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Explorer Addict
- Joined
- December 27, 2009
- Messages
- 3,822
- Reaction score
- 17
- City, State
- Vermillion, SD
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 99 XLT V8 AWD
To show I am a nice guy and not just trying to put you down, I'll give you what I can for suggestions.
The cheapest things you can do.
changing driving habits -- free. Search online for information on hypermiling, but I don't recommend all their practices. Also drive slower. Going 65 instead of 75 doesn't really cost you that much time. 12 minutes over 100 miles. Changing your driving habits frequently works better than ANYTHING else for increasing fuel economy.
Air up tires -- free. I don't think you should be driving around on passenger tires aired up to 60 psi, but don't drive around on tires that are low. The recommendations on your door are made for comfort and you can deviate from them depending on your conditions. Check the maximum pressure on your tires and you will probably want to stay below that. Search online for tire chalk test to find a better way to determine what pressure your tires should be at. Otherwise, inflating them to a higher PSI will cause faster wear, so the fuel you save may be spent on tires instead.
Weight -- free. Now, I won't advocate stripping interior or anything like that, because it makes any car less comfortable and look like trash. But, do consider leaving things out that you don't need. If you constantly carry around a bunch of unnecessary stuff in your vehicle, you are just wasting fuel hauling it. Hell, my neighbors keep stuff in their truck that they use for events they go to every few months, games, books and stuff they just don't feel like carrying into their house. They drove around for 2 weeks with a carpet cleaner and a dresser in the back until one day I offered to carry it in for them when I was fixing their door.
Remove roof rack -- a couple bucks. This would be free, but you need to seal the holes.
Optimize throttle body -- a buck or two. You can search for this one, it is a real cheap modification and offers marginal improvements.
Warm air intake -- fairly cheap. Use dryer hose or something similar to cause your intake to draw air from near the engine or exhaust manifold. Warmer air is less dense meaning less fuel is injected as well. This results in an overall loss in power, but you use very little power at cruising RPMs. Warmer air means your throttle is opened further at a given RPM as well, which in the modern age of computer controlled fuel delivery doesn't mean you are using more fuel. The nice thing about your throttle being opened further means that you have a wider hole to draw air through, which means the engine doesn't have to work as hard to suck air in.
Reduced electrical loads -- Prices vary. If you have an amp installed, remove it. Anything that puts a load on your electrical system is your enemy. If you have something with a factory amp, driving with your radio off sucks, but a low cost aftermarket stereo isn't a bad alternative. A decent, cheap bluetooth enabled double din stereo costs around 170 bucks and bluetooth is a wonderful addition to any car. You can find even better deals on e-bay. You can also put in cheaper stereos. Converting lights that are on a lot to LEDs also saves you on electrical load, but this can get spendy with little return if you use quality components. The less load on your alternator, the better. While you are driving, it energizes and de-energizes a field to charge the battery. The less time it has to cycle on, the less load on your engine.
Electric fan -- $70 and up. You can find fans from salvage yards for around 50 bucks, look around and find the preferred fans, or an HHR fan costs 60 bucks new. You can spend more for better fans. Fan controllers start around 20 bucks and go up from there for higher quality ones or variable speed controllers.
Lower your truck -- Prices vary. Lowering block and u-bolt kits are under a couple hundred bucks (much less if you piece them together) and you can search for torsion twist and torsion flip for free lowering on the front.
Most bang for your buck
Pulleys -- decide what you need, but they are spendy. This might break your budget, but they are going to give you the most bang for your buck.
Regular maintenance. I cannot stress enough how poor maintenance can cost you in the long run, even in fuel economy.
Stuff that costs more and doesn't show as much return
Intake -- Prices vary. No, not changing filters, change intakes. Obviously, a smoother pipe means less turbulence. Your stock air box flows as much as your stock intake pipe, but a smoother pipe does flow better and you can see very small improvements to pumping efficiency. You will get very little return on this investment though, it will take several years to pay for it. If you can make a homemade system, they are fairly cheap, otherwise buying them is $150 and up.
Headers -- $387 and up. Not much improvement here, but slight. It will take several years to pay for them. They are beyond your current budget though.
Cat back exhaust -- Prices vary. Works better if you have headers installed, but still takes several years to pay off. You can sometimes score them for really cheap, but most of the time you are going to be spending at least 300 bucks
Tuner You already know about it, it is beyond your current budget, any gains you get will take a couple years to pay off. Plus, with a tuner, you are going to be paying for tuning, or for supporting parts so you can do your tuning.
Other random stuff
Synthetic fluids Increased oil change intervals save you money, despite the higher cost of the synthetic fluids.
Port-matching It is cheap, but the improvements are also VERY marginal. Something to do when you are doing other things.
Tires When you buy tires, get tires with touring or highway treads. Also get low rolling resistance tires. You can see a couple mpg difference between a touring tire and a low rolling resistance tire.
If you have questions or other ideas, say so. Either way, I want you to understand I am not trying to be a jerk to you, I am just saying that you aren't going to save money in any short amount of time if you are trying to increase fuel economy in an Explorer, and you are better off finding a different vehicle, since an Explorer is not really the optimal vehicle for what you have described so far. An Explorer is a great vehicle if you want to go off-road or drive in rough conditions. It is capable of towing and doing other truck type things while still giving you a more car-like feeling and size. It is not a very good vehicle for hauling things on the highway though... You are better off with a light pickup if you need space to haul, which coincidentally gives you a lighter vehicle to push down the road, therefore saving you gas. Or, you should consider a station wagon or minivan. Granted, I can understand why you wouldn't want a minivan, so you don't have to explain that one to me, but, minivans are undeniably one of the most versatile vehicles one can buy, and they are good on gas for the amount of utility you get from them.
The cheapest things you can do.
changing driving habits -- free. Search online for information on hypermiling, but I don't recommend all their practices. Also drive slower. Going 65 instead of 75 doesn't really cost you that much time. 12 minutes over 100 miles. Changing your driving habits frequently works better than ANYTHING else for increasing fuel economy.
Air up tires -- free. I don't think you should be driving around on passenger tires aired up to 60 psi, but don't drive around on tires that are low. The recommendations on your door are made for comfort and you can deviate from them depending on your conditions. Check the maximum pressure on your tires and you will probably want to stay below that. Search online for tire chalk test to find a better way to determine what pressure your tires should be at. Otherwise, inflating them to a higher PSI will cause faster wear, so the fuel you save may be spent on tires instead.
Weight -- free. Now, I won't advocate stripping interior or anything like that, because it makes any car less comfortable and look like trash. But, do consider leaving things out that you don't need. If you constantly carry around a bunch of unnecessary stuff in your vehicle, you are just wasting fuel hauling it. Hell, my neighbors keep stuff in their truck that they use for events they go to every few months, games, books and stuff they just don't feel like carrying into their house. They drove around for 2 weeks with a carpet cleaner and a dresser in the back until one day I offered to carry it in for them when I was fixing their door.
Remove roof rack -- a couple bucks. This would be free, but you need to seal the holes.
Optimize throttle body -- a buck or two. You can search for this one, it is a real cheap modification and offers marginal improvements.
Warm air intake -- fairly cheap. Use dryer hose or something similar to cause your intake to draw air from near the engine or exhaust manifold. Warmer air is less dense meaning less fuel is injected as well. This results in an overall loss in power, but you use very little power at cruising RPMs. Warmer air means your throttle is opened further at a given RPM as well, which in the modern age of computer controlled fuel delivery doesn't mean you are using more fuel. The nice thing about your throttle being opened further means that you have a wider hole to draw air through, which means the engine doesn't have to work as hard to suck air in.
Reduced electrical loads -- Prices vary. If you have an amp installed, remove it. Anything that puts a load on your electrical system is your enemy. If you have something with a factory amp, driving with your radio off sucks, but a low cost aftermarket stereo isn't a bad alternative. A decent, cheap bluetooth enabled double din stereo costs around 170 bucks and bluetooth is a wonderful addition to any car. You can find even better deals on e-bay. You can also put in cheaper stereos. Converting lights that are on a lot to LEDs also saves you on electrical load, but this can get spendy with little return if you use quality components. The less load on your alternator, the better. While you are driving, it energizes and de-energizes a field to charge the battery. The less time it has to cycle on, the less load on your engine.
Electric fan -- $70 and up. You can find fans from salvage yards for around 50 bucks, look around and find the preferred fans, or an HHR fan costs 60 bucks new. You can spend more for better fans. Fan controllers start around 20 bucks and go up from there for higher quality ones or variable speed controllers.
Lower your truck -- Prices vary. Lowering block and u-bolt kits are under a couple hundred bucks (much less if you piece them together) and you can search for torsion twist and torsion flip for free lowering on the front.
Most bang for your buck
Pulleys -- decide what you need, but they are spendy. This might break your budget, but they are going to give you the most bang for your buck.
Regular maintenance. I cannot stress enough how poor maintenance can cost you in the long run, even in fuel economy.
Stuff that costs more and doesn't show as much return
Intake -- Prices vary. No, not changing filters, change intakes. Obviously, a smoother pipe means less turbulence. Your stock air box flows as much as your stock intake pipe, but a smoother pipe does flow better and you can see very small improvements to pumping efficiency. You will get very little return on this investment though, it will take several years to pay for it. If you can make a homemade system, they are fairly cheap, otherwise buying them is $150 and up.
Headers -- $387 and up. Not much improvement here, but slight. It will take several years to pay for them. They are beyond your current budget though.
Cat back exhaust -- Prices vary. Works better if you have headers installed, but still takes several years to pay off. You can sometimes score them for really cheap, but most of the time you are going to be spending at least 300 bucks
Tuner You already know about it, it is beyond your current budget, any gains you get will take a couple years to pay off. Plus, with a tuner, you are going to be paying for tuning, or for supporting parts so you can do your tuning.
Other random stuff
Synthetic fluids Increased oil change intervals save you money, despite the higher cost of the synthetic fluids.
Port-matching It is cheap, but the improvements are also VERY marginal. Something to do when you are doing other things.
Tires When you buy tires, get tires with touring or highway treads. Also get low rolling resistance tires. You can see a couple mpg difference between a touring tire and a low rolling resistance tire.
If you have questions or other ideas, say so. Either way, I want you to understand I am not trying to be a jerk to you, I am just saying that you aren't going to save money in any short amount of time if you are trying to increase fuel economy in an Explorer, and you are better off finding a different vehicle, since an Explorer is not really the optimal vehicle for what you have described so far. An Explorer is a great vehicle if you want to go off-road or drive in rough conditions. It is capable of towing and doing other truck type things while still giving you a more car-like feeling and size. It is not a very good vehicle for hauling things on the highway though... You are better off with a light pickup if you need space to haul, which coincidentally gives you a lighter vehicle to push down the road, therefore saving you gas. Or, you should consider a station wagon or minivan. Granted, I can understand why you wouldn't want a minivan, so you don't have to explain that one to me, but, minivans are undeniably one of the most versatile vehicles one can buy, and they are good on gas for the amount of utility you get from them.
