Drove to Fla and only got 22 mpg in this van.  Yes, we drove fast and the van had 4 adults and extra junk in it. I taped over the grill to make it more aerodynamic on the return trip.   Got 26 at the 1st fill up.  had 3 adults and less junk in car.   Van did not overheat at all.   SC

Enjoy that gas savings... you'll need the cash when it comes time to replace the cooling fans... and probably a little more for that matter... 

It would be nice to know if the transmission was running any hotter

Time will tell you that.  And it may tell you in an expensive way.  Then again, you may be on to something.   

Why are people worried about disabling the drl?  It can't make that much of a difference

I don't know where you got those figures, but if your daytime running lights are putting a load on the alternator that is costing you that kind of gas milage, your lights are blinding folks!   

Yes, anything on the car that uses electricity gets it power from your alternator which gets it's power from the engine, which means, yes, electrical stuff causes the vehicle to burn more gas . . . but I would bet that you have a lot more to gain from proper tire alignment, ballancing and inflation than you'll ever get by ripping out everything electircal.  Remember what you gained by taking the alternator completly out of the loop on the Volvo?

If you'll get yourself an old S-10 with a carborated 2.8 V6, I'll show you simple trick to up your interstate milage by 9 or 10 MPGs.  Mine did it on it's own!  I've got as high as 32 mpg going to Murfreesboro and back.  And that was with two heavy people in the cab, a tool box full of heavy junk in bed, and carrying an antique oak table on the return trip . . . and the windows were rolled down.

I'm about to agree,  the pull of the alt on the engine depends on the size of the engine.  So on my v6 sienna. It's not much .  On the volvo 4cyl,  the alternator should affect the mpg more. 
I will attempt my Volvo mpg experiment. With 2batterys. And report.   The Sienna.  I may leave alone.. For the moment...  Btw. Got about. 24.  In the van today after a fill up.  Not to bad.  Sc

ok for you guys that are whining about 22=26mpg can kiss my big o harry butt. i jump up and down with joy. if i see 14mpg or better. down hill with a tail wind.

I don't know why they are so caught up in these projects like destroying their cars.  You are still going to drive the darn thing whether it gets 15mpg or 25mpg. Get over it until Feds tell you that you are going to have drive a Chevy Volt with a  Solar panel and windmill on top All for a low,low price of $41,000 . I CAN hardly wait

. . . (or see if you can override the key switch and drive with the starter motor!  )

I've done that many times in Homer . . . well, sort of.  I didn't overide the key switch, I just put the tranny in 1st and held the key in the start position.  I've used that trick to get off to the side of the road, to pull in the driveway and to pull the last few yards up to the gas pump when I didn't quite have enough gas in the tank to get to where I was going.  That trick needs more than one battery to get you very far down the road though.  And if you think a 1600 powered bus is slow, you won't be happy with the top speed you can get from the starter.  I found that fixing my gas gauge and odometer was a better solution . . .