My quest for 30 MPG - Ford Explorer Gas Mileage Tips

[BeauJ]

Al, why do you come to Atlanta so much? Is it because you can't get enough of that "ATL" style?

 

[aldive]

Al, why do you come to Atlanta so much? Is it because you can't get enough of that "ATL" style?

I have family there and I own a ranch up there.

 

[savant]

I found the information I needed. In the USA, gas pump accuracy is measured in cubic inches. At sixty degrees fahrenheit, a gallon of gas is 231 cubic inches liquid. The test for gas pump accuracy is to fill a 5 gallon "prover" with what the pump claims is five gallons of gasoline. The pump is allowed to be over or under the correct value by six cubic inches.

5 * 231 = 1155 cubic inches of gas in 5 gallons
6 / 1155 = .005

So a fuel pump is allowed to be off by +/- one half of one percent. What this means for this discussion is that since we can (hopefully) neglect any error from aldive's GPS, since it should measure distance fairly accurately, we should also be able to neglect error from the fuel pumps, since if they're legal, they're not really contributing much error to the calculation.

 

[aldive]

Just retirned from a 1400 mile trip. Some mileage data is now available.

The driver of my Explorer for the entire trip was my lead footed, jack rabbit starting son.

The first leg of the trip was from Sarasota, FL to Atlanta, GA. There were two adults in the truck. The mileage was 523. The average speed was 81.4 MPH and the mileage netted 28.9 MPG. This was using Mobil 87 gas with Fuel Power. I use the same Mobil station for fill up every time in Sarasota, therefore the pump automatic cut off point should be more or less the same each time.

The next several hundred miles was in town driving with some highway driving and I did not determine mileage since I am interested in only the highway only mileage. We did switch to the 93 program and used Amoco 93 gas; fully taking advantage of that cheap(er) Georgia gas.

The return leg from Atlanta to Sarasota was run using Amoco 93 gas ( using the same station every trip ), supplemented with Fuel Power, with the SCT Programmer switching to the 93 mileage program. This trip was 512 miles, average speed was 76.4 MPH, and the mileage was 31.4 MPG. This portion of the trip had 3 adults as well as a dog and a fully loaded truck.

My thoughts: Speed kills, I am certain that the trip speed and driving procedure definitely cost mileage. It appears that Fuel Power indeed enhances mileage.

 

[Rhett]

I use the same Mobil station for fill up every time in Sarasota, therefore the pump automatic cut off point should be more or less the same each time.

That is what I do. I try to get gas at the same pump, same station, each time. (of course, if I travel, that's not possible.) I've been using BP gas. Perhaps I should switch to Mobil. ??

My thoughts: Speed kills, I am certain that the trip speed and driving procedure definitely cost mileage. It appears that Fuel Power indeed enhances mileage.

Will it be a long-term improvement, or do you have to add Fuel Power to each tank to see the effects?

 

[aldive]

Will it be a long-term improvement, or do you have to add Fuel Power to each tank to see the effects?

Fuel Power is designed to be used with each tank at the rate of 1 oz/5 gal gas.

 

[Rhett]

Fuel Power is designed to be used with each tank at the rate of 1 oz/5 gal gas.

Have you ever used AMSOIL Performance Improver (Amsoil PI)? It sounds similar to Fuel Power. If you have used PI, have you seen similar improvements?

 

[aldive]

Have you ever used AMSOIL Performance Improver (Amsoil PI)? It sounds similar to Fuel Power. If you have used PI, have you seen similar improvements?

I have not tried the Amsoil product.

 

[Rhett]

Sounds good so far. Let us know the long-term effects of using Fuel Power. Will it continue to give you good mileage on your next tank? The tank after that? I think this will be the key piece of information regarding FP. Long term benefit. And cost vs. gas $$ saved.

 

[aldive]

And cost vs. gas $$ saved.

This will be a tough one since there are such intangables involved such as how smooth it idles, etc. But, I shall be keeping my eye on the mileage gains as well as the other factors.

 

[Albino 94LTD]

Al, would you be willing to share your Blackstone Labs oil analysis numbers??

 

[aldive]

Oil analysis data....

ALUMINUM 7
CHROMIUM 2
IRON 20
COPPER 18
LEAD 20
TIN 3
MOLYBDENUM 8
NICKEL 3
MANGANESE 1
SILVER 0
TITANIUM 0
POTASSIUM 4
BORON 6
SILICON 14
SODIUM 8
CALCIUM 2398
MAGNESIUM 333
PHOSPHORUS 916
ZINC 1288
BARIUM 0
__________________

 

[spindlecone]

Oil analysis data....

ALUMINUM 7
CHROMIUM 2
IRON 20
COPPER 18
LEAD 20
TIN 3
MOLYBDENUM 8
NICKEL 3
MANGANESE 1
SILVER 0
TITANIUM 0
POTASSIUM 4
BORON 6
SILICON 14
SODIUM 8
CALCIUM 2398
MAGNESIUM 333
PHOSPHORUS 916
ZINC 1288
BARIUM 0
__________________

Zinc is a little on the highside, Boron could be a little lower, overall, looks good al A little barium might do ya well

 

[Four0Sport]

i get about 16.. not too shabby for a 93 OHV with 115,000 miles and only 1 rust spot, thats right, i said only 1.. i should win all ford nationals with that lol

 

[Albino 94LTD]

Oil analysis data....

ALUMINUM 7 2
CHROMIUM 2 1
IRON 20 10
COPPER 18 66 I used to use Restore, it hasn't been flushed out yet
LEAD 20 35 I used to use Restore, it hasn't been flushed out yet
TIN 3 3
MOLYBDENUM 8 4
NICKEL 3 0
MANGANESE1 13
SILVER 0 0
TITANIUM 0 0
POTASSIUM 4 6
BORON 6 37
SILICON 14 3
SODIUM 8 7
CALCIUM 2398 2239
MAGNESIUM 333 787
PHOSPHORUS 916 817
ZINC 1288 973
BARIUM 0 0
__________________

Thanks Al, my numbers are next to yours.

1994 4.0 OHV 136,380 total miles 3,200 on this sample.

 

[bitchinexplorer]

i wish i got 30mpg

 

[Runnin'OnEmpty]

That's an interesting oil analysis comparison, Al & Albino. Do you both use Mobile1? The samples look very good to me.

Albino, your silicon is extremely low. Do you use a normal paper air filter? Maybe the rain in Washington keeps the dust washed away....?

 

[Albino 94LTD]

We both use Amsoil.

I have a K&N drop in and I don't get into the dirt that much.

 

[aldive]

His sample was at 3k miles mine was at more than double that.

 

[aldive]

30 MPG and 80 MPH seems to be an impossible dream.

On a recent trip to North Florida for a family gathering at to look at a 1 year ild Britney ***** we drove 489 miles. No refils during the trip.

There were three of is in the truck. average speed was 78.9 MPH, the fuel used was Amoco/BO 93 with Fuel Power at the rate of 1 oz/5 gal, the mileage was 28.3 MPG. My son was driving the entire trip.

Speed kills... mileage too.

I am going to try a couple of economy based programs in my SCT tuner after Christmas.