30+mpg @ 70+mph
The
ONLY (and I do mean
ONLY) way this was possible in a 4.0L Explorer is by drafting a Semi with a trailer. No If's, And's or But's about it.
Driving habit and style along with 'old man wisdom' was hinted at quit a bit.
85% of the mods listed for the vehicle would have had no measurable effect on mpg and were frivolous expenditures as to the stated goal.
Also, there is no point in stating a mpg without also stating at least an average speed. No point at all.
Agreed, EPA ratings are just a BS number spit out from dyno simulation and does not encompass the differences in states hwy speed limits, fuel quality, terrain, altitude, barometric pressures and humidity, road conditions, wind, etc...
I could get 30mpg out my 5.0L if I drafted a semi at 60mph though a flat state like Indiana. Nothing spectacular about it, just simple physics. As it stands now, I can rock out 23mpg @ 65mph (rounded to the nearest low whole number mpg) not drafting as measured by driving all the way through Indiana on a clear lonely Sunday night with temps around 65-68 degrees starting with a full tank of gas and driving until it sputtered out on the side of the highway. I had a full 5 gallon tank with me and that got me to the next gas station and filled up again. That's about the best way to do it.
But then again, I got lucky with an old 5.0 Explorer once as I sputtered into a gas station and the truck died at the pump. Filled it up and wondered how I just put 22.4 gallons of fuel in a 20 gallon fuel tank.
And that was at a pump at a very busy truck stop. I did get my free donut and soft drink with that fill-up.
You would pretty much need a glass graduated beaker for a fuel tank to know for sure what mpg to the tenth decimal place you were getting and exactly how much fuel you started and ended with. And then there is evaporation of the fuel to consider also.
I drove an 18 wheeler for years. There is a reason most logistic companies give bonus's to whoever get the best mpg ($$$) and those people ALWAYS are the ones who draft other semi's around 60mph and have the same route night after night.
Semi convoys draft, Nascar's draft, ducks flying south draft, Miller Genuine Draft. Drafting is how you Git-R-Done.