V6 vs. V8: MPG

[thebrakeman]

16? Are you putting it on cruise control and going up 45 degree inclines?

That last poster probably has a 2" receiver, which means their V6 truck also has the factory tow package, which includes the fuel hungry 3.73 rear gearing. All V8 trucks ('06 and later), and V6 trucks w/o tow package, retain the base 3.55 rear end.

For '06 and later, I would never advise anyone to buy an V6 with the tow package. The V8 with tow package will tow 2000 lbs more, and get better gas mileage with or without a trailer in tow. Purchase price in the used market is not very much more, and would be made up in 1-2 years of fuel savings.

 

[yoster]

How in the world are you guys getting that kind of mileage from your v8??

My 06 4.6L EB 4x4 always sits at 12.5mpg. If I drive REALLY easily (like grandma style, which isn't how you normally drive) OR if I can go several miles at 45mph without stop signs or stop lights, I can get 13.5-14.5ish. Highway hasn't really been tested yet, but I'm expecting about 16-18mpg.

Perhaps the area of city I live in has more lights and stop signs than where you guys live? I'd be jumping for joy of I could post 16-18mpg city lol.

Note: My explorer spends basically NO time in 6th gear due to all the stops, lights, etc in my area. I'm sure that's adding to it as well.

 

[willied]

How in the world are you guys getting that kind of mileage from your v8??

My 06 4.6L EB 4x4 always sits at 12.5mpg. If I drive REALLY easily (like grandma style, which isn't how you normally drive) OR if I can go several miles at 45mph without stop signs or stop lights, I can get 13.5-14.5ish. Highway hasn't really been tested yet, but I'm expecting about 16-18mpg.

Perhaps the area of city I live in has more lights and stop signs than where you guys live? I'd be jumping for joy of I could post 16-18mpg city lol.

Note: My explorer spends basically NO time in 6th gear due to all the stops, lights, etc in my area. I'm sure that's adding to it as well.

I only get about 14 mpg in the city. Out on the highway I get 20-22 mpg.


Let's just say I am glad I got the V8, and it was not easy to find a used one in my price range, which was about $14,000 max. The V6 is much more common.

 

[yoster]

Agreed; we just bought ours and had to look high and low to find a v8!

On top of that, we wanted climate control, 4x4 and leather seats, which made it even harder. Took about 4 months to find one!

 

[thebrakeman]

I got so sick of looking for Explorers that fit the bill, only to find it was missing something that I couldn't tell from the listing.

I gave up and limited my search to Mountaineers. They almost always have the 3rd row seats, half seemed to be V8s, and most were AWD Premier models. I just watched for one in my price range that had the factory tow package.

I don't need a low range, and I found I could get a Mounty-Premier for less than a Ex-Limited.

 

[yoster]

THAT's right, that was the other thing, the right sized tow hitch! I was going NUTS; we would find an explorer that had everything we wanted except that stupid sized hitch.

We looked that the mountaineers too, but I just couldn't get past the blank buttons where the "4x4" buttons would have been. And for the life of me I couldn't find one with the correct hitch.

 

[King of So Cal]

the v6 is no better

 

[thebrakeman]

Yeah, you'd think they could make the right side of the dash look better than just 3 blank buttons. Maybe I can pull them out and install something useful there. Wow, we're off-topic!

 

[NHarris]

Yeah, you'd think they could make the right side of the dash look better than just 3 blank buttons. Maybe I can pull them out and install something useful there. Wow, we're off-topic!

Unless you have a 4X4 Explorer, then all the buttons are used

 

[thebrakeman]

Unless you have a 4X4 Explorer, then all the buttons are used

Not sure what you mean. Mountaineer has little "blanks" where the Explorer buttons would be, so these "buttons" are not used as you say.

What I meant was, I could pull out those blanks, and install something else there. Like, maybe an aux input jack for my mp3 player. More likely, I would drill a hole in one of those blanks, and install the jack to that blank, then re-install. I don't know...haven't looked yet. First I need to find out what will work with my head-unit:
Navigation with in-dash 6CD changer

 

[willied]

Not sure what you mean. Mountaineer has little "blanks" where the Explorer buttons would be, so these "buttons" are not used as you say.

What I meant was, I could pull out those blanks, and install something else there. Like, maybe an aux input jack for my mp3 player. More likely, I would drill a hole in one of those blanks, and install the jack to that blank, then re-install. I don't know...haven't looked yet. First I need to find out what will work with my head-unit:
Navigation with in-dash 6CD changer

I'm not sure what he was saying, either. My 2WD Explorer has the blank buttons, too.

 

[NHarris]

My 4WD explorer has the info center buttons (left side), and then it has the 4WD AUTO 4WD HIGH 4WD LOW buttons. They are on the right side and are used! :

Ok, just nevermind...i don't remember what the 06's interior is. I just know my 05 X has all 6 buttons assigned to a function...but thats what I was trying to say (above)
Here's what I meant....on an 06, 6 buttons are filled

 

[Adarkol]

I just picked up a 2004 Ex Eddie Bauer Edition with the 4.6. with thrid row seating and towing package it only has 53k and it is imaculate!! I picked it up for $12,000. I have been driving it around for about 2 months and I am averaging 16.2mpg mixed driving... If I drive like an idiot it has been as low as 13mpg... and Highway only driving on a 200mile trip round trip I averaged 21.3mpg.

I expect my mileage to tank when I put my 22's on it this spring but thats the price you pay for lookin good ;-)

I am a car audio/12v installer by profession so you can imagine what all I have done and will do to it in the near future. Already have remote start security with window controll modules and Smart start (can start the truck with my Blackberry) I also have a Pioneer navi and just last night I hooked up a 7"lcd in the storage pocket below the climates, and will be installing four headrest monitors next week on my day off. Once I make it pretty I will post plenty of pictures. As we all know the more toys you add the more it hurts your mileage.

 

[willied]

My 4WD explorer has the info center buttons (left side), and then it has the 4WD AUTO 4WD HIGH 4WD LOW buttons. They are on the right side and are used! :

Ok, just nevermind...i don't remember what the 06's interior is. I just know my 05 X has all 6 buttons assigned to a function...but thats what I was trying to say (above)
Here's what I meant....on an 06, 6 buttons are filled

I read your post the wrong way. I now realize that you meant on a 4x4 all the buttons are used.

 

[thebrakeman]

Right. But we were talking specifically about why yoster didn't like the Mountaineer, which for RWD or AWD does not have those buttons on the right used.

 

[yoster]

I think they're confusing the Explorer with the Mountaineer.

The AWD Mountaineer has no specific 4x4 buttons on the dash; they are just blank even if it's an AWD model, just like they're blank on the 2wd explorer. I wanted a 4x4/AWD, but the blank buttons looked too out of place if I went the Mountaineer route.

Ok, back on topic.

I just took a trip to the coast and back. The highest I could get my reading was 21.8mpg. After 1.5 hours I got off the freeway and by the time I got home (1 mile from the freeway), it was 21.4mpg. I reset it as I was leaving the coast and had just filled up so I could get a true freeway mpg reading. That was 70mph cruise control the ENTIRE way. Looks like it's running right to spec, perhaps a bit higher given it's a 4x4 with 3rd row seat, entertainment system and tow package (heaviest exp model). Just wish city driving didn't pull it down so quickly. Took it to church and back the next morning and it already pulled it down to 17. It usually levels out at 12.5 once I'm back in the M-F work driving routine.

 

[thebrakeman]

I just picked up a 2004 Ex Eddie Bauer Edition with the 4.6. with thrid row seating and towing package it only has 53k and it is imaculate!! I picked it up for $12,000. I have been driving it around for about 2 months and I am averaging 16.2mpg mixed driving... If I drive like an idiot it has been as low as 13mpg... and Highway only driving on a 200mile trip round trip I averaged 21.3mpg...

That sounds like a good deal. Does your '04 V8 model have the factory tow package (2" square receiver)? Or standard 1¼" receiver? If it has the 2" receiver, you also have the fuel-hungry 3.73 rear gearing, which explains why you can't get better fuel economy numbers.

22"?!?! Bling-bling-bling!!!!!!

 

[tarpa160]

My 2009 V6 gets around 9 mpg combined highway and around town, I had a 2005 that got around 13.8 same driving and I rented a 2010 same engine and specs as my 2009 and got 13.8. I took a ride with and let my Ford tech drive it home last week with monitor on he , he swears my mileage is normal.. I know better... any suggestions?

 

[Brent60]

Well maybe I have a possessed Explorer its a 2009 EB V6 4x4. When I first purchased it in December I was avg about 10-11 city and 29-31 Highway. Highway was achieved by sticking at 60-63 MPH CC on and that is steady anytime I hit the highway. I still thought my city was kinda low so upon a slight investigation revealed a blackened air filter so I took a trip to Autozone and snagged up a Spectre Air Filter Part# 889332. 30 minutes later with city driving, stop lights, traffic and a few pedal slams to work the air filter in and to get away from crazy VA drivers I was able to achieve 15.9 mpg. Also what im curious about is I posted this earlier how many other trucks and what model year did Ford start the "Ram Air Intake" in our trucks? Heres a link with pics to my post because I believe this might have an impact on MPGs.

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=306648

So id say I'm, and these numbers are consistent
15.9 City
29.5 Highway

 

[willied]

I get about 21 mpg most times I go from Columbus, GA to Auburn, AL, a 50 mile drive that's mostly highway, 65mph speed limit most of the way and then 70mph for about 10 miles. It's kind of hilly, otherwise I think I could get a couple more MPGs.

I haven't really done much testing just in city, but I'm pretty sure it's quite bad.