New Ford Ranger Owner

[JoeBazots]

Hi! I was surfing the net to find tips to increase my mileage on my Ford Ranger pickup. It's a 2011 with a 4cyl./5 speed set up. I use it in my courier business, so any gains I can make in mileage affect my profit margin. I drive a minimum of 1,800 miles each week, so improving mileage will make a significant difference for me. I'm looking forward to getting to know many of you. Thanks for all the valuable contributions!

[ecoTex]

Scan gage or similar instrumentation. That is by far the most important mod you can make.

[elhigh]

Hey, Joe,

I'm in Knoxville myself.

What kind of courier? Are you talking about in-city deliveries, or longer range stuff? That will have a huge bearing on any further recommendations.

The four-banger/5-spd combo is good, and of course you're already aware you got the last model year. The Ranger was a very mature model by the time yours was built, you can be fairly confident all the bugs had been worked out by the time yours rolled off the line. I hope you like the color, if you aren't allowed to buy a new truck before this one breaks you're going to be stuck with it for years.

+1 on the Scangauge recommendation. The instant feedback, even if it isn't accurate, at least tells you how well you're doing from one moment to the next and will have a huge effect on your mileage even if you make no other modifications to the vehicle. And Scangauge is completely transparent, it's plug-and-play.

[Mustang Dave]

Another vote for the Scangauge or Ultra Gauge. Instrumentation helps you make the most effective mod: "adjusting the nut behind the steering wheel".

[JoeBazots]

elhigh,

I do longer range stuff, mostly. I run from Nashville to St. Louis,MO and back - 3 nights/week. I average about 680 miles for each of those turns. I'll look forward to hearing your suggestions. I do like my Ranger - it's the second one I've owned. Though I may, at some point, get another vehicle for work, I'll probably hang on to this one for my grandson when he gets to driving age. For the time being, its my money maker - so I have to keep it going and make whatever improvements I can to it. Oh, and for informational purposes, I do have a fiberglass top on it - have to have that to keep the cargo out of the weather.

[elhigh]

Originally Posted by JoeBazots

elhigh,

I do longer range stuff, mostly. I run from Nashville to St. Louis,MO and back - 3 nights/week. I average about 680 miles for each of those turns. I'll look forward to hearing your suggestions. I do like my Ranger - it's the second one I've owned. Though I may, at some point, get another vehicle for work, I'll probably hang on to this one for my grandson when he gets to driving age. For the time being, its my money maker - so I have to keep it going and make whatever improvements I can to it. Oh, and for informational purposes, I do have a fiberglass top on it - have to have that to keep the cargo out of the weather.

Excellent! Knowing this we can speak intelligently to your performance requirements.

There are a few "stickies" on these forums that describe the basics:
http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...-mpg-5170.html
http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...tics-2073.html
http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...ehicle-83.html

Since you're spending a lot of time at cruising velocity, your biggest gains will be from aero improvements. Here's one I did. I found them at Amazon and they were less than $100 for four. Unfortunately I haven't burned a complete tank in the truck since installing them, so I can't say how well they help.

It's worth asking: how often do you need the entire volume under the bed topper? If you rarely fill above the level of the bed rails, you may do very well to homebrew an aero cap that would keep your payload out of the weather, but still ease the hole in the air shut behind you without so much turbulence. There are several very nice ones already here on Ecomodder, some look factory.

[user removed]

Coast, coast, coast. Look for a donor vehicle (like a rollover) for a parts mule. That kind of miles will wear it out fairly quickly. Saw an 82 Maxima diesel that had 865k miles on it, the equivalent of driving 40 hours a week at 60 MPH. Owner was mad at the service department because they could not get it to start cold without a jump. Compression was down 50% cold, but once warm it started and ran fine.

Mine has a 3.45 diff and the older SOHC two valve iron head engine, with the .80 OD 5 speed.

regards
Mech

[Daox]

Welcome to the site. Good luck with the truck. Instrumentation is a great place to start. Check out the links at the top too, 100+ driving tips and 65+ mods list.

[dirtydave]

Check out nathan01xl's ranger he has a 39.8 mpg 90 day average!!

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...log-26317.html