To save gas, lighten it up

[chuck's sienna]

I use my 2001 Sienna for my salesrep job, and only I drive in it. I must carry boxes of stuff now and then, and I need good gas mileage, so first all four rear seats came out. I weighed one of them and got 60 lbs on the scale. That is 240 lbs. The running boards were next, and they were HEAVY. I will estimate each one weighed 60 to 70 lbs, so that is 120 to 140 more lbs off the frame. I then removed the rear speakers and fan for the rear passenger area, and then for aerodymamics the horizontal crossbar on the roof rack. These little things add up. Then I switched the engine and trans fluid to synthetic. Last two tanks yielded 28.2 mpg and 27.7 mpg mostly highway driving at 65 mph. You will notice the increase in acceleration, the stronger braking action and easier turning too. Odometer is at 257,000 miles!

[Potter]

What else did you do? Our MPG won't go above 20, and there's no significant determent when we tote a 12' pop top camper behind the car.

[chuck's sienna]

Nothing else, only what I stated.