Hypermiling The '12 Focus SEL

[GaryG]

My 19 year old Son Kyle was driving my '05 FEH until I sold it and bought him a '12 Focus SEL in May. He was only getting ~30mpg in the FEH which is not considered hypermiling so I thought a new Focus could get at least that with a few hypermiling skills. The Focus has a EPA rating of 27mpg City and 37mpg Highway, so to be a hypermiler, you have to have a Combined EPA rating for the new Focus of 32mpg.

 

Kyle's first few tanks in his Focus were not looking very good at about 28mpg, so I ask my hypermiling friends at http://www.cleanmpg.com/ for any suggestions that would help me encourage him to improve his mileage. I created this thread there http://www.cleanmpg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=39406 and got some great responses.

 

As a condition for purchasing a new Focus for Kyle, I told him he had to keep a Lifetime Mileage Log. I could monitor his driving habits and determine if he was racing it around town and putting people life's at stake. Kyle is a full time college student without a job so I pay for everything he needs.

 

If you read the thread at CMPG, you will see that I decided to reward Kyle $5 for every one MPG tank average above 32mpg and he just brought his Lifetime Average MPG to 32.3mpg. He is now technically a hypermiler as of today. Here is his current Mileage Log: http://www.cleanmpg.com/index.php?page=garage&displayunits=MPG%28US%29&viewcar=3738

 

I'm posting this to give you an idea of how to get better mileage out of your Focus or encourage your kids of good driving habits. Kyle loves his new Focus and takes good care of it.

[aneekr]

Best wishes to your son for many more safe and efficient miles in his new Ford Focus! Based on the cleanmpg.com data, he's off to a fine start.

 

I've had little difficulty maintaining 30 mpg average (60% urban, 40% expressway) in my 2010 Ford Fusion 2.5L with 6-speed manual transmission. The EPA fuel economy estimates for this car are 22 mpg city, 29 mpg highway. While I don't really consider any of my driving habits to be "hypermiling", I've found that simply being focused on the task of driving safely is conducive to good fuel economy.

[GaryG]

Best wishes to your son for many more safe and efficient miles in his new Ford Focus! Based on the cleanmpg.com data, he's off to a fine start.

 

I've had little difficulty maintaining 30 mpg average (60% urban, 40% expressway) in my 2010 Ford Fusion 2.5L with 6-speed manual transmission. The EPA fuel economy estimates for this car are 22 mpg city, 29 mpg highway. While I don't really consider any of my driving habits to be "hypermiling", I've found that simply being focused on the task of driving safely is conducive to good fuel economy.

 

Thanks for the good words. It was touch and go for us for awhile. You know how it is for a kid in what looks and handles like a sports car. If he learns the safe hypermiling techniques, this could save him money for the rest of his life in any vehicle he drives. Right now, I'm adding his tanks to his mileage log and giving him pointers a little at a time. I didn't become a hypermiler overnight, but I picked up and developed my own techniques over time. When Kyle took over my '05 FEH, I think I gave him to much information to fast and he just couldn't put it all together at one time. Letting him work at his own pace is working for him taking one step at a time. Think about what I'm offering him... If he gets a 42mpg tank, he gets $50. Wayne Gerdes (owner of CMPG) pulled over 50mpg in the '12 Focus, so that is possible.

 

If you're getting 30mpg in that '10 Fusion 2.5L stick, you're a skilled hypermiler right now. When Ford replaced that 2.3L with the much more efficient 2.5L in the '09 FEH, I had to upgrade. I've been getting 60mpg tanks for almost a year now: http://www.cleanmpg.com/index.php?page=garage&displayunits=MPG%28US%29&viewcar=2612

 

Kyle is off to a good start and if it takes a little money to add to his education, it is a great investment I'm willing to make for our younger generation.

[forsche]

Great information and thanks for sharing!!

[TrackDaddy]

There is a device that you plug into the obdii port on the car. Its called a carchip and is relatively inexpensive.

 

http://www.davisnet.com/drive/products/carchip.asp

 

Its like a flight data recorder on an airplane. It logs a lot of great data from the cars computer. It can sample once a second and record things like rpm, speed, or fuel saving modes that I don't quite understand. It also has an accelerometer and can detect hard starts a stops. You establish the threshold for what is hard.

 

It also has a little alarm. If enabled it can beep at max speeds or if there is a jar start or stop event. I put it in my car just to help remind me to take it easy on the throttle or brake.

[dgc333]

FWIW, my wife has a new 12 Focus SEL Hatchaback. She typically gets 2-3 mpg less than I do on any vehicle we both drive and makes no effort to maximize her mileage. She has about 1500 miles on the Focus now and she has been averaging 34.8 mpg in 100% suburban around town driving. The best tank has been 36.2.

[Jarn]

I have a few friends that are engineers at Ford. One of them is a mechanical engineer working on engines.

 

I spoke to him at length about Ford's aggressive deceleration fuel shutoff feature. This feature is a perfect complement to the hypermiling technique of "driving without breaks".

 

The fuel shutoff feature uses more than half-a-dozen variables to calculate when to shutoff the fuel going into the engine. The main three are: throttle position/ brakes applied, engine RPM, and load (A/C, defrost, read window defrost, all other electric current draw: lights, radio). The other variables are items such as engine temp, vehicle speed.

 

For example, when coasting down from any high-way speed (foot off the gas pedal), or even city road speeds, the engine computer will shut off the gas to the fuel injectors. When the vehicle nears stopping speed (say at a traffic light) the computer then will turn back on fuel to the engine to maintain a minimum of 600 RPM (the standard idle speed). So do not use the Advanced hypermiling techniques of turning off the engine when coasting down a long hill, or even putting the transmission in neutral to coast. The engine computer shuts off fuel (and turns it back on) way faster and safer, than any human could.

 

The other feature we talked about was the variable valve timing for the two cam shafts. This is not a switch that has two settings: economy or performance. The engine computer can adjust the timing of both the intake and exhaust valves (independently) to provide a (relatively) infinite range of timings as necessary to respond to throttle position. This provides both economy and performance from the same engine. There is no need to use a high octane fuel to attempt modify valve timing for better gas mileage, with the Twin independent variable camshaft timing (Ti-VCT), the engine computer determines the best valve timing. I asked how I could know if the computer was using maximum economy timing, he said there was no way for me to know, he recommended I use the eco-mode in the display.

 

The other hypermiling item I noticed is that the Tires: Continental contiprocontact, have a maximum 51 psi. I would guess that filling the tires that full would lower the rolling resistance significantly. (I personally would not fill the tires that high during winter/snow season.) The Focus Super Fuel Economy package uses four items to achieve the extra 2 miles per gallon (highway only): low rolling resistance tires, active grill shutter, rear spoiler, and aerodynamic wheel covers. From what I have read, the low rolling resistance tires probably make up 75% of the 2 MPG improvement.

 

Ford's press release on the gas saving technologies for the Focus:

http://media.ford.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=33942

[aneekr]

The other hypermiling item I noticed is that the Tires: Continental contiprocontact, have a maximum 51 psi. I would guess that filling the tires that full would lower the rolling resistance significantly. (I personally would not fill the tires that high during winter/snow season.) The Focus Super Fuel Economy package uses four items to achieve the extra 2 miles per gallon (highway only): low rolling resistance tires, active grill shutter, rear spoiler, and aerodynamic wheel covers. From what I have read, the low rolling resistance tires probably make up 75% of the 2 MPG improvement.

Good info, Jarn! I wouldn't doubt that at all. In size 215/55R16 93H, the Focus SE and SEL's OE Continental ContiProContact tires have fairly low rolling resistance; Ford's recommended inflation pressure (as indicated on the doorjamb decal) for this tire is 35 psi (241 kPa). The SFE model uses ultra low rolling resistance Continental ContiTouringContact tires with the same size, speed, and load rating; Ford recommends 36 psi (248 kPa) for these. The OE SFE Focus tires also weigh about 2 lb (0.91 kg) less than the ContiProContacts on other Foci with 16" wheels. Maximum inflation pressure is 51 psi (352 kPa) for both.

[GaryG]

I'm impressed, both of you get the picture about what improves MPG!

 

The term Jarn stated about hypermilers turning off the key and coasting is called FAS which means Forced Auto Stop. Many auto manufactures have had fuel-cut for awhile and it is called DFCO, but Ford calls it DFSO (Deceleration Fuel Shut Off). In 2009, Ford took it a step further and developed Aggressive DFSO for the '09 FEH and 2010 Fusion Hybrid:

 

"Decel Fuel Shut-Off (DFSO) mode and electric-only mode have also been expanded."

http://www.greencarc...previews-n.html

 

The transmission (eCVT) uses the drive wheels to hold the engine idle while the fuel is cut by the PCM. Shifting to neutral prevents DFSO. You not only get DFSO in Drive, if the A/C or cabin heater is On, the compressor and water pump still are driven by the wheels and transmission. In my '09 FEH there is no need to FAS and I don't in any of my 3 Fords. We found that if the HV battery was below ~46% SoC (state of charge), the '09 FEH would not go into DFSO. Jarn was right about the conditions for DFSO and we figured out a trick to get DFSO with a low battery SoC that you may even use on a non hybrid. A quick Tap of The Brake Pedal Lightly! There is a speed requirement for DFSO because the wheels have to be turning to hold the engine idle. In my '09 FEH, I can get DFSO at any speed above 40mph because at 40mph the FEH goes EV (Electric Vehicle Mode). Once in EV, I can either drive in electric (I set the CC) or shift to neutral and coast almost forever with 50psi in my tires.

 

My 2011 Explorer Limited and 2012 Focus SEL have aggressive DFSO and you can bet my Son and I use it aggressively. Both vehicles have max sidewall pressure for better tire wear, handling and MPG. The points you both discussed about tire and rim weight related to LRR (Low Roll Resistance) is very important to improving MPG. Having had two Ford Hybrids, an '05 and '09 FEH, I discovered a lot about hypermiling and tires. My '05 had the special hybrid rims and Conti LRR Eco-Plus tires Ford had designed for the first FEH. These tires and rims were standard on the '05 - '08 FEH, but Ford changed and spec'd Michelin LRR Latitude Tours for all '09 FEH and also put those tires on the gas Escape that had that tire size. Ford also made a special rim for the '09 FEH Limited which is what I have. I bought both stock rims for full size spares and checked the weight of the rims and tires to compare their roll resistance and MPG. Here is what I posted in '08 at Hybridcars.com

 

"I just got back from Goodyear who mounted the 2 Michelin Latitude Tours on the front of my '05 FEH. I brought a scale to weigh the '05 FEH Rim, so now we can compare the weights. The stock FEH Rim is 2.2 pounds lighter than my new '09 FEHL Rim which is 20.4 pounds. The standard FEH Rim weighs 18.2 pounds. If you add the new Eco Plus at 31 pounds, the total weigh is 49.2 pounds. If you replace the Eco Plus tires with the new Michelins, the standard FEH Rim and Michelin tire would weigh 47.6 pounds each. WoW! This is what my new tires and Rims weigh on the front of my '05 FEH now.

 

The FEHL Rim and Michelin Latitude Tour tires weighed 49.8 pounds, which is .6 pounds more than the stock FEH rim and the Eco Plus. The folks that got the '09 FEH non Limited models have the 47.6 pound tire and Rim set-up."

 

I've had years of experience hypermiling both FEH's with the different tires and rims and now have some interesting reports I'll share here now.

 

First, my '09 FEH Limited has a World record Lifetime MPG of 53.8mpg at 30,000 miles using the only regular gas available in Florida, which is10% Ethanol. As you can see above, the stock '05 FEH rim and the '09 FEH Michelin tires have the lightest total weight of 47.6 pound. The '09 FEH Limited rims are 2.2 pounds heavier each. That makes a total of 8.8 pounds for all four rims to get moving from a starting point. You really can't compare the two vehicles and two sets of rims and tires for MPG unless you test both sets of tires and rims on the same vehicle. This may sound strange, but I did.

 

I had the original real noisy Eco-Plus with 70,000 miles still on the back of my '05 FEH, and I had replaced the Eco-Plus tires on the front with the Michelins as noted above in 2008. I already had a new Michelin and full size spare for my '09, so all I needed to buy was one new Michelin to replace the used Michelins on the front of my '09. The two michelins on the front of my '09 were about 50% worn, but would work good on the back of my '05 FEH and match the two Michelins I put on the front in 2008. I took the best old Eco-Plus tire from the rear of my '05 as a full size spare for the Limited rim on my '09.

 

What I had put together was two sets of FEH rims, with the '05 lighter standard rims with 4 Michelins with 50% wear, and a set of the heavier Limited rims with 2 new Michelins on the front of my '09 that had 2 slightly worn (15%) tires on the rear. You could say the tires on the '09 looked new and the tires on the '05 still were in good shape with 50% wear all around.

 

This is when it got real interesting! I was up to 57 - 58mpg consistent tanks at that time before replacing the 50% worn Michelins in my '09 FEH with the same new 2 front tires. The added new rubber on the front started dropping my average MPG 3 - 4mpg right away. Just the added weight of the rubber had that much of an impact. After about 1/2 that tank, I decided to take both FEH's to the tire store and change both sets of tires and rims so I had the '05 lighter rims with 50% wear on my '09 FEH, and the new Limited rims and tires on my '05 FEH. My average tanks jumped-up right away to 60 - 65mpg in my '09 FEH.

 

The hypermiling techniques I use really make a difference in the ability to have this much of an impact in MPG with lighter tires and rims, but you can clearly see an impact. My son's '12 Focus SEL has the Conti 215 50R 17" tires and mags and I expect mileage will improve as the tires wear off the rubber. Those of you that have already put thousands of miles on you new Focus are going to also see better MPG.