230 miles on 20 gallons

"Tristan" (casselts) 12/17/2016 at 13:25 • Filed to: None

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Actually... not bad since the ‘Burb spent about 7 hours idling and most of the miles accumulated were with 4 wheel drive engaged. I expected it to be much worse.

AfromanGTO > Tristan 12/17/2016 at 13:27

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You’re above 10 mpg, you’re doing ok.

gogmorgo - rowing gears in a Grand Cherokee > Tristan 12/17/2016 at 13:29

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That’s pretty good for a vehicle that size in those conditions. To be fair it’s not all that much less than the MJ gets when I’m pushing trails open.

Tristan > AfromanGTO 12/17/2016 at 13:30

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Double digits is fantastic considering my driving conditions this week!

Tristan > gogmorgo - rowing gears in a Grand Cherokee 12/17/2016 at 13:33

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My XJ gets between 4 and 7 on a day of running trails. Also, my XJ is a manual, so I’m extremely glad I wasn’t driving it on the day of the snowpocalypse.

jasmits > Tristan 12/17/2016 at 13:33

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7 hours idling and 4 wheel engaged the entire time?? That’s pretty great actually. My 91 4Runner would probably see about the same if not worse tbh

jasmits > Tristan 12/17/2016 at 13:35

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Hey by the way, I see Oregon plates in your thumbnail, I’m from Portland but I’m out in Pennsylvania for school. My parents have been saying it’s pretty crazy out there right now. I’ll be back for winter break later this week, hoping there’s still some snow around

Tristan > jasmits 12/17/2016 at 13:37

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From Portland but in Pennsylvania for school... you didn’t happen to look at a Red NA Miata for sale last fall, did you?

jimz > Tristan 12/17/2016 at 13:38

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winter tires and 4x4/snow just tank the gas mileage in my Ranger, which isn’t that great to begin with. it does around 20 during warm months, 16 in the winter.

gogmorgo - rowing gears in a Grand Cherokee > Tristan 12/17/2016 at 13:46

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I think the lowest I got was 8 over an entire tank that involved a lot of idling, but I’ve never done the whole 25(ish)-gal tank on trails. But yes, swimming through drifts doesn’t do much for the mpg.

Tristan > gogmorgo - rowing gears in a Grand Cherokee 12/17/2016 at 13:50

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The worst I ever did on the highway in my XJ was 8. That was pre-AX15 swap with 31s and stock gears with a bad torque converter lock up solenoid going 80 mph into a stiff head wind across South Dakota.

jasmits > Tristan 12/17/2016 at 13:51

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I was shopping for a car the summer of 2015 and NA/NB Miatas were on the short list, definitely looked at a few but I bought my E36 in late June so not exactly fall. I’m always back out here by September.

Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies > Tristan 12/17/2016 at 13:52

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36 miles out of 17 gallons.

Get on my level.

Tristan > jasmits 12/17/2016 at 13:55

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Probably not you, then. A young feller sent his dad to look at my NA and had him take it in for a PPI. IIRC, the potential buyer was just starting school out there this fall.

gogmorgo - rowing gears in a Grand Cherokee > Tristan 12/17/2016 at 13:55

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You swap it yourself from an aw4? How was it? I’m looking at doing the same. I picked up a ‘92 2-door ax15 XJ as a donor back in May, but between how much fun it is and the internal slave stuff (I thought it was an HO vs Renix thing, don’t hugely want to swap one into the MJ) I’m tempted to keep it as-is as a driver and find another donor.

Tristan > gogmorgo - rowing gears in a Grand Cherokee 12/17/2016 at 14:00

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It wasn’t bad. You’ll have a much easier time than I did since mine is a ‘97. The ‘97-’01 manual pedal assemblies are unobtanium, so I had to make one out of an auto pedal assembly and an older model manual assembly with lots of trial and error. I’m still not sure I got the geometry of the clutch pushrod right. I also had to cobble together the transfer case shift linkage, but that was easier. Everything else bolted right up. I had to install an ECU from a manual ‘97 to get rid of the CEL because I have emissions to deal with and a CEL is an instant fail.

gogmorgo - rowing gears in a Grand Cherokee > Tristan 12/17/2016 at 14:13

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Yeah, the hope is that having everything from the donor vehicle will make for a more simple bolt-on swap. I think rear driveshaft length is the only hurdle I’ll face (literally no idea where I’d find a driveshaft shop out here without a 200+ mile drive) except maybe needing to drill holes for the clutch. And maybe getting the 242 in the MJ onto the ax15 but from what I’ve read online that shouldn’t be a problem. As far as wiring goes, the early HO had a separate TCU with a standalone harness, so I don’t think I’ll need to touch the engine, except the throttle body, although I’ve definitely thought about putting the XJ’s 4.0 into the MJ because the one in there now burns a ton of oil and seems kinda down on power in comparison. Maybe it’s the manual vs automatic thing, but the XJ will spit gravel all the way though 3rd, and the MJ, well, doesn’t.

AfromanGTO > Tristan 12/17/2016 at 14:15

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Hey that’s awesome then! I remember back in the day when people would get single digit fuel economy even without snow.

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > Tristan 12/17/2016 at 14:19

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Last winter I managed to get 6mpg out of our wrangler thanks to a badly tuned carb and excessive 4wd use.

Tristan > gogmorgo - rowing gears in a Grand Cherokee 12/17/2016 at 14:27

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You could always call up Tom Woods! The ‘97s still had a separate TCU, but they are canbus/OBD2, so check engine light... OBD1 might still have everything separate enough that it won’t throw transmission codes.

My 4.0 is a gutless, gas sucking turd- even with a manual and 4.56 gears.

gogmorgo - rowing gears in a Grand Cherokee > Tristan 12/17/2016 at 15:12

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I just don’t remember the old 300,000-mile 4.0 that came out being such a turd. I remember the Niva being horrendously slow after I got it, but after driving it for a year and a half before the MJ got this engine dropped in, the MJ doesn’t really feel all that quick. ¯\_()_/¯ I guess there’s really no way to know without a dyno pull, and that’s not going to happen around here if I can’t even find a driveshaft shop, haha.

jasmits > Tristan 12/17/2016 at 15:19

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Nah, definitely not me then. I’m a senior and I’ve never had a PPI done haha

Tristan > gogmorgo - rowing gears in a Grand Cherokee 12/17/2016 at 15:43

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Back in high school when my XJ was bone stock with low miles I thought it felt pretty dang quick... and that was going from a 5.0 Fox body to the XJ. Maybe I got used to other cards with real power? I dunno... it sure feels gutless now, though.

gogmorgo - rowing gears in a Grand Cherokee > Tristan 12/17/2016 at 16:43

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But still completely stock, even hauling around an extra 1000 lbs, the 190 hp/225 lb-ft 4.0 should feel significantly quicker than the  maybe 80hp/100lb-ft 1.7 lump in the Niva.