My quest for 30 MPG - Ford Explorer Gas Mileage Tips

[CDW6212R]

A friend of mine just sent me this in an email.Quote:
I've been in petroleum pipeline business for about 31 years, currently working for the Kinder-Morgan Pipeline here in San Jose, CA. We deliver about 4 million gallons in a 24hour period from the pipe line. One day it's diesel, and the next day it's jet fuel, and gasoline. We have 34 storage tanks here with a total capacity of 16,800,000 gallons.

Here are some tricks to help you get your money's worth:

1. Fill up your car or truck in the morning when the temperature is still cool. Remember that all service stations have their storage tanks buried below ground, and the colder the ground, the denser the gasoline. When it gets warmer, gasoline expands, so if you're filling up in the afternoon or in the evening, what should be a gallon is not exactly a gallon. In the petroleum business, the specific gravity, and temperature of the fuel (gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, ethanol and other petroleum products) are significant. Every truckload that we load is temperature-compensated so that the indicated gallon gauge is actually the amount pumped. A one-degree rise in temperature is a big deal for businesses, but service stations don't have temperature compensation at their pumps.

2. If a tanker truck is filling the station's tank at the time you want to buy gas, do not fill up. Most likely dirt, and sludge in the tank is being stirred up when gas is being delivered, and you might be transferring that dirt from the bottom of their tank into your car's tank.

3. Fill up when your gas tank is half-full (or half-empty), because the more gas you have in your tank, the less air there is. Gasoline evaporates rapidly, especially when it's warm. (Gasoline storage tanks have an internal floating 'roof' membrane to act as a barrier between the gas, and the atmosphere, thereby minimizing evaporation.)

4. If you look at the trigger, you'll see that it has three delivery settings: slow, medium, and high. When you're filling up, do not squeeze the trigger of the nozzle to the high setting. You should be pumping at the slow setting, thereby minimizing vapors created while you are pumping. Hoses at the pump are corrugated. The corrugations act as a return path for vapor recovery from gas that already has been metered. If you are pumping at the high setting, the agitated gasoline contains more vapor which is being sucked back into the underground tank, so you're getting less gas for your money.

This is great information, thanks.

 

[olemech]

I got 18 once. . .back when I was stock

Now I'm lucky if I get 11

the best i get with 96 is 18mpg if i stay under60mph with speedcontrol on.

 

[Flandry]

A friend of mine just sent me this in an email.

Great stuff! Deserves a thread of its own. Thank you!

 

[aldive]

Spark plug indexing is complete.

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=201140

Road trip to Atlanta this week to evaluate.

 

[TheChadders]

The guy from the torque master spark plugs emailed me back about the group buy and he said he will bring the price down to $10 only if 50 where purchased.

 

[CDW6212R]

Wow, LOL. I could likely pay a machinist to install a tiny outer ring like that for less than $11 each. That's the exact same reason that I never ever considered buying Split Fire plugs. They were and are way way over priced, and I immediately put them on my black list. I will never buy anything from them ever. They can try to steal from someone else, but not me, no thanks.

 

[BrooklynBay]

Is it $10 each including shipping? The group is only getting about 6 or 8 plugs a person on an average, so you don't get all 50 shipped to the same address.

 

[TheChadders]

this is the email i recieved from him
"Yes I can reduce the price to $10.00 each, plus shipping and handling if you buy 50 spark plugs or more. Thanks"
so there is also the shipping thats not included in the 10 dollars

 

[BrooklynBay]

The actual condition of a spark plug makes a big difference on the performance, and fuel economy of the engine. Here's a spark plug wear pattern chart: Dead Link Removed It's # 70 in my list of useful threads.

 

[r37ribution]

Doubt its value here in the Sunshine State where we use AC for well over 340 days a year.

I assume not but gotta ask, do you use your AC during your experiments?

Here's something interesting: WWW.ExtremeSpark.Com

I have a set of NGK plugs that look like these for my RX7, but I don't see them on their web site www.ngksparkplugs.com. I'll post a pic later.

 

[CDW6212R]

FYI guys, the AC clutch can be running in your Fords any time the blower fan is running, and the control is not on VENT. Meaning that the AC clutch is sucking power much of the time when you are running the heater in Winter. I'm going to add a switched relay to stop mine when I want to.

 

[Glen4X4]

I guess having a bypass belt on mine is serving me good then

 

[aldive]

Yes, I use the AC almost all of the time.

 

[aldive]

Ethos ( http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=200926&highlight=ethos ) fuel re-formulator study will commence today.

 

[aldive]

Gas mileage from spark plug indexing data is at http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1799975&highlight=indexing#post1799975 post # 13.

 

[RYP]

The following is a list of modifications that have resulted in the mileage reported on my 99 4.0 SOHC:
Mobil 1 5 w 30 synthetic motor oil
Mobil 1 ATF in auto tranny ( a complete change )
Mobil 1 in the 3.73 rear end
KKM Tru Rev intake
Custom cat back exhaust system
Remove roof rack
Many coats of Zaino polish
Tire pressure 40 psig
Explorer Express X Spec air dam
Amoco 87 octane gas
Secondary tranny filter ( don’t know if this helps )

Driving habits help also:
No race like starts
Windows up always - usually with AC on
Keep top speed at or below 70 MPH

That's it?

 

[aldive]

I don't know how old that list is, but no, not nearly all.

 

[RYP]

May you please elaborate how to get my mileage uP?

 

[aldive]

May you please elaborate how to get my mileage uP?

The things that have worked for me are found in this thread.

 

[96ExplorerSport]

Hi Al,

I read an interesting article today. A guy was using water injection to cool down the mixture for his Ford truck. Combined with a fuel controller, it allowed him to get closer to the optimal 12.5 power A/F ratio at WOT without knocking. So, he was using less fuel and getting more power. I do not have WBO2 hooked up to my X, but I bet at mid/WOT it's far from the optimal. By adding water injection and leaning out the mixture with a fuel computer, you can significantly improve millage I think. You just have to make sure we have a big water tank

Not to mention that you'll never need to clean your engine again