can you save gas this way ?

[[email protected]]

i recently bought a used 20 dodge minivan, with the 3.3 v-6. i'm told i can get better milage if i take the 2 cross bars off the roof rack and ditch the steel wheel rims and hub caps for aluminium "centerline" rims, the ones with no holes in the disk, so i am not powering 4 fans down the road.
milage now is just under 25 mpg "combined" , so what do you all think of these ideas. i would try a "bellypan" but that is going to extremes. what about rubber side skirts ? has anyone tried this ? mike

[triplethreattt]

Originally Posted by [email protected]

i recently bought a used 20 dodge minivan, with the 3.3 v-6. i'm told i can get better milage if i take the 2 cross bars off the roof rack and ditch the steel wheel rims and hub caps for aluminium "centerline" rims, the ones with no holes in the disk, so i am not powering 4 fans down the road.
milage now is just under 25 mpg "combined" , so what do you all think of these ideas. i would try a "bellypan" but that is going to extremes. what about rubber side skirts ? has anyone tried this ? mike

removing the crossbars seems like splitting hairs. I dont' think there's enough drag on them to cause gas mileage problems.

I have heard people talking recently about replacing heavy steel wheels with aluminum mags. The overall weight of the car is a couple hundred lbs less, but again, we are talking thousands of lbs for the van itself. I don't think the mileage would save you enough to justify spending the money on new wheels.

...but...I'm no expert. These are just my opinions.

[RIP]

Can't see a major fuel savings doing either. If you want to see a minor savings go for it. Just keep in mind the new wheel covers will cost some bucks. Will your fuel savings recoupe the cost of the covers quickly enough to be worth it?

One thing I do is remove that rear bench seat that I rarely use anymore. I'm betting it weighs a good 80-100 lbs. It's bound to save fuel in the long run. And it doesn't cost a cent to do.

[[email protected]]

thanks for the reply, i did remove the 3rd seat so the puppy has a home.
found some cool looking aluminium rims for 75 bucks a piece, but they have spokes. i thought about moon disks, but i would still be using steel wheels, = not good. i will search for "centerline" wheels next to reduce unsprung weight. mike

[RickMN]

You will never recoup the cost of those wheels based on gas savings.

[webbch]

You're wasting your time even thinking about it. The payback period for such a savings would be on the order of decades. You say you're already getting 25mpg, which is pretty much the top of the food chain mpg-wise for these vans if you ask me.

[t_arnold]

Most everyone in here is correct. The weight savings of the centerlines will not pay off. You are talking maybe 1/2 mpg. Using the steel wheels with moon disks would be the cheaper way to go, but you run into the issue with both ideas about brake cooling. No holes in the wheels, means no airflow going to the rotors, except the air coming in from the back side of the wheel, which is the warmer air picked up from the engine. I would keep the steel wheels, or get the centerline wheels with the holes in them for brake cooling.

[[email protected]]

well, i did it anyway. found a set of americanracing Outlaw II aluminium rims, 15 x 7 with holes in the disk for $ 65.00 each, on www.buywheelstoday.com
OR i could choose the reaction riot alum rim with 10 skinny spokes, each at $50.00 each. decisions,decisions ?
i did take the cross bars off the roof rack, so it is easier to push the snow off the top of the van. i never use this thing anyway.
next project is to add 6" side skirts along the spotwelded flange at the bottom of the body. saw this at the races @ elkhart lake, wisconsin some years ago @ the "june sprints" on alfa's, mg"s, and triumphs. question is, what material to use ?
mike

[nuts]

Your already getting 25 mph,thats great.In my 98 3.3 grand Im getting 17mph and my 2007 3.8 I'm getting 18mph. i would love to get 25 mph on both of these cars!

[HeadlessHorseman1]

This is the checklist I use to maintain good gas mileage for my 1996 Dodge Grand Caravan LE with the 3.8L V6 motor:

1.) Take out the rear bench seat, if you can,
2.) Take out the two middle captain's chairs, if you can,
3.) Make sure your front wheels are aligned,
4.) Check your tires for abnormal wear every 2-4 WEEKS and FIX the problem, if necessary,
5.) Check your tire pressure every 2-4 WEEKS - I keep mine at 40psi with a portable pump,
6.) Replace your oil every 2,500-3,000 miles (without fail),
7.) Add 1qt. of Slick-50 to your oil change every 15K miles,
8.) Replace your air cleaner every YEAR,
9.) Remove air intake snorkle and clean throttle body intake every YEAR,
10.) Replace your spark plugs with platinum tipped plugs every 100K miles,
11.) If your serpentine belt squeals - FIX IT, unnecessary DRAG on engine,
12.) Make sure ALL recall notices have been handled by your dealer, and
13.) Make sure front brake calipers and rear brake cylinders are working properly.

I have done ALL of this this since my 1996 GC/LE (w/3.8L V6) was new. I never had a major engine failure. I now have over 256,000+ miles on the vehicle. I get better gas mileage now than when it was new (no kidding)... 27-29 MPG on the highway and 15-18 MPG in town. I have no strange noises coming from under the hood. My caravan runs great, sounds great and, thankfully, still looks great (no rust and never been hit).

By the way... I use the overhead computer and cruise control to get real-time gas consumption numbers while I am driving on long, flat stretches of the highway, no wind gusts, etc. That's how I know that 61 MPH is the "sweet spot" for my 1996 Dodge Grand Caravan LE with the 3.8L V6 motor... any faster or slower than 61 MPH gets me worse gas mileage... not a lot worse, but not as good as I get at 61 MPH. Uh, did I mention 61 MPH?

[2000izusu]

you want good gas mileage? here is a guy that put a vw diesel in a caravan! 57 mpg! i love stuff like this! creativity! mike

how to
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkf4cxAaTmA

here is it running
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1s2j...eature=related

here it is on cold start! very cold! small price to pay for screwin the (oil) man!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnCkP...eature=related

[tempfixit]

awesome van

[Cntrysthbst]

[quote=HeadlessHorseman1]I get better gas mileage now than when it was new (no kidding)... 27-29 MPG on the highway and 15-18 MPG in town.quote]

Good info. Mine gets 32 mpg at 55, about the same as yours. I get about 2 mpg less when AC compressor is cycling. They are very good in gas. Your check list is great for those who want to save some gas. Having a 3.8 is the best bet, the 3.3 struggles a bit more with the size of these vans, and will use more gas.

A question, you said you run 40 psi, is that a bit much? How does it handle? I ask cause I have the Nevomat rear suspension which is bouncy. Running 36 psi just doesn't seem enough, the tires feel like marshmellows. I have the Michelin Hydroedge which seem to run hard cause they are a high mile tire too. Some say 32 psi, some 35 psi. Figured I'd ask before I try at 40 psi. Thanks.

[[email protected]]

re your items #6 and#7 on the list, i have not posted since december, been running tests on "oil' dumped the havoline 10w-40 and stp and changed to walmart full synthetic 5w-30. the results are amazing. picked up 1.5 mpg on a 2000 mile road test. no other changes done. now it's time to install bosh +4's and dump the oem spark plugs.
mike

[Cntrysthbst]

I put those in a Park Avenue supercharged, Series 3 3800 engine, and had poor engine performance. I replaced about everything in it and then finally took it to the dealer where I learned about the spark difference. The OEM create a larger spark which the engine demanded, I replaced them and it ran good again. I don't know if these plugs would affect the Chysler 3.8 put figured I'd mention it.