Just Curious: What MPG Do You Get?

[ihpj]

Happy New Year to everyone!

While I await my 'care package' and prepare for my next project, I was idly wondering what MPG folks are seeing from their trucks both in terms of daily usage and on a run?

I'm not asking because I'm motivated by finding economy savings, I'm asking to figure out if my figures are low. I'm happy with the 15MPG we get in town pootling about but only see 21MPG on a run. This figure doesn't seem to be too far impacted by by the speed (60/65/70MPH) and I reckon this is low.

So...this got me thinking, what sort of figures are you folks seeing? Are mine in line with what you guys get?

 

[SB98UKexplorer]

dont do mpg, i know i can do whole tank in 4hrs of motorway driving

 

[janolsson]

15mpg sounds about right but i can often get 20 around town when i'm grannying. It is hard but you can go everywhere at under 2k revs. I have also found the right speeds to get the final drive so at 53/4 i'm only doing 1600 ish
on long runs i find the difference between 60 and 70 to be massive. If i stay at 60 i get 25/6 where as at 70 i'm down to 22

 

[ihpj]

I've never gotten more than 22MPG on a run, even if I'm religiously @60MPH. Most often I get 20MPG and I reckon this is low. So I'm thinking I need to try and tackle this. So my first project is going to be replacing fluids in my axles and transfer box; don't intend to go fully synth. as I reckon my truck has fluids that are no doubt factory fill and 15-odd years old - so will just go with regular and then switch them out with fully synth. fluids later (kinda use this change as a flush).

I've also tried super unleaded (Tesco 99/V Power) in my truck when it's been on offer and it does feel happier and in town only I do see uptick in MPG. But on a run I still only see 20-odd MPG regardless. So I reckon there's things I can do to improve this and that's why fluids is my fist step. I don't expect fluids alone to make a huge difference, but it'll give me peace of mind from a preventative maintenance POV.

 

[dezufo]

I run on lpg, consumption varies from 3.34 - 3.54 miles per litre. mostly keep revs below 3k when accelerating except when some plonker thinks he can out pace me then its max rpm and he looks like he is standing still

 

[janolsson]

except when some plonker thinks he can out pace me then its max rpm and he looks like he is standing still

Its just sooo tempting around here as there are so many chavs in 106's that have covered their cars with glue and driven thro halfords

 

[hotrodguy]

not sure on mpg drove from cheltenham to millom in cumbria 240 miles is on just over half a tank 65-70 on the speedo fuel is abot 1.29 a ltr here & i can get a bout 38 miles around town from £10

 

[JonC]

Nobody owns an Explorer for its MPG!!!

Seriously though, I'm with Jan on the speed difference - sticking to 2000 rpm in top makes a world of difference to mine. Put another 500-800 revs on a watch the gauge drop!

Another little gem is that every now and then. my trans. goes into fault, slips the TC and won't engage top gear. That puts another 500rpm on it and drops my mileage badly. Must get it fixed!

Another big difference is the gas system. My previous Ex had a very good multi-point system and I got 18-20mpg from that. The current bolide had an old single-point system that wasnt so much installed as thrown at it. Consequently it only does 16mpg.

Allegedly - though I've yet to test the theory - Explorers are very sensitive to plug gaps. My bro-in-law ran a garage in Canada and out there, they reckon tighter gaps makes better mileage. Of course they're such a git to get to, you don't do it unless you have to!

 

[fcat]

Allegedly - though I've yet to test the theory - Explorers are very sensitive to plug gaps. My bro-in-law ran a garage in Canada and out there, they reckon tighter gaps makes better mileage. Of course they're such a git to get to, you don't do it unless you have to!

Biggest mistake i ever made was swapping the plugs! honestly, i saw the MPG drop by at least 5 or 6 overnight when i changed them. Never got round to changing them back for the above reason, they are a ***** to get to.

 

[kevin p]

Just out of interest sake fcat, i put some iridium plugs in, and I'm sure they have affected my mpg. Did you put platinum ones in yours?
Cheers Kev.

 

[fcat]

From memory i think they were Plats, id have to check. Am in the US at the moment, back home next week i'll check it out when im back.

 

[ihpj]

From memory i think they were Plats...

Thanks to these forums, I opted to stick with Motorcraft original platinums when I replaced mine because I didn't want to go through all the hassle of changing them only to do it again becuse the SOHC seems rather sensitive to plugs.

If I had the choice, I'd go with something like Bosch Super4 or something. But the Motorcraft platinums seem to do the job fine.

 

[chrisquelch]

mpg

mmmm mpg as the RR salesman said if you need to ask you cant aford it.
cheers chris

 

[ihpj]

mmmm mpg as the RR salesman said if you need to ask you cant aford it.
cheers chris

True, but my motivation was to see if by doing a fluid change would it impact my overall MPG as I reckon it's never been done and my truck isn't giving me what it should.

Anyhow, would you have a good working transfer shift motor available Buddy?

 

[chrisquelch]

i will have a look on friday as away from home till then.
cheers chris

 

[ihpj]

Money sent Chris!