your disco gas milage...?

[smonice]

i have a 96 disco I se7 and get really crappy gas milage, like pushing 11 miles a gallor. i do goodyear a/t tires, and a 3" lift so im not sure if this can alter the milage. Is there anything i can do to make this better. I believe that the guy i bought this from had the gearing changed for better offroading and for as little as i get to take this offroading (live in NJ), how can i check to see what the gearing is and maybe how to make it more road efficient? Any ideas on anything how to make it better for the roads?? Thanx

smonice

 

[Roverlady]

Well, I just started a new job where I'm commuting 60 miles each day, in my Disco. I'm getting about 13 mpg on the highway (without running A/C)...and I'm on a stock suspension with 245/75-16 BFG AT/KOs. I wanted the newer, more aggressive tires for wheeling...but that was when I walked to work!

My solution...get another car for the drive. That's what we are considering doing b/c there's no way I'm giving up the Disco and the off-roading!

Good luck!

 

[Steve83]

If the gears were changed, the speedo/odo are probably wrong and you're getting more miles than they show. A quick check is to set your watch for stopwatch function, set the cruise for EXACTLY 60mph on a flat straight stretch of highway in LOW traffic (where you won't have to brake), and start the time when your A-pillar passes a mile marker. Set a lap (or just note the exact time) each time you pass another mile marker, until you HAVE to slow down, or you've gone as far as you feel like. If you changed speed at all while the time was running, use the last lap BEFORE you changed speed.

Convert the time to seconds (1:57 would be 117) and divide 3600 by that number, then multiply by the number of FULL miles you travelled in that time. The result is your ACTUAL average speed in mph. If you were going the EXACT same speed the whole way and your stopwatch times are accurate, then it's your true speed.

3600 x miles / seconds = speed

 

[rmuller]

and for as little as i get to take this offroading (live in NJ)

There is still some offroading to be found in NJ, we're probably going down to the pine barrens on sept. 12th, check out the thread in Trails and let us know if you want to come!

 

[Sergei]

If the gears were changed, the speedo/odo are probably wrong and you're getting more miles than they show.

Errr.. no its not.

Its depending on combination of gears and tyres.

Larger tyre with stock gear will cause truck run faster and show less miles than actual distance
Lower gear with stock tyre will cause truck to run slower and show more miles than actual distance.

& etc..

there are calculators to check it out. Of course stock speedo is a bit off as well..

Oh and to raise mileage - check tyre pressure, put stock size tires, remove lift and all the cool gear (rack. skid plates & etc). Clean injectors, run proper fuel, fresh cats, fresh muffler, properly set up plugs, wires, clean filters, proper oils.

In general - its Disco. They arent getting high end mpg ever. I mean they can be pushed to be like 17/21 but still - its hardly good mileage

 

[JR Ewing III]

11 mpg doesn't seem to far-off what you should expect to get for running a 3" lift on an eight year old engine, assuming you haven't replaced the engine. Unfortunately, unless you can afford to convert to a small diesel engine I don't think there's a lot you can do to improve the gas mileage, especially when you add off-roading mods. Someone speak up if you know of something that we can do to improve our Disco's gas mileage. I'd love for my truck to do better, but, until then, I'm just doing what Roverlady suggested - commuting in a little car.

 

[smonice]

thanx a ton, this all has been very inciteful. any way to check to see if there were gearing changes made to the car???

smonice

 

[p m]

my '96 D1 with 153kmi on the clock showed 14.33 mpg on my last trip to the city of Angels. 115mi each way, on the way there - a 12-mile traffic jam that took two hours to cover, on the way back - two-hour traffic jam from Torrance to San Clemente. A/C was on all the time. When the road was clear, the speed was between 80 and 90 mph.

 

[road1will]

I get real crappy gas mileage...im lucky to get 160-170 miles out of a tank in my 98 D1 on 255/85's

 

[Steve83]

I can do ~360mi/tank.


(Broncos have a 32gal tank! Can you say $60 fill-up?)

 

[road1will]

Whats your bronco's gas mileage got to do with this? he was asking about a DISCO's gas mileage

 

[Robbie]

hey Will, is that mileage based off your odo or a GPS? When i got my GPS I started resetting the trip each fill-up just like I reset the trip odo. I have found on my 235/85's (stock gearing) that I actually travel about 10+ miles further for every 100 miles that my trip odo states. So round town, I am actually getting about 10-11mpg and highway driving a whopping 15!

btw, with 235/85's my speedometer is spot on with the gps and the those cop radar things they set-up along the side of the road.

 

[sven]

I've also noticed that my 235/85-16's are accurately read from my speedo and those roadside speed trap things..
I get about 220 miles per tank. Once I got 280 (straight highway).

 

[smenzel]

1998 Disco I Mileage

16.2 mpg -- last tank
15.1 mpg -- last 1,000 miles
16.0 mpg -- last 5,000 miles

1998 Disco I w/ 63k miles still on the original Michelin 235/70R16 tires and suspension. Yes, my tires are looking slick. New ones (Pirelli Scorpion STx?) are on order and scheduled for installation next week.

 

[WBDISCo]

I get about 10mpg 8-9mpg if the wind is blowing, 7 if going up hill, 6 if going up hill with the wind blowing.

Stock motor, 1.6:1 T-case, stock gears, 35s, roofrack.

Good thing i only drive 1 mile to work.

Brad

 

[rpm2429]

I also have the same truck. It is all stock, with 108000 miles on it. When it is fully tuned-up and I drive it will get 16-18mpg. On the other hand, when my wife ( who drives like John Force in the Dakar Rally) is behind the wheel, it is well below 10 mpg. I am thinking about putting a block of wood under the gas pedal, like my dad did when I was learning to drive!

 

[cmondieyoung]

'96 Disco w/92k on the clock

250-275 (depending how far I drive below empty) miles to a tank around town with a light foot (rarely break 3k rpms), and an easy 400 miles on straight highway with cruise control and the tach at 2250 rpms (65-68 mph depending on grade).

Edit: that's with 1 passenger and no cargo, driving basically downhill from Boulder, CO to Alamosa, CO... which I do quite often.

 

[texmotoII]

FWIW, I was only getting 12-13 mpg on my 99 DII with 32" M/Ts and 3" lift. Then I found that my right exhaust manifold had cracked. After replacing it, my milage jumped to over 15 mpg. Also, on a recent trip we were only getting a little over 13 mpg again. I decided to to replace the air filter (which had about 10 k miles of use) and sure enough, back to 15 miles per gallon. Just some things to think about.

 

[discostu]

12-13 MPG city if I drive. Wife gets less mileage. 99DII V8 with winch, K&N filter, magnacore wires and bullbar. New plugs and synthetic fluid all around. Stock suspension and what not. I have just cut off the resonator and I am waiting to see if this helps any. If not...who knows.

 

[peter]

i just got 522 miles out of mine. 3-inch lift with 265-75's. 4.0 liter engine. by the way that was a joke.