Go Back   EcoModder Forum > EcoModding > Success Stories
Register Now
 Register Now
 

Reply  Post New Thread
 
Submit Tools LinkBack Thread Tools
Old 04-18-2009, 01:05 PM   #1 (permalink)
Renaissance Man
 
Formula413's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: In the Northeast dreaming of the Southwest
Posts: 596

Aegean C - '17 Honda Civic LX
90 day: 38.89 mpg (US)
Thanks: 20
Thanked 31 Times in 24 Posts
Hypermiling in an SUV

One of the vehicles I drive at work is a Ford Explorer. Since I'm the primary driver of this vehicle I've been keeping track of fuel economy and have been able to hit the 20% over threshold for hypermiling on a few tanks so far, and every tank I've checked has been at least 7% over EPA. Most of these tanks have been in colder weather on winter blend fuel, so I'm looking forward to see if I can push it even higher. EPA FE is 13 city, 18 highway, 15 combined. The way it is driven is fairly close to the 45% highway/55% city split the EPA uses.

The specs are: 2002 Ford Explorer, 5 speed automatic, 4 liter V6, automatic 4WD. No ecomods at all, factory recommended air pressure in tires. The techniques I've been using are pretty straightforward. On the highway I never drive faster than 55 mph. When it comes to acceleration, I ran my Scangauge on it a few times to get an idea what different loads feel like, and try to shoot for a load of about 70% when accelerating. The transmission can be coaxed into lockup in OD at about 37 mph, so I try to keep the speed around there whenever possible. One technique I have been concentrating on is braking early when necessary to avoid full stops if possible and conserve momentum. I also put it in neutral at idle and shut it off if I expect to be stopped for more than 20-30 seconds.

One thing I plan to try in the future is accelerating with lighter loads, and trying to coax the transmission into short shifting by lifting. I would like to get an idea of whether the gains to be had from accelerating with load are offset by increased slippage in the torque converter. Also, in the next few weeks it will be seeing a large amount of highway use. I'm not sure if it has summer blend in it yet, if it does I'm hoping to crack 20mpg.

These might not be huge gains here, but it is nice to see that even a not so eco friendly vehicle can at least be made somewhat less so by applying proven techniques.

__________________

  Reply With Quote
Alt Today
Popular topics

Other popular topics in this forum...

   
Old 04-18-2009, 01:07 PM   #2 (permalink)
EcoModding Lurker
 
UfoTofU's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Washington DC
Posts: 12

UfoTofU - '91 Honda CRX DX
Last 3: 28.36 mpg (US)
Thanks: 0
Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Keep the up the good work
  Reply With Quote
Old 04-18-2009, 07:15 PM   #3 (permalink)
In hypermiler central
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: UC Berkeley
Posts: 229

[SOLD] Highway Warrior - '00 Mazda Protege LX 1.6L Manual
90 day: 35.93 mpg (US)

Basic Miata - '06 Mazda Miata Touring
90 day: 30.93 mpg (US)
Thanks: 55
Thanked 6 Times in 3 Posts
Send a message via AIM to 1337
Nice. Would anyone notice if you increased tire inflation?

If you cruise at 55 or 60 on a flat road, what does the Explorer's load look like? I aim never to go over a load of 50 in my Mazda, and usually it cruises at 30-35 load on the highway. If the load drops below 25 on a downhill, I'll push in the clutch and coast.
__________________


2006 Miata Touring 5MT
2006 VW Jetta TDI 6AT (Sold to buy Miata)
2000 Mazda Protege 1.6L 5MT
2002 Mercedes C230 Coupe 5AT (Water damage, totaled)

DeepScale
  Reply With Quote
Old 04-18-2009, 07:29 PM   #4 (permalink)
Renaissance Man
 
Formula413's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: In the Northeast dreaming of the Southwest
Posts: 596

Aegean C - '17 Honda Civic LX
90 day: 38.89 mpg (US)
Thanks: 20
Thanked 31 Times in 24 Posts
Quote:
Originally Posted by 1337 View Post
Nice. Would anyone notice if you increased tire inflation?
No, no one would know the difference, however I'm reluctant to mess with tire pressure on a vehicle with a high center of gravity, I'd be willing to bet the factory recommended PSI was arrived at with an eye toward minimizing rollover risk. And I'm not the only person who drives it, so even if I had more pressure and knew to drive accordingly no one else would.

Quote:
Originally Posted by 1337 View Post
If you cruise at 55 or 60 on a flat road, what does the Explorer's load look like? I aim never to go over a load of 50 in my Mazda, and usually it cruises at 30-35 load on the highway. If the load drops below 25 on a downhill, I'll push in the clutch and coast.
IIRC engine load was around 50 on the highway. I might put the SGII back on it again at some point, but I don't want to take it of my Escort right now as I'm trying to get the calibration spot on. I need another Scangauge. Or two.
__________________

  Reply With Quote
Old 04-28-2009, 07:46 PM   #5 (permalink)
Renaissance Man
 
Formula413's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: In the Northeast dreaming of the Southwest
Posts: 596

Aegean C - '17 Honda Civic LX
90 day: 38.89 mpg (US)
Thanks: 20
Thanked 31 Times in 24 Posts
This past Friday I had an opportunity to see what this thing can really do: I took it on a 250 mile round trip, mostly highway with a fair amount of 45-50 mph backroads. The results were impressive: 22.8 MPG, 27% over the EPA highway estimate. I got caught in traffic a few times, were it not for that I might have hit an even 23. The fastest I went was 60 mph on the freeway with a 65 mph speed limit, otherwise I drove pretty much right at the speed limit. And in a humorously fitting twist, I ran across this handsome devil on a winding country road in Connecticut...
Attached Thumbnails
Click image for larger version

Name:	Image004.jpg
Views:	69
Size:	124.8 KB
ID:	3339  
__________________

  Reply With Quote
Old 04-28-2009, 08:34 PM   #6 (permalink)
Cd
Ultimate Fail
 
Cd's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Austin,Texas
Posts: 3,585
Thanks: 2,872
Thanked 1,121 Times in 679 Posts
Great work Formula413 !
I think a lot of SUV owners would have appreciated some tips from you when gas was more expensive.

I love high gas prices ... it has a very positive change on the way people think about conservation.

Did you have a chance to rescue the turtle ?
  Reply With Quote
Old 04-28-2009, 10:29 PM   #7 (permalink)
Renaissance Man
 
Formula413's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: In the Northeast dreaming of the Southwest
Posts: 596

Aegean C - '17 Honda Civic LX
90 day: 38.89 mpg (US)
Thanks: 20
Thanked 31 Times in 24 Posts
Yeah, it was sitting in the middle of the road so I carried it to the side, it said thanks by trying to bite my hand off. There's gratitude for ya! It's a snapper if you can't tell from the pic. Those jaws make a scary sounding thunk.

I agree on the high gas prices, they aggravate me when I see them going up but then I realize the upside. I remember seeing a story somewhere that estimated how many tons of CO2 were kept out of the atmosphere by this summer's price explosion.
__________________

  Reply With Quote
Old 04-29-2009, 01:42 AM   #8 (permalink)
Pokémoderator
 
cfg83's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Southern California
Posts: 5,864

1999 Saturn SW2 - '99 Saturn SW2 Wagon
Team Saturn
90 day: 40.49 mpg (US)
Thanks: 439
Thanked 530 Times in 356 Posts
Formula413 -

You were probably driving too fast for him, so he just ... snapped, .

CarloSW2

__________________

What's your EPA MPG? Go Here and find out!
American Solar Energy Society
  Reply With Quote
Reply  Post New Thread


Tags
ford explorer

Thread Tools


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Hypermiling Syndrome hummingbird General Efficiency Discussion 5 07-27-2009 09:15 PM
Regarding the free Hypermiling Safety Decal GoodPress4Hypermiling Hypermiling / EcoDriver's Ed 23 04-14-2009 04:59 AM
My introduction to hypermiling the Smart Ptero Hypermiling / EcoDriver's Ed 12 10-28-2008 07:32 PM
EMAIL friends results to PROVE hypermiling works mush3gan Hypermiling / EcoDriver's Ed 8 07-23-2008 03:24 PM
Click and Clack puzzler: SUV or Hybrid? A Familial, MPG Conundrum! MetroMPG General Efficiency Discussion 0 12-20-2007 01:09 PM



Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
Content Relevant URLs by vBSEO 3.5.2
All content copyright EcoModder.com