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Post by emersonhart13 on Jun 16, 2014 12:25:37 GMT -5
Took a hwy trip this past weekend and netted 293 miles on 14.7 gallons of fuel. That seems too good to be true, just under 20 mpg.
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Post by emersonhart13 on Aug 28, 2014 15:52:20 GMT -5
Added Airlifts to the back, removed the side steps, and put on some cross bars this past weekend. Also replaced the front shocks with Bilsteins, previously had the rears changed.
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Post by jay4x4 on Sept 3, 2014 10:51:11 GMT -5
Added Airlifts to the back, removed the side steps, and put on some cross bars this past weekend. Also replaced the front shocks with Bilsteins, previously had the rears changed. Nice! I recently took a long trip as well an got some decent mpg numbers as well. even though they arent very aerodynamic it seemed to improve a good amount compared to city.
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Post by emersonhart13 on Sept 3, 2014 14:48:32 GMT -5
It seems like mpg goes down when you cross 65 mph. They have 70 mph speed limits over the border in IN and the truck is pulling 3k on the tach to do 70.... YIKES
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Post by piratemcgee on Sept 5, 2014 15:51:31 GMT -5
The fullsize Montero Limited 01-06 and 03 XLS used the 5 speed auto. All gen 1.5 sports with the 3.5l used a 4 speed auto.
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Post by emersonhart13 on Sept 5, 2014 16:21:15 GMT -5
I'd love a 5 speed. That would be so nice on the hwy.
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Post by piratemcgee on Sept 5, 2014 18:58:28 GMT -5
Same here.....especially after driving the 3rd gen full size with the 5spd auto. It's slick and the motor could definitely rev lower. I've learned to just drop my speed.
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Post by jay4x4 on Sept 6, 2014 11:17:01 GMT -5
oh ya I rarely go over 65mph. seems to really make a difference with engine speed and aerodynamics on this truck
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Post by emersonhart13 on Sept 6, 2014 21:01:10 GMT -5
70 sucks fuel hard, 65 does seem to be the magic top number.
I'm glad other people agree.
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Post by dclambertt on Sept 9, 2014 13:46:57 GMT -5
Took a hwy trip this past weekend and netted 293 miles on 14.7 gallons of fuel. That seems too good to be true, just under 20 mpg. That's precisely what mine will do on the highway. I've gotten over 20 on occasion.
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Post by colted on Sept 10, 2014 21:03:02 GMT -5
Took a hwy trip this past weekend and netted 293 miles on 14.7 gallons of fuel. That seems too good to be true, just under 20 mpg. That's precisely what mine will do on the highway. I've gotten over 20 on occasion. yup, that's the normal run on a full tank.....true also that my 3.5 XLS gobbles gas at 70mph & above...
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Post by emersonhart13 on Sept 11, 2014 15:53:11 GMT -5
Thanks for chiming in folks. Seems like these things are dead solid at 17+mpg unless you try to go 70 or faster. Keep it at 65 or below and good things happen. Loving this Montero so far and all the add ons just keep making it better.
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Post by ES_97Sport on Sept 15, 2014 14:20:51 GMT -5
70 sucks fuel hard, 65 does seem to be the magic top number. I'm glad other people agree. 5-speed manual with the 3.5L is a kick in the pants. No comparison even to the Sports with the 5-speed auto. 17.5 MPG last weekend in my almost 6000lb SAS'd Sport driving in the mountains at probably an average of 10,000 feet altitude. The engine/manual trans setup is a blast to drive compared to the 3.0L/same trans. And that's even considering its STILL not running right - still working on the ECM conversion. Funny you mention the 65/70 thing. I've noticed the same thing on both my '97 conversion and my '03 Limited 3.5L. Right about 65-70 is where it gets it's best millage. Above 70 it drops significantly. My '97 3.0Ls did better about 75 MPH. I regularly got 19.5-20 MPG back and forth from Denver to Moab even loaded up in my big Sport. My little '97 with the stock 3.0L does a tad better - closer to straight 20. Kinda makes sense for the 3.5L. The 3.5L is a torque engine. Almost square geometry. I get much better millage in the mountains at sub-up-to-50/55 MPH even with all the climbing than my 3.0L ever did. But, I can sit in 4th almost continuously. Once I hit 7500/8000 feet, unless I was on the interstate, I lived in 3rd. Edward
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Post by jay4x4 on Sept 16, 2014 1:23:58 GMT -5
Wish I had a 5-Speed, always owned a stick shift, just so much more control of the vehicle. you actually feel attached to it. How is that working out?
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Post by ES_97Sport on Sept 16, 2014 14:38:21 GMT -5
Wish I had a 5-Speed, always owned a stick shift, just so much more control of the vehicle. you actually feel attached to it. How is that working out? Yea, hear you there. I love my '03 overall but hate the automatic transmission. Not a bad transmission - its a solid Mitsu piece - but I just don't like autos. Uh, well, its working. Mostly. I haven't had time to fiddle with the ECM swap from the Montero for a couple months so I've been driving on the AEM piggy-back. I pulled the IPF lights on my bull bar off and and changed my fans to start @ 192 degrees and full on both fans @ 208 degrees and that took care of the over heating issues. 99% of that problem seemed to be caused by the lights. Do not ask me why 'cause it doesn't make ANY sense. I understand that the 8" lights mounted above the winch severely affect air flow when moving in town or on the highway. The faster you go the worse the air flow gets. BUT, it made a HUGE difference off road when going less than a mile or two an hour or slower. At off road speeds there is NO air being forced through the grill by movement, so .... Apparently the lights restrict air flow to the point that it was causing problems with the electric fans drawing sufficient air through the grill. Gotta love physics. Always entertaining. So, I got it running with a lot of tuning on the AEM to the point I can drive it without any real issues. I have a couple map hic-cups to work out. I'm running a really aggressive map right now - pulling a lot of timing. Works great in the mountains - a little cranky at Denver altitude. I want to drop the start up on the primary fan to 190. Gotta keep that degree spread for the SPAL and I want just a tad more airflow at 199-200. Still doesn't do any of you any good, though, unless you plan to move to Denver. There's a limit to how much timing you can pull before the ECM starts getting really pissy. That limit isn't near enough to make this work at sea level. Overall, excluding ever getting the Montero ECM conversion working, the best solution is going to a MegaSquirt to completely handle timing and fuel. Fuel isn't a big issue. In fact, I think I screwed up. Some of the G guys say to use the 3.0L injectors rather than the 3.5L injectors - I stuck to the 3.5L injectors and then cut the fuel in the AEM FIC. No problems either way, I guess. Like I said fuel is easy anyway. Just have to remember that Mitsu uses a tiered system for fuel supply. You can't just cut it straight across the board. Timing, however, has to come out of the ECM completely and be handled by something else. Now that I've lost my dealership tech resources I'm loosing interest in fighting with the Montero ECMs. I may just say screw it and build a MS piggy-back. I've got all the parts minus the MS, including a completed wiring diagram. Even have the WB waiting to go. I'd really like to get the Montero ECM working, though. I still think that's the best solution. I have a complete '98 Sport A/T engine harness at home. The Montero and Montero Sport A/T engine harness is identical AFAIKT so I may try swapping engine harnesses and then plug in the Montero ECM and see where that gets me. So far I think this would be a much easier swap to go from the A/T 3.0L to a M/T 3.5L than from a M/T 3.0L to a M/T 3.5L. I still think, even though the senior tech disagrees, that my problem is the lack of a TCU. There's nothing in the manuals directly, but if you read between the lines it sounds like the ECM REQUIRES the TCU be plugged in or it just won't start. Wish I had someone with a '98 3.5L Montero that could unplug the TCU and see if it started. That'd tell me for sure. I did talk to the CO emissions guys two weeks ago. Rules have changed. Now, unless the CEL is emissions related, its ignored in testing. Basically, they don't care how it runs or what's running as long as it passes. Good for me since I still have that stupid injector #3 CEL code. Edward
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