tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3494059002534751.post1209727288804319128..comments2023-06-25T07:47:20.274-07:00Comments on The Urban Vandweller: Fuel Economy Part Four: Vehicle Choiceurban vandwellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13537100746328669085noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3494059002534751.post-22401874674888583782008-04-03T14:15:00.000-07:002008-04-03T14:15:00.000-07:00Interesting points about varying gas mileage, betw...Interesting points about varying gas mileage, between Astros and Aerostars. Some Vandwellers, who own Astros report getting 26 mpg (US), with their 4.3 engines, others report getting 21 mpg (US). With my Aerostar('89 extended, 3.0 engine), I get around 23-24 mpg (US) on the highway, which seem in tune with other forum reports. I regularily beat EPA ratings; driving styles, climate and region effect mileage greatly, even with the exact same vehicle. I wouldn't go for the super overdrive gearing; the engine works hard enough as is with this setup, when driving up and around mountains in Coastal BC, Canada, where I live. I'd love to have the standard trany, but the conversion process could prove to be not cost effective. My present auto trany is working perfectly, and should last a long time. For any conversion idea, you gotta' crunch the numbers to see if there are any overall savings. I already use synthetic lubes, and I maintain my vehicles pretty good. Thanks for the reply.urban vandwellerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13537100746328669085noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3494059002534751.post-22378932226965899162008-03-31T19:24:00.000-07:002008-03-31T19:24:00.000-07:00A few notes about fuel economy: Astro vans alsmost...A few notes about fuel economy: Astro vans alsmost always get less mpg than an aerostar. They have larger, more powerful 4.3 liter engines and are about 500lbs heavier than the aerostar. This equates to less gas mileage, which you can see on the federal site for gas mileage you reference. The only exception would be the older astros from the 80's that had the 4cylinder engines. But these were only the "stubby" astros and they were very underpowered. Plus they also made a 4 cylinder aerostar around the same time that got better gas mileage anyway. So the aerostar is the star for gas mileage when comparing these two rides.<BR/><BR/>There are also other ways of saving gas - like installing an electric cooling fan (instead of the motor driven clutch fan). Using synthetic oils in the motor and differential, buying a manual gearshift model (or converting an automatic to gear shift) and installing taller gears in the differential. For instance changing from 3.73 to 3.23 etc would give a bigger overdrive (but at the expense of acceleration and hauling capacity). mrvanAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com