how far can one go with a ford excursion?
 

Hello,

I'm new to the list but have been lurking a while. I actually have 4 vehicles, but I don't have much interest in ecomodding the others for now. about 6 months ago I bought a Ford Excursion, 2001, 7.3, 2wd. The previous owner included an engine reprogrammer, but as far as I can tell that is pretty much it for mods.

I've been pretty impressed with it's mileage on the highway, but not so much in town. My highest sustained MPG run (over 350 miles on the highway) was 25 mpg (per factory computer) on a drive to California in the winter. I've gotten as low as 14 in town with a lot of stopping and waiting, but generally hover around 16-17 in town. I haven't done much in the way of testing the computer for accuracy but my rough estimates comparing miles to gallons during fill ups show me the computer has been pretty accurate.

My original plan was to move to west texas and start processing my own biodiesel but family needs dictated I come to College Station, TX, and I will probably be here a few years. It's gotten tricky to get used veggie oil without paying enough to make it not all that worthwhile, so I decided I should go the ecomod route at least for now.

I ordered a scanguage II but I might end up just using that on my 2012 ford focus, that doesn't have MPG tools built in.

First things are the simple things like the cattle guard, tire pressure, etc, then I'm going to look in to the belly pan, which might prove tricky, as the truck is really pretty big and will require a lot of pan.

Other ideas people can advise me on: Are running boards a big wind block? would it be worthwhile to build fenderwell covers for the back tires? I'm not very worried about looking odd, and wouldn't rule out something as crazy as a boat tail for the thing if I thought it would make a big difference.

My other cars include a '76 volare muscle car and a '69 lemans convertible.

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...8&d=1403725636

Welcome to the forum!

Let's get this out of the way first, because it's going to come up! :)

Why not drive something more efficient to begin with? With the amount of money (fuel) the Excursion will burn in a year, you could pay for another vehicle (an efficient beater), and every year after that it's money in your pocket, plus less wear & tear on the big Ford for when it's needed.

(Or.. why drive the Excursion in town when you have a Focus?)

I realize that this may not be an option for you, or you'd rather just work with what you've got for other reasons. But it's worth asking if you've sat down and run the numbers.

Getting a gauge was definitely the right first step, regardless of what you drive.

I though a 2012 Focus would have factory fuel mileage instrumentation. My 2011 Fiesta has it.

regards
Mech

PS:

You'll fit right in here. :D

Yup, it will make a big difference on the open road.

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...cus-23476.html

Post 10 on this thread in this forum shows a MPG gauge on a 12 Focus. Do you have an owners manual which would give specifics? If not it's probably downloadable or available from a dealership on CD.

regards
Mech

I would LOVE to ecomod your truck.

First off, I would keep the brush guard, but turn the center into an air dam. Basically a large flat area, and although it won't help Cd to have a big flat space [there], I would love to see if the wind flowing around would be more fuel efficient [than flowing into the engine bay]. Might not, might work- but your city cooling capacity should be fine- just keep Temps up on the SCii.

Second would be a boat tail. Easy to make, be it tacky like mine or more complex like others. Redneck recently has worked out a good one on his Metro (I believe it's a Metro). Since your truck has the sweetest rear hatch setup ever, it might be difficult to keep it usable while on there.

Third, I would keep your running boards and use them to build side skirts off of.

Fourth, I would walk underneath your truck (kidding, it's not that tall...) and do the full belly pan. Polycarbonate (election signs), used fish scale style.

Fifth would be flat wheel covers.

Sixth would be rear wheel skirts.

Seventh would be cutting off those mirrors and doing video.

Eighth would be skinnier tires. I imagine by time I did everything else, they'd be needed.

Sorry to rant my fantasy with your truck, but since you have four cars it seems like you are already using what's most appropriate for the job- and you have jobs requiring an Excursion. I am glad you are doing an SGii for the Excursion, but look at an UG (UltraGauge) for your Focus. The SGii is much better for testing, while the UG is better for monitoring a particular setup.

W85 and forget about mpg

Yes, lets get that out of the way. :)

As I've said, I have a 2012 ford focus s (base model, manual trans, get 43 mpg regularly on highway). That's what I use when I don't need the truck.

Before that it was a '91 civic 5 speed (43 mpg as well). I gave it to my son.

That said, I need something that I can stretch out and sleep in with my girlfriend, can carry 6 people comfortably, can tow up to 10,000 lbs, and can regularly move things as big as a full size couch or fridge without rain ruining it, and the biodiesel move isn't off the table, it's just on hold until I find good sources of fuel.



I know a lot of people here find large vehicles distasteful. I hope those that do can overcome that feeling and accept the challenge of making an "obscenely large" vehicle greener than it otherwise would be. Come on! It'll be fun! :)

P.S. I love the Insight boat tail extension!

As far as the ford focus MPG gauges, I think every model past the base has those, but mine does not. At the time this was the only manual trans vehicle on the lot and I don't like buying those pricey options from the dealership. This was likely the first and last new car I will ever buy. Generally I buy vehicles that aren't running and bring them back to life.

There are lots of us with non conventional vehicles here. Me, Jedi Sol, Diesel Dave and many others. Mcrews used to run an M35. More here, that's just a few off the top of my head. Heck, PGFPro has a wicked car that he (offroad only) has adjustable AF ratios and gets some wicked results.