy on my 31"s with no mods. All with the top off.

Anyhow, if anyone has more MPG mod ideas they wanna toss my way, I'd love to hear em. here's what's on my list so far:

TB coolant bypass
Airbox insulation
Thermal wrapped headers
electric fan conversion
EGR delete (maybe - jury is still out on this one)
K&N OEM-style filter (already done)
Flowmaster cat-back Y-pipe and high-flow cat (already done)

Also, before anyone argues that the $$ spent will never be made up in gas savings... I say pssht! I get horsepower too

-Josh

 

How do you reprogram the speedometer?? I changed to 35's...

Thanks in advance for your help!

 

check out this thread:

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/s...d.php?t=238178

that should point you in the right direction.

-Josh