nanoera

i just did the recall of v-belt pulley. i don't know if they upgraded any computer software or what, but now i am getting 26.8 mpg on a trip that used to take 25.5 mpg...

overland

nanoera,

Is there an official recall notice on the v-belt pulley? Any reference number? And it's amazing you can get 25~26 mpg from R350.

-overland

sclancy

wow, i am a bit skeptical of 26+ mpg.

my R500 finally broke in and now seems to be getting 18-20mpg ( cruise at 70-80mph). for the first couple thousand miles we got 16-18 highway....

R. Reyes

You also have to realize that you have the 500 and he has the 350.

I don't know about 26+, but on trips that include a bit of intown driving (25 miles of start & stop in S.A.) from Bastrop to S. San Antonio & back on 1 tank of gas, cruising from 80-85 (with bursts of 85+++ for passing saftey) both ways, I am getting 24.2 mpg.

In my Durango that I had before my R, it would have been 1 tank there and half-way back, before refuling. I've also gone from Austin to N. Dallas and back to Waco before refueling. Not great gas mileage, but pretty damn good IMO. I will get close to 400-420 miles to the tank if crusing between 75-80 on cruise control on avg. and not using "passing gears" with impunity

lkchris

Pretty hard to see relationship between mpg and noisy pulley.

It's NOT a recall.

It's simply a DTB (dealer technical bulletin) which provides instructions for pulley replacement ONLY in the instance where the owner complains about noise from the pulley and ONLY if the dealer agrees the pulley is noisy. There is no VIN number requirement for applicability, only actual noise.

nanoera

but they still got that fixed.

Invoice reads:
Open campaign #2008070002 guide pulley
cause:
025966 repl guide pulley for v-belt
8761 WF40
1 272-202-10-19-05 sheave pulley

I drove 2 and half hours at 65 mph to get that crazy 26.8 mpg.
The mpg stays as usual today at 23 mpg. so no magic.

JTReeves

Sounds like Nanoera got the improved mileage by going at a steady speed within the limits of an optimum coefficient of drag. Those [of us] who can't keep it within a steady rate of 65 mph are forced to suffer the consequences. If my understanding of high school physics is accurate, the drag is proportional to the rate of speed of the vehicle. If acceleration is involved, such as when you increase speed to go around vehicles whose drivers are sleeping in the left lane, that uses up more gas compared to maintaining a steady velocity.

My cruise control works just fine at speeds between 79-84 where I get mileage in the low 18s. With bursts up to and beyond 90-100 mph, the mileage drops to the low 16s. We took a road trip from Woodbridge, VA to Key West, FL last month. Between Aug 26 and Aug 31, we were on the open road almost everyday. The shortest day was from Tallahassee to Daytona Beach. The longest days were from Orlando to Key West (via the West Coast following I-4, I-75, US 1) and from Orlando, through TLH, to Columbia, SC. Thank God for new summer tires (Michelin Latitude Sports) and Rain-X!

JR