My quest for 30 MPG - Ford Explorer Gas Mileage Tips

[dothedeww]

One word

Dimples

Saw it on mythbusters.

haha totally agreed. Im surprised the dirty car had that big of a difference....

and 3mpg more for dimples...anyone know a shop that will add dimples? I like the look too haha

 

[Blacksheep Josh]

haha totally agreed. Im surprised the dirty car had that big of a difference....

and 3mpg more for dimples...anyone know a shop that will add dimples? I like the look too haha

Just get a hammer with a ball on it and go to town!!

 

[diego]

Al I have been following this thread here and there but never really had time to go through the whole thing. I think its amazing how you continue achieve more and more mpg out of your X. My questions is what mpg mods are the most noticeable in your fuel economy? Hope to see more mods soon!

 

[Fordexplorer140k]

yes.
removing the catalytic converter is illegal.
Even if your state doesn't do IM tests, it's still against federal law to remove the cat.

not to mention that the lack of backpressure can kill the low-end power (or was it high-end?)

and a cherry bomb was too quiet? what, are you partially deaf? especially without a cat?

Notice how i said "for me" guess you didnt. I didnt remove my cat i just punched it out or just took all the **** in there out and removed the MUFFLER. Before i did this i couldnt burn tires after i did this and tuned it i could so i didnt lose any power i gained power.

Thats not really my problem tho, my check engine light keeps coming on and i cant figure out why i listed all my mods why is my damn light coming on.

 

[Fordexplorer140k]

Just get a hammer with a ball on it and go to town!!

what? dimples wtf u talkin about lol

 

[gavin]

Notice how i said "for me" guess you didnt. I didnt remove my cat i just punched it out or just took all the **** in there out and removed the MUFFLER. Before i did this i couldnt burn tires after i did this and tuned it i could so i didnt lose any power i gained power.

Thats not really my problem tho, my check engine light keeps coming on and i cant figure out why i listed all my mods why is my damn light coming on.

gutting a cat is the same thing as removing it.
You are removing the catalyst which helps with cleaner emissions.
This is still illegal. Period.

as for it being "too quiet." Are you trying to disturb your neighborhood with an excessively loud exhaust?

You're probably getting a CEL because you have no catalyst to do it's job, so the O2 sensor is setting the CEL. It's doing it's job, telling you something is wrong.

 

[gavin]

what? dimples wtf u talkin about lol

A ball moving through air experiences two major aerodynamic forces, lift and drag. Dimpled balls fly farther than non-dimpled balls due to the combination of two effects:

Firstly, the dimples delay separation of the boundary layer from the ball. Early separation, as seen on a smooth sphere, causes significant wake turbulence, the principal cause of drag. The separation delay caused by the dimples therefore reduces this wake turbulence, and hence the drag.

the dimples on a golf ball reduce drag.

and there musta been something about it on the latest Mythbusters episode, along with "does a dirty car get better mpg?"
unfortunately I missed it

 

[Fordexplorer140k]

gutting a cat is the same thing as removing it.
You are removing the catalyst which helps with cleaner emissions.
This is still illegal. Period.

as for it being "too quiet." Are you trying to disturb your neighborhood with an excessively loud exhaust?

You're probably getting a CEL because you have no catalyst to do it's job, so the O2 sensor is setting the CEL. It's doing it's job, telling you something is wrong.

yeah i guess it same as removing it in a sense... and yea i do know it is illegal ive had cops stick there little mirror under my old honda. thats why i dont remove them i gut them. N the CEL is not it. the code that is system running too lean. I mentioned my TB body mod and my custom MAF housing mod with the stock sensor. I think thats what it is... bigger MAF housing with stock sensor, the sensor doesnt know any better.

 

[aldive]

yeah i guess it same as removing it in a sense... and yea i do know it is illegal ive had cops stick there little mirror under my old honda. thats why i dont remove them i gut them. N the CEL is not it. the code that is system running too lean. I mentioned my TB body mod and my custom MAF housing mod with the stock sensor. I think thats what it is... bigger MAF housing with stock sensor, the sensor doesnt know any better.

I run a larger ( C & L ) MAF housing with stock electronics and have never had a CEL.

 

[gavin]

yeah i guess it same as removing it in a sense... and yea i do know it is illegal ive had cops stick there little mirror under my old honda. thats why i dont remove them i gut them. N the CEL is not it. the code that is system running too lean. I mentioned my TB body mod and my custom MAF housing mod with the stock sensor. I think thats what it is... bigger MAF housing with stock sensor, the sensor doesnt know any better.

ummm... you do know that the air/fuel mixture is also adjusted depending on the readings from the O2 sensor, right?

the O2 sensor is saying "too much CO2 in the exhaust, lean the mixture," because you don't have a catalytic converter doing it's job.
And now you're getting the lean code.

they are tied together.

 

[xdviper]

the dimples on a golf ball reduce drag.

and there musta been something about it on the latest Mythbusters episode, along with "does a dirty car get better mpg?"
unfortunately I missed it

Great episode, watched it last night. But with all that weight of the clay, you would atleast expect some low MPG while picking up speed...
The test was on the stupid side again, first they used their own homemade fuel tank while picking up and maintaining that 65mph, and when they put the clay on they switched fuel tanks, so I really don't know how they that adds up to about 3+mpg that they got because they only used their homemade tank after getting up to 65mph. obviously you'll get more mpg while maintaining that speed, but i want to know how much mpg you'll average out with after getting up to that speed and maintaining it with all the weight of the clay which was about 850lb.

ps: didn't know Tarus's get pretty good highway mpg (26mpg) like that.. Thats better than my 1999 Jetta...
and Gavin, the dirty car got i think about 23mpg while the clean got 26mpg....

 

[CDW6212R]

...

Dimples

Saw it on mythbusters.

That was a very dumb test, I saw some of that last night. Their testing showed no change in mpg with equal conditions except for 800 pounds of weight. Logic and physics make their results wrong. The they dimpled the clay, the margin of error can result in what they gained then. I quit watching at a commercial about then.

As much respect as I have for the federal government right now, tell me where you live and I'll help cut the cats off.

 

[97sprt4x4]

That was a very dumb test, I saw some of that last night. Their testing showed no change in mpg with equal conditions except for 800 pounds of weight. Logic and physics make their results wrong. The they dimpled the clay, the margin of error can result in what they gained then. I quit watching at a commercial about then.

As much respect as I have for the federal government right now, tell me where you live and I'll help cut the cats off.

But if it was only a mile at a time, and it was already at 65 mph the difference in fuel would be minimal at best. at 65 the motor is just keeping the car moving not accelerating. am i wrong?

 

[Turdle]

You guys think what you want. I am going to dimple the the Mounty and get 36mpg!! you just wait:

 

[CDW6212R]

...it was only a mile at a time...

That was the big key, and the big flaw. You cannot get any decent accuracy of data if you only test for one mile, whether they do it five times separately and add it up. Reliable fuel testing must be done over a far longer distance, like a controlled track environment. I like Myth busters, but they do often over simplify things. It is entertaining though.

 

[Fordexplorer140k]

ummm... you do know that the air/fuel mixture is also adjusted depending on the readings from the O2 sensor, right?

the O2 sensor is saying "too much CO2 in the exhaust, lean the mixture," because you don't have a catalytic converter doing it's job.
And now you're getting the lean code.

they are tied together.

Its been coming on before then, i do believe what ur saying but thats not it. Ever since i bought the damn tuner and tuned it ive been having problems with my damn truck saying its running to lean. When i return it to stock it doesnt come on.

gotta answer for that one buddy?

 

[aldive]

Its been coming on before then, i do believe what ur saying but thats not it. Ever since i bought the damn tuner and tuned it ive been having problems with my damn truck saying its running to lean. When i return it to stock it doesnt come on.

gotta answer for that one buddy?

What tuner do you have?

Who wrote the tunes that you are using?

 

[gavin]

Its been coming on before then, i do believe what ur saying but thats not it. Ever since i bought the damn tuner and tuned it ive been having problems with my damn truck saying its running to lean. When i return it to stock it doesnt come on.

gotta answer for that one buddy?

hmm... let's see.. issue only exists with tune...

while I'm no programmer or tuner, but process of elimination would say that tune doesn't work for your setup

 

[Fordexplorer140k]

What tuner do you have?

Who wrote the tunes that you are using?

tuner "SCT SF3 Power Flash Tuner" I have a feeling i got how this whole tuner thing works. I bought it off the internet i opened it plugged it in and tuned it so i dont know who wrote the tune. They gave me a disc to watch and before anyone says watch the disc I TIRED! i cant find a dvd player that will play the disc. Ive tried every dvd player in my house my dads house my girlfriends house and at school it doesnt work. I thought the tuner comes with built it dyno proven tunes. I am waiting to get my fan and pulleys installed before i buy a tune from hensonproformance.com there is no point of me buying a 50 dollar tune then turning right around and buying another a month later. i hope that helped, and yes the tuner does fit my truck lol im not that stupid

 

[Fordexplorer140k]

hmm... let's see.. issue only exists with tune...

while I'm no programmer or tuner, but process of elimination would say that tune doesn't work for your setup

lol duhhhh but why? How did i do anything from different from anybody else you know what i mean? when i tune the truck i get more power and better MPG but the light comes on. When i return it to stock i have less power and few MPG but no light so i cant win either way.

Would anybody suggest its time for a custom tune to stop my issues?