My quest for 30 MPG - Ford Explorer Gas Mileage Tips

[aldive]

Aldive....Have you ever tried these?

http://www.milesmor.myffi.biz/en/section_100.asp?carPos=truck

I don't know if they work or not, but you are the biggest fuel economy guru out there, so I'm just wondering if you have tried them ??? I know you can't afford to try EVERY fuel ecomony gimmick out there....

This company is based in your state...

No, I have never used this stuff and most likely never will.

 

[SkanlaxJMO]

im really interested in the 55mph trip. When are you planning this aldive?

 

[aldive]

im really interested in the 55mph trip. When are you planning this aldive?

Soon.

 

[Biggles]

DOnt worry you are not the first to be ripped off by a "FORD"dealer. 5* Ford did the same to me. I went in at 17-20 and came out ay 13. They also did a whole bunch of things that the owners manual says do not ever do. They even trashed a inside wheel cover and broke some of the vacuum hoses by the shocks they replaced. No Q/A and rip of the customer. I went back and confonted the manager with a 4 page letter of the things they did. He looked into it...... I got back half the money I paid but "No repair ticket for the things they screwed up" even the check that was written was from, I think, a general customer account. In other words they hid the fact that they tried to rep me off.
BTW this was the second time Bankstone screwed up a repair to the throlttle peddle weld, they put a little seft tap screw in. The next day it came out again. They said they would refund the money to my AMex well that never happened and the person denied ever saying it.
So those in Dallas beware it appears that most big FORD dealer are run by people that only care about the bottom line and customer beware.

 

[aldive]

Another mileage trial tomorrow ....

I will be making a 460 mile road trip tomorrow. This will be the first heavily loaded trip in my truck in a very long while.

I am teaching some scuba students and will be hauling 4 adults,12 scuba tanks and 4 sets of personal equipment.

The trip will be mostly ( all but about 40 miles ) on I75.

Data will be available on my return Saturday.

 

[aldive]

Another mileage trial tomorrow ....

I will be making a 460 mile road trip tomorrow. This will be the first heavily loaded trip in my truck in a very long while.

I am teaching some scuba students and will be hauling 4 adults,12 scuba tanks and 4 sets of personal equipment.

The trip will be mostly ( all but about 40 miles ) on I75.

Data will be available on my return Saturday.

Average speed 68.9 MPG .... MPG = 31.5

 

[68bronco]

Aldive, have you ever looked into grounding systems or voltage stabilizers. They are more known with the sportcompact crowd.

http://www.tprmag.com/issue/8/8_elec_stab.shtml

Everything was tested on the dyno. It makes sense that the frame is a lousy electrical return path for all those engine sensors.

 

[gmp428]

WOW 38mpg. I find myself on this website for hours absorbing all this information like a sponge. You frickin rule Al.

 

[Black01XLT]

Ok, Aldive had proven to be the god of Gas Mileage When it comes to 2nd Gen. Ford Explorers, i have a 2001 4WD 4dr SOHC V-6 XLT with 51,000 miles on it and my gas mileage SUCKS! I bring it to my friends shop and we checked it all over because i just bought it a few months ago and its in really great shape! What can i Do to solve my Problem of getting 12MPG City and 15 Highway!! That Blows! I Changed All my fluids to Synthetic, flushed coolant and trans im going to get a mac intake, my tires are cooper lifeliners filled to 36psi, i will be doing plugs over with Bosch Platnims 4's and Motorcraft wires in a few days, but the gas mileage sucks! I drive normally im not a maniac and no trouble codes are coming up when hooked up! there is no leaks or anything! wtf do i do??

 

[SkanlaxJMO]

Ok, Aldive had proven to be the god of Gas Mileage When it comes to 2nd Gen. Ford Explorers, i have a 2001 4WD 4dr SOHC V-6 XLT with 51,000 miles on it and my gas mileage SUCKS! I bring it to my friends shop and we checked it all over because i just bought it a few months ago and its in really great shape! What can i Do to solve my Problem of getting 12MPG City and 15 Highway!! That Blows! I Changed All my fluids to Synthetic, flushed coolant and trans im going to get a mac intake, my tires are cooper lifeliners filled to 36psi, i will be doing plugs over with Bosch Platnims 4's and Motorcraft wires in a few days, but the gas mileage sucks! I drive normally im not a maniac and no trouble codes are coming up when hooked up! there is no leaks or anything! wtf do i do??

drive it like there is an egg under the pedal....intake exaust....etc..

 

[aldive]

Ok, Aldive had proven to be the god of Gas Mileage When it comes to 2nd Gen. Ford Explorers, i have a 2001 4WD 4dr SOHC V-6 XLT with 51,000 miles on it and my gas mileage SUCKS! I bring it to my friends shop and we checked it all over because i just bought it a few months ago and its in really great shape! What can i Do to solve my Problem of getting 12MPG City and 15 Highway!! That Blows! I Changed All my fluids to Synthetic, flushed coolant and trans im going to get a mac intake, my tires are cooper lifeliners filled to 36psi, i will be doing plugs over with Bosch Platnims 4's and Motorcraft wires in a few days, but the gas mileage sucks! I drive normally im not a maniac and no trouble codes are coming up when hooked up! there is no leaks or anything! wtf do i do??

Ignore smartass remarks by detractors.

Yes, you can improve your mileage. Those numbers aree indeed low. I recently drove a friends Explorer, a V8 bone stock, and got 23 MPG on the highway; the best he ever got was 18.

I suspect that driving style is a big factor. Do not, I repeat, do not use the +4 plugs, stick with Motorcraft double platinum plugs.

Good luck ....

 

[Doubt Incarnate]

poor mileage can be a sign of problems elsewhere not monitored by the pcm. problems in the drivetrain involving driveshafts, universals, the front and rear end, brakes, and alignment. i keep an eye on my mileage in part just for this reason. keepint under 2000rpm makes a BIG difference.

 

[DDEBEXP]

Ok, Aldive had proven to be the god of Gas Mileage When it comes to 2nd Gen. Ford Explorers, i have a 2001 4WD 4dr SOHC V-6 XLT with 51,000 miles on it and my gas mileage SUCKS! I bring it to my friends shop and we checked it all over because i just bought it a few months ago and its in really great shape! What can i Do to solve my Problem of getting 12MPG City and 15 Highway!! That Blows! I Changed All my fluids to Synthetic, flushed coolant and trans im going to get a mac intake, my tires are cooper lifeliners filled to 36psi, i will be doing plugs over with Bosch Platnims 4's and Motorcraft wires in a few days, but the gas mileage sucks! I drive normally im not a maniac and no trouble codes are coming up when hooked up! there is no leaks or anything! wtf do i do??

I have a 2001 4WD 4dr SOHC and i have gotten as good as 24MPG. Lately in Texas humid hot weather, i have gotten 20 combined, city and highway. All i have is a KKM, with Bridgestone all terrain tires. I adjusted the TPS, but some seem to think that it was a pointless thing to do. I also have 88k. Feels like new. I also have synthetic oil, mobil 1.

 

[awdrocks]

Ignore smartass remarks by detractors.

Yes, you can improve your mileage. Those numbers aree indeed low. I recently drove a friends Explorer, a V8 bone stock, and got 23 MPG on the highway; the best he ever got was 18.

I suspect that driving style is a big factor. Do not, I repeat, do not use the +4 plugs, stick with Motorcraft double platinum plugs.

Good luck ....

Hey Al... I havnt had time to read the entire thread but can you tell me if you opened the plug gap and saw better gas milage results? If so how much did you open it?

 

[aldive]

Hey Al... I havnt had time to read the entire thread but can you tell me if you opened the plug gap and saw better gas milage results? If so how much did you open it?

I have not experimented with plug gap yet due to the PIA it is to get the plugs out.

I run the recommended gap.

 

[awdrocks]

I have not experimented with plug gap yet due to the PIA it is to get the plugs out.

I run the recommended gap.

lol... yeah I know what you mean. I should be done with my tune sometime soon and then I want to try the bigger gaps.

 

[jayhawkexplorer]

Al, have you ever printed this thread out and tried sending it to anybody at Ford?

 

[BrooklynBay]

According to companies like Jacobs Electronics, and MSD Ignition, they say that you could increase the spark gap with stronger coils, and with either a capacitive discharge, or inductive discharge system.

 

[aldive]

Al, have you ever printed this thread out and tried sending it to anybody at Ford?

No, but I have been contacted by them.

 

[Rhett]

According to companies like Jacobs Electronics, and MSD Ignition, they say that you could increase the spark gap with stronger coils, and with either a capacitive discharge, or inductive discharge system.

That is what a Jacobs tech told me a couple of years ago, when I bought their wires.

I did run a larger gap (about .060) a few years ago, but I didn't notice anything, so I switched back to .054. I was not very scientific about it, though.