Some stats' on VX mileage

[mbeach]

The Monteros have less horsepower and torque than the VX, weigh more, and they perform just as good on road(offroad the VX blows it away) how do you figure???

I agree with the VX needing a more powerful motor, but with more and more research I'm starting to accept that more CCs is not the way to go.
I'm assuming that you're referring to the body-on-frame Monteros, which have a very similar construction to the VX, and also displace 3.5L. They also get 17mpg, regardless of city/highway -I've worked on quite a few and if I could find a '99 SR, I wouldn't be driving a VX.
It really boils down to a weak engine in a heavy truck = poor mpg.

With appropriate gearing, tires and a diet, the VX could be a competitor in the milage events, with very little work done to the engine (just basic performance mods).
The fact is, most of us add things (like big tires, big stereos, racks, etc.) that KILL our gas mileage. Someone's sig says it best:
[I]The price you pay to be different[I]

It is my personal opinion that the single worst feature of the truck is the transmission. I can just feel this thing sucking up horsepower.
I think that if someone manages the 5 speed swap, we can expect 20+ mpg all day long.

[cascabel3]

I would have given anything for a 5 speed manual tranny on the VX. The one thing I didn't like about the VX was the lack of that option. Granted, in heavy traffic an automatic is better, but although I live in LA basin I manage to avoid traffic for the most part. Like MBeach stated, the tranny is a big part of the waste.

Spazz also answered one of my long sought curiosities; when I road-tripped in my '91 Trooper I noticed that I got better mileage once out of California. When I drove through Colorado where I spent a bit of time above 8000 ft, My mileage was insane. At times I though my gauge was broken, the needle just wouldn't budge. I deduced back then that this was due to following causes:

At higher altitudes electronic ignition will lean the fuel/air mixture to compensate for thinner air, the reason Jets fly as high as they do (leaner mix, less friction and catching certain currents) and the fact that on these Colorado mountain roads my average speed was ~45MPH. Now I can add Spazz' California fuel factor and complete my theory.

[Numba1goalie]

So basically, out of all of this, there really is no cure to making our milage better?

For the most part with California residents that is?

[Ldub]

Just drive down hill,with the wind all the time. You almost never get where you wanted to go, but you get to see new places!

[VehiGAZ]

Actually, the VX's automatic tranny is not a problem like you might think, because it runs full-lockup in all but first gear, so the power loss due to an oil coupling in the drivetrain is just not there. The fact is that the VX is a very heavy vehicle (for its size), with full-time 4WD, a big frontal area, a high-drag body, and an engine that gets a lot of torque out of a gallon of gas. You're not going to make a 25 mpg gas-sipper out of that.

I've gotten as low as 13.9 mpg with my Yakima cargo box in the winter and as high as 18.2 in the summer with no box. (The box costs me about 1 mpg whatever the season) Winter air is denser, but colder, which I think is what reduces mileage in the winter on ALL vehicles.

Speed and the amount of stop-and-go is the big difference from what I can tell. I push 80 mph on the highway, and I can tell the engine needs a lot more pedal to keep the pace. When I run long distances on back roads between 45 and 65 mph, I get the best mileage (a hair over 18 mpg). It drops at least 1 mpg when I'm running on the highway at 80. On the other hand, my 20-mile drive to work at 40-50 mph on back roads with several stop signs and lights makes my mileage drop to about 16.5 or so. Same speed range, but more stopping-and-going make the difference.

Another thing I noticed on my old Prelude is that a change in tires made a big difference in the mileage. With the original tires (Bridgestone all-season sport tires) I got as much as 26 mpg highway. When I swithed to Avon three-season performance tires, it dropped to about 23.5 mpg. The mileage you get in the stock car can change with almost any mod. All the little factors play together to determine your mileage. Change any of them, and you may change your mileage.

Locale and types of gas make a huge difference, too. The gas you get in one city will not be the same formulation that you get in the next - even if it's the same grade and the same company!! In fact, the landscape of gas formulations is wildly complex, and it's a principle cause of the generally high price of gas. Refineries have to make literally dozens of different formulations of the same octane grade to supply each and every county with the type of gas they think will be best for their environment. Car & Driver did a great article on this a few yeas ago. It's a ridiculous situation, really.

If you want cheaper gas, tell your state congressman to reduce the number of formulations that localities have to pick from.

Ok, time to get off the soap box and get to work...

[Numba1goalie]

Awesome information.

So basically all we can do is fold our arms and like it!

[VehiGAZ]

That was the sub-text, yes. ;-)

I don't think any of us bought our VXs without knowing the fuel economy situation. But significant decreases in economy (other than by our own zany mods) is a perfectly legitimate gripe.

[Chopper]

Sorry, I'm the exception. I've always gotten 17 or 18 here in very flat Fla.. Mobil 1 and Green Grease all around with fanatical matainance. True- when I blast around, it'll drop to 11.

[deermagnet]

The lowest mpg I've gotten is 17.5. I always run stock size tires, so my odometer is apparently correct. Last summer I checked my mileage with three fills in a row on stock spark plugs with 77K miles and got 19.73-19.97. This week with new plugs after 9K miles I filled up and drove 304.6 miles. It took 15.44 gallons to refill, so that comes to 19.73 mpg. I guess it could be the summer fuel mix, but whatever it is, I like it.

Mark Griffin