4WD Vs Gas Efficiency?

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What type of vehicle do you own?

Poll ended at Mar 31, 2008 3:00 pm

I own a 4WD vehicle.
16
40%
I own a fuel efficient vehicle.
5
13%
I wish I owned any vehicle!
1
3%
My 4WD is fuel efficient -- I have the best of both worlds!
7
18%
I own multiple vehicles.
11
28%
 
Total votes : 40

Re: 4WD Vs Gas Efficiency?

Postby paul » Mar 27, 2008 7:41 am

fuzzy-hair-man wrote:I
PPS: fuel here is nudging AU$1.50 a litre, which makes it (1.5 x 3.78 = AU$5.67/gallon) which as far as I can see makes us about $2 a gallon dearer than you guys are paying (the AU$ is about 90 ish US cents ) so not a huge difference there...


How about GBP1.17 per litre for diesel which will be 1.17 x 3.78 = GBP 4.42 a gallon or about US$8.80 a gallon here in the UK? And over 70% of that is tax! Luckily I have a Nissan X-Trail diesel which usually gives me 40+mpg.
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Re: 4WD Vs Gas Efficiency?

Postby cavemanjonny » Mar 27, 2008 12:26 pm

I've got a 2000 Wrangler, 4.0L, manual, 4WD. The 4WD definitely comes in handy for some of the more hard-to-get-to TAG caves. Everything is stock except for a big rack on the top which robs me 1 or 2 mpg on the highway. I need to put a faring on it. I get between 15-20 mpg, with a huge hit if I go over 60. So I drive slow. It is a fantastic caving vehicle. It's even doubled as a boat once, which was impressive but really scary. Good thing the intake comes standard with a mini-snorkel kind of thing :-).

Luckily my daily driver is my bike, so having a gas-guzzler doesn't hurt (me or the environment) as much as it could.
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Re: 4WD Vs Gas Efficiency?

Postby speleogen » Mar 27, 2008 7:30 pm

My cave vehicle is a 2006 Nissan Frontier 4X4. I tried taking the stock truck up to Ship Cave in TN last fall, but was defeated by the road. This annoyed me, so I spent around $2K for skid plates, a 3" lift in the front and a 2" lift in the back with spring and shock upgrades. Last weekend I tried for Ship Cave again and found out that I really needed a boat. I get about 21MPG on the highway which is important since I have a 6 hour drive to TAG.

John, dreaming about a Jeep . . .
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Re: 4WD Vs Gas Efficiency?

Postby tncaver » Mar 27, 2008 8:13 pm

Try going to Ship Cave in the summer when the roads are dry.
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Re: 4WD Vs Gas Efficiency?

Postby cavemanjonny » Mar 27, 2008 11:37 pm

What a coincidence! It wasn't too far from Ship Cave where my jeep doubled as a boat
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Re: 4WD Vs Gas Efficiency?

Postby George Dasher » Mar 28, 2008 10:39 am

I have a Subaru Forester, and it WAS expensive.

But it is long since paid for and just crossed 200,000 miles last week.

It has all-wheel drive and gets about 25 miles to the gallon, although the best it ever did was 30 miles to the gallon on the way to the MI convention--there's a lot of flat land up there.

It can haul all my stuff, but its disadvantages are that it is low to the ground and has no low range. That has caused some occasional problems.

It's also a manual, which I like for the mountains, hills, and dirt roads--particularly the steep dirt roads.

It's air pollution control stuff has never worked right, and I've learned to live with the "engine check light' being always on. We have a new Subaru dealer in town, and they can't seem to fix the problem, plus they charge $90-plus an hour to work on it. So I go to a local mechanic across the street. He used to work for the old Subaru dealer.
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Re: 4WD Vs Gas Efficiency?

Postby tncaver » Mar 28, 2008 11:22 am

George,
Federal law mandates that dealers repair non functioning smog control devices at their expense up to seven years
from date of purchase. If your vehicle is not over seven years old and it has a smog related problem then your
dealer is obligated to fix it. If your vehicle is 1996 or newer, your dealer should be able to perform a computer
diagnostic which should tell them exactly what is wrong with the vehicle. Usually a diagonostic is in the $75 range
and some dealers waive that fee if you get it fixed by them.

I've seen some Subaru's go places I never dreamed they could go. When it comes down to it, 4 wheel drive can
be pretty awesome at times. However, I find that mud is their biggest challenge other than clearance issues.
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Re: 4WD Vs Gas Efficiency?

Postby Scott McCrea » Mar 28, 2008 11:54 am

Most any of the parts stores, Advance, Pep Boys, Auto Zone, O'Reilly, etc, will read codes for free, no obligation.

I had to put a new knock sensor on my wife's suby this summer. It took weeks to figure out what the problem was. It showed an emissions code of some sort. I replaced it myself. $107 part.
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Re: 4WD Vs Gas Efficiency?

Postby icave » Mar 28, 2008 12:51 pm

2004 Honda Civic for my daily driving (64 miles each way to work...ouch!) and our 2005 Subaru Forester for camping/caving. The Forester is an awesome vehicle with decent gas milage (about 28-30 mpg). I love the heated seats. Yes, it was about 10K more than my Civic, but it can do things and go places my Civic can't. However, you'd be supprise at the places my Civic can go.

We used to own a 98 Forst Escort Wagon. Not a 4WD vehicle, but definately a great combo of low price, gas milage and storage space. As much as we loved our Escort, we have never once regreted buying the Forester.

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Re: 4WD Vs Gas Efficiency?

Postby hunter » Mar 28, 2008 3:48 pm

I've got a 4x4 3.0L V6 5spd ranger regular cab. It gets 20-24mpg which I'm happy with for a 4x4. I'm up to 225k now though so I'm looking around. I finally concluded that I need a slightly larger 4x4 and a small fuel efficient car. The 3.0 is fuel efficient but it can be frustrating in hilly terrain because I end up down shifting a good bit.

I've looked at Subaru's but finally concluded they are the worst of both worlds for me. Bad gas mileage (for a car) and if I need 4wd I want clearance, skid plates and low range.

James
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Re: 4WD Vs Gas Efficiency?

Postby tncaver » Mar 30, 2008 4:10 pm

Subaru is an excellent choice for "light" off roading. But for serious off roading, there is nothing like a truck
with high clearance, low range, and lots of power. Thats why I have a 4X4 truck and an economy car. I use
the one that suits the situation. Now, if only full size trucks could get 50 mpg. That would be ideal.
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Re: 4WD Vs Gas Efficiency?

Postby Oddball » Mar 31, 2008 10:45 pm

My stock 1995 stock 4wd Toyota Pickup has been to hell and back and has always gotten very good gas mileage. The 22re engine with the 5 speed is a very good combination. But when it comes to off-roading I will have to admit the skills of the driver depend on how well the vehicle will handle rough terrain.
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Re: 4WD Vs Gas Efficiency?

Postby George Dasher » Apr 1, 2008 12:29 pm

Sorry it has taken me sooo long to reply. I've been off the computer for a while.

The problem with my car isn't that people can't get the correct diagnostic number. The problem is that the dealer can't seem to use the number to fix the problem. He bought out the original Subaru dealer a couple of years ago, and is really an Olds dealer trying to work on Subarus. He keeps fixing something new, charging me the bucks for that, and the light keeps coming back on. The original dealer had the same problem with the pollution-control system, but they weren't changing out new stuff each time. Plus they were doing the work for free. I even had to get a new catolitic convertor--at their cost.

My car is a 2001 that I bought in 2000. My old Sub fell apart right before the Elkins Convention.

I don't have the heated seats.

I do have to admit that Subaru's are only good for light-weight, low-clearance four wheeling, but that's ok. I've done the heavy duty stuff working in the coal fields and the O&G patch, and I'd just as soon walk nowadays (besides it is not that much fun being pulled around by a bulldozer through four-feet-deep mud). Plus I'd rather have the gasoline mileage that comes form having a vehicle constructed on a car body with less expensive car wheels.
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Re: 4WD Vs Gas Efficiency?

Postby Vader » Apr 6, 2008 1:15 am

I have a 4-door Tacoma with a 4 inch lift and 33 inch tires. I think it's an awesome vehicle for caving. It can carry 4 cavers and a bunch of gear over a rough trail. It does suck the gas at about 15 MPG in town and about 17 hi-way though.
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Re: 4WD Vs Gas Efficiency?

Postby JackW » Apr 7, 2008 12:48 pm

Oddball wrote:My stock 1995 stock 4wd Toyota Pickup has been to hell and back and has always gotten very good gas mileage.


http://www.topozone.com/map.asp?lat=42. ... r=DRG&s=25

Really? :big grin:
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