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Gas Mileage

691 views 8 replies 7 participants last post by  Tshark299 
#1 ·
I am posting this on the CJ and TJ areas too:

Do you notice a difference in mileage with your top off?
 
#2 ·
I haven't personally but I've heard other people say they do.

On a related note my last tank of gas gave me my best mileage yet... 17mpg consisting of half highway, half city & town driving with no top or doors. I was averaging 14 when I first got my Jeep.
 
#3 ·
i bet the wieght difference of the top gives u some better gas mileage, and you never know, maby lesser air resistnace too
 
#4 ·
I can't say I have noticed enough of a difference that can't be chalked up to how I've driven. The best tank I've ever gotten was 18.9 mpg, worst around 6 mpg. One was driving at a constant 55-60 on the highway, one was while off-roading.

The hard top will add a little extra weight, but the soft top seems like it would have a little more drag. I can't say that either one would be enough to make me want to change one top for another. I'd still run a hard top in the winter, soft top in the summer no matter what the mpg difference is.
 
#8 ·
I can definitely tell a difference in performance when I run with no top or steel half doors. It has to be a weight thing. I have no idea how it impacts gas mileage but my money would be that it would make a positive impact. If I had a gas gage that worked, it would be a lot easier to tell...
 
#9 ·
I've heard that at highway speeds, running with a top and doors will increase your mileage because there is less wind resistance on the Jeep. This makes sense to me because it works on the same theory as driving a normal car on the highway with its windows open. It's called the parachute effect. In a car, the highway is the one place where using the AC will actually save you gas as it puts less drag on the engine then wind resistance does with the windows open. I would imagine the same would apply for Jeeps.

Now at lower speeds where air resistance is less of an issue, I bet no top & doors would be better than a hardtop and steel doors because of the weight savings.
 
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