Tell me I'm crazy....

[Trek5000]

I think my 03 explorer seems to get better mpg when the temps are over 30degrees f... is there any truth to this simple observation of my fuel gauge ?? or is it a hallucination.... ?? still ave about 13.5 mpg and with the 6 cyl was expecting 15 ave...

 

[SuRrEaLNJ]

you're crazy


But only cus you said to say it

 

[Joe Dirt]

Winter blend gas = worse MPG due to increased Ethanol content.

 

[Ronin8002]

Also, colder air is more dense, so more fuel must be mixed with it to achieve the air/fuel ratio the vehicle's computer maintains.

I've also heard that since cold air is denser, it offers more resistance to the vehicle moving through it than warmer air.

Your vehicle's motor also takes longer to warm up in colder weather. your vehicle's computer is calibrated to add more fuel while the engine is still warming up, then trims it back when at normal operating temps.

All of that, plus the winter gas thing, add up to worse mileage in the winter/colder weather season.

 

[Trek5000]

see I'm not crazy.... thanks..

 

[EasyRhino]

Where you might be crazy is using the gas gage to determine your actual mileage. Not even a rough estimate can be determined that way.

Other than that, we're all crazy.

 

[Joe Dirt]

Good point Rhino- Ford gauges are not the best. Go by mileage/gals refilled with

 

[2002GreyHD150]

I'm always amazed at the mileage people on here report, especially the v6's....

Our 4.6L AWD Monty gets 16+mpg always. nothing special to get extra mpg either. K&N filter, regular tune ups (plugs, fuel filter,clean air filter), synthetic fluids, close eye on tire pressure. the basics.

one theory I have on the V6 is that even though it has almost the same HP rating as the V8 it has significantly less torque to move a heavy SUV.

As for the cold, out Monty drops .5-1mpg during winter blend months.

Rob

 

[waskly]

I'm always amazed at the mileage people on here report, especially the v6's....

Our 4.6L AWD Monty gets 16+mpg always. nothing special to get extra mpg either. K&N filter, regular tune ups (plugs, fuel filter,clean air filter), synthetic fluids, close eye on tire pressure. the basics.

one theory I have on the V6 is that even though it has almost the same HP rating as the V8 it has significantly less torque to move a heavy SUV.

As for the cold, out Monty drops .5-1mpg during winter blend months.

Rob

4.0l liters
4.6 liters.

do a drive at 75 mph.

4.0 liters will do 2400 rpm
4.6 liters will do 1900 rpm

rough guesstimates who burns more gas?

remember, that faster the engine turns it burns more fuel. this is what it boils down too.

the fix for that is use 1/2 engine size in smaller engines, to save gas.

my 4.0 will get 15-16 mpg my 4.6 will get 20-22 mpg.

 

[corkey]

i have a 4.0 v6 in my 96 xl, and in 2wd at 60 mph with 35 inch tires on 4:10 gears, summer with inlet air temps above 60 f ,mpg is around 17-19,
and in winter so far, with inlet air temps below or close 0 f, i am getting at most 12-15 mpg,

so yes the cold will change the mpg in a hurry,

 

[grof]

I think my 03 explorer seems to get better mpg when the temps are over 30degrees f... is there any truth to this simple observation of my fuel gauge ?? or is it a hallucination.... ?? still ave about 13.5 mpg and with the 6 cyl was expecting 15 ave...

my 04 explorer ,,Summer time ,,Tennessee ,,80-90% humidity .A/C full power

it does about 330 miles every 20Gallons of fuel.

and in winter it went down to about 290 miles every 20 Gallons

 

[Mustangman66]

Lol ford gauges suck... i drive on average 90-110 miles before my gas gauge even moves off of the full mark... hahah

 

[GCDMD]

my gauge is actually pretty accurate, must have gotten a fluke. I average around 19-21 mpg w/ my 5.0L but that is mixed w/ 70% hwy. You want to see a bad set of gauges, check out volvos. Dear lord, my wife's '01 S40 fuel guage is 3/4 when full and empty through 60% of the tank. Now that's just downright bad.

 

[GCDMD]

Oh yeah, you're crazy. :

 

[F15E_WSO]

Lol ford gauges suck... i drive on average 90-110 miles before my gas gauge even moves off of the full mark... hahah

Fair enough but do you care? I am concerned at the other end when I near "E". Like you I get about 80ish highway miles before it moves off of F. The gauge seems reasonably accurate when I get near Empty

 

[Joe Dirt]

Like Mustangman66- I like the built in feel-good function of the non-moving Ford gauge- I feel like I'm driving a hybrid the first 100 miles.

 

[EasyRhino]

You folks are proving my point - you have no ideas what your actual gas mileage is unless you calculate it from miles driven per gallons refilled.

No idea.

But if it makes you feel better, have a nice day. Live in delusion.

FWIW, I keep detailed gas mileage logs on my cars, currently a Ex, Volvo, and C6, and all gas gages on every car I've owned, probably 50, are meaningless when determining actual mileage.

 

[Trek5000]

Like Mustangman66- I like the built in feel-good function of the non-moving Ford gauge- I feel like I'm driving a hybrid the first 100 miles.

amen to that ... and you should see me obsess over the battery "gauge" on my Blackberry ... the horror....

 

[McDuff426]

Hi Trek5000, There was no mention of which power plant you have, in general economy problems related to ambient temp I would first suspect the combustion chambers have not reached the optimum temp to properly "flash to vapor" the fuel pooled behind the valve head. Direct port EFI fires each injector twice, once with the valve closed and once with it open (sounds crazy but that’s what it does). Fords run hot, factory thermostats are 195 degree, first place I'd look, second is the mass flow / inlet temp sensor, see if you have any error codes in memory. also check the induction hoses for injury’s / leaks between the mass flow sensor and throttle body unit. It may get hot enough to to enter "closed loop mode" but even with a 180 degree stat the combustion chambers wont be hot enough for the fat lady to sing. Also..some systems on V configured engines have up to 4 O2 sensors, if one's flaky... but it should give you a error code.

And as mentioned in other members posts, ethanol has a lot less BTU's than petroleum,
the whole ethanol thing is nothing but a government inflicted "feel good" scam overall energy loss in conversion and carbon emission's is zero gain, bring your own K-Y.

 

[Mustangman66]

yeah it only counts when it hits E

in any small single engined airplaine. the gas gauge only has to be correct when the tank is empty. so it could read 1/16 of a tank the entire time flying, it only has to move when it gets below 1/16th of a tank

also i always reset the tripometer when i fill it up, then divide miles driven by gallons put in tank