Quote:
Originally Posted by BabyDiesel
Hi cajunfj40. I came across your thread today and have some suggestions you may want to try out.
1. Find a used Scanguage. I picked mine up for $60 off Craigslist several years back. Best money I have spent on my hypermiling endeavors! It truly turns driving into a fun mpg game. The UltraGauge and MPGuino are both woth considering, along with Torque and others. I'm partial to the SG myself.
2. Read up on Wayne Gerdes. Reread, then reread and implement. He coined the term "hypermiler", and for good reason. I've read that he got anywhere from 40-70 mpg out of his Ford Ranger. Using his techniques to some degree should push you over 20, and perhaps even higher.
3. Aero mods. These are going to be worthwhile on your Explorer, whose coefficient of drag is probably around 0.40. Aerohead goes by "2% aero reduction = 1% fuel savings." This doesn't sound too good. However, the more un-aero the vehicle, the greater the benefit of the mod, usually. A belly pan and grill block would help aero and warm up times
I have more, but work beckons early in the a.m.
Edit: According to Ecomodder's handy dandy drag chart, your Cd is 0.43 |
Hello BabyDiesel,
As I've mentioned above, I have to finish fixing things before I start improvements, and the gauge will be first. There's some simple low-hanging fruit I can do after I finish the repairs and get a gauge, like roof-rack delete, grille block, airdam/sideskirts, etc. Most of my driving is at 55mph or less, and I already know that sustained freeway driving nets me better mpg than my 10-mile 30-55mph commute route.
I think I'll start a separate thread on gauge choice in the instrumentation thread, after I read up a bit more. For my year stick-shift Explorer, ScanGauge and UltraGauge appear roughly equivalent in function. For apps, ForScan seems like the best bet as it appears to access various realtime monitors directly via Ford codes, rather than generic OBD2 codes, and I think it'll do ABS codes too. I want to learn more about MPGuino and OBDuino as they are inexpensive and could give me a chance to play with my new soldering iron.
In the meantime, Life Goes On and I have house projects to attend to, so my wrenching time is limited.