Hello Everyone (student with Mustang LX 2.3L 14-18 mpg looking for help)

[ps2fixer]

Interesting that an oil change does not effect mpg? I personally have not seen a big difference changing the same oil, but what about with synthetic?

Anyway, 22mpg is a nice starting point , I bet you can hit 30mpg if you really tried, and maybe a couple of small aero mods.

[nemo]

The biggest difference is synthetic is better at low temperature and startup. Synthetic at the same weight (example 10W30) is not as thick at a low temperature. I have run conventional, semi and full synthetic. I have personally seen no measurable difference in fuel economy. I run full synthetic because of frequent starts and stops.

Originally Posted by Mustangwill

Once a month, I put in some Lucas Fuel Injector Cleaner. I always notice a little bit of a difference when I do that.

Does the increased cost make it worth while?

[Weather Spotter]

I changed my car to synthetic and only noticed a marginal difference. it does help starting in the cold up north winters.

Get a scan gauge or equivalent, I went from 32 MPG to 40.2 MPG just by using the SG to change my driving habits. the SG saved me $276 in the first year. For you the same MPG jump would be about double the savings because of your lower MPG starting point.

Keep up the good work!

[ps2fixer]

Originally Posted by Weather Spotter

I changed my car to synthetic and only noticed a marginal difference. it does help starting in the cold up north winters.

Get a scan gauge or equivalent, I went from 32 MPG to 40.2 MPG just by using the SG to change my driving habits. the SG saved me $276 in the first year. For you the same MPG jump would be about double the savings because of your lower MPG starting point.

Keep up the good work!

Agreed, I went from low to mid 30s to low 40s by mainly the scan gauge ^.^

[Mustangwill]

What does a scan guage do exactly? Will it work on a older model car like mine?

[Ecky]

Originally Posted by Mustangwill

What does a scan guage do exactly? Will it work on a older model car like mine?

A Scangauge will not work with your car due to its age but an MPGuino will. Check out the instrumentation section of the forum, we have a member that makes them himself and sells them at very reasonable prices.

You don't need to clean the injectors so often, maybe every year or two should be fine. Use that $5 to buy some coroplast and make some aero-mods.

[Mustang Dave]

Welcome aboard, Mustangwill.

Originally Posted by ps2fixer

...Anyway, 22mpg is a nice starting point , I bet you can hit 30mpg if you really tried, and maybe a couple of small aero mods.

I agree. 30mpg is a realistic goal with a 2.3 liter Mustang.

[Mustangwill]

I have noticed that the more miles I use on a tank, the mpg changes. Shouldn't the mpg stay the same, or even be close, if I haven't changed my style of driving. The only change being the distance I put on the tank?

On a more positive note, I got 26 mpg on this tank ^_^

[Christ]

When that engine wears out, Some Rangers came with a milder version of the 2.3 that has better emissions and 8 spark plugs (4 in the exhaust ports), and a 1.9 will also bolt in place of your existing 2.3, as will a 3.0V6. The added torque of the 3.0 will give you cruising power at much lower RPM, and may or may not give you a chance to get better FE (I'm gonna say no, though.)

My ex's father is getting 22-24 in his Ranger under "normal" driving, that has a 3.0 EFI in it. I'm not sure if there was a carb version of the 3.0, but AFAIK, the 2.8 carb will also bolt up, but I'm not positive on that.

[jakobnev]

I have noticed that the more miles I use on a tank, the mpg changes.

Maybe you have a leak close to the top of the tank?