Poor gas mileage with '03 Explorer?

[prerunner02]

Plugs should not have to be changed for a long time(dealer recommends 100k) air filter is a big one but also most people dont know fuel filters usually last 10-15k miles. Put a little extra air in your tires.One more thing is Ford recommends only use national brands of gasoline.I use nothing but chevron 91 octane.(freeway driving)My first tank ave 14mpg, 2nd tank 15, 3rd tank 19, 4th 19.6, 5th was the 24.7. and ever since I get great mileage for my vehicle. By the way I bought the ex a couple of months ago with 32k on the ticker and have no mods to this point(Gibson exhaust coming soon)

 

[Husker1]

15 mpg is that in the city or on the highway?

I can't use E85 in my V8. I don't think my mom has tried it in her V6. There aren't any stations real close to us and she doesn't travel all that far. I did read that your mileage isn't as high when you run E85 and can be up to 25-30% less depending on driving habits. How much was E85 compared to good old gasoline?

From what I have seen it isn't much cheaper and I'd rather use the gasoline if you are gonna get better mileage with it than E85. It all balances out I think

That's what I have heard as well about E85. As to cost, it's about 30 cents cheaper around here.

 

[JOHNNY 4]

02 xlt / 4.0 / 3.73
New wires and plugs @ 50,000
K/N air filter
With the a/c on average 17-19 mpg

 

[philster01]

21 mpg combined

I hav 05 4.0L xlt 4X2, 29,000 miles, with kkm intake, magnaflow turbo muffler. I drive combined interstate with stop and go into downtown Atlanta daily. I have a light foot and don't race to the rear bumper of the car in front of me.
Over three tanks of fuel, I averaged 21 mpg using 91 octane.

 

[daprez1963]

E85

anybody here been using e85 in their FFV? what is your MPG? does it really increase your hp? thx

 

[daveyG]

E85 vs. Gas

anybody here been using e85 in their FFV? what is your MPG? does it really increase your hp? thx

We where I am at in PA we can't get e85 get. But from things that I read on e85, Ford almost gurantees a 5% increase in HP. The trade off for this is that you get less miles per gallon, but iwht e85 being cheaper that gas i think the trade off would be worth while.

If you haven't already check out this website, www.e85fuel.com. This is the official website for the National Ethanol Vehicle Coalitation.

 

[donrobbery]

u might have a bad dpfe sensor in the fuel system

 

[donrobbery]

ford also has a new program for the 02 V8 to improve mileage it cost $85 to have your ecm reprogrammed but I went from 10mpg to 20mpg. I also had the fuel system and intake cleaned, truck has better response and improved fuel mileage. Denso Iridium plugs can't hurt either.

 

[quasarsky]

Doubtful. I have the same gears and get over 30 MPG.

how do u get such a high mileage!

 

[aldive]

how do u get such a high mileage!

Take a look at http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=44372&page=1&pp=20

 

[donrobbery]

I got 20" wheels which decreases axle ratio, fresh trans. oil change(full synthetic), mobil 1 full synthetic motor oil changed at every 3,000 miles, ecm reprogrammed at ford, dpfe sensor was replaced(controls egr valve) it went bad, intake and upper cylinder cleaning. I did this to add longevity to component life but I got better gas mileage as a bonus, Also I don't get on it too hard unless a puny honda wants to come test. Always use premium fuel, you are what you eat, same applies to cars

 

[jrford]

‘04 4.6 v8 AWD and the 3.55 Mobil1: short commute 2.5 mile average about 10-13 mpg, on the freeway cruise set to 70mph to 20-21, between 80 and 85 between 17-18, if I add a roof cargo box it drops 1 mpg, towing a 1k boat its about 2mpg less.

 

[kamiller42]

I know people use different methods for measuring fuel efficiency. How are measuring your fuel efficiency? Everyone is posting their MPG, but it's hard to gauge against own vehicle when we are possibly using different methods.

 

[Am_Dew]

I know people use different methods for measuring fuel efficiency. How are measuring your fuel efficiency? Everyone is posting their MPG, but it's hard to gauge against own vehicle when we are possibly using different methods.

At each fill up I note the trip odometer reading (which I reset to 0 at the previous fill up) and divide the number of miles I drove between the two fill ups by the number of gallons of gas I just added. I am sure there are variances between gas pumps in terms of when they auto shut off, but I would think they are all within a gallon or so of one another. I also realize that you should use multiple readings over several tanks of gas to get a better overall picture, but in my experience, unless I do an unusual amount of driving in non-typical conditions, my gas mileage does not vary all that much from tank to tank.

 

[kamiller42]

At each fill up I note the trip odometer reading (which I reset to 0 at the previous fill up) and divide the number of miles I drove between the two fill ups by the number of gallons of gas I just added. I am sure there are variances between gas pumps in terms of when they auto shut off, but I would think they are all within a gallon or so of one another. I also realize that you should use multiple readings over several tanks of gas to get a better overall picture, but in my experience, unless I do an unusual amount of driving in non-typical conditions, my gas mileage does not vary all that much from tank to tank.

I do something similar using AutoBase, but a big local car radio show host, Ed Wallace, says that method is not accurate. I read in another thread of someone using GPS. Is it more accurate? How does either of these methods measure against a car's computer? I know the '02 doesn't have avg mpg in the infocenter, but it would be interesting to see how well either of the methods stack up against a vehicle which does have one.