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carolina guy · 03-23-2011, 11:59 AM

I have a 2004 Mercury Mountaineer (same as the Explorer) with the 4.6l V8 and all wheel drive. My normal daily commute (70% city / 30% highway) I get 18.5 mpg w/o the AC pretty much by following the posted speed limits and tires at 45 psi. If I get impatient in traffic and jack rabbit all over the place, it drops to 16.5 mpg pretty quickly.

Now...on the highway I can EASILY get 25 mpg. This according to the on-board FE display.

Here is how that is done:

1) stay at or below 65mph
2) no AC
3) look ahead and keep a relatively light touch on the throttle and avoid dramatic changes in speed

If I go 75mph, I get 20 mpg and if I turn on the AC it drops to 19 mpg.

If I draft a semi, I can get 28 mpg at 70 mph easily and it gets closer to 30 mpg if the truck is going slower. This is WAY too dangerous for much driving, so I rarely do it.

There are no other mods on the car, it needs a tuneup (67k miles) and I am sure that if I dropped the running boards, got smaller mirrors, put a good airdam on the front, took the rest of the roof rack off (it never had the cross pieces) and even lowered it a few inches it would do better.

However, by far, the best increases in mpg that I have seen are leaving early and just listen to the radio and relax. :-)

03-23-2011, 11:59 AM	#54 (permalink)
carolina guy EcoModding Lurker Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Concord, NC Posts: 20 Stormtrooper - '14 Ford F-150 XLT, 4x4, Crew Cab 5.0 Thanks: 2 Thanked 4 Times in 3 Posts	30 seems high... I have a 2004 Mercury Mountaineer (same as the Explorer) with the 4.6l V8 and all wheel drive. My normal daily commute (70% city / 30% highway) I get 18.5 mpg w/o the AC pretty much by following the posted speed limits and tires at 45 psi. If I get impatient in traffic and jack rabbit all over the place, it drops to 16.5 mpg pretty quickly. Now...on the highway I can EASILY get 25 mpg. This according to the on-board FE display. Here is how that is done: 1) stay at or below 65mph 2) no AC 3) look ahead and keep a relatively light touch on the throttle and avoid dramatic changes in speed If I go 75mph, I get 20 mpg and if I turn on the AC it drops to 19 mpg. If I draft a semi, I can get 28 mpg at 70 mph easily and it gets closer to 30 mpg if the truck is going slower. This is WAY too dangerous for much driving, so I rarely do it. There are no other mods on the car, it needs a tuneup (67k miles) and I am sure that if I dropped the running boards, got smaller mirrors, put a good airdam on the front, took the rest of the roof rack off (it never had the cross pieces) and even lowered it a few inches it would do better. However, by far, the best increases in mpg that I have seen are leaving early and just listen to the radio and relax. :-)