gas mileage | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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gas mileage

go pens

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November 4, 2010
Messages
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City, State
pittsburgh pa
Year, Model & Trim Level
05 xlt
I have a 2005 Ford Explorer XLT V6 that ive had about 5 years

The best mpg ive gotten was about 14-15 wihen i first got it, now getting around 12

i know these arent great on gas, but ive seen others say they get 18

recently changed the spark plugs. what else can i do to increase mpgs?
 



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How many miles on it?

Plugs-fuel filter -air filter- oxygen sensors- make sure tires have enough air in them.

Is it AWD? Mostly city driving?

Bob T
:usa:
 






How many miles on it?

Plugs-fuel filter -air filter- oxygen sensors- make sure tires have enough air in them.

Is it AWD? Mostly city driving?

Bob T
:usa:
99k.

air filter done...have to look up how to do fuel filter and oxygen sensors....new tires check weekly.

mostly city.
 






then nothing on here will fix that. no matter what you drive. Especially anything shaped like a box and weighs over 4,000 lbs is going to do better than 14 to 15 mpgs

Fuel filter really only come into play with WOT, Fast highway speeds, and towing. O2 sensors take a long time to go bad.. But they do.

I think for the fractional increase you will see maybe.. Is not worth what you are going to spend on everything. There is cost-benefit analysis for a reason.

Fuel filter ~$30
O2 X 4 ~ $250

And now that gas is around $2.30/gallon. Even less worth it.

Here:

Say you get 15.0 mpg, drive 10K miles/year. So 10,000miles/15mpg = 667 gallons/year @ 2.30/gallon = $1550 / year (keep in mind I am rounding up for simple whole numbers)

So, to get your money back in 1 years time:

$1550 - $20 (air filter) - $60 (plugs) - $30 (fuel filter) - $250 (O2 sensors) = $1190 / year

$1190 / year / $2.30 / gallon = 520 gallons / year

10,000 miles / 520 gallons = 19.2+ mpg!

So you would have to get 19.2 mpg constantly to pay it off in one year! Not going to happen!

Say for two years:

$1550 + $1190 = $2740
$2740 / $2.30 = 1192 gallons
20,000 miles / 1192 gallons = 16.8+ mpg! Still not going to happen!

Just for some insight.
 






How many miles on it?

Plugs-fuel filter -air filter- oxygen sensors- make sure tires have enough air in them.

Is it AWD? Mostly city driving?

Bob T
:usa:
99k.

air filter done...have to look up how to do fuel filter and oxygen sensors....new tires check weekly.

mostly city.
 






When it is mostly city you won't do much better. Like Joe said maintenance items help somewhat but it is a big vehicle.

Bob T
:usa:
 






I assume you have the OE plugs still.
If so, the gap (which is supposed to be .54) is going to be between .6X-.7X.

I really recommend changing plugs no later than 70k.

My wife's '05 was getting 13 MPG's, I changed the plugs and started getting 17 MPG's.

I find it's easier to get bad gas mileage with my 4.0 than my 4.6, so a heavy foot from stops won't help you.
When I drive the '05, I get 3 MPG better than my wife, because she just doesn't get it.
 












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