Hypermiling an Iconic Gas Guzzler: Help!

[st8ic]

It's easy to get good mileage out of a prius, but what about big utility vehicles? Can an Explorer be economical, or is one better off buying a Corolla? My target for this project is 22 mpg.

The Truck
2000 Ford Explorer Sport 4x4 (2 Dr)
4.0L OHV V6
4spd w/ OD manual transmission
4.10 gears
15.85 gallon tank
Stock rims/tires
EPA RATED: 15mpg city 19mpg highway



Tank Number One - 100% city driving - 15.2 mpg
This was my control tank. Normal driving, no mods. It confirms that my truck can meet the EPA estimate and there are no major defects affecting mileage.

Tank Number Two - 100% city driving - 17.2 mpg
Driving behavior: Relaxed speed, coasting to lights, using highest possible gear, no idling.
Physical modifications: Changed oil and filter, changed air filter, cleaned mass airflow sensor, cleaned injectors, removed roof rack, removed excess cargo weight, inflated tires from 30lbs to 35lbs.

What can I do from here guys? 2 mpg is a reasonable increase, but I'm not sure what else I can do for a truck like this. I really appreciate all comments and suggestions!

Thanks!

[SVOboy]

You could try a grill block, belly pan, smooth wheel covers, etc. What kind of driving constraints do you have in the city?

Welcome to ecomodder!

[Red]

Theres a dude on one of the explorer forums that pulls 30MPGs from his rig. So its totally possible.

Welcome to EM

[st8ic]

Hey Red,
I've seen that thread on the explorer forum. That guy however, has an advantage in that his truck is 2wd, better gearing, SOHC engine, lowered, custom chipped, etc. I am just hoping I can hit 22 mpg without spending a whole pile of cash!

By the way, that guy is incredible and here is his truck:

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/...d.php?t=137531

[trikkonceptz]

Well at least your Manual ...

I would consider raising your tires up to sidewall max psi. I am currently running my V8 4-runner @ 50psi and the vehicle glides better than my Vibe. I'm sure its because of the added weight. Anyhow, once you have better rolling you'll see you can coast longer distance in neutral. Also, consider shutting the car off so you have no idle time while sitting still. I cry as I watch the mpg meter plunge every time my wife sits at a light with this beast.

That also means cutting out drive thrus, bank tellers etc, get into the habit of walking in. The grille block should help, especially if you hit hwy ever. I am currently sitting at 23mpg with the 4-runner with this tank, so your numbers are not to far from possible.

And last but not least if your tank is larger than 15 gallon consider running with 1/2 a tank or less if possible for weight reduction there too ...that however messes with your mileage tracking, so pick your poison.

[FastPlastic]

I like the grill block idea. I went ahead and did that on mine first. Warms up faster and seems to push more air over the car. Another quick and easy thing you can do is take off the roof rack. If you want to be lazy like me taking off the cross bars makes a decent difference. Your side channels look like there pretty low anyway.

[Lazarus]

Anything can be hypermiled. Since it mostly city Aero won't help that much. I agree with the grill block. Any chance of a getting a scan gauge? That alone could probably hit the target. Route selection is key. Might want to back into the drive way for the quick get a way when the engine is cold. Take a look at the 100+ driving tips. That's where you will get your biggest bank for the buck.

As far as car comparison you'll need to run the numbers to see if getting the Corolla will pay off.

Good Luck and welcome to the site.

[Arminius]

LRR tires will get you better mileage, when you're ready for tires.

[tasdrouille]

If I were you I'd go with the basic cheap mods and technique. Mods and technique will only get you so far though.

You didn't tell us how much you drive and why you need a SUV. Over the lifetime of a vehicle, the single biggest expense related to a vehicle is often gas. If you drive a lot, and don't haul stuff around all the time, I would consider buying a metro or the like and keeping the truck only for when you really need it.

[Shawn D.]

Besides just changing the oil, you should switch to synthetic. Changing the tranny, transfer case, and both differentials to synthetic fluids will also help with efficiency.

Do you ever actually use the running boards to get in/out? Would not having them cause issues in access? If not, remove them.

[Krieg]

Some more ideas:

Remove trailer hitch

Remove passenger side mirror.

Remove rear seat (you can't get back there in the 2 door explorer anyway!).

Convert to 2WD (remove the transfer case, axles, etc.)

Investigate if there is a lower final drive available (4.10 is really high!)

Consider going to 0W20 synthetic. The new Ford's use it.

Cold air intake? Dual exhaust? Headers? I have no idea if these are available for your ride.

[Krieg]

Got another rather radical idea...

I bet that you could remove the rear bumber, no problem.

Investigate if there are any skid plates that could be removed as well.

[elhigh]

Pull the crossbars on that roofrack.

[Andyman]

You are doing well for city driving. I know some cars will give about double the mileage for highway driving compared to city driving. Of course, there is a wide range of conditions in city driving.

I would suggest first that you try letting your engine breath hot air from around the engine. This might mean disconnecting an air intake hose and stuffing a rag into it so it doesn't bring cool air into the engine compartment.

If your ignition timing is adjustable you could try advancing it a little. Don't overdo it or you could get knocking.

I've had good results when retarding the camshaft a few degrees. The torque goes down but MPG goes up. The distributor has to be readjusted to avoid retarding the ignition timing too. If your engine already has variable valve timing this tip might not help.

To get a really big improvement you could try something like the old Crower Mileage System (CMS). The plan is to raise the compression ratio to about 14:1 (by installing different pistons) and install a camshaft that closes the intake valves about 40 degrees later than normal. The result is a reduction in pumping losses and an increase in expansion ratio. Crower doesn't sell this camshaft anymore but I noticed that some companies such as Isky Racing Cams have camshafts for turbocharged engines which have a longer duration for the intake valve. Isky calls theirs "Turbocycle". You can also order a custom made camshaft. There could be a problem of complying with emission regulations if you do engine modifications. Of course this kind of thing gets expensive.

Your wheels look big and heavy. Maybe you can get some wheels from the junkyard which aren't so wide. If you keep the same diameter tires then the speedometer will still be accurate. Alternatively, you could look for narrower tires that fit on your original rims. A less aggressive tread should reduce rolling resistance and wind resistance.

I doubt you would gain much from very high tire pressures and it would give you a rough ride and extra stress on the suspension. I would also be concerned that a tire might explode while you are filling it if it is getting weak. I think the main problems are that your engine is large and you have a heavy vehicle. The large engine will consume extra fuel at light loads and the high weight will require extra horsepower when accellerating and climbing hills.

I suggest that you keep a bicycle in the truck and use it for short trips when you don't need to carry much. Keep it hidden under a blanket so it doesn't get stolen.

[88CRX]

how far is your city driving, can you use a bike?

[st8ic]

All very good suggestions guys, I appreciate your help a lot.

Roof rack and step bars have been removed.

Grill block I have considered, but it does get pretty warm here and the explorer usually comes to operating temperature very quickly. Maybe if I get a scan gauge to monitor the rad temp, I'll go ahead with this one.

Scan gauge, by the way, it's interesting that you said that one of those could get me to my target Lazarus. Does the scangauge actually alter the ECU for mpg? Or are you just talking about monitoring my driving habits?

Removing the rear seat is unfortunately not an option because I sometimes have three passengers. Removing the transfer case and converting to 2wd is also not an option because of six foot snow drifts in the winter (stupid canada). Can't remove hitches, bumpers, etc. because this is essentially a work vehicle and needs to be prepared to tow.

Sidewall pressure for my tires is 40lbs so I will add another 5lbs to them. Skinny/LRR tires would require new rims ($$$) and decrease the GVWR payload.

The computer on this truck is quite *****y and there is already a valve tick so I don't want to play around with timing. Overhauling cam/pistons is definitely out of budget. The air box however does pull in warm air.

The reason why I need the truck is because I deliver building materials to contractors. This is why towing and payload capacity need to remain unchanged. I don't have a bike but for personal trips we use the wife's 1.5L hyundai accent which gets 35 mpg in the city.

[Lazarus]

Originally Posted by st8ic

GScan gauge, by the way, it's interesting that you said that one of those could get me to my target Lazarus. Does the scangauge actually alter the ECU for mpg? Or are you just talking about monitoring my driving habits?

No it does nothing except give you instanteous feed back. So it would be finding the driving habit (acceleration rates, speeds, shift points etc) and routes that produce the best results and then changing your driving habits. Tank to tank test is not very accurate.

[klrv6]

Switch to an electric fan setup. Google taraus fan and see what people are doing. It did help my Suburban..

[Krieg]

Well, at least you're using your SUV for its intended purpose: towing, hauling, driving in the snow, etc.

I had a 2001 4 door Chevy Blazer. It was 2wd. It actually got pretty excellent highway mileage. 22 or 23, once I got that roof rack off, got rid of the hitch, folded back the passeger side mirror, etc. But I wasn't really using it for its intended purpose, so I traded it in and got the Saab.

[Aaron Staub]

I've got a 2000 XLT with the 4.0 OHV. Mine is 2wd, which helps, but with an auto trans, which does not. My lifetime mileage on the truck is ~19 mpg. My last tank netted me 22.3 mpg. Thats on a 65/35 mix of hwy/cty and a lot of A/C use. To date I have removed the roof rack, both exterior mirrors (have a small blind spot mirror inside drivers side), FM antenna (have Sirius radio), windshield wipers (using Rain-X, but I leave them in the car in case of emergency), and a partial grill block. Doing some shifting into neutral and slow acceleration, but I can't do much without a manual trans.

Looking for some underbody airflow work next.