RedDominion

I have 10,600 miles and have noticed a drop in gas mileage over the last couple months (warmer weather maybe?) I had the stock V6 16" and bought the stock GT 17" and noticed a slight drop in mileage, but now instead of getting 250-265 miles per fillup, I'm now getting about 225-235. Seeing you guys get over 300 per tank makes me inquisitive on this.

Fazm

Just got back from my SF road trip, and the lowest i got was 27.12 mpg, best was 28.2mpg

Made it from riverside california to chandler blvd here (404 miles) on 1 tank, and still has 1.1 gallons left (filled 14.9)

Fazm

But i too have noticed a drop in my average economy around town. Was gettin around 24-25mpg around town, now its around 22-23 (but im in 110+ weather)

RedDominion

wow, I don't know how you can do that. I'm sure your pumping the A/C. I've never surpassed 300 per tank. By my calculation, if your getting 24mpg around town, that's about 384 miles per tank, I'm getting 235, and we are driving the same car. You're not using an old broken abacus to do your math are ya?

JoeInAZ

I have around 2500 miles on the 'stang, and I got 22.7 mpg on the last tank. I usually get 300 miles to a tank minimum. I'm very happy with the mpg actually. My '66 gets 12-14!

joe

Fazm

Yes my a/c is on 24/7 in the summer here. What kind of gas do you use? I usually fill up once i hit the 330 mark (before the gas light even comes on).

RedDominion

I use 87. I do drive threw daily rush hour traffic. The mpg stated for this car in city is 19, between 16-22. The light should come on when you have 2 gallons left, so you've consumed 14 gallons. 16-22 x 14 gal = 224-308. You're in AZ, middle of the summer, so A/C is on full blast I suppose. So how do you get 300+ in city?

I did have the fuel tank replaced. I'm just trying to find out you guys manage to get so many miles, and I'm getting no where near 300 per tank.

justgreat

one lesson i learned with my 93 explorer, bought new with the pushrod 4.0 and a manual 5 speed; i calculated my mileage to be 17/18 mpg with 60 per cent city driving...one of the guys at work who did mostly highway driving had the auto and said he was getting 23/24 mpg...i was somewhat skeptical of those numbers but chalked it up to exaggeration.
one day while checking my odometer accuracy with a mileage marker on the interstate, i realized that it was off roughly 10 percent. i then remembered that i got the optional tire package with the larger tires. the components for the odometer and the speedo had not been recalibrated by the factory...they just sold it with the same ratios as the smaller (standard) tires!!

i went back and rechecked my mileage numbers and sure enough i was getting 20 mpg with mostly city driving...with a 4000 lb truck!! okay, i drove like an old lady, but hey it was an explorer...didn't want to go fast in that thing!!

so....the first thing you do is verify your speedometer and odometer with a mileage marker check. if it's not spot on, then there is part of your problem...jackg 90seville 97k

RedDominion

I upgraded my tires from the stock 16" to the GT 17" Bullits. According to several online tire calculations for sizing up with these tires, if I drove 50 miles, I really drove 50.49 miles. That is only a 1% variance, so your talking about 2-3 miles difference due to sizing up the tires. However, the time I swapped tires was when I noticed the drop in miles per tank. I'm lost. However, it is summer, I am cranking the A/C, so maybe the car responds differently in the heat. The guy getting 300+ miles per tank in the middle of the desert doesn't sound realistic. So is there some maintenance that may of been overlooked by the Ford Service station I'ved used 4 times now? (i.e. fuel filter, air filter, anything else?)

Thomas S

You know, my mileage dropped when I put my bullits on. I never thought about the tires causing the odometer to be off. But I think you're right.

Zodiac

How much heavier are the bullits than the previous?

justgreat

yep, that's what i thought. that will definitely do it. this is why i am not a big fan of changing stuff on a car: especially using non oem parts. the best measurement to use for a comparison from stock rims/tires to aftermarket is the circumference (?), i think that's right. when i bought tires for my caddy i used the data available at the tirerack website to make comparisons.

if the overall circumference is greater than the stock measurement then your mileage will improve with the larger rims/tires...your speedo/odometer will be off, but the acutal miles traveled on a gallon of gas will be greater...the downside? besides not having an accurate speedo/odometer, will be slower acceleration.

another important consideration when changing your stock rims/tires to aftermarket: what is the off-set compared to the factory settings and what additional load will be put on the wheel bearings if the off-set is different from the oem specs..this can lead to problems with premature bearing wear, down the road.
jackg 90seville 97k

AWmustang

I put the bullits on with less than 100 miles on the car. So I have no basis for comparison.

But what makes you think your speedo was accurate from the factory. My grandfather was an engineer for Ford and he said they were allowed to be off -+ a couple percent. (I don't remember the exact number). Changing the tires may have made it worse or may have made it more accurate.

Fazm

I don't drive my car very hard, unless im racing it at the track, or against a ricer to 60mph.

I usually shift between 2000 and 2700, so maybe tahts why im gettin good mileage? :P

justgreat

always try and baseline your car before making any changes. also, keep accurate records of oil consumption, mark your coolant reservoir tank and keep a close eye on that also...the cologne v6 was prone to coolant leaks into the combustion chamber...that's why i got rid of my 93 explorer: the engineers from detroit could not find the actual source of the leak...couldn't risk a meltdown out of warrant, so i sold it.

a/c is a major drain on fuel economy. the caddy dropped 2/3 mpg when the hot/humid weather arrived...especially when you're using the car for mostly city driving...it's not too bad on the interstate when you're running the a/c full time.

10% variation is huge for speedometer/odometer error...and that was with STOCK tires/rims on the explorer. jackg 90seville 97k

Fazm

I just filled up today, went 238 miles on 8.8 gallons. That was mostly city, with only bout 100 miles of it on the highway.
Thats 27mpg

I guess the key is just not to drive hard. This winter i am going to make a valiant effort to break 30mpg, its not possible with it being 118 everyday durin the summer.

iCedOuT297

I was able to get 39 MPG, but that was when I reset the MPG data at the top of a bridge and rolled down going 65

Stang_123

Well with the AC running now I'm down to 25mpg. It's not as fun, but if you follow the manuals instructions on shifting gears combined with coasting and not running A/C you can push 30mpg in a manual.

0-9mph 1st
10-19mph 2nd
20-29mph 3rd
30-39mph 4th
40+ 5th

buster

if i fill my tank i get over 400 miles per tank
the compter gage says 25 mpg

onefastv6

have you been driving with overdrive on?