Seriously considering a sport trac.... couple of questions...

[Todd82TA]

Hey guys,

So, I'm going through a phase. My wife just gave birth to our first, and I've been getting rid of a lot of projects and trying to simplify my life. I sold my 1984 Porsche 944, my 81 TransAm, and I'm striking a deal tomorrow for my 73 Oldsmobile Cutlass with someone in Rhode Island. We traded my wife's 2004 Beetle Convertible in on a Jeep Patriot, and I'm going to get rid of my Pontiac Solstice and get something I can drive everywhere, anytime, all the time.

So, I've been having a hard time figuring out what it is I wanted. My wife suggested that I get a 4x4 since we have property near Lake Okeechobee, my mom suggested I get a pickup truck since I'll want to do work on the house, mulch, etc... and my dad suggested I get an SUV. But I wanted something not much bigger than a V6 as my daily driver since I wanted to get somewhat decent mileage for commuting. I also wanted something American since the parts would be cheaper, and I wanted something rear wheel drive so it would be very easy to service (wouldn't have to use jacks).

So it hit me.. Hey... didn't Ford make a vehicle that meets these exact requirements?

So here I am.

I'm pretty pleased with the idea of getting a Sport Trac, but I have a couple of small questions:

1 - Exactly how bad is the fuel economy of the 1st generation Sport Tracs? I've seen everything from 16mpg avg to 22mpg avg? I get about 22 avg in my Solstice now... so anything around that would be great. My question exactly is... HOW can this be improved? As an FYI, I also have a 2002 Ford Crown Victoria LX-P74 that I've had since 2004. It's gotten (I s**t you not) a best of 28.2 miles to the gallon on the highway, and will still run a 15 flat quarter mile. I was able to do this with an improved air intake (mercury marauder intake, police intake tube, 80mm MAF, blah blah).

2 - Which brings me to my next question... performance parts, are there companies who are willing to reflash the ECM and improve the power? My thought is, the more powerful the car is, the less effort and energy it needs to use to move it around. This has been the case with my Crown Vic.



Is there anything you guys do NOT like about your Sport Tracs?

The 5-Speed Automatic... which one is that? I know the one in my Vic is a 4-Speed...

 

[Gus Gorilla]

I've had my '01 for about 2 1/2 years now and love it. When you need a little bit of truck with a little bit of SUV it's perfect. My gas mileage isn't impressive. Usually 15/19. Got 20.5 on some all highway driving recently. Doesn't sound great but it's an improvement, could be better if I didn't have the 4.10 rear end. My changes for mileage and power are modest. 5w30 full synthetic, Amsoil trans fluid and rear end, K&N FIPK intake, Screamin' deamon coil and live wires. Electric fan to come. If your looking for a good source for mileage you need to search this site for Aldive. He has a thread called "my quest for 30" He's actually getting better than 30mpg out of an Explorer. As for performance parts and PCM reflashing it can all be done. Keep searching this site for people with chiped or programed powertrains. The trans is the 5R55E five speed. As far as I can tell it's nothing special, but it works. There's really nothing I don't like about my ST. Take it fishing, hunting, traveling, some light towing, clean it up for a night on the town and it still looks great. The bed cleans up nice and if you get the factory hard cover it all locks up tight. Overall, highly recommended.

 

[JohnnyO]

The transmission is a 5R55E.
As long as the bed is big enough for what you need, it's a great all-around vehicle.
It won't be a gas mileage champ no matter what you do. With the exhaust I'll get 22 hwy if I keep it to 65 mpg (rare) but I average about 15 mpg overall. Mine is a 4x4, since you're in Florida I assume you're looking at 4x2's unless you're going off-roading. A 4x2 would be slightly better on gas.

 

[Todd82TA]

Thanks Gus Gorilla, I appreciate it... yeah, I'm looking to make this my daily driver, so 20mpg would be pretty acceptable to me. My 2002 Crown Victoria gets amazing gas mileage. It's been a quest of mine too (like that other guy you mention) to get my fuel economy to 30mpg. Every time I tell people that I got 28.2 mpg in my Crown Vic on a highway trip, they tell me I'm nuts. Of course, I've got a 2.73:1 final drive.

This SportTrac REALLY REALLY appears to meet all of my expectations. I'm looking at a 2002 right now. I don't really plan to haul too much stuff, so the bed that IS there seems to be appropriate for me. Typically what I would use it for is bags of mulch, paver stones, crap from Home Depot, etc... right now, I have to drive my 73 VW Bus to Home Depot to get all that stuff. (ever seen a VW Bus with 30 bags of mulch in it???)

Besides, I'm done with this whole Government Motors crap... GM is dead to me. I've owned 13 GM cars since I learned to drive in 1995, and I will never, ever, buy another GM car again. I know it's not going to be new, but I'm much happier with the thought of owning a Ford.

The transmission is a 5R55E.
As long as the bed is big enough for what you need, it's a great all-around vehicle.
It won't be a gas mileage champ no matter what you do. With the exhaust I'll get 22 hwy if I keep it to 65 mpg (rare) but I average about 15 mpg overall. Mine is a 4x4, since you're in Florida I assume you're looking at 4x2's unless you're going off-roading. A 4x2 would be slightly better on gas.

Yeah, for the most part, I won't be using the 4x4 feature, but I have property in Lake Okeechobee and there is a stretch of dirt / sandy road that I have to traverse. I borrowed my mom's Ford Escape last time, and I got stuck. So I'd really end up taking advantage of this 4x4 feature on the property. I would probably only use it maybe 2-3 times a year, but it would be nice to have.

It's going to be weird going from a nimble sports car, to a lumbering SUV...

:roll:

 

[JohnnyO]

(ever seen a VW Bus with 30 bags of mulch in it???)

Instant lowrider?

Yeah, for the most part, I won't be using the 4x4 feature, but I have property in Lake Okeechobee and there is a stretch of dirt / sandy road that I have to traverse. I borrowed my mom's Ford Escape last time, and I got stuck. So I'd really end up taking advantage of this 4x4 feature on the property. I would probably only use it maybe 2-3 times a year, but it would be nice to have.

Have some good all-terrain tires and a limited-slip rear is always good.

It's going to be weird going from a nimble sports car, to a lumbering SUV...

Better shocks and bigger sway bars and you might be surprised.
(1.5" Addco Explorer front bar and a Zabteck or Explorer Express rear bar )

 

[Josh_delaney506]

Don't do what I did, buy it from a ford dealership if its used, i got mine as a trade in at Hyundai and have been forking out money to get it back to normal. but I still love it too death. Go For It.

 

[Clusterpup]

Yeah, for the most part, I won't be using the 4x4 feature, but I have property in Lake Okeechobee and there is a stretch of dirt / sandy road that I have to traverse. I borrowed my mom's Ford Escape last time, and I got stuck. So I'd really end up taking advantage of this 4x4 feature on the property. I would probably only use it maybe 2-3 times a year, but it would be nice to have.

:roll:

Do any hunting on that property up by the lake?