Another MPG rant !!!!

[Scott K]

In MN the only non ethanol blend you can buy is meant for off road use, or for older cars. You can put it in your car, but technically you arent suppose to. The fuel will get you a couple % better economy, but it will also cost more per gallon. It will be cheaper to just use the 10% blend that is in all the pumps.

[CaptainMusky]

IMO the OP is getting mileage exactly as expected for this vehicle. Avg 21.5 at highway speed, then drive in town and it drops? Shocker, thats what happens. If you averaged 17.5 for that trip that is right where it should be depending on what the city traffic was like.

Also, that 3.42 rear end is hurting you. It will lower your RPM at higher speeds, but causes much more work for the engine when starting out especially when towing.

Example, I had a 2003 Chev Trailblazer with the 4.2 and 3.42 rear end. Thing couldnt get out of its own way when accelerating. This vehicle was totalled. Replaced it with 2003 GMC Envoy 4.2 with 3.73 NIGHT AND DAY difference!! I have a Yukon XL Denali as my vehicle, but I have towed with this envoy and there is no comparison the difference in power and the mileage is at worst 2 or 3MPG better across the board.

With the trailblazer we could average 20 on the highway, but the second we drove in town, the avg dropped to 15.

The envoy, same type of driving the avg drops to 18.

[Whoaru99]

I've been thinking of trying non-ethanol gas on my 1997 Toyota Landcrusher. With 238k miles and counting I still average around 15mpg as is originally stated on the original sticker. I would love to get more mpg if non-ethanol is safe to use and is the key. Anybody out there have good results with n0n-ethanal gas?

If you need higher octane then that's one thing but just to use pure premium for better MPG is a losing proposition. It costs more to buy in terms of percent increase over E10 than the percent increase you'll get for MPG.

[theoilman]

Get an Ultra Gauge and see if you can change your driving habits

ultra-gauge dot com

I got one and found it a very useful tool. Plugs into your OBD port and gives you a full time reading of everything in the data stream plus a number of calculated parameters. Less than $80 including shipping.