My Ford Ranger - Project Log
 

I landed a new job last month, the only issue was that it was a 90 mile :eek: round trip commute. This inspired me to look into hypermiling and ecomodding. I had already done some mods to my truck (lowered 2/3 and an ARE tonneau) and was pumped to do some more. First thing I did after reading some about aerodynamics was to tape over my lower valance and fog light holes, fold my mirrors in, remove my mud flaps, and fill my front body gaps between the bumper and grill and grill and hood with pipe insulation and weather stripping.

Today I did some more modding and installed a cardboard upper grille block, painted black and attached with zip-ties. I also received my new Ultra-Gauge in the mail and installed it into my instrument cluster. I still need to calibrate it but I think it is pretty accurate as is.

My mileage has steadily improved over my last few tanks as I have adjusted my driving habits and done some modding. My ultimate goal is to average 40 mpg for one tank (500 miles). On my last tank I got 31 mpgs without my tonneau cover on and without my Ultra-Gauge or upper grille block.

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Nice start. Any other mods planned?

You're going to love the gauge - makes driving for economy much more rewarding (fun).

Though the ecomodder in me couldn't help but notice the engine was idling while you were taking the dash pics. :D

planned mods include a belly pan, probably just to the front suspension at first, and hopefully lower it some more at some point.

Haha, ya the engine was idling because i wanted to get a picture of the gauges working for the Ford Ranger forum i am on. Cant please everyone all the time lol

My first 45 mile trip into work this morning with my new grill block and ultragauge running i averaged 35.5 mpgs! I actually drove a little faster than i would have liked to due to time but i did really well through the two small towns between where i live and work and only had to stop once, as opposed to the 3-5 usual times.
I need to work on integrating more P&G into my commute, right now i only use it on the hilly sections(3-4) and through town.
I can clearly see the mpg improvement between cruising using 4th and 5th around 50mph now that i have my ultra-gauge running, i definitely was spending way too much time in 4th before!

Set a new record for distance and mpg on my last tank of gas, 6/26-7/5, covered 515 miles on 14.9 gallons for 34.5 mpgs. Really pleased with the progress i am making and hopeful that i could hit 40 mpgs for a tank with a few more aero mods and some better hypermiling technique :D

I completed a couple more aero mods, air dam installed, wipers deleted, antenna shortened, and am getting more familiar with my ultragauge. The only issue i have with my ultragauge is that it has so many features i dont know which ones to use.
Any suggestions for the best gauges to cycle through, what do you all use on yours?

before air dam
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after
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On the Scangauge in Hägar the unlamented Volvo, I usually had instant FC, average FC, engine load - and due to the DPF regenerations, intake temp.

With the UG, you can have more gauges / display and even cycle through displays, but I'd always have / keep instant FC, average FC, and engine load on there, and cycle only the other gauges that you may find useful.

After some observation on frequently travelled roads, engine load will also tell you wether you're on a slope or facing wind - simply by comparing normale engine load for a given speed with what you're seeing.

Agreed on displaying instant & average (trip) MPG at once. Those are the key ones for most people.

Congrats on continued progress!

on my 88 ranger I bolted a section of plywood across the last 4 feet of the bed and noticed a 1 mpg improvement I let it hang over the tailgate about six inches and rounded off the back corners, seemed to help in the cruise speed range quite a bit. cheap to try , just 1/2 inch sheet plywodd

I actually own a fiberglass tonneau, it is just temporarily broken and waiting for a part to get in from the east coast for 2 weeks now :mad:. Once i put that back on i am expecting to gain another 1-2 mpgs at highway speeds. Before i started ecomodding i had already noticed that the tonneau makes a big difference at speeds above 60mph.

I've notice many nnew cars hide the entire front of the tire with the bumper cover, extending it past the outer edge of the tire, might be worth doing, as I notice the air from your low dam is feeding the front of the tire. on my escort with the wider tires I have the same issue and will soon I hope extend the bumper cover out a bit to fair in the front edge . also I 've read where a partial tonneau is a bit better, so all in all you like the ultra gauge?

though a partial tonneau may be slightly better for economy the usefulness of a real one more than makes up for any loss in aerodynamics.

i really like the ultragauge, it is teaching me things about my truck all the time. i need to spend some more time trying different gauges to find out what is most useful to me. i think it was great value for money and was easier than i expected to mount. I would definitely recommend it, $80 well spent :D

front tire spats are in progress, making them out of aluminum flashing and installing them onto my air dam and plastic valance with some short screws.

pics when i am finished

can't wait to see

teaser, will be installed in the morning

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also, my tonneau is back on now! i think 40mpgs is within reach on this next tank if i am disciplined in my driving technique :D

tire spats are installed and i think they not only are going to work well but they also look cool! now to take a 60 mile trip down to oregon city to work on a buddy's motorcycle and test my aero mods out some more.

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sorry about the glare but nobody is paying me to take these photos :D

Great effort to be sure, I hope it works out , i was thinking along the lines of extending the surface of the bumper strait down , and then out a bit past the tire, I look at the angle the air has to trun and the spats will kick air the air out which if course will take energy, I would eliminate the lower spoiler you have now and put a dam down from the top edge of the bumper and extend to flush with the tire, just my 02 I thought ,

another thing on Rangers, I picked up almost 3 mpg when my muffler sprung a leak , and lost it with the replacement from auto zone

I am getting fair mileage in my Ranger now, my old Ford Aspire got 37 mpg but the Ranger goes a lot longer. I am moving back after 3 1/2 years- that is why I needed a truck. That is *all* I need to have muffler problems.

I guess my poinnt sould have been that the performance type mufflers will probably help mpg a lot more than some other cars since you're using more hp to move it at highway speeds,

a similar engine combo in a 92 Mustang can easy do 38 mpg on the highway so a lot more drag HP and thus more airflow through the muffler, my 2.3 88 had its peak mpg of 30 when the muffler blew out , on your year Ranger they upped the tailpipe size a bit and no doubt helped .

the 2.3l Lima OHC 4 Cyl in the old mustang's and ranger's is actually a completely different engine design than the 2.3 Duratec DOHC my truck has

with my tonneau and tire spats installed i have seen an approximate increase of 2-3 mpgs at highway speeds

Changed the differential fluid today with Mobil 1 synthetic 75w-90, a slightly lower weight than the 80w-90 that was in it originally. Also picked up some Mobil 1 0w-30 synthetic for when i change my oil at the end of the month. Hoping to see a little bit of improvement, particularly during cold start warm up times.

Got a bunch 4x6 sheets of cardboard to mock up an underbelly pan this afternoon

got distracted, ended up make side skirts instead of a belly pan lol. looks pretty ghetto at the moment but should blend alright once i get some paint on it next weekend. Hoping to hit 40+ on my commute this week, I am currently averaging about 38. will get some pics up soon

Careful with the front tire spats. They should not extend past the tire, and in fact you'll notice on cars with OEM spats, they rarely extend even that far.

That's because the airflow isn't typically approaching the tires from head on - viewed at the face of the tire, flow may be going somwhat outward & downward due to upstream influences (the nose of the truck).

recently stumbled across this photo of a Ranger track tuck http://3.7mustang.com/vb/attachments...-racing-01.jpg its front end reminds me of my own minus the big splitter. i just need to go lower!

@Metro: I hear what you are saying about the tire spats, i have been thinking of contouring them some more and trimming some off. they dont quite cover the entire front wheel but are close and the transition into them isnt as smooth as i would like it.

Now that your truck slices through the air like a knife have you thought about installing numerically lower rear end gears?

i have but the cost is pretty steep $300ish to regear unless i got something out of a JY. i have 3.73s and would love 3.45s. which came in some Rangers in the 90s. the other option would be a 8.8" rear out of an explorer which also had the 3.55 option, though not particularly common, but that would add considerable weight.

I was running 235 70r16s for a year which was close to the 5% gear change i would see out of going 3.55. I didnt have any issues with bigger tire size so i cant imagine having an issue with a lower gear ratio either.

Don't worry about adding some weight.
My calculations for adding 100lb is it will cost me 0.1MPG at speed on the highway. Real world fuel logs show me losing about 1 full MPG for the first 500lb I add.

If you could get a 3.55 explorer rear cheaply enough it would be worth it.
I would try for the 3.45 even if its hard to find.

good to know, i am definitely going to keep my eyes open for a 3.45 rear end or set of gears. might have to go through a few JYs and see if i have any luck.

Update for today:
I averaged over 40 mpgs to work and back and close to it to my girlfriends and back home. Picked up 2 gallons, $3.83/gal, on the way home from work as a buffer in case i didnt have a chance to get gas tonight, then later went and got some ETHANOL FREE gas for $4.19/gal. Wasn't to happy about the 10% price difference from regular gas but i want to document any difference it might make. I will be sure to give an update about its effects and any efficiency improvements.

How much do you think the air dam and tire spats helped?

I am getting ready to put my air dam on.

hard to say because i havent done any specific testing for the individual mods. i would estimate around 2-3 mpgs, i think my grille block has been slightly more effective.

I have a grill block too but don't think I will be using it much during the summer.

In my experiance a airdam has always been good for a5%-15% increase in fe depending on the car and airdam.

New record for mileage on the way to work this morning, 43 mpg. Looks like the ethanol free gas is making a difference but not quite the 10% extra it is costing me. I also was able to draft a semi for about 12 miles which upped my average between 55-60 mph from 35-40 mpg to 45-50 mpg! I was safely drafting with between 1 and 2 seconds of following distance

Man am I envious :D ! My Lima doesn't get the great numbers your Duratech does but I am following your progress for new ideas. I would love to switch to the same front bumper you have. More plastic, less metal and covers the front wheels better. And a nice lip to add an air dam to. I don't think the bumper mounts are a direct swap for a '97 though.

Check Car-Part.com--Used Auto Parts Market for a 3:45 rear end. It searches boat loads of JY's and other places for used parts. You can search by region too. The pre-1992 3:45's are 1" shorter on each side moving the rear tires in slightly and maybe allowing more room for rear wheel skirts. I am looking for the same thing.

Nice job all around!

unfortunately 97s cant just swap bumpers, you would have to do a whole front end conversion.
a good option would be to lower your truck with some drop springs in the front, or cutting a coil or two, and either flipping your rear hangers or doing an axle flip. pretty inexpensive to do and if you dont go any lower than 3 inches you dont 'need' new shocks. just install some low profile bumpstops and you are good to go. thats what i have done and it definitely helps with aero and it rides fine.

I heard rumors that the 98+ bumper mounts can be "modified" (read bent) to fit the 97 and earlier Rangers. Don't know if that's true or not. I am planning on dropping the front with springs (I don't trust the cut coils) and an axle flip in the rear. Just trying to find the time between work and home remodeling. Too many projects so little time.

My aero cap is still unfinished as of yet. The wife said I had to finish the bathroom remodel before I get any of MY projects finished. You know what they say....If Mama ain't happy, nobody's happy. LoL