24.6mpg... *gasp*

[hydroxy]

So this weekend I made a road trip to USC (not cali) from VA Tech today to visit exgf... Usually I toss fuel economy to the wind and try and get there as quick as possible. This usually results in a 268mile trip in 3hrs 20min w/ ~16mpg going 80-90 most of the way.

With money tight, I decided I would try and save some gas this time. Traffic was pretty packed together, but moving at a nice clip. I always tried to stay behind a large vehicle - van, truck etc so I wouldn't be driving against unbroken wind. This is the MPG I got. First pic was taken at 11am, 2nd pick at noon, as traffic was more constant and I was always able to follow someone. This resulted in it taking about 4hrs... going 65-70 most of the way. I think I ended up getting 22.2 mpg overall for the trip.

 

[hydroxy]

So, on the way back... left around 3am - I wanted to save money/gas again. However since it was late at night, there weren't any cars to follow... So I decided to follow some semis. Took about 3hrs 45min to get home...
The MPG shot was after about 30 miles of following a truck before it pulled off. I had reset the average when I started following him. The weather was HORRIBLE, so I can imagine it would have only been better fuel economy if there wasn't rain. You can see about how close I was to him... I think this trip ended w/ MPG around 22.5 or so.

Needless to say, I never EVER thought an explorer was capable of these kinds of numbers... which was mainly the reason I had never bothered before to try and get good MPG. I think from now on I'll definetly drive a little slower and always be following someone.... Only engine mods are double plat spark plugs... Original wires w/ 120k miles on 'em... open element KNN, and flowmaster 40 exhaust. And I'm lowered about 2" or so in the front.

Anyways, I thought it was really interesting to see what kinda MPG you can get by following someone and going a tad bit slower. Oh yea - No AC on.

 

[410Fortune]

Wow that is excellent.

Now a couple of questions:
Do you have the stock outer diameter on your tires? If not has the speedo been calibrated?
What's the tire pressure, and what octane gas were you running?
Also the outside tempature has alot to do with it, so does the engine temp. Any info on those?

 

[hydroxy]

Wow that is excellent.

Now a couple of questions:
Do you have the stock outer diameter on your tires? If not has the speedo been calibrated?
What's the tire pressure, and what octane gas were you running?
Also the outside tempature has alot to do with it, so does the engine temp. Any info on those?

Rims + tires are pretty close to the same size as the stockers... a TINY bit smaller. There was some online place I checked it against. 255/55/r18 are new wheels. Yokohama AVS S/T. http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...ch=false&partnum=555VR8AVSST&fromCompare1=yes.
Pressure is 40lbs. on 18x9 rims. Speedo not calibrated, I dont think it is off by much at all though.

Outside temp going there, 60-80*... probably 70-80* for most of the trip. Coming back... 40-50* all farenheight(sp). My engine has always ran a little on the cold side since my uncle bought it in 95... (temp sensor replaced 8 times since then). Prolly around 1/3 on the meter. 87 octane.

I noticed the difference though... I always fill up before I leave and usually get there w/ ~4 gallons in the tank. This time I showed up with about 10 gallons left.

 

[Stic-o]

You know my did that once. He had a '69 F-250 CS with a 11 Ft. Camper on it and they were running low on gas...So he diced to draft a simi. Well he did for quite awile. Then the simi buddy radios his other simi buddys and they block him in and draft him for awile. well just about the time dads gonna run out of gas they stop. and lets just say my dad has never done it again.

 

[mhn3773]

24.6 is good milage??? my moms GV did like 29-30mpg at almost 90mph to AZ =)

although my pos..only gets 20...sigh

 

[Charlie's_93EB]

with no o/d i do not do the intersate thing in the EX

in my 95 ranger i would get 300miles to 13,14 gallons city

my best was 545 miles with 14 gallons highway

one time i drove to gainsville, not sure on mileage but it is a 4 hour drive @speed limit took me 3 1/2 hours to get there on less then 1/2 a tank, i filled up before i lefted at 2 or 3 am. i stepped on it the whole way home 98mph AKA max speed took 2 hours and a full tank of gas to get home i was pissed.

 

[etc]

Maybe with all those fumes you THINK you're going faster than you really are(not gassing it as much).

 

[bhults]

Was your drive done on mostly flat ground? I notice when traveling to the gf's, my hour long drive is almost perfectly flat, and my computer generally will quote 20-22 MPG for the trip.

 

[WannaXP8]

what size tank you got?
you got a v-8?

 

[wpurple]

I got 28mpg on a non stop trip from Freeport ME to Walligford CT with my 97 Sport 5 speed manual doing 65mph the whole way.

 

[exinprogress]

Somehow on the way to the Outer Banks in NC I averaged 22 mpg on the way down doing 55-65 the whole way with the a/c on with outside temps in the mid 80's. By the way, I had 210, 000 on the original engine when I did this!

 

[RickOTR]

The best I ever got was 22 mpg, but usually average 19 mpg's on the highway. I use to do this behind big rigs until one threw a large rock into my winshield and broke it. Scared the s#*t out of me, and have never done it sense.

 

[hydroxy]

22gal tank, v6.

It was pretty flat...