1999 Explorer Modifications Possibly Needed

[gwade8]

Hey I'm a teenager that has to pay for his own gas money. My grandma gave me her 1999 Ford Explorer 4WD since she got a new car right around the time I got my license. It's sucks only getting around 15-17 mpg, especially when my friends want me to drive somewhere. Are there any modifications I could invest in to help get better gas mileage? I've been doing some research and it looks like a lot of people inflate their tires to the max, is this safe or will it wear down the tires faster? I've also heard about fuel chips, how much can this improve my mpg and how much are they? I saw something about getting taller economy gears for the rear end. What are these, how can they help, and how much will they cost? And lastly, what are some other modifications I should look into? Any and all help will be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Dono]

get a smaller vehicle

Honestly. Its the weight of these things, and the shape.
Sounds like a smart ass answer, but you can spend thousand to better gas mileage by 1/2 mpg. Doesn't make sense.

14-17mpg is ok for a 4.0 OHV motor.
A good tuneup might help a bit. Synthetic oils everywhere. Upping the tire pressure will help a bit, but you might start to see uneven wear, like you say. Really, Ive done electric fan mod, new heads, etc. Mileage is still not great. In the summer heat mileage is actually pretty good, but the rest of the year I'm where you are.

 

[Joe Dirt]

You're really not going to improve that MPG for anything you can afford. Honestly, you can throw a few thousand at it and not get more. I agree- sell it and buy a smaller 4 cylinder car. 15-17 vs 19-20 isn't going to make enough of a difference dollar-wise, and you're probably not going to even get that.

 

[jakemccarthy]

Get a civic

 

[OffTrac]

Ask your friends to help with gas money when they decide you should drive. It's only fair.

 

[colintrax]

Driving habits make a huge difference, I'm getting 20 and I drive pretty fast to. Skinnier tires, synthetic fluids, cotton air filter, cat back exhaust, and a good cleaning.
Take out seats, ect to save weight. You might already have a tall gear rear end, even if you dont, I wouldn't change it. Just get taller tires to change the gear ratio (and gain ground clearance )

Lastly, a smaller vehicle wouldn't hurt. Personally, I dont think any man who drives a civic is a "man" but I live in the country where everyone needs a truck. I need my explorer, so I'm SOL on gas mileage.

 

[gwade8]

Sounds like I might be getting a new car haha. Thanks for all the suggestions guys.

 

[Runnin'OnEmpty]

Well, here's my two cents.
The Explorer was free, right? And to trade for
a Honda you'll need to possibly pay several
hundred (or thousand) dollars?

That'll pay for a lot of difference in MPG
between the Explorer and Honda.

I'd keep the Explorer and enjoy it...

 

[Trolling]

Do you really need a mid size suv?

Trade it for a compact car/wagon.

 

[toypaseo]

I've been doing some research and it looks like a lot of people inflate their tires to the max, is this safe or will it wear down the tires faster?

No, pry not safe, but on my Paseo, and on my gf's Accord, I inflate close to max. I think on hers, the max is 44, and I put them at 40. When she commuted, she went through at least three sets of tires. On all three sets of tires, the wear in the middle of the tread was noticeable and measurable, but not a drastic amount. The tires needed to be replaced due to overall wear, and not from being worn out in the middle.

I've also heard about fuel chips, how much can this improve my mpg and how much are they?

Stay away from eBay fuel saver chips, if that is what you are referring to. They are junk.

And lastly, what are some other modifications I should look into?

A programmer might improve MPG. I know some newer ones claim improved MPG, but I am not sure if they are compatible with an older Explorer. You can search on here for tips from Aldive on his quest for improved mileage. I removed my roof crossbars to shave off minor drag. I will pry never use them, and could always put them back in place if I did need them for some reason.

 

[toypaseo]

Try this online fuel savings calculator by Autobytel...

http://www.autobytel.com/car-financing/car-calculators/fuel-savings-calculator/

I put $2000 as the cost of a "beater 30 MPG car".

If you drive 30 miles per day...

Don’t Upgrade!
You won’t begin saving $638.75 per year
until after 37 months.

Gasoline Assumptions
Gasoline cost per gallon ($) 3.50
Miles you drive each day 30
MPG (old vehicle) 20
MPG (new vehicle) 30
Cost Assumptions - Old Vehicle
Current monthly payments (old vehicle) ($) 0
Number of payments remaining 1
Anticipated sales price ($) 0
Cost Assumptions - New Vehicle
Estimated monthly payments (new vehicle) ($) 2000
Number of months 1
Down payment or sales price (if paying with cash) ($)
One-time taxes/registration/fees ($)
State/Federal income tax credit (if applicable) ($)

If you drive 100 miles per day...

Don’t Upgrade!
You won’t begin saving $2,129.17 per year
until after 11 months.


Gasoline Assumptions
Gasoline cost per gallon ($) 3.50
Miles you drive each day 100
MPG (old vehicle) 20
MPG (new vehicle) 30
Cost Assumptions - Old Vehicle
Current monthly payments (old vehicle) ($) 0
Number of payments remaining 1
Anticipated sales price ($) 0
Cost Assumptions - New Vehicle
Estimated monthly payments (new vehicle) ($) 2000
Number of months 1
Down payment or sales price (if paying with cash) ($)
One-time taxes/registration/fees ($)
State/Federal income tax credit (if applicable) ($)

 

[gwade8]

It looks like I'll probably be staying with the Explorer. I already try to keep it under 2000 RPM as I'm accelerating. I run about 1950 RPM at 55 and about 2100 at 60, which one would get me better gas mileage? The only places I really drive right now are to school and back, so there are no highways involved.

 

[Keeper0311]

Drive at either 55, or 65. Those will be your most efficient high speeds.

 

[derek_redneck91]

I feel you man. But be lucky you only have to pay for gas! I have a 99 as well and I do a lot of city, country, and highway driving. My average is 16mpg. I just put a brand new motor in my truck so I don't know the mileage yet. Gotta let things settle in. Also, do you have auto 4x4? If so. Look up threads about the brown wire mod. DO IT! Trust me. My personal testimonial and experience with it is here:
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=338482

Things you can do to improve mileage (some as people said):
Synthetic oils everywhere (even 10w30 or 15w40 are better than 5w30)
Do a full fluids change (tranny, transfer case, rear end, motor)
Plugs and wires
Either drop in K&N filter (30 bucks) or full CAI (250)
Upgrade your exhaust. Here's the 4.0l exchaust thread. Full of ideas.
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=192528

Programmers are about 350 bucks and give somewhere around 10-15hp

As for gears. Check your door code to see what you have. 3.55 gears are good for mileage. Not so high on low end torque, but lower rpm at higher speeds. I have 4.10 gears which are great for low end torque and towing, but make my highway rpms higher. IMO I wouldn't do a gear swap because then you have to change the front axle to match your transfer case. And trust me, that's not something you want to do with the rack and pinion infront of your axle. The only thing I would do with the gears is get a limited slip rear end with the same gears if you dont have one.

 

[1996BLKBauer]

Honestly, my opinion is to just keep it. Weight, and shape is a huge issue with these trucks. possibly keep extra weight out of it. You have a cell phone? drop the spare tire, some people say running on a half a tank or less helps, A tune up, and the "swiss cheese" mod to the airbox, which from what I have heard makes it less restrictive. which will make MPG slightly better.

Make the vehicle work less , to achieve the same speed is the key thing. Synthetic fluids, Tire PSI, add less restrictive intake, and exhaust. It all helps, and all things I mentioned above do help, even if it is just slightly. I also know from experience that you can do all these things on a budget, I am a college student, so I know how it is. I drive all of my friends around with all seats filled up, asking for gas money helps a ton, especially if you are going a far distance.

One more thing, is the check engine light on? If it is, that could also be a problem, I noticed a huge difference going from 15.5MPG, to 12MPG whne my Heated o2 sensor went out.

 

[derek_redneck91]

Being a college student too I agree. Cost is always a problem. Save up for things and do as much work on it as you can. As I said above, I just put a new engine in mine two days ago. I did all the work myself except for a few things that my buddy helped with. Bought the engine for 800 bucks and saved myself another grand at least by doing all of the work. Also, on a positive note. My exhaust cost 100 bucks. And that was buying 4 adapters, and exhaust tips. I had the exhaust given to me, all I had to do was modify it. And if they are true friends they will pitch in for gas.

 

[jimwww]

Tune up - change the plugs - best thing you can do and buy better gas. What I mean by that is Chevron etc.. not Joe's gas station - I find it does make a difference. I did not mean Octane. I have had 4 explorers and none responded better to higher octane.

 

[FIND]

I love my bicycle. I've got folding baskets on the back and a rack. A trailer that attaches to the rear that hauls a couple small children or up to roughly 100 lbs of crap. Lights on the front and rear that make the cars know that I am coming and will scratch their paint if they hit me, full fenders and a chain guard. MPG? Well, it varies with heat and gets lower the further I go, but it is water from the tap... so yeah... Don't really care.

That is how you save money on gas when you own an Explorer. That, and invest much more money than you will get back in fuel savings within any reasonable period of time. I only modify my truck to be more fuel efficient because I like modifying cars, and because I want to be prepared for the Zombie Apocalypse so that I can reach a suitable place to wait things out without having to make as many stops to find fuel. There just aren't many mods you can do for fuel savings that are cost effective when you are talking about a large, heavy vehicle with poor aerodynamics. Anything you do, you will be looking at at least a couple years before it pays for itself. Focus on maintenance and making it a reliable vehicle. Modifying it for fuel economy won't save you money. I only do it so I can say what I have done and how well it works.

Only things I can recommend is stick with a lighter oil, like 5w20, you can pipe warmer air to the intake (you will lose some power, but your economy will be slightly improved cruising), if you need new tires, look for low rolling resistance tires with some kind of touring or highway tread, accelerate slowly and anticipate stops so you can let your foot off the gas and coast instead of accelerating all the way up until you use your brakes.

 

[derek_redneck91]

HAHAHA zombie apocalypse! Now THATS FUNNY! But yes there's the other side to fuel economy. Your right foot! How you drive can determine fuel economy just as much as doing all these mods. I took my explorer to the drag strip, did a few burnouts, three passes, and used more than an 1/8th of a tank for 10 minutes total. We race around and have fun, it uses gas. I get maybe 400km on a tank. But if i drive reasonably and on the highway I can get 475 or more! Not bad for a 4x4 brick

 

[2TimingTom]

Try this online fuel savings calculator by Autobytel...

http://www.autobytel.com/car-financing/car-calculators/fuel-savings-calculator/

I don't like that calculator. I put in $2000 for a car that got 75 mpg with gas at $3.73 driving 24 miles a day and it said not to upgrade.

A little over a year ago I bought a '95 Saturn SL2 for $1500. It got an average of 33 mpg- basically twice what my Explorer gets. I drove it for about 11 months and saved an estimated $775 in gas by driving it over the Explorer.

Plus then I recently sold it for $1800.

If the Explorer was given to you, sell it for $2000-$4000 (or whatever fair market value is). That's like free money. Then take some or all of that money and buy a 4 cylinder, 5 speed manual car. When it comes time to replace tires, the car will have MUCH cheaper tires. Heck, it probably even takes 1 qt less of oil in the crankcase. Insurance will be cheaper. If the car is FWD, it will have way fewer mechanical parts to service.

Or keep the Explorer and pay roughly twice as much to go the same distance. You can fill up the tank for $35 or $70. Both tanks of gas will take you ~350 miles or so.