My quest for 30 MPG - Ford Explorer Gas Mileage Tips

[Double0X]

Thanks for the compliments! I am planning on getting the driver and passenger window tinted to match the rest of the truck.
Do you actually have yours set up? Have you noticed anything? I gained a noticeable torque at cruising speeds. Also, my MPG has increased.

yeah i noticed a increase in torque at higher speeds take off was about the same. short ram intakes have better throttle responds. because its closer to your TB the longer your intake the longer the air as to travel. I think im going put my intake back to wear its supposed to be, and a spectrum intake and the black tube we have fits right into the top of the filter. spectrum is a intake company that makes custom intakes. I hope to dual feature this design when i get some more time on my hands. Im going to have to buy a larger TB first. I also just seafoamed my truck again and used some 44k fuel cleaner + removed about 50 pounds out of my truck yesterday to so im sure all of that had something to do with my torque i gained.

Well thats good, all of those things will slightly increase the mpg of your truck. Another way of doing a cold air intake, (if you have the time and tools). Would be to cut a hole in your fendor, get a pipe that is long enough to extend your filter into your fendor and use foam(or something) to fill the excess space around your pipe(intake tube) to keep air from coming into your fendor from your engine compartment.

 

[aldive]

Cold air is good for power but not for mileage.

If max mileage is your goal, spend your effort elsewhere.

Good luck ....

 

[Rayz2000Sport]

Please tell us more about this.

Also, please post some pictures of it.

Thanks.....

Umm its kinda hard to explain but ill give my best shot. I dont have fog lights on X but i had holes of where thy could go its about 3 and a half inches wide i used a drill and drilled those holes out. Now this is where it gets confusing... If you have a lab top computer i suggest popping your hood and reading this as i go along.... There is a piece of melt that your stock intake box was bolted or screwed on to. you should be able to see it if you have a after market intake. there is also i small plastic box on the right hand side if you are facing your truck head on. So i unbolted the melt and un hooked the plastic box and taped it up on the side. There is also some plastic finder pieces i had to use a pair of sharp pair of cutters to trim away at. Now everything was free until part. I live in maryland so down here or over here or up here we have AUTOZONE there the only place that has these, its a black tube thats about 3-4 inches in circumference its about 12" long and stretches to be about 29" i think it comes with rubber seals and i hooked one end to my KnN part and i stretched it out and dropped it right infront of the hole i drilled out were my fog lights could have went. So air comes right in though that whole and tada!!! right in to my filter. Now i dont think i have perfected this design. I from personal experiences longer intakes like that one are better in the summer because the air is not as cold.
you have more throttle responds with a shorter intake because the air gets there fast your have more throttle responds if you will. but at highway speeds it doesnt matter. I did notice a bet more power this morning driving to school... at high speeds tho. the take off was good but i also removed about 50 pounds yesterday from my X so that could have been why idk im not sure. I have less than a half tank of gas so im driving like a bat out of hell because i want to see if my design works better for mpg. now al with your truck i think my design would be prefect because you have a larger throttle body. but for others idk. over the summer i plan on making this a dual custom intake system and dropping a filter in front of the hole on the right too. I have decided yet for sure. I think i would lose power if i did so i mite buy a bigger thottle body. Also al have you ever thought about getting you engine port and polished you can even get your cams and rodes port and polished. I had a 11sec honda and i got rid of it and bought this truck but i lighten my fly wheel and got everything port and polished and it was the best money i spent on that car other than the turbo. just a though for ya. I think with what you have done to it now you would get about another 20 horse to the wheel and at least another 5-10mpgs let me know what you think! also what kinda gas to you use? like shell or bp? thanks i will try to up load pictures soon

Splitting hairs here. Pretty sure the company you are mentioning is Spectre. I use their products as well.

 

[Fordexplorer140k]

AL i just want to know what you think about some of these mods.
port and polish intake many and lower many
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just a thought and the more you have done to your truck or car the better it works. i had one of these in my honda and it did add WHP no BS

 

[Double0X]

What would be the perfect cruising speed on the highway for optimal gas mileage? With stock 3:73 gears. Is it somewhere between 65-72 Mph?

 

[aldive]

What would be the perfect cruising speed on the highway for optimal gas mileage? With stock 3:73 gears. Is it somewhere between 65-72 Mph?

Impossible to answer without knowing more about the truck inquestion, ie, mods, computer tune, etc.

With my truck, anything over 68 MPH just kills max mileage.

 

[Double0X]

Impossible to answer without knowing more about the truck inquestion, ie, mods, computer tune, etc.

With my truck, anything over 68 MPH just kills max mileage.

OK, well my mods are all listed below. And as of right now i have a stock pcm.

 

[Double0X]

Is it somewhere between 65-72 Mph?

I was just wondering what others thought. I normally get close to the best around 65.

I guess my true question is to find out about what speeds others get the best mileage. Al, i've seen some of your numbers. But what of others?

 

[aldive]

OK, well my mods are all listed below. And as of right now i have a stock PCM.

55 will quite possibly yield the best mileage; but is it practical to drive at that speed?

 

[flamingX]

32 mpg

I got 32 MPG in my '97 EX last summer on one trip.

Mind you mine is 2WD 5-Speed.
-A transfercase is good for sucking atleast 5MPG out of you.
-The 5-speeds have (I think) about a 3.20:1 rear end and I beleive the autos usually have a 3.55 or 3.75:1 depending on the package
-I also ripped out the A/C (that pump never shuts off), thats good for 2-3 MPG (that is if your pump is new,they get worse with age, besides, I live in Canada, it's only stifiling hot for about a week a year)
-I shaved the roof rack (at highway speeds those cross bars can rob of you 1-2 MPG)
-Keep the engine well tuned, and change the oil regularly
-The only add on I've boughten so far is a K&N FIPK (worth the money, especaly if yours has a round paper filter from the factory, under load that thing looks like a crushed beer can)

That trip I had the cruise control set at 85 KM/H (just under 55MPH) at 2200RPM (speed limits up here on secondary highways are 80KM/H, which =50MPH)
I hope to add a high flow exhuast soon (that should bring me to about 34MPG)
Also there are more additives in Canadian gas that do improve milage (that's why the price of gas is $0.80/litre here [3.89L = 1 GAL.), but the above alterations will still improve your milage.

 

[flamingX]

Best speed

It's not a question of speed of the truck, it's speed of the motor.
You want to keep the RPMs in a good range for the truck, depending on your weight, horsepower, tranny, rearend combo.
You want your RPMs to be at that sweet spot where the engine is'nt "chugging" up small hills, but yet it's not sceeming going down the other side.
That "sweet spot" on mine is 2200RPM, but mine is 2WD 5-speed with about a 3.20:1 rear.

 

[aldive]

with about a 3.20:1 rear.

How can the rear gears be "about" anything?

 

[aldive]

It's not a question of speed of the truck, it's speed of the motor.

The speed of the vehicle definitely plays a major part in the gas mileage equation.

Think aerodynamics and drag ...

 

[flamingX]

Cold air?

Cold air is good for power but not for mileage.

If max mileage is your goal, spend your effort elsewhere.

Good luck ....

Acually cold air kits do improve your milage quite a bit (it improved mine by about 4MPG), But you have to KEEP YOUR FOOT OUT OF IT drive "like Your grandmother" as I always say, and your milage will improve, make full use of your new found horepower (approx. 10% more) and your milage will drop 5-10MPG.
I know when that K&N FIPK makes my 4.0L sound and feel like a V8, it is sometimes hard to keep using it to it's full potental.

 

[shockguys]

Wow, much better than me

I had a '91 Exp, 5 speed manual. I don't think I got over 20 mpg. Of course it had been ran pretty hard over it's life span and neglected by previous owners; however when I sold it there was 198k miles on her and it was still running the last I heard (and that was five years ago).

She was a tough old girl, I just didn't have the time or money to invest in it any longer - wish I had though!

Weight, speed, drag, HP and transmission (and rear) are major factors for optimal mpg.

 

[flamingX]

How can the rear gears be "about" anything?

I mean somewhere around (i'm not sure of the exact ratio)

 

[flamingX]

I had a '91 Exp, 5 speed manual. I don't think I got over 20 mpg.

I know that the first generation Ex's had a differant fuel delivery system, which made a huge difference

 

[Double0X]

55 will quite possibly yield the best mileage; but is it practical to drive at that speed?

Luckily for me it is, about 2/3 of the way i have to drive everyday is in a 50mph speed limit zone. And i normally drive about 5 over anyway.

 

[aldive]

I know that the first generation Ex's had a differant fuel delivery system, which made a huge difference

Oh? Please elaborate.

 

[aldive]

Acually cold air kits do improve your milage quite a bit (it improved mine by about 4MPG), But you have to KEEP YOUR FOOT OUT OF IT drive "like Your grandmother" as I always say, and your milage will improve, make full use of your new found horepower (approx. 10% more) and your milage will drop 5-10MPG.
I know when that K&N FIPK makes my 4.0L sound and feel like a V8, it is sometimes hard to keep using it to it's full potental.

Are you saying that a so called "cold air kit" improved your gas mileage bby 4 MPG? Thats amazing. I have never seen numbers that high.

Further, are you saying that the "cold air kit" improves HP by 10%? How did you determine this?