2006 Dodge Grand Caravan SE

[popimp]

Hi everyone I'm new to this site and am pleased that at least some people are trying to save gas, whether it's an economic, political, or moral issue. Anyways I drive a 2006 Dodge Grand Caravan SE. It has a 3.3L V6. I've been tracking my fuel economy since I purchased the van and was hoping to improve my mileage using techniques that have been posted on this site. 1st off I'm getting about 19.28 MPG average. With a high of 26.02 MPG and a low of 15.42 MPG. I recently switched to a synthetic oil to help improve my cause. I was wondering what the optimum FE could be on a van like this. I've noticed that most people on this forum have FE vehicles compared to my van. Would a Scan Gauge 2 help improve my FE? Any suggestions are welcome.

[SVOboy]

The SGII would definately help! Prolly the best thing you could do!

[popimp]

Thanks for the responce. How much of increase could I expect? I'm trying to justify the cost.

[SVOboy]

Hmm, it depends generally on how much you are willing to change, but at least a bit, I'll let some other people chime in here since I didn't really have a good transition to using my superMID.

[Gary Palmer]

Their are a couple of things you can do, but you would have to consider when, where and whether to do them or not.

We have a 98 Chrysler T&C, with a 3.8L engine. Here are a couple of things I've done, which do definitely help. First, raise the tire pressure, if you can handle the harsher ride and your family circumstances will allow. Second, do as much of a grill block as you can, without unduly raising the engine temperature.

I did a saran wrap grill block on one trip a couple of month's ago, with about a 4" by 4" opening and my highway mileage, at 70-80, was about 24 mpg. I took it off and reduced the tire pressures because my wife primarily drives the van and I didn't want to have any issues with me fiddeling with something, then a problem associated with anything I did. It has potential.

If you can afford a SGII, then that is very clearly the best thing you could possibly do to improve mileage. Pretty much everyone who has one, says that they were able to make substantial improvements in areas they had not considered previously, by getting one.

[Bill in Houston]

So let's see, what %age would you have to save on gas to make the SG pay out? 100,000 miles of life left divided by 20 mpg gives 5000 gallons of gas, which at 3 bucks per gallon is $15,000. So if the SG saves you 1%, it's worth it. Whaddya think?

[popimp]

Thanks for the inputs everyone. Gary I was wondering, since you and I pretty much have the same vehicle, what's the best fuel economy you have seen in your Town & Country? I ordered the Scan Gauge 2 today so we'll see if it helps me out any. What would the recommended tire pressure be? I currently have it set at the manufacturers setting of 36PSI.

[LxMike]

scanguage will help with your driving habits. as for tire pressure maybe try bumbing up 2 lbs at a time so you will get used to the ride and won't be as big a jump as if you went from 36 up to 46 or whereever you decide.

[Gary Palmer]

Right at the moment, the 24mpg tank is the only really relevant mileage I can give you. I don't really monitor it because it's primarily my wife's car.

On tire pressure, their are different thought's. Personally, I have been running my Honda at 55psi for about the last 9 month's or so. I think the max on the sidewall is 35psi. I have left them their because it made a very noticable difference in my engine off coasting distance and it was so pronounced, I just have left it their. I have run 50psi on our prior mini-van, in the summer, crossing the desert in 110 degree heat. I have never encountered a tire failure running at the higher pressures, that I could attribute in any way to the higher pressure. The tires run substantially cooler and I have not had blowouts or other issues, like I had previously when I was running more traditional pressures.

I have backed the van tire pressures back to about 35psi because it doesn't ride quite as harsh, which is part of the nice ride factor of the van.

I will be very interested in seeing what sort of mileage you are able to get with the SG.

[popimp]

Gary I will be sure to post my results as soon as the Scan Gauge arrives. The best mileage I have gotten so far is 26 mpg. I drove about 200 miles at 60 MPH using my vents only. My question is, are these vehicles capable of getting better than 26 or am I fooling myself? Thanks for the help everyone.

[savoF3]

Thought I'd chime in here since I have a '96 Grand Caravan 3.3L.

You'll have fun with your scanguage. Experiment, experiment, experiment.

At 55mph on my van there was no MPG difference between vents and vents plus front windows wide open. Run the experiment on yours and you'll probably find you don't have to sweat it. A/C however was a killer, a little over 10% reduction.

And if you can stand going slower than 60mph you'll see big gains. Here's my data points when I was plotting my steady speed to instantaneous mpg. These values are uncalibrated (the tank average turned out 5% more optimistic than actual).

MPH     MPG
35       30
45       34
50       31
55       29
60       27

The feedback is nice for determining whether re-routing is worth it. I have one route up and down a big hill that I rerouted to take 6% longer but I can get 35% better mileage.

We've moved up from 17.8mpg average to a little over 20 (lots of short trips, wife uses it for commuting and is slower putting these techniques to use)

As for tire pressure I have mine at 44psi (max sidewall) but can't say how much it helps. The ride doesn't feel harsh to me, though.

[popimp]

savoF3 thanks for the responce. What's the best mileage you've received on your van? Hopefully my scan gauge will arrive today so I can start my experiment. My best has been 26 so far. Do you think that anymore is possible out of my machine? I pumped the tires to 40psi yesterday.

[savoF3]

Originally Posted by popimp

savoF3 thanks for the responce. What's the best mileage you've received on your van? Hopefully my scan gauge will arrive today so I can start my experiment. My best has been 26 so far. Do you think that anymore is possible out of my machine? I pumped the tires to 40psi yesterday.

I've only been working hard on improving since I found this site and cleanmpg.com, about three weeks, and I think I can wring a lot more out of it. I haven't had a real nice long trip where I can max it out.

I know a couple of years ago on a long hot interstate trip, 65mph, the best I got was 26.7.

Today I had a nice round trip down and up the steep hill here and managed 25.5 where I previously had a best of 18.8. A slightly longer route coasting down a nice straight grade rather than the steep twisties plus anticipating and coasting to lights paid off. Only cost me 6% further distance. And I suspect that it's actually more like 27.5 since (I think) the fuel should be completely cut coasting down that grade in gear and the Scanguage doesn't detect it (wouldn't give me above 80mpg).

I think the real gains are at the low end rather than at the "bests" though. That is, all those in-town trips where I'm eking out 20mpg ("old" EPA combined average for my year) instead of 17 are the real bread and butter. Hey, it's not a prius, but I'm moving 5+ people and that's 50cents a gallon savings.

[Gary Palmer]

Ok, here are a couple of ideas and questions.

Since you guys have the scangauge, you could probably quantatively answer these a whole lot quicker than I can. Additionally, since I am not driving our van, it limits my opportunities.

First, grill block. I did my first test, using saran wrap across the front. I blocked probably 90% of the grill and bumper inlets.

Second, grill block. I removed the cover over the radiator and used a sheet of cardboard between the radiator and the a/c coils. I covered about 90%, changed it to 85%, estimated, due to temperature increases on hills, in warmer, 85ish weather.

Third, increase tire pressure. I am running 55 in my Civic wagon. On the van I have run as high as 50, but I backed it down because of the harsher ride.

savOF3; when you did the mileage profiling, did you run a test at 40mph. I was a little surprised to see as much of a drop in mileage, from 45 to 35, but I figure their is a break point, based on the engine, transmission and speed, I just would have thought it would be at a little lower rpm.

Anyway's, Great to have you aboard, good luck with your Scangauges.

[brucepick]

Originally Posted by popimp

... My question is, are these vehicles capable of getting better than 26 or am I fooling myself? Thanks for the help everyone.

I can't say what mpg you'll be able to achieve - but I will say that buying another vehicle is going to have a significant dollar cost. I think it's pretty much guaranteed that you'll never get out of a dealership without buying a vehicle that's worth at least several thousand dollars more than what you're trading in.

That said, if your family can live with a vehicle that is going to get 30% or 50% better fuel economy then changing could be worth it. I'd base those judgements on the EPA numbers. Because, for sake of simplicity, assume that whatever you drive, if you're willing to work at it you can improve your results by some decent percentage. The amount that you can improve it isn't mostly dependent on the car, it's dependent on your own efforts. So compare the Caravan vs. other cars using raw EPA numbers. But watch out for the rating change between '07 and '08. They changed the rating system. You can see apples-to-apples EPA numbers at http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/bymod...emodelNF.shtml

I'll also toss in that aero improvements are a really good thing for any vehicle that's not very aerodynamic. I'm not sure what would be the best modifications for an '06 caravan but I'd consider underbody smoothing panels first: no concerns with outward appearance and car value regarding trade-in or car loan. Then maybe consider air dam improvements and side skirts / wheel skirts and maybe something for the back end.

[savoF3]

Originally Posted by Gary Palmer

savOF3; when you did the mileage profiling, did you run a test at 40mph. I was a little surprised to see as much of a drop in mileage, from 45 to 35, but I figure their is a break point, based on the engine, transmission and speed, I just would have thought it would be at a little lower rpm.

No I didn't get a 40mph reading. I had to bump up the speed to not tick people off too badly.

On another 40mph road I usually see about 30mpg at 40mph, but since it's not the same road, grade etc I'm not certain about plotting it with the other data.

I believe but don't have a reference on me that the van should be in 4th gear and the torque converter should lock up at a steady 42mph. I haven't been subtle enough to find the exact point myself yet.

Also I moved up to 21.0 mpg on my worst trip, a 2mile round trip to my wife's work from a cold start with 4 stop signs. 26.5% better than typical runs before. The only reason she can't walk it is because she's heavily pregnant, but she's done working next week.

[SVOboy]

Congratulations on the child!

Also, good job upping the mileage on the short run, that's a serious improvement!

[popimp]

Brucepick and everyone else thanks once again for the help. I just moved here from Japan in March. I lived there for 5 years in the Air Force. While there I had 2 vehicles. A 1991 Honda Civic Hatchback with VTEC and a 1995 Toyota Corsa. Over there you can buy cars for really cheap. The reason I bought the Caravan when I moved to the states is because it was really difficult with 2 children, strollers, car seats, groceries, etc. With that being said I aslo got a really good price. $15,000 from our Base Exchange. The military has a program where you can buy new vehicles while being overseas. Even though mine is a 2006 I'm the 1st owner. Right now it has 1758 miles on it. I've been driving it since March 21.

[popimp]

I got the scan gauge today! The only thing that I didn't like was the weak velcro glue. NO biggy! While idiling the van consumes .5gph. I've been able to coast and get 70mpg but most of the time it's around 45-50. Since I've only had it one day I really don't have alot of information other than that. Ohh I just filled up my tank today at Cheveron at my average was 15.07mpg. That sucks. My last fill up was 24.89mpg. Why such a big difference? My job is about 4 miles from where I live so it could possibly that my van isn't in closed loop long enough to get good mileage. I'll report back when I have more data. Thanks again everyone!

[SVOboy]

Yeah, it could be the short commute, or perhaps a fill error. How large was the fill up?

Post your van in the gaslog!

[popimp]

I posted in the gas log. I track my vehicle through the program auto wolf. What is a fill error?

[popimp]

I posted in the gas log under Tim's Caravan. I track my vehicle through the program auto wolf. What is a fill error

[SVOboy]

All pumps fill differently, sometimes you're on different inclines, air bubbles get trapped, la la la. That kind thing.

[Bill in Houston]

The good news is that fill errors all come out in the wash.

[popimp]

I got a chance to try out the scan gauge 2 on a descent trip today. This is a fun toy. I'm either going to improve my gas mileage, cause an accident or both. What I found out today is that gas is actually pretty cheap. The reason I say this is because the way people are driving would make you think that gas is about 10 cents a galon. N-E wayz I drove about 50 mph on a 70 mph stretch of I-10 in Mississippi 30 miles both ways. People were honking their horns and getting all pissy. These are probably the same people that say why the hell is gas so expensive. I found out that a slight touch on the accelerator will change gas mileage by a good fraction. I also found out that I can do better coasting on my own down hills instead of using cruise control. With cruise on, I got about 40-50 mpg. With it off I was around 65-70 mpg. I'm not sure if this method is better because I would have to accelerate at the end of the slope to regain my 50 mph speed. What's the best way in this situation? I'm not sure why the U.S. hasn't mandated auto manufacturers to install a similar gauge in all vehicles sold. I think people would change their driving habits if direct feed back was available. Can someone explain to me what User Programmagle Commands are? It's on page 4 of the scan gauge 2 manual. Well enough blabbing for now.

[popimp]

What do you tell the wife when she says she doesn't care about fuel economy only being cool? On our trip today I had to use the AC the whole time because of a *****ing wife. I showed her the numbers on the scan gauge 2 with the AC on and off. She said "I don't care it's too hot." I said, "We have an energy crisis and you don't care?" What is a better comeback?

[popimp]

I removed my hood rack today. Do you think I'll see any improvement?

[SVOboy]

Originally Posted by popimp

What do you tell the wife when she says she doesn't care about fuel economy only being cool? On our trip today I had to use the AC the whole time because of a *****ing wife. I showed her the numbers on the scan gauge 2 with the AC on and off. She said "I don't care it's too hot." I said, "We have an energy crisis and you don't care?" What is a better comeback?

Aww, don't fight over it. Just try to make it more understandable or real why it's important, rather than just saying "it's important."

The roof rack should give an improvement, who knows if you will notice it, but it'll be there! Good job!

[omgwtfbyobbq]

AC is kinda nice... Just think how much more you'll save by driving 55mph instead of 75mph and use that as a rationale for having the AC on.

[savoF3]

Originally Posted by popimp

What do you tell the wife when she says she doesn't care about fuel economy only being cool?

"Yes, dear."

I showed her the numbers on the scan gauge 2 with the AC on and off. She said "I don't care it's too hot." I said, "We have an energy crisis and you don't care?" What is a better comeback?

You showed her actual data, not some wild claim from the internet and she's making her own tradeoffs. Make sure you point out the guage difference in cash terms (35cents every gallon or whatever) rather than a puny abstract 3mpg. There's some price of gas where that balance will shift for everyone. She's probably also already sick of you playing with your new "toy."

Seriously there's a reason you're not trying to cram kids and everything into a civic. As a father of soon-to-be four kids I definitely appreciate the value of not having to hear "so-and-so is touching me!" etc. etc.

Just start out windows wide open (remember this is "free") and maybe she'll forget about the A/C now and then.

Then forget about passengers, energy crises, who cares and who doesn't. Just let it be you, your foot, and the road.

Every minute you're working on arguments is one less minute working on driving tactics

AC is kinda nice... Just think how much more you'll save by driving 55mph instead of 75mph and use that as a rationale for having the AC on.

Yeah, remember the speed curve, if you aren't already optimizing that then even 5mph can "pay" for your A/C.