My quest for 30 MPG - Ford Explorer Gas Mileage Tips

[aldive]

Is there any way you would share some information about those tunes so that others could learn and possibly be more successful in their attempts?

I shall toss out a few tidbits that I use ....

make changes to the basic fuel table
increase the EGR flow
lower idle speed

I try to keep the motor operating in closed loop as much as possible.

 

[aldive]

Leaving for middle Georgia in the morning.

New PCM tunes will be tested.

 

[citheman2012]

wow this thread is 7 years old. simply amazing. and thanks for all the gas saving tips just took off my roof rack and gained 1mpg up to 21 mpg now.

 

[zippee]

Whatever...

I hate to bust your bubble, but I call BS.

It's not like you're the first, or even the 10th person to do so...why don't you read the thread to see how the others fared?

 

[Lloyd10977]

Just back from a round trip Nanuet NY to Towson (Baltimore) MD. Here are my results:

• Trip distance - 451.4 miles (GPS record)
• Average speed - 57 mph (GPS record)
• Cruise control used and set at 70mph
• Total Drive time - 7 hrs 53 minutes (GPS record)
• Load - 4 adults plus luggage (one of the adults could count as 1.5)
• Climate control on automatic, windows closed
• Average outside temp - 68*F recorded every half hour
• fuel used - 18 gallons (Getty, Valero) 87 octane
• Mileage - 25.1 mpg

95 Limited 4.0V6, automatic trans, 4WD, 172,433 miles. No special tune, NGK Iridium spark plugs, Taylor 10mm plug wires, cleaned AIR HOG air filter, MOBIL 1 oil filter, SEAFOAM treatment one month ago, 5w30 Castrol full synthetic motor oil, 75w90 synthetic diff fluids, 38psi tire pressures.

 

[aldive]

Leaving for middle Georgia in the morning.

New PCM tunes will be tested.

354 miles at 67 MPH netted 32.4 MPG
297 miles at 64 MPH netted 34 MPG
255 miles at 69,4 MPH netted 32.2 MPG

All distances and speeds GPS determined. AC used the entire trip.

 

[aldive]

wow this thread is 7 years old. simply amazing. and thanks for all the gas saving tips just took off my roof rack and gained 1mpg up to 21 mpg now.

Keep up the good work.

 

[Scottydog]

Without reading the nearly 100 pages of posts, can someone point out the "actual list" of tips or at least some of the more noteworthy ones...a particular date maybe. I would like to try some of these before I turn old and gray...

 

[Fox Fader]

Man this is hard to believe.
The last itme I measured 30+ was on my 84 300zx in '93. I never measured the Hondas I owned.

 

[BrokenMonkey]

As much as I'd love to read through almost 100 pages of forum postings I don't think it's quite practical, but could somebody with knowledge of this thread possibly tell me what the best mileage I could hope to achieve with a 5.0 V8 Explorer is? I know the crazy 30+ MPG could only be done with a 4.0L V6 but an engine swap is out of the question so I just want to know what the best I could get in a V8 is before digging around to find out how to get that. Thanks.

 

[jfairbank]

Wow, I thought I was doing good when I got 21.2 MPG on my last trip from Virginia to Florida. I was loaded down and had 4 total passengers. I even had a car top carrier on the roof rack.

 

[Charlie]

Al-

Do you do much driving on 55mph roads? Have you done any mileage testing in the 55-60ish mph ranges? If you have, how does that compare to the 65+ tests?

 

[dothedeww]

2006 Explorer XLT
4.0 V6 SOHC

Trip from Western Howard County, MD to Ocean City, MD

Distance: 153.4 Miles.
Average Speed (GPS): 64MPH
Never went above 85..but stayed around 80 the whole trip.
Weather: 80 degrees, on/off rain showers.
Gallons Used: 5.5 Gallons of 87 (Enroy).
MPG: 27.6
This includes driving the distance of coastal highway....(Red lights every 3 streets for 145 streets.) If I hadnt have been stop/go..I think I may have hit 30.

Windows Open the whole trip.

Traction Control: OFF
AUTO 4wd
K&N Air Filter
Flowmaster 40 Series
Bull Bar

I cant wait to test the mpg on a longer trip, headed to indiana next month. Plus Ill have a KKM intake by then (ordered today)

 

[celly]

....what the best mileage I could hope to achieve with a 5.0 V8 Explorer is?

You'll never come close to 30 with a 5.0. I've seen some say they get in the 21-22 range. I've never got much more than 20 in mine. I've got air intake, custom exhaust and custom tuning. I'm getting Torque Monster Headers (available only for the 5.0) in a few weeks which supposedly gives a mileage boost too. I also have synthetic fluids everywhere possible. I've got AWD which has a mileage penalty over 2WD.

The best mileage gains are always had by driving style. Drive like you've got an egg under your foot and you'll see gains. I'm pretty sure that's where Al gets a lot of his gains despite all the mods he's done.

I'm more than willing to accept a mileage penalty to own a 5.0. I had a SOHC Sport and never got anywhere near the mileage Al did despite having many of the same mods. I'm also aggressive on the gas and my Sport (2 door), while lighter was 4WD. I got slightly better mileage than the 5.0, but not that much.

The 5.0 is a rock solid engine with good mod potential. It's also got more torque than any engine in a 2nd gen Explorer. As much as I like the SOHC, I'd never go back. I love the feel (and sound) of the V8.

 

[CDW6212R]

Ditto, the 302 is not in stock form well suited to efficiency. The exhaust is bad, the compression is low, the camshaft is a compromise old truck grind, and the trans is strong but power robbing. With a lot of modifications and PCM tuning, a 2WD might regularly see the low 20's.

 

[Scottydog]

I notice a lot of GPS results. I have removed the roof rack, installed K&N (then changed to KKM), flowmaster exhaust, use 5w30 synthetic, use AC, stay around 70 on the highway, maintain good air pressure in my tires and even keep the bugs off the windshield...

But I have never got more than 22 mpg...and that is doing it the old fashion way...divide the "actual miles by the gallons to re-fill".

Personaly I think all these great mileage stories using GPS are a load...if you can drive more that 350 miles on a tank of gas, then you are getting the same mileage as the rest of us.

 

[Lloyd10977]

I notice a lot of GPS results. I have removed the roof rack, installed K&N (then changed to KKM), flowmaster exhaust, use 5w30 synthetic, use AC, stay around 70 on the highway, maintain good air pressure in my tires and even keep the bugs off the windshield...

But I have never got more than 22 mpg...and that is doing it the old fashion way...divide the "actual miles by the gallons to re-fill".

Personaly I think all these great mileage stories using GPS are a load...if you can drive more that 350 miles on a tank of gas, then you are getting the same mileage as the rest of us.

More power to you, but as for me, I will happily cruise down the road getting the 25mpg that you say is not possible. And I will remember your words when I look down at the on board message center at fillup, smiling whenever it says 458 MILES TO EMPTY.

 

[black91EB]

I notice a lot of GPS results. I have removed the roof rack, installed K&N (then changed to KKM), flowmaster exhaust, use 5w30 synthetic, use AC, stay around 70 on the highway, maintain good air pressure in my tires and even keep the bugs off the windshield...

But I have never got more than 22 mpg...and that is doing it the old fashion way...divide the "actual miles by the gallons to re-fill".

Personaly I think all these great mileage stories using GPS are a load...if you can drive more that 350 miles on a tank of gas, then you are getting the same mileage as the rest of us.

seems to me that a GPS would give you a more accurate account of the milage. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but the milage is still computed "the old fashion way" by dividing the "actual miles" recorded by the GPS, rather than the odometer. This is the only way some of us can get truly accurate miles anyway, due to tire or gear changes. I don't know of any GPS that actually computes the milage as you drive. Many explorers/mountaineers have that built into the car, but not in the GPS. Aldive says in there several times that acceleration has a huge impact on milage as well, so what if you don't go faster than 70, if you accelerate to that speed as fast as possible or even quickly, your milage is still going to suffer. Considering my 91 4x4 gets 21 on the highway, with it's square nose, the roof rack still on it, 31X10.50s, and OEM spec oil, plugs and air filter, 30+ mpg is definitely believable.

 

[aldive]

As much as I'd love to read through almost 100 pages of forum postings I don't think it's quite practical, but could somebody with knowledge of this thread possibly tell me what the best mileage I could hope to achieve with a 5.0 V8 Explorer is? I know the crazy 30+ MPG could only be done with a 4.0L V6 but an engine swap is out of the question so I just want to know what the best I could get in a V8 is before digging around to find out how to get that. Thanks.

This thread is about the 4.0 SOHC.

 

[300mag-hunter]

In reference to the explorer with 5.0 V8.

I drive a stock 2000 Explorer Limited AWD w/ 5.0 V8 w/ 210,000 miles

I run the factroy recomend weight of oil, and use mobil standard oil.

Goodyear Wrangler RTS tires, stock size.

Have a bug deflector on the front, and weak/sagging springs in the rear so the back sits slightly lower.

I have gotten 29+ mph with a 30mph tail wind at 53 mph.

My standard driving is cruise set at 53 mph and get 24-26 mpg on level ground on a calm day.

I'm going to try the waxing, roof rack, and maybe a K&N. It hasn't been waxed since I've owned it during the past year and is covered in tree sap and bird droppins, and dust so I'm sure a little wax won't hurt things. I've got a 1000+ mile round trip I'm heading for this weekend. So any little bit of mpg will help. Mileage home will be pulling the new boat so won't be the best.

However I'm getting new tires before the trip so hopefully that doesn't affect the mpg. Same tires as currently running just more tread. maybe the low tread is more aero dynamic, lol.

I get my mpg with the avg. fuel economy display in the console. I've compared it to actual milage and gallons and it has always been right on.