My quest for 30 MPG - Ford Explorer Gas Mileage Tips

[aldive]

I hadn't really given much thought to a cat back exhaust system yet. However, after doing some reading around this site and others I think it would be a great improvement. Now I have the dilemma of which system will be the most bang for the buck. I'll gladly take any suggestions. Thanks

My recommendation is to have your local exhaust shop custom bend you a cat back using the muffler of your liking. That is what I did.

Good luck ...

 

[Fordexplorer140k]

i have a 2000 x SOHO i have 150,000 miles on it. When i first got it it got about 18mpg, i havent done anything close to the mods al has but i plain on using most of his mods this summer on my X i did the following things

KnN intake with a custom bendable tube that let me drop it right behond my fog lights
Magna flow Cat with a gibbson exhaust 3" tip
I used Bg 44k fuel cleaner its GREAT STUFF
I used auto RX the full cleaner system GREAT STUFF
I use moblie one oil KnN
And i ran five bottles of seafoam into it. haha i know.
This is wear i went a little over board
I removed all of the center consoled
all floor mats
spare tire and heat shield over pipes of exhaust
the back flooring and carpet
the step up stools by the driver and passenger doors
40psi in tires
I drive like al most likely im a college student so i dont have money to drive fast and kill gas, i drive about 100 miles a day in part of my trip is in 45mph limit and some is 55mile limit and there is normal traffic, Anyways after all that i have got about 25mpg id say i dont let my tank get empty because its bad for a motor with 150,000 miles on but basically empty i just figure i have 2 more gallons and do basic math to see what my mpg is.

future mods, spark plugs, wires, battery, SCT tune, throttle body spacer, and a spoiler cuz al sad it helps mpg other than that nothing unless something comes up. Im trying to save to get an audi A6 turbo so i dont want to spend a lot but any cheap mods that will help give me your 0.02 thanks! And a big thanks to Al!!!!!

 

[Fordexplorer140k]

sorry about my bad grammer but i hope this helps someone and al i hope you read it, were can i get a rear wing like yours?

 

[aldive]

Anyways after all that i have got about 25mpg id say i dont let my tank get empty because its bad for a motor with 150,000 miles on but basically empty i just figure i have 2 more gallons and do basic math to see what my mpg is.

Why is it bad for the motor?

You need not run to empty to calculate gas mileage. Simply start with a full tank and then divide the miles travelled by the gallons needed to refill.

future mods, spark plugs, wires, battery, SCT tune, throttle body spacer, and a spoiler cuz al sad it helps mpg other than that nothing unless something comes up.

Skip the TB spacer.

And a big thanks to Al!!!!!

Glad you liked the thread.

Good luck with your quest ...

 

[aldive]

sorry about my bad grammer but i hope this helps someone and al i hope you read it, were can i get a rear wing like yours?

My wing is a Lund Windjammer. I imagine its available wherever Lund products are sold.

 

[gavin]

i dont let my tank get empty because its bad for a motor with 150,000 miles on

nah, not bad for the motor. just could clog the fuel filter and in-tank strainer sooner.

 

[stephenson]

Hi all,

I started reading this only today - I am assuming somewhere in the 75 pages of posts, there is someone doubting the extraordinary fuel mileage noted - over 30 MPG?

It would seem that Ford and any other car manufacturer would be really interested in pushing mileage up on SUVs - and, it would also seem reasonable they would, with massive engineering expertise, be able to do this ...

Am I missing something?

 

[aldive]

Hi all,

I started reading this only today - I am assuming somewhere in the 75 pages of posts, there is someone doubting the extraordinary fuel mileage noted - over 30 MPG?

It would seem that Ford and any other car manufacturer would be really interested in pushing mileage up on SUVs - and, it would also seem reasonable they would, with massive engineering expertise, be able to do this ...

Am I missing something?

Yes.

 

[stephenson]

OK - have heard all usual stuff, and don't wanna be too curmudgeonly, but have had many vehicles over my 50 plus years and have tried to max mileage in all of them ....most recent company car is a 2007 Ford 500 (nee Taurus) ... AWD, 3L engine, CVT transmission - I can momentarily (electronic comp in real time) get 28-29 MPG but only by carefully selecting a flat road, no traffic that interferes, etc. Engine is loafing at less than 2000 RPM at less than 62 mph. On cruise. Tires at 36 psi.

With weight differential of nearly 1000 pounds or so, far different aero characteristic, larger tires, less underchassis covering, roof rack rails, etc, how can these things (or is anyone else getting this sort of mileage) get 30 plus?

If engineering changes like slightly different exhaust, air induction mods, fuel management chip swaps, etc worked, why wouldn't Ford put them on every model - cost wouldn't be an issue, since all of them would get the mods, making it all standard, right?

Wouldn't Ford use this in their advertising to show they were getting twice the MPG of their competitors?

 

[aldive]

KnN intake with a custom bendable tube that let me drop it right behond my fog lights

Please tell us more about this.

Also, please post some pictures of it.

Thanks.....

 

[4Doors]

Thanks for the thread and all you've done to share your experiences! My question is what effect would a manual transmission have on all of this? I realize the auto is a 5 speed which is good, but would a manual do better in town on an Explorer like it would in most vehicles?

 

[TeamExploder]

Thanks for the thread and all you've done to share your experiences! My question is what effect would a manual transmission have on all of this? I realize the auto is a 5 speed which is good, but would a manual do better in town on an Explorer like it would in most vehicles?

91-95,96 a 4spd automatic was put in the trucks. But anyway, if you shift at a good rpm everytime you could achieve good gas mileage, but from my experience the manual transmission has about a 1-2mpg gain than the automatic so IMO you too should do mods to get mileage in 23-30mpg range.

 

[4Doors]

1-2 mpg gain is about standard for every manual I've encountered, I just didn't know if the auto in these was just especially efficient. Thanks for the reply!

 

[aldive]

Thanks for the thread and all you've done to share your experiences! My question is what effect would a manual transmission have on all of this? I realize the auto is a 5 speed which is good, but would a manual do better in town on an Explorer like it would in most vehicles?

Theoretically a manual should yield better mileage.

 

[Fordexplorer140k]

Please tell us more about this.

Also, please post some pictures of it.

Thanks.....

Umm its kinda hard to explain but ill give my best shot. I dont have fog lights on X but i had holes of where thy could go its about 3 and a half inches wide i used a drill and drilled those holes out. Now this is where it gets confusing... If you have a lab top computer i suggest popping your hood and reading this as i go along.... There is a piece of melt that your stock intake box was bolted or screwed on to. you should be able to see it if you have a after market intake. there is also i small plastic box on the right hand side if you are facing your truck head on. So i unbolted the melt and un hooked the plastic box and taped it up on the side. There is also some plastic finder pieces i had to use a pair of sharp pair of cutters to trim away at. Now everything was free until part. I live in maryland so down here or over here or up here we have AUTOZONE there the only place that has these, its a black tube thats about 3-4 inches in circumference its about 12" long and stretches to be about 29" i think it comes with rubber seals and i hooked one end to my KnN part and i stretched it out and dropped it right infront of the hole i drilled out were my fog lights could have went. So air comes right in though that whole and tada!!! right in to my filter. Now i dont think i have perfected this design. I from personal experiences longer intakes like that one are better in the summer because the air is not as cold.
you have more throttle responds with a shorter intake because the air gets there fast your have more throttle responds if you will. but at highway speeds it doesnt matter. I did notice a bet more power this morning driving to school... at high speeds tho. the take off was good but i also removed about 50 pounds yesterday from my X so that could have been why idk im not sure. I have less than a half tank of gas so im driving like a bat out of hell because i want to see if my design works better for mpg. now al with your truck i think my design would be prefect because you have a larger throttle body. but for others idk. over the summer i plan on making this a dual custom intake system and dropping a filter in front of the hole on the right too. I have decided yet for sure. I think i would lose power if i did so i mite buy a bigger thottle body. Also al have you ever thought about getting you engine port and polished you can even get your cams and rodes port and polished. I had a 11sec honda and i got rid of it and bought this truck but i lighten my fly wheel and got everything port and polished and it was the best money i spent on that car other than the turbo. just a though for ya. I think with what you have done to it now you would get about another 20 horse to the wheel and at least another 5-10mpgs let me know what you think! also what kinda gas to you use? like shell or bp? thanks i will try to up load pictures soon

 

[Fordexplorer140k]

1-2 mpg gain is about standard for every manual I've encountered, I just didn't know if the auto in these was just especially efficient. Thanks for the reply!

manual transmissions are better for gas and speed mostly you just have to know when to shift look in your owners manual it will tell you i think the first shift is at 8mph do not know the rest. good luck. also, if you have mods, ignore what i just said about 8mph

 

[Double0X]

Please tell us more about this.

Also, please post some pictures of it.

Thanks.....

Im working on something like this, i mainly just have to enclose the air filter now with the funnel going into it. You can see pics on my cardomain page.

 

[Fordexplorer140k]

Im working on something like this, i mainly just have to enclose the air filter now with the funnel going into it. You can see pics on my cardomain page

first things first very nice truck, i love black only if you had black leather and black tint it would be right up my alley. But yes like you said its something similar and i thought about keeping my intake right where yours is and doing the custom air feed like yours so al if you look at his picture and you see were "he does have fog lights" picture my intake hanging right behind them. if i can figure it out i will post pictures of mine.

 

[Double0X]

first things first very nice truck, i love black only if you had black leather and black tint it would be right up my alley. But yes like you said its something similar and i thought about keeping my intake right where yours is and doing the custom air feed like yours so al if you look at his picture and you see were "he does have fog lights" picture my intake hanging right behind them. if i can figure it out i will post pictures of mine.[/QUOTE]

Thanks for the compliments! I am planning on getting the driver and passenger window tinted to match the rest of the truck.
Do you actually have yours set up? Have you noticed anything? I gained a noticeable torque at cruising speeds. Also, my MPG has increased.

 

[Fordexplorer140k]

first things first very nice truck, i love black only if you had black leather and black tint it would be right up my alley. But yes like you said its something similar and i thought about keeping my intake right where yours is and doing the custom air feed like yours so al if you look at his picture and you see were "he does have fog lights" picture my intake hanging right behind them. if i can figure it out i will post pictures of mine.

Thanks for the compliments! I am planning on getting the driver and passenger window tinted to match the rest of the truck.
Do you actually have yours set up? Have you noticed anything? I gained a noticeable torque at cruising speeds. Also, my MPG has increased.

yeah i noticed a increase in torque at higher speeds take off was about the same. short ram intakes have better throttle responds. because its closer to your TB the longer your intake the longer the air as to travel. I think im going put my intake back to wear its supposed to be, and a spectrum intake and the black tube we have fits right into the top of the filter. spectrum is a intake company that makes custom intakes. I hope to dual feature this design when i get some more time on my hands. Im going to have to buy a larger TB first. I also just seafoamed my truck again and used some 44k fuel cleaner + removed about 50 pounds out of my truck yesterday to so im sure all of that had something to do with my torque i gained.