has anyone tried a tune to save gas on a v6?

[rama1200]

gas prices are killing me.... I have an xcalII... I was wondering how much gas I can save with an appropriate tune... does anyone have one ?

I guess Doug is getting rich on those now days... oh... btw how much for a tune to save gas?

... or can you guys tell me what is involved in tunning the x to save gas?

Thanks

 

[College Student]

subsribing

 

[Ronin8002]

I'm not convinced tuning really saves much gas. Most people do it for power, and James Henson will tell you that he doesn't write tunes for mileage, though some people see an increase.

that being said, there is a bunch of other stuff you can do mod-wise to save gas, but it does take a while for the gas savings to pay for the cost of the mods.

Cheapest is to adjust your driving habits. Drive like there is an egg between your foot and the gas pedal....so gradual acceleration is the meaning of that. Anticipate stop signs and red lights and let off the gas to coast most of the way to a stop. Avoid short trips if you can. Don't let the truck idle to warm it up.

You can also up your tire pressure to the max safe level...40PSI in a lot of cases but check your sidewalls to be sure.

After that, you could replace the paper filter in your airbox with a K&n filter

After that the next cheapest would be to get a taurus electric fan from the junkyard and swap out your clutch fan.

Next step could be to change out all your fluids to synthetics.

After that, you might look at an underdrive crank pulley.

 

[rama1200]

I'm not convinced tuning really saves much gas. Most people do it for power, and James Henson will tell you that he doesn't write tunes for mileage, though some people see an increase.

that being said, there is a bunch of other stuff you can do mod-wise to save gas, but it does take a while for the gas savings to pay for the cost of the mods.

Cheapest is to adjust your driving habits. Drive like there is an egg between your foot and the gas pedal....so gradual acceleration is the meaning of that. Anticipate stop signs and red lights and let off the gas to coast most of the way to a stop. Avoid short trips if you can. Don't let the truck idle to warm it up.

You can also up your tire pressure to the max safe level...40PSI in a lot of cases but check your sidewalls to be sure.

After that, you could replace the paper filter in your airbox with a K&n filter

After that the next cheapest would be to get a taurus electric fan from the junkyard and swap out your clutch fan.

Next step could be to change out all your fluids to synthetics.

After that, you might look at an underdrive crank pulley.

grrr! I thought tuning was a good option...

My driving habits are good (I think)... I don't floor it from stop... I try to accellerate slowly trying not to go too far over 2000 rpm, try to stop gradually, etc... I can't avoid to many short trips... and I thought that is better for the engine if you let it warm up.

I will adjust my tire pressure ( I think 36 and 40 is correct)

I have a kkm http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2191157/2004-ford-explorer/page-3

How much could I save with the e-fan? how "bad" is it for the alternator?

I run syntetic on engine... not on gears or transm...

I thought about u-crank-pulley... I'm still researching and saving for it...

Thanks

 

[Ronin8002]

E-Fan isn't bad for the alternator anymore than any electrical load. Not everyone agrees on whether it saves fuel or not but I think it's worth trying since it can be done on the cheap. Then you can decide for yourself based on the results.

 

[Rick]

Check this thread for fuel economy tips:

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=44372

 

[Carguy3J]

In regards to tuning for fuel economy; you're probably not going to get much improvement in city/traffic driving. However, there are things that can be done to drastically improve low-load, highway cruising MPG. You probably won't find a tuner to do it mail order though, as the changes needed can be a "balancing act" that can negatively affect drive-ability, or blow your motor, if not done right. It's something that would probably need to be done in person, partly on a dyno, and partly through trial-and-error . "Aldive" had it figured out, I think. He was very secretive about his tuning, but he did drop a hint once or twice.

"Aldive" was also a very big proponent of the underdrive crank pulley. I believe had said it was the single biggest bang-for-the-buck mod you could do. So, maybe start with that. Of course, the K&N Cold Air Kit, cat-back exhaust (Gibson/MAC), e-fan, and tuning will all help a little; as well as good tire pressure and the synthetic fluids. Make sure you're running 5w20 or 5w30 full synthetic in the motor. Modern engines don't generally need anything "thicker".

Also, if you do a lot of highway driving, removing the roof rack can improve aerodynamics, and reduce fuel consumption. Lowering the vehicle can also reduce it's aerodynamic drag at highway speeds; though I don't know if lowering is as easy for the 3rd gens, as it is for the 2nd gens.

 

[rama1200]

ok... I guess I'll start exploring back the e-fan and continue saving for pulleys

I get about 300 miles on a thank and the tank is about 18.5 gallons? that makes about 16.22 mpg...

I;ve seen Aldive's input... I need to go over again and see if I missed anything....

 

[Carguy3J]

Just looked at your car-domain pics. Nice looking truck. I like the stripes. Actually, I think it really "popped" with the blue highlights (from the tape), but looks good just black too.

I'm also not usually a fan of big rims, but those do look pretty good, without being "ghetto". Unfortunately, they will probably lower highway fuel economy. Big openings on wheels let alot of "dirty" airflow in/around them, and create aero drag. They are nice though.

I would try to lower it an inch or two. It will improve handling, and reduce aerodynamic drag; plus it will look cool. (Just an inch or two, I'm not talking low-rider). While you're at it, try to find a way to extend the front airdam a little too. Anything you can do to keep air from going underneath will help. In the that regard, I would also see if you can find a way to fill the gap between the running boards and the body, without it looking stupid. That would then make your running boards function kinda like a side skirt. As they are now, with the gap, they probably create a lot of turbulent airflow (and drag). You could also try to create side skirt underneath the body, slightly inboard of the running boards. This way, they would be mostly hidden.

As I said, I would also ditch the side rails from the roof rack. They just just unscrew/slide out of the tracks. You can always put them back on if you need them.

I don't know if your exhaust is the same as my '99, but check out the pipes, from the manifolds to the cat(s). On my '99 those pipes have several tight "crush-bends" in them that really choke them down ALOT. If your's are like that, consider replacing the sections of pipe between the manifolds and cats with mandrel bent pipes, and maybe high-flow cats.

 

[Ronin8002]

ok... I guess I'll start exploring back the e-fan and continue saving for pulleys

I get about 300 miles on a thank and the tank is about 18.5 gallons? that makes about 16.22 mpg...

I;ve seen Aldive's input... I need to go over again and see if I missed anything....

The tank on the 2002-2005 models is 22.5 gallons. I think your numbers are off because of that and the way you are figuring mileage.

Best way to calculate mileage is do it every fillup and track it over time to get the average.

When you fill up, reset the trip odometer. Then next time you fill up, take the number of miles you drove since the last fillup and divide it by the number of gallons it takes to fill the tank. That will give you the mileage you achieved from fillup to fillup.


This is a good method because it doesn't even require you to fully empty the tank. It should help you get more accurate numbers and can track the changes that mods make more easily.

 

[rama1200]

The tank on the 2002-2005 models is 22.5 gallons. I think your numbers are off because of that and the way you are figuring mileage.

Best way to calculate mileage is do it every fillup and track it over time to get the average.

When you fill up, reset the trip odometer. Then next time you fill up, take the number of miles you drove since the last fillup and divide it by the number of gallons it takes to fill the tank. That will give you the mileage you achieved from fillup to fillup.


This is a good method because it doesn't even require you to fully empty the tank. It should help you get more accurate numbers and can track the changes that mods make more easily.

grrr... I knew I was wrong... that makes only 13.333 mpg.

 

[Ronin8002]

That seems really low. I have oversized tires and stock gearing and I'm getting 16 mpg.

 

[CALDWELL]

I will gladly except 13 mpg right now !!!!

Im getting 9-10 mpg driving in philly ( Intake, Exhaust, Tune )

 

[rama1200]

That seems really low. I have oversized tires and stock gearing and I'm getting 16 mpg.

mainly on hwy?

 

[rama1200]

I will gladly except 13 mpg right now !!!!

Im getting 9-10 mpg driving in philly ( Intake, Exhaust, Tune )

yaiks! I feel it for you, man... My dad's suggestion was to buy a car and get rid of the x... makes sense... we'll see.

 

[Maniak]

grrr... I knew I was wrong... that makes only 13.333 mpg.

Not unless you ran the tank empty at 300 miles and then fit in 22.5 gallons.

You cannot figure mileage by knowing how big the tank is and how far you are going unless you are running it dry. As Ronin8002 said, fill the tank, drive a few hundred miles (typical driving) and then refill it. Prefereably using the same pump and same time of day. Then you can figure out what your mileage really is.

~Mark

 

[rama1200]

Not unless you ran the tank empty at 300 miles and then fit in 22.5 gallons.

You cannot figure mileage by knowing how big the tank is and how far you are going unless you are running it dry. As Ronin8002 said, fill the tank, drive a few hundred miles (typical driving) and then refill it. Prefereably using the same pump and same time of day. Then you can figure out what your mileage really is.

~Mark

ok here is what I've done...

I have ran the tank to the line at the very bottom of the indicator... right next to empty... at this point I show around 300 mile; this is what I assumed correct since I've done it several times... like this, 300/22.5=13.33

Also, I've done:

fill up the tank, note miles at full, 3/4 full, 1/2 full and 1/4 full... for some reason gas seems to last longer while trying to use the first 1/4 tank (from full to 3/4 full).... at the 3/4 full indicator, milage is about 100 miles... like this total milage would be 400 miles => 400/22.5=17.78 mpg.

Also, I've done:
Take note of the miles at tank 3/4 empty... miles=270 (or so)... I do something like x=(22.5x270)/16.875=360miles on a full tank => 360/22.5=16mpg.

so maybe take the average? (13.33+17.78+16)/3=15.70mpg?

ump! too much math... that is what has mee confused... my little brain does not compute #s.

 

[Maniak]

ok here is what I've done...

I have ran the tank to the line at the very bottom of the indicator... right next to empty... at this point I show around 300 mile; this is what I assumed correct since I've done it several times... like this, 300/22.5=13.33

Also, I've done:

fill up the tank, note miles at full, 3/4 full, 1/2 full and 1/4 full... for some reason gas seems to last longer while trying to use the first 1/4 tank (from full to 3/4 full).... at the 3/4 full indicator, milage is about 100 miles... like this total milage would be 400 miles => 400/22.5=17.78 mpg.

Also, I've done:
Take note of the miles at tank 3/4 empty... miles=270 (or so)... I do something like x=(22.5x270)/16.875=360miles on a full tank => 360/22.5=16mpg.

so maybe take the average? (13.33+17.78+16)/3=15.70mpg?

ump! too much math... that is what has mee confused... my little brain does not compute #s.

That is what I figured you were doing. Your guessing. Its not actual mileage. You need to do the fill/drive/fill then divide to get the real mileage.

~Mark

 

[Mr. Wiggles]

I just went down from 265's to 235's and went from 13 mpg to 18 mpg

 

[Ronin8002]

Yes, my truck is about 70/30 highway / city

I'm not a math whiz either, but you're not computing mileage right.

Forget about the 22.5 gallons. The only way that number is useful for figuring mileage is if you burn every drop in the tank. Also, don't use your fuel level needle as a measurement...it's not accurate for determining mileage. All it tells you is roughly how full or empty the tank is.

Here's what you need to do step-by-step:

-Step 1: When you fill up, reset your trip odometer.

-Step 2: Drive until you need to fill up again. When you fill up again....make sure you write down what the pump tells you
on how many gallons you just put in, say 18.53 gallons for example. If you think about it, putting 18.53 gallons in since your last fillup is the same as saying you've burned 18.53 gallons since your last fillup, know what I mean?

-Step 3: Before you leave the gas station, look at your trip odometer. Take the number of miles you drove since your last fill up, say for example 290 miles. Divide it by the number of gallons you just put in, which we already said was 18.53.

Answer: 290 divided by 18.53 = 15.65 MPG

You don't even have to be anywhere near the empty line for your second refill for this method to work. You could do it a half tank or even 3/4 of a tank if you want...just as long as you know how many miles you have driven since the tank was filled and how many gallons you've burned (i.e. by looking at how many gallons you put in on the second fillup).

If you want really good mileage, perhaps selling the X and buying a honda civic would be a good option. The 2010 civic gets 35 MPG or better EASY with 50/50 highway/city driving even when it's completely stock and driven with a heavy foot.

ok here is what I've done...

I have ran the tank to the line at the very bottom of the indicator... right next to empty... at this point I show around 300 mile; this is what I assumed correct since I've done it several times... like this, 300/22.5=13.33

Also, I've done:

fill up the tank, note miles at full, 3/4 full, 1/2 full and 1/4 full... for some reason gas seems to last longer while trying to use the first 1/4 tank (from full to 3/4 full).... at the 3/4 full indicator, milage is about 100 miles... like this total milage would be 400 miles => 400/22.5=17.78 mpg.

Also, I've done:
Take note of the miles at tank 3/4 empty... miles=270 (or so)... I do something like x=(22.5x270)/16.875=360miles on a full tank => 360/22.5=16mpg.

so maybe take the average? (13.33+17.78+16)/3=15.70mpg?

ump! too much math... that is what has mee confused... my little brain does not compute #s.