My quest for 30 MPG - Ford Explorer Gas Mileage Tips

[Lloyd10977]

U.S. gallons x 0.8327 = Imperial gallons

 

[Rhett]

That means malcomzilla got 22.49 mpg all highway on his first gen once, and now he usually gets 19.16 mpg highway. That seems to be about typical of a well-maintained first gen, and good as 1st gen trucks go.

 

[BigDakota]

Well... next weekend I will be starting this test.....I may run it a month or two....and see what happens...

 

[MtDew]

Al's MPG

I have to go along with Al's driving style being a big detemining factor. Obviously, Al has a goal to get the best milage he can and he drives accordingly. That's great and I hope he achieves 40 mpg just so we can all say it can be done. It's a neat experiment!

In my opinion there are other very important things to consider:

Let's remember that Al has modified his truck with gas mileage in mind. Some of these upgrades were costly. Granted, maybe he would have done some of them anyway just for his own enjoyment (the lowering for instance), but let's say for arguments sake that all these mods are strictly in the interest of fuel economy. Lowering, air dams, synthetics, MAF sensors, chips, etc. All this stuff cost money. My question would be " is the gain offsetting all the expense and effort?" Can he gain enough mileage to offset the costs of all the modifications over the life span of the vehicle???

Another thing all you 4x4 owners need to remember is that Al has a 2-whell drive Explorer. A 4-wheel drive Explorer will NEVER get the mileage that a 2-wheel drive Explorer will obtain. The 4x4 package adds weight and drag.

Me?? I'm working out of my 4x4 2003 Ex with the 4.6. I'm a computer tech and I haul my equipment and tools around all day. Since I have people constantly yelling at me to "hurry up and get here!" most of my driving is "aggressive" to put it nicely! The "egg between my foot and the accelerator" method is not an option. My truck averages around 15 mpg working and on road trips it will get into the low 20's if I keep it under 75 and set the cruise.

Al, if your reading this, keep it up!! I think your experiment is great!!! I'll continue to follow your "quest" from my screen.

 

[spindlecone]

Al lowered his Ex?

 

[etc]

Yup, then he brought it back up a few months ago. Xspec if I recall.

 

[aldive]

Yup, then he brought it back up a few months ago. Xspec if I recall.

Correct; hated the ride quality when lowered.

 

[MtDew]

Yup, then he brought it back up a few months ago. Xspec if I recall.

Just out of curiosity Al, did the ride height make a difference in mpg?

 

[aldive]

Just out of curiosity Al, did the ride height make a difference in mpg?

No, not a repeatable difference.

 

[aldive]

Let's remember that Al has modified his truck with gas mileage in mind. Some of these upgrades were costly. Granted, maybe he would have done some of them anyway just for his own enjoyment (the lowering for instance), but let's say for arguments sake that all these mods are strictly in the interest of fuel economy.

Some people like loud mufflers, loud sound systems, mucho horsepower, etc; I like the challenge of maximum fuel economy.

Its the results that are important to me, not necessarily the cost. I will spend hundreds to gain small amounts of mileage.

Many if not all of the mileage enhancing mods also boost horsepower; a plesant bonus.

Its a challenge for me, a quest...

 

[MtDew]

Some people like loud mufflers, loud sound systems, mucho horsepower, etc; I like the challenge of maximum fuel economy.

Its the results that are important to me, not necessarily the cost. I will spend hundreds to gain small amounts of mileage.

Many if not all of the mileage enhancing mods also boost horsepower; a plesant bonus.

Its a challenge for me, a quest...

I understand exactly what you mean. I'm the same way with my personal interests. Costs become secondary to achieving the goal. Personally, I think what you are doing is great! Like I said earlier, a great experiment and I wish you the best of luck.

My point was more directed to some of the other posters who seem in awe of your results. I don't think it is reasonable to expect the kind of results you are achieving without installing costly mods directed towards the goal of better mpg. Not only that, but the "average" driver (whatever that is) isn't likely to modify their day-to-day driving habits to facilitate the goal. And lastly, a 4x4 doesn't have a prayer of achieving 30+ mpg regardless of how many mods you make.

Most importantly, for the average driver, the costs of achieving this goal can't be justified as a means of cutting operating expenses.

Keep us up to date!! I'll be following "The Quest"!!

 

[riverst]

I completed my mileage test today. This is the results: On a full tank- I drove 248 miles till empty. Took that # and divided by the size tank-14; and came up with 17.7 miles per gallon. This result sucks to me. There have to be a way to get better milage.

 

[aldive]

I completed my mileage test today. This is the results: On a full tank- I drove 248 miles till empty. Took that # and divided by the size tank-14; and came up with 17.7 miles per gallon. This result sucks to me. There have to be a way to get better milage.

That is not an acceptable way to calculate mileage. You must divide the miles traveled by the number of gallons of gas used to determine MPG.

 

[Rhett]

I completed my mileage test today. This is the results: On a full tank- I drove 248 miles till empty. Took that # and divided by the size tank-14; and came up with 17.7 miles per gallon. This result sucks to me. There have to be a way to get better milage.

That's not a correct way to figure mileage. You must take the miles you've driven (248) and divide that by how many gallons you put back in the tank.

Example, you run 248 miles. Then you go to a gas station to re-fill. You put in 13.231 gallons. Therefore, you take 248 and div by 13.231 which means you went 18.75 miles per gallon for that tank.

 

[Skibum1989]

Does running on a more 'full' tank result in lower gas milage due to the excess weight of the gas compared to an empty tank? My dad is a pilot and he says that he usually is provided with just enough fuel for a trip because it is more efficient to run with less fuel in the tanks. I dont know if it makes much of a difference in a car, and I dont know how much more a full tank of gas weighes compared to an empty one, but I want to know your opinion on this.

 

[spindlecone]

Does running on a more 'full' tank result in lower gas milage due to the excess weight of the gas compared to an empty tank? My dad is a pilot and he says that he usually is provided with just enough fuel for a trip because it is more efficient to run with less fuel in the tanks. I dont know if it makes much of a difference in a car, and I dont know how much more a full tank of gas weighes compared to an empty one, but I want to know your opinion on this.

Your talkin aprox 8 lbs per gallon, 10 gals= 80 lbs,overall, running less wgt, adding acetone trying to get one more MPG, in the long run you may garner a total savings of two bux per week, 30 cents per day, is the effort worth it

 

[davidmmm69]

the way it is now i fill back up when ever i come close to half a tank unless prces are on the way down?

the things that you say to do to help gas mileage i think that is going a little bit too far in what you are trying to do for just an extra mile per gallon..

the gas doensl;t bother me as far as not wanting to drive. because if that was the case i wouldn;t own 2 explorers that are driven daily.
my 1995 i get maybe 11 per gallon..
my 2002 i get about 16 on a good week...

 

[spindlecone]

the way it is now i fill back up when ever i come close to half a tank unless prces are on the way down?

the things that you say to do to help gas mileage i think that is going a little bit too far in what you are trying to do for just an extra mile per gallon..

the gas doensl;t bother me as far as not wanting to drive. because if that was the case i wouldn;t own 2 explorers that are driven daily.
my 1995 i get maybe 11 per gallon..
my 2002 i get about 16 on a good week...

dave
First calculate what we all do to get an extra mile per gallon, maybe two.
Syn oil in your entire drivetrain, will get ya some, running less wgt, sure.
Flashers with econo settings, without question to a point maybe.
Intakes, exhaust, make your engine more efficiant, all will help (maybe)
You may get better MPG, maybe not.
But than calculate the cost of the hardware changes to get what your after.
than enter the costs of syn oils versus Dyno, that need to be changed at cost at certain intervals.
after doing all the above, you may find that it may take you 5 yrs to amortize the cost of gas that you have used in that timeframe JMO

 

[davidmmm69]

we all must weigh if the outcome is worth the hassle or immediate expense..

i am working on the weight lol lost 15 pounds in last month and half...

 

[Rhett]

Does running on a more 'full' tank result in lower gas milage due to the excess weight of the gas compared to an empty tank? My dad is a pilot and he says that he usually is provided with just enough fuel for a trip because it is more efficient to run with less fuel in the tanks. I dont know if it makes much of a difference in a car, and I dont know how much more a full tank of gas weighes compared to an empty one, but I want to know your opinion on this.

My opin is that for a car it doesn't make as much difference as with an airplane. Aircraft are very sensitive to weight, and if you have a 10000 lbs airplane, it might carry 400 lbs of fuel. Well, if you load it with 300 lbs of fuel, it might be able to fly 20 mph faster and 2,000 feet higher, and as a result burning 5 gallons less per hour. That's pretty good fuel savings for AVGAS or JET1. On commercial airliners you're talkin' 100's of gallons of gas, 1000's of gallons over weeks time. Talking Big $$$$ savings.

But with cars, they carry what, 100 lbs of gas? It would matter A LITTLE, but not as much as with an airplane. You might get .1 of a mpg better when you're low on the tank, vs. when you're full. You might get 2 mph faster top speed when you're low on the tank vs. when you're full. That's insignificant if you ask me. Ask the racing guys about 0-60 times when they're carrying lots of gas. It makes a difference for them...and handling, too. That's why a lot of them use fuel cells.