Just thought maybe you guys could write an article on how to improve gas mileage, for those of us that drive are 4x4s daily especially with the gas prices so high. My truck is a 1995 Ford Ranger 4.0 5 spd with a 8 inch skyjaker lift and 33 inch tires. I am currently enrolled in Wyotech in Blairsville Pa and the moneys tight thanks and great mag.  

Hi, I was just curious if you could send me a pic of your Ford with an 8 inch lift on 33's. I've been thinking of putting 33's on my chevy, its an old one, but I thought an 8 inch lift might be to high for 33's. Curious as to what it looks like. Thanks. My email is k-nine1@earthlink.net  

do you drive around w/tailgate on/off,up/down? cause one time i had a 99 sierra 2x4 and was getting 18-19mpg all the time then one trip i made with it to vegas from san diego w/the tailgate off and stowed up next to the cab i got 21mpg @65-70mph grant it, it was a 2x4 but hey every little bit will help!  

and it was the small 4.8 v8  

I have an 04 chevy silverado 1500 4x4 with a 3" lift on 33" tires, i only get 13 miles to a gallon but it came with a tonneu cover and when i put that on in the winters to add a little traction I also get 15 miles to a gallon so it helps and also protects whatever you put in the bed!!!  

Hi sorry i dnt have any picks of it im in college and dont have a camera but yeah 8 inch would be to much for 33s on your truck i would probably go with a 4 inch if i were u. you can always call the buisness that u are lokking to buy the lift off of and they can usually tell u what size tire u can run with what size lift  

If you are really "worried" about MPG in a 4x4, you would not lift it or put big tires on it as they subtract from MPG potential.  

i have a '94 chevy with 32" tires and a 4.3 and I only get 14 MPG.  I've tried tailgate up, down different fuel it doesn't matter.  Trucks just don't get good MPG.  And I saw on Myth Busters that MPG is actually better with the tailgate up.  

USAFChevy:
i have a '94 chevy with 32" tires and a 4.3 and I only get 14 MPG.  I've tried tailgate up, down different fuel it doesn't matter.  Trucks just don't get good MPG.  And I saw on Myth Busters that MPG is actually better with the tailgate up.

Take myth busters with a grain of salt. It might be possible is a wind tunnel with the right bed length (a short one) and air velocity that you could get shock wave to form behind tail gate but in practice it is not so. I have been driven P/U with 8 foot beds for over 35 years now and they all new and old do a bit better with tail gate down. A few years ago I had to make two 300 mile round trips two day in a row to same place. Same weather, same times of day and traffic and same speed with cruise control and A/C. I made one trip with gate up and one with gate down and started with a full tank topped off both times. I got about 1 MPG better with gate down on second day which worked out to almost 2 gallons less fuel to make same trip. It was a std cab K3500 SRW with no lift and stock tires running 65 MPH. I would also go further to say that one reason your MPG is so poor on your truck is likely because it is geared too tall and engine is laboring more and efficiency drops. No MPG is gained when engine has to work too hard at a lower RPM. 32's on a full sized truck are pretty big for a 4.3 with stock gears.  

Tall skinny tire and proper tire pressure and make sure your truck is geared properly for tire size. Tail gate down! Proper maintenance good air cleaner like KN air filters. Also cleaning of fuel system and new O2 sensors. Sometimes my sensors get coated with strange stuff and get a Q-tip and alchol and clean off residue of sensors. My 3800 buick starts loosing mileage and this is what I do to get my mileage back up. Synthetic engine oil 250,000 miles and get 24 mph still. Need a new car but its paid for and 24mpg. Hard to give her up. Start looking at the little things and they will all add up for better mileage.  

wyomingtrailheader:
Tall skinny tire and proper tire pressure and make sure your truck is geared properly for tire size. Tail gate down! Proper maintenance good air cleaner like KN air filters. Also cleaning of fuel system and new O2 sensors. Sometimes my sensors get coated with strange stuff and get a Q-tip and alchol and clean off residue of sensors. My 3800 buick starts loosing mileage and this is what I do to get my mileage back up. Synthetic engine oil 250,000 miles and get 24 mph still. Need a new car but its paid for and 24mpg. Hard to give her up. Start looking at the little things and they will all add up for better mileage.

Proper air pressure (near max tire rating) is good. Narrow smooth tread is good but too tall a tire that raise effective ratio too much for power train config is not good. K&N air filter is wasted money MPG wise. It will have zero effect on MPG on a modern FI engine which controls air/fuel ratio. (with a carb it "might" have a fractional improvement) O2 sensor, this is not a bad idea. If you have more than 50K on one this can help. As O2 sensors age they tend to richen mixture a bit because they "see" more oxygen then is really there which richens mixture. YOu should never clean them. IF they are getting dirty it is a sign of reduced engine performance or oil usage which is fouling them or reduced exhaust temps related to reduce engine efficiency which is not heat O2 sensors properly to keep them clean. SYN oil can help some but it is best to use it from when engine is new not as a attempt to breath new life into a old worn engine. Frequent oil changes (every 3k or less) helps two ways. One it extends engine service life and two is removes microscopic grit from oil that filtering misses and increases internal friction in engine. Higher octane fuel, this is something that many overlook and even more today as they strive to use cheapest possible fuel. Most modern engines (all GM engine since late 80's) have knock sensors that detect fuel knock before you hear it and retard spark to control it and limit consumer complaints. The problem is that this reduces engine efficiency, power and MPG and quickly steal MPG from you and the user not knowing any better thinks all is well. They will site that 87 is in manual when of course it is because to be honest and tell you it needs more would be a deal killer on sale when many want to use cheapest gas possible. BTW, all EPA MPG test since late 80's have been done with 93 octane fuel as it is in test requirements but they are not required to tell you that on window sticker.