I need some advice. I own a 1997 Jeep Cherokee Country as a daily driver i was wondering if there were any upgrades(Air intake, ECU, exhaust: etc) that i could put on that would help me get better gas milage. The only upgrades i do have is an K&n air filter panel, a airade throttle body spacer and a Surco Safari rack.
                                      Thanks for any help,
                                                              Jacob  

A K&N is NOT going to improve MPG, this a a myth with FI. WIth a carb in theory it can lean mixture a bit but with FI and active fuel management it is not going to help at all. Next, the spacer is wasted money. That engine has multipoint injection and spacer will not help anything. With TBI injection a spacer can improve fuel/air mixing a bit but there is no mixing taking place there with MPI. As far as inproving MPG, drive like you have a egg between foot and pedal, run tires at or near max pressure and use a fairly smooth tread too. ALso change/freshen all of your fluid in engine, tranny, Tcase and drive axles. Try 75w90 in axles. (change engine oil every 3K too as clean oil has less drag) Try 89 octane fuel too. My wife has a 2000 Cherokee with a 2.5 and a 5 speed that we bought new and it has 85K on it now. It averages about 2 MPG better on 89 especailly in warmer weather. Do not crowd it when engine is cold and mixture is rich and keep RPMs down when accelerating through gears too even when warm. This may not sound like fun but it will stretch fuel. BTW, my wifes Jeep average about 19 give or take in winter urban driving and low 20's in warmer weather and does low to mid 20's when highway driving. Some claim good MPG with 4.0 but I have never seen one do consistanly well in urban/town driving.  

Ok another question what would an ECU upgrade do to the millage and performance of the Cherokee  

This is a double edged sword. To get a noticeable power increase, you have to use more aggressive timing because it is retarded a lot to tolerate 87 octane fuel. This means you better fuel with more aggressive timing. Many tend to think as the fuel mixture exploding but it burns (a knock is when it explodes from detonation) Higher octane fuel resists detonation better in modern high compression motors and allows for a better controlled burn and better timing curve so that peak pressures from burn are developed at most favorable piston/rod to crankshaft angles.  If you are dead set on 87 octane fuel, a "tune" is kinda a wasted effort because it will bring limited returns.  

Thanks, do you know of any exhaust packages that will provide better tone quality over stock but isn't to loud?  

I have a '98 Wrangler 4.0,5 speed with a 6"lift and 35 Trxus STS tires,9 inch rear,Dana 44 front,4.88 gears, the converter has been removed and a small turbo muffler installed(for more room) I beleive it sounds good and it is definetly not loud. I drive 75 miles a day on curvy 2 lane I get 15 MPG  in the winter or when i go wheeling more and tops out at 18 MPG normal driving,been this way for three years and I check every tank. No  upgrades have been done to the engine!!! I am very happy with it!oh yea it has 171,000 miles on the original engine and I run Shaefers 10-30 Synthetic  

Thanks, were did you find the muffler at?  

i agree with snoman,when i ran midgrade in my 6000 lb ram i got way better power and better milage,2-3 more miles per tank cause i didna have to push motor as much to get the job done,thats better efficency,thats what you want,optimise the motor to get air in quicker,burn cleanly to get every btu then out as quickly,in the long run my mpg and enjoyment of restored power off set the extra cost of fuel.think a header would be great!but the k/n filter in my truck worked great,science out your combo.  

Contrary to popular belief, headers are not best choice for lower rpm torque and response. While they can help with high RPM power, you do no want to let exhaust escape too quickly at lower RPM  because this help give you a little more response and torque.  (this is because of the relative time duration valve is open at lower RPM's vs higher RPM's)  

yea thats true,i wasnt thinking bout the lo end. think that synthetics,tuneup and egg underfoot great,i drive like grampa! try a taller set (within reason) of street tires with  higher durometer reading(tread wear A rating tires)i know the truck looks wimp but right now wih gas at 2.77 reg in Corpus Christi you see a lot of sacrifice for when times get better and gas isnt such a factor in the monthly bills. this recession is being driven by high gas prices pure and simple.less money to go round from the wallet, any way try maybe a higherload range taller tire with a narrower tread width so less rolling resistance.good luck to ya ,with all the collective brains in this forum ime pretty sure there is a solution..  

Talk about bad gas mileage, the MPG on my 2000 K3500 kinda sticks in winter in city driving and plowing. With 4 studded and aggressively traction gripped 10 ply bias plied 9.60/16.5 tires I am lucky to average around 10 or so and fully loaded with salt, tailgate spreader and heavy fisher plow it averages about 7 to 8.5 MPG working. (GVW can be 9000 lbs or more at times too and I have had it over 10K several times too) The heavier the snow and load, the lower the MPG. But when it is cold and snowing and the wind is blowing you do not much care as long as it always starts and runs well and power is never a issue with old proven 5.7. There is a good bit of engine idle time too at times which does not help MPG either. During rest of the year with 10 ply radial street tires, it averages about 13 to 14 in town/urban driving and has seen 17 on highway a few times. Base truck with tool box, bed liner, dual batteries and plow hitch, full tank and no driver weighs about 6100 lbs so that MPG is not bad all things considered.  

I got the muffler at our local muffler shop he had it in stock so i am guessing there not to strange. the gears and five speed is probably the biggest factor in gas mileage. though as said before the right foot is the biggest factor. lugging a engine down can decreas mileage as much hot footing. just keep it in a gear that makes the engine sound smooth overdrive is not always the best choice but helps when no pulling is envolved.  

I have a 97 jeep grand cherokee with a rustys 5.5 in lift 35 in. BFG muddterains. I have a 5.2L V8 I've got a K&N air intake and filter a Rusty's offraod throttle body space. I  cut off the catylitic converter put a set of hooker headers with a straight pipe and a flowmaster super 40 series muffler with 2 in. turn-downs in front of my back axle. I get 22 " Granted I stay out of the throttle",MILES TO THE GALLON easy. It was all easy to do and I'm very impressed with it. If you ever need anything with those jeeps go to rustys. If I can get those kind of results in a V8 I can only imagine waht it would do in a straight six with stock lift and tires.  

If better MPG with a K&N filter is a myth then why does my brother who owns a 2004 Grand Cherokee with a V8 get 2 MPG better with a dirty K&N than with a new clean air filter  

22? I call BS on that one for sure...