[Saskwatchian]

Hey guys.

So earlier I was looking at getting a new more fuel efficient vehicle but am now considering going back to school which would severely put a kink in my spring/fall roadtrips lessening the need for a more fuel efficient vehicle while also reducing the amount of spare money I could spend on payments.

I currently drive a 2001 Explorer Sport, since I started paying attention I have been averaging 13.3 L/100km or 17.7 US mpg. I was looking at buying a 2013 CX5 so I could average half that (If I keep driving as much as I do it would pay for itself in 6-7 years due to fuel savings alone)

Now I am thinking of getting a bike for my bi-weekly 1500km round trip home and back and the possibility of longer road trips by my self. If I get a bike I would be keeping the explorer another year and figure I might as well do a few mods to help lower its appetite making it a bit cheeper to drive.


Some mods make intuitive sense like getting a scan gage to adjust the nut behind the wheel and judging effectiveness of mods, filling in some of the larger gaps in the body work and covering the pot style fog light holes. Other mods I am not so sure of.

The outside grill vents seem to direct air towards the back of the headlights, is this necessary? would my headlights overheat if I covered the outer part of my grill?

Engine temp can get quite warm in the summer but looking at the radiator it seems like it would get the most cooling from the canter and bottom grill openings. I am sure I can get away with covering the rest for highway use but not sure about going slowly on the back trails.

I might drop the front end about 3/4 of an inch since it sits a bit higher than the back (even with its 1.5" lift shackles, the springs are really sagged out), but I won't lower any further than that. I am already scrapping bottom periodically on some of the less maintained trails.

I am considering building a belly pan/skid plate out of arena board and angle iron/aluminum but not sure if it would really help or hurt with fuel economy. My muffler and gas tank look a bit dinged up so I can't see lightweight coroplast lasting long down there.


Wheel skirts? how much do they help if you only cover the top of the rear wheel wells? seems like it would really trap mud and snow, would that be a problem or a non-issue if I cover the inner wheel well with slippery plastic?


What I have done already:

Set the cruise control at 105 and leave it there. It seems to be a sweet spot for fuel economy, might change with a scan-guage but seems about right and keeps the sand trucks off your a**. It seems to burn considerably more at over 110/115 km/h (the speed most people drive).

Bumped tire pressure up to 40 PSI - any savings in fuel economy more than offset in decreased tire life from uneven wear and poorer handling. Switched back to 32/35 PSI.

Removed cross pieces on roof rack but left the rails intact. I use the rack occasionally to carry a canoe and/or extra gear.

General maintenance including wheel alignment twice a year (for tire life but I am sure it helps with fuel economy as well)


Things I am not interested in:

mirror delete - I use that thing and would hate to hit a biker on a right hand turn in the city (has happened to me)

Full grill block - it has a cooling system for a reason

wiper delete, etc - again, that stuff is there for a reason.

drastic lowering of vehicle - would be quite simple with re-installing stock shackles and untorquing front torsion bars but the suspension is soft and I bottom out enough as is.


If you guys have any suggestions or advice I am all ears. Keep in mind that I don't plan on keeping the vehicle much more than another year or 50-60 000km (yup I drive a lot) so expensive mods for marginal gains are not very appealing. I live in the north, our highways are rough and side roads are rougher. I still need to get where I am going.