Speed Kills - Gas Mileage....

[aldive]

Speed kills........gas mileage, that is

Speed kills your gas mileage; I know we have all heard that before. I decided to put it to the test.

My average highway mileage at 75-80 MPH is 22.5 MPG. That is with AC always on.

I made a 475 mile run yesterday and purposely ran on cruise control at 65 MPH ( verified via GPS ). The truck had 3 adults in it as well as 9 scuba tanks and the ancillary equipment. My mileage as computed today with the last 44 miles performed as in town driving, was 24.87 MPG.

Just by slowing down a little, I managed to pick up about 3 MPG. That I gladly will take to the bank.

 

[C5 Pewter Coupe]

Well with the horrible aerodynamics(something like .40 cd) that the explorer has, it's no wonder that it gets horrible mileage when you do 70+ mph..

This is also why the C5 Corvette with it's .29 cd gets over 30 mpg at 75-80 mph on a flat road...

 

[todd_c]

And since drag is proportional to the square of velocity, the drag on the truck is 50% greater at 80mph than at 65mph.

 

[bigDerk]

Originally posted by C5 Pewter Coupe
Well with the horrible aerodynamics(something like .40 cd) that the explorer has, it's no wonder that it gets horrible mileage when you do 70+ mph..

This is also why the C5 Corvette with it's .29 cd gets over 30 mpg at 75-80 mph on a flat road...

My dad had a 2001 C5 'vert up until a few months ago... the first time I rode with him on the highway, my jaw dropped when I saw that instant fuel economy guage reading in the 32-34mpg range... must be nice! I get an average of 13-14mpg around town in my Explorer, 15-16 on the highway. Sheesh.

 

[leenjen]

yes speed does kill mileage... but not as much as if you slow down a little and speed up a little. even if it's only a 5mph difference.
if you maintain a constant speed you will get better MPG.

 

[coltman]

How so little fuel??

Hey aldive how do you get 22 mpg? I only get about 15 so tell me what add on's you have so I can do them to.

 

[Brian8]

Yeah no kidding i would also like to know this b/c i get about 12-14 in my 95', and that is going 60-65mph.

 

[aldive]

Re: How so little fuel??

Originally posted by coltman
Hey aldive how do you get 22 mpg? I only get about 15 so tell me what add on's you have so I can do them to.

Well, when I was bone stock, I got 18 MPG. The - modifications that have kelp with the mileage include the following:

- KKM kit
- Custom cat back exhaust system
- Mobil 1 synthetic fluids in engine, auto trans and rear end
- Roof rack removed
- 38 psig in all 4 tires
- Many coats of Zaino polish

My truck is a 2WD, yours is 4x4; that makes a difference right there. Another important factor is driving technique; drive like there is a raw egg under the gas peddle and you will see an immediate improvement.

The 4.0 SOHC motor gets better mileage than the OHV motor.

I am currently looking for a front air dam. I have gotten good gains using air dams on other trucks.

I am always seeking ways to get better mileage.

Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated…..

 

[aldive]

On a recent 1400 mile trip to North Georgia, with my son driving. we averaged ( highway only ) 18.4 MPG. This is at 80-86 MPH.

Compare the same trip with me driving 70-80 MPH and I yield an average of 23 MPG.

I think that the poor aerodynamic shape of the Explorer really comes into play at speeds over 80 MPH.

 

[Raceit]

I may be wrong on this, but I've heard for that every 30mph you drive the air resistance quadruples or doubles (one of those). And that also explains why some racecars would be able to drive upside down if there was a road that was made like that.
Sometimes in mine I feel like I'm driving though water instead of air. That's why they should let us draft on the highway.

 

[leenjen]

it could also be bad gas. i got bad gas the other day. my explorer ran like crap and i only got about 200 miles out of the tank (i usually get about 400). i filled up at my regular station and ran a bottle of fuel system cleaner, now it's back to normal. i'm never getting gas from that Gulf station again!

 

[99explorer5.0]

400 miles on a tank of gas .... Holly **** .... how the hell do you get 400 miles? Is that all highway? I will be lucky if i get 220 but that is mostly city driving and that is with my tank basically empty.

 

[aldive]

Originally posted by 99explorer5.0
400 miles on a tank of gas .... Holly **** .... how the hell do you get 400 miles? Is that all highway? I will be lucky if i get 220 but that is mostly city driving and that is with my tank basically empty.

My best is 470.

 

[aldive]

Originally posted by leenjen
it could also be bad gas.

Doubtful since we used several tanks of fuel starting with a fill up in Sarasota, FL with regular at $1.37 to the lowest price in Hartwell, GA, for $0.93.

It 'twern't de gas....

 

[JDraper]

Originally posted by leenjen
it could also be bad gas. i got bad gas the other day. my explorer ran like crap and i only got about 200 miles out of the tank (i usually get about 400). i filled up at my regular station and ran a bottle of fuel system cleaner, now it's back to normal. i'm never getting gas from that Gulf station again!

I'll second 99Explorer5.0's comment. Holy S*&t!! No way in hell I could get that many miles out of a tank.

Al, is your X 2WD??

 

[aldive]

Originally posted by JDraper
Al, is your X 2WD??[/COLOR]

Of course...

 

[aldive]

I have a 500 mile trip today, with ME driving, will report the mileage tonight.

 

[sideswipe]

How the hell do you guys get suck high MPG? I get around 12MPG around 230-250 miles to the tank. That sucks.

 

[Yomie]

Originally posted by Gimp

Anyway, painted across the back of the decklid, where you could see it when you were driving behind it, were the words, "I'm not tailgating. I'm drafting!"

On the back of my Girlfriends F-150 Lightning (actually the parentall figures vehicle, but she drives it) There is a liscence plate frame that says "I'm not speeding, I'm qualifying"

Originally posted by Sideswipe
How the hell do you guys get suck high MPG? I get around 12MPG around 230-250 miles to the tank. That sucks.

Sideswipe, don't you have them heavy rims too? My mileage is crappy too about 270 miles to a tank, i have the small tank (sport) 17.5 gal, it tends to average out to around 16 mpg on trips

 

[Robert]

The best MPG I have ever gotten out of my '97 4x4 SOHC Sport was about 20.5 MPG. That was with the cruise control set at 80 MPH when traveling across New Mexico. I have only ever gotten 20 MPG one more time. I usually drive 70-75 MPH and average about 18-19 on the highway. Around town I get 16-17 MPG. I have only had my trip odometer over 300 miles one time and that was after driving with my check gage light on a little longer than I preferred.

Right now I am involved in a highly scientific test to determine the effects that my SuperChip and my K&N FIPK have on my mileage. I track my mileage after every tank, so when I removed my SuperChip and FIPK a couple of weeks ago to have my dealer check my Explorer regarding the cam chain guide issue, I felt it was a great opportunity to see what affect they had. I have my mileage recorded before removing them. I just finished driving through three tanks of gas with them both removed. I just re-installed my SuperChip last night (did I ever miss it) and will drive the next three tanks with just it in and record my mileage. After that I will re-install my FIPK and record my results. From my preliminary results, it at first appeared that I dropped off a couple of MPG, however when I filled up yesterday my mileage went up higher than it has been running for some time. My route hasn't changed over the last several weeks and I have only used Texaco gas for the last couple of months (although different stations).