Over 29 mpg

[ClutchTime]

My wife and I recently took our first road trip where we weren't pressed for time to return. I filled the tank in Salisbury, NC and hit I-85 with the cruise control set at 60 mph. By the time I got off the interstate in Richmond, VA, the indicated average mpg was over 30 even after one stop to walk the dog.

 

I was very happy with the results but, I can't say I was too surprised. The surprise for me was making it through the rest of my work week without having to fill up until coming home the last day and still having an indicated average of 29.1 mpg. With 535.4 miles on the odometer, the pump cut off at 17.9 gallons and after two more clicks, I could only get 18.11 gallons into the tank. That works out to just over a 29.5 mpg average after my daily commute through traffic. I did run 45 on my way home a few times to make up for what I lost in the mornings and to be sure I didn't run out before I reached the gas station.

[GaryG]

My wife and I recently took our first road trip where we weren't pressed for time to return. I filled the tank in Salisbury, NC and hit I-85 with the cruise control set at 60 mph. By the time I got off the interstate in Richmond, VA, the indicated average mpg was over 30 even after one stop to walk the dog.

 

I was very happy with the results but, I can't say I was too surprised. The surprise for me was making it through the rest of my work week without having to fill up until coming home the last day and still having an indicated average of 29.1 mpg. With 535.4 miles on the odometer, the pump cut off at 17.9 gallons and after two more clicks, I could only get 18.11 gallons into the tank. That works out to just over a 29.5 mpg average after my daily commute through traffic. I did run 45 on my way home a few times to make up for what I lost in the mornings and to be sure I didn't run out before I reached the gas station.

 

Excellent!

 

I bet you could have gone closer to 65mph and still could have got that mileage. I have a Scangauge and monitor Instant MPG where ever I drive. Get this thing in 6th gear (43mph), and you can hold 40mpg Instant fairly easy. I do better without CC because I take as much of an advantage of fuel cut I can. I also drive with my right shoe off and find backing off the accelerator pedal angle really improves Instant MPG. You can do that without losing speed.

 

My Son has just broke his Lifetime MPG (total miles 17,000) of 35mpg in his '12 Focus SEL in mostly city driving. This is much better than he got with my '05 Escape Hybrid I replaced with the Focus. With gas prices near $4 a gallon now, this helps.

[ClutchTime]

Excellent!

 

I bet you could have gone closer to 65mph and still could have got that mileage. I have a Scangauge and monitor Instant MPG where ever I drive. Get this thing in 6th gear (43mph), and you can hold 40mpg Instant fairly easy. I do better without CC because I take as much of an advantage of fuel cut I can. I also drive with my right shoe off and find backing off the accelerator pedal angle really improves Instant MPG. You can do that without losing speed.

 

My Son has just broke his Lifetime MPG (total miles 17,000) of 35mpg in his '12 Focus SEL in mostly city driving. This is much better than he got with my '05 Escape Hybrid I replaced with the Focus. With gas prices near $4 a gallon now, this helps.

 

I have the "4WD" model so the gearing is a little lower as well as being heavier. Mine shifts to 6th at 40 mph and will downshift back to 5th at about 38-39 mph. Also, I can't sustain an instant rating as high as 40 mpg when running at 65. The best average tank I had before was 27.5 mpg and that one kept the interstate speeds at 65. Just the starting up in the mornings and getting to the main road and the ride through my parking lot at work pulls 2-3 tenths out of my average every day so I had to make up for that on my way home by going slower and staying off the interstate as much as I could and running under the 55 speed limit on the secondary roads to make up for the loss on the highway. I have too many small, rolling hills on my way home that I have to climb to try to run 65 and expect to get mileage better than the Ecoboost or even a FWD V6 model. When I did run about 65 on the interstate for a previous trip, I was only getting about 25 mpg. I don't have a Scanguage and only go by the factory instant mpg screen so I'm sure it's not as accurate but it works well enough for me. When I did fill up after that trip, the average wasn't anything memorable.

 

On short runs here and there I'll go without cruise but for longer trips I've found it more beneficial to let the cruise control do the work. I will however, pull the shifter to manual to hold it in 6th gear and prevent downshifting when I go down a steeper hill. My previous best was all me. Clearly using cruise control is better for me. I have enough trouble staying awake some evenings so I don't think riding with my shoes off will be a great idea.

[GaryG]

I have the "4WD" model so the gearing is a little lower as well as being heavier. Mine shifts to 6th at 40 mph and will downshift back to 5th at about 38-39 mph. Also, I can't sustain an instant rating as high as 40 mpg when running at 65. The best average tank I had before was 27.5 mpg and that one kept the interstate speeds at 65. Just the starting up in the mornings and getting to the main road and the ride through my parking lot at work pulls 2-3 tenths out of my average every day so I had to make up for that on my way home by going slower and staying off the interstate as much as I could and running under the 55 speed limit on the secondary roads to make up for the loss on the highway. I have too many small, rolling hills on my way home that I have to climb to try to run 65 and expect to get mileage better than the Ecoboost or even a FWD V6 model. When I did run about 65 on the interstate for a previous trip, I was only getting about 25 mpg. I don't have a Scanguage and only go by the factory instant mpg screen so I'm sure it's not as accurate but it works well enough for me. When I did fill up after that trip, the average wasn't anything memorable.

 

On short runs here and there I'll go without cruise but for longer trips I've found it more beneficial to let the cruise control do the work. I will however, pull the shifter to manual to hold it in 6th gear and prevent downshifting when I go down a steeper hill. My previous best was all me. Clearly using cruise control is better for me. I have enough trouble staying awake some evenings so I don't think riding with my shoes off will be a great idea.

 

I would have never thought you could get a 29mpg tank with a 4WD, that's even better. You're doing better than I am in my FWD V6 which my best tank was 29.4mpg when it was new. I now have 25,500 miles and tire rubber on the fronts are more than half gone which makes them lighter for better MPG. The back tires still look new because I stopped rotating tires years ago. Tire and rim weight play a big factor with roll resistance and MPG.

 

I test drove a '12 Limited EcoBoost with the same rims I have, but different tires. Compared to my V6, it got worst MPG and didn't handle as well. Also, plugged my Scangauge in and could not get the EcoBoost into fuel cut at all. I think the 3.5L EcoBoost would get better MPG than the 2.0L EcoBoost in the Explorer myself.

 

I get better MPG in rolling hills than I do on the flat roads here in South Florida, Our OEM Instant MPG gauge only goes as high as 40mpg, so you can't tell if you're in fuel-cut with just that gauge. The Scangauge shows 9,999mpg during fuel-cut just like my Hybrid in EV.

 

So far, I'm much happier with the V6 FWD and can tow 5,000 pounds to boot over the 2.0L EcoBoost FWD. This is also real good news about your 4WD V6 mileage.

[ClutchTime]

I get better MPG in rolling hills than I do on the flat roads here in South Florida, Our OEM Instant MPG gauge only goes as high as 40mpg, so you can't tell if you're in fuel-cut with just that gauge. The Scangauge shows 9,999mpg during fuel-cut just like my Hybrid in EV.

 

Actually, my description wasn't completely accurate about the hills here. I live and work in two different regions and I have to climb in elevation on my way home so there's less down than up.

 

The base model must have a different screen than the limited. My instant mpg screen goes up to 99.

Edited March 22, 2012 by ClutchTime

[GaryG]

Actually, my description wasn't completely accurate about the hills here. I live and work in two different regions and I have to climb in elevation on my way home so there's less down than up.

 

The base model must have a different screen than the limited. My instant mpg screen goes up to 99.

 

My Instant MPG gauge is a bar that gets longer as you increase MPG up to 40mpg. It's more of a general gauge and I hate those types of gauges. Sounds like your gauge is a digital number gauge which I prefer. The tank average gauge is digital on the Limited, and darn accurate which I like.

 

Do you have the steel rims and what size and brand are the tires? I love the 20" Hankook Optimo tires that came on my Explorer and plan to replace them with the same. I never heard of the Hankook brand before finding out they were being used on the '11 Limited V6. As you know, I run at lease max sidewall pressure in all my tires and they wear much better. It would be interesting to hear how the Hankooks are wearing on other Limited Explorers and what air pressure they are running. Funny, I got a free dealer oil change at 20,000 miles and seen a mileage drop going home on I-95. Check the tire pressure when I got home and one tire was at 35psi. Guess the guy that lowered that tire from 51psi wasn't going to take all that time doing it on the other 3. I have a big air compressor in my garage, but I'm glad he didn't lower them all.

[ClutchTime]

My Instant MPG gauge is a bar that gets longer as you increase MPG up to 40mpg. It's more of a general gauge and I hate those types of gauges. Sounds like your gauge is a digital number gauge which I prefer. The tank average gauge is digital on the Limited, and darn accurate which I like.

 

Do you have the steel rims and what size and brand are the tires? I love the 20" Hankook Optimo tires that came on my Explorer and plan to replace them with the same. I never heard of the Hankook brand before finding out they were being used on the '11 Limited V6. As you know, I run at lease max sidewall pressure in all my tires and they wear much better. It would be interesting to hear how the Hankooks are wearing on other Limited Explorers and what air pressure they are running. Funny, I got a free dealer oil change at 20,000 miles and seen a mileage drop going home on I-95. Check the tire pressure when I got home and one tire was at 35psi. Guess the guy that lowered that tire from 51psi wasn't going to take all that time doing it on the other 3. I have a big air compressor in my garage, but I'm glad he didn't lower them all.

 

Yes, the base model has digital numbers for instant and average mpg, miles to empty, and fuel used and they've been far more accurate than any I've used in the past.

 

I have the steel wheels, for now, with the factory 245/65R17 Goodyear Fortera HLs at the 51 psi max. I have hated Goodyear tires since my first job in a tire shop. However, I can't really say anything bad about these. At 20K miles, they've worn evenly down to 7/32 and my wife said she had no problems at all during the last snowstorm that she had to commute to and from work in. I'd rather have a Michelin LTX M/S but, Michelin doesn't make a tire that maxes over 44 psi in that size. I thought the LTX M/S2 did but it disappeared some time back and I can't find them anywhere now. As far as Hankook, I had seen their ads in magazines and an occasional TV commercial but, knew no one that had used them. I can't say I have any confidence in them just because Ford chose them as an OEM tire. I've seen high end tires that equip Lincolns and Cadillacs from the factory actually have lesser specs than the exact replacements you would buy.

 

If the tech dropped one of your tires down to 35 psi, it should have set a TPMS alert for having a change in pressure over 25%. I feel warm and fuzzy knowing that the insanely overpriced parts the government forces us to buy are working so well.

[GaryG]

Yes, the base model has digital numbers for instant and average mpg, miles to empty, and fuel used and they've been far more accurate than any I've used in the past.

 

I have the steel wheels, for now, with the factory 245/65R17 Goodyear Fortera HLs at the 51 psi max. I have hated Goodyear tires since my first job in a tire shop. However, I can't really say anything bad about these. At 20K miles, they've worn evenly down to 7/32 and my wife said she had no problems at all during the last snowstorm that she had to commute to and from work in. I'd rather have a Michelin LTX M/S but, Michelin doesn't make a tire that maxes over 44 psi in that size. I thought the LTX M/S2 did but it disappeared some time back and I can't find them anywhere now. As far as Hankook, I had seen their ads in magazines and an occasional TV commercial but, knew no one that had used them. I can't say I have any confidence in them just because Ford chose them as an OEM tire. I've seen high end tires that equip Lincolns and Cadillacs from the factory actually have lesser specs than the exact replacements you would buy.

 

If the tech dropped one of your tires down to 35 psi, it should have set a TPMS alert for having a change in pressure over 25%. I feel warm and fuzzy knowing that the insanely overpriced parts the government forces us to buy are working so well.

 

I had the same view with Goodyear tires, but I'm now hearing much better things these days.

 

This is the first I've heard about the 25% change in pressure giving a TPMS alert. I have the workshop manuals for my '09 FEH with the valve stem sensors and they don't work like that. I swap rims and tires on my '05 (no TPMS sensors) and '09 FEH to evaluate weight and MPG. I got a TPMS alert after driving ten miles or so in the '09 because of no sensors. The TPMS system reset after shutting down overnight and after going about 10 miles the next day, I got an alert again until I changed back the tires and rims. The system in the '09 reset itself after that.

 

If we have a different system in the '11 Explorer, the tech may have reset the alert or I didn't complete the 10 mile alert before I corrected the pressure back to 51psi. I now own an expensive racing tire pressure gauge accurate to .5psi and check on all my tires as needed. My '09 FEH has a minimum tire pressure TPMS of ~24psi to get an alert, but nothing in the book about a 25% change in pressure.

[ClutchTime]

I saw someone on Facebook complaining about the TPMS on their Explorer not going off when they though it should. The Ford rep responded to them saying the system on the Explorer is supposed to alert the driver after a 25% change in pressure. That's all I know about it. At 51 psi, that should mean it will give an alert once a tire gets under 38 psi. Regardless of how it works, I'm still not looking forward to paying what I'm guessing will be at least $20 per valve stem instead $1.50.

[MyPart]

I saw someone on Facebook complaining about the TPMS on their Explorer not going off when they though it should. The Ford rep responded to them saying the system on the Explorer is supposed to alert the driver after a 25% change in pressure. That's all I know about it. At 51 psi, that should mean it will give an alert once a tire gets under 38 psi. Regardless of how it works, I'm still not looking forward to paying what I'm guessing will be at least $20 per valve stem instead $1.50.

 

The original NHTSA ruling stated "...a vehicle's TPMS must warn the driver when the pressure in one or more of the vehicle's tires, up to a total of four tires, is 25 percent or more below the vehicle manufacturer's recommended cold inflation pressure for the tires, or a minimum level of pressure specified in the standard, whichever pressure is higher"

Transportation Recall Enhancement, Accountability, and Documentation (TREAD) Act of 2000

 

With that being the case, the warning won't go off until a tire is under 25% of the manufacturer's PSI (see door jam or owner's manual). Not a drop of 25% from a previous inflation amount.

Edited March 24, 2012 by MyPart

[GaryG]

The original NHTSA ruling stated "...a vehicle's TPMS must warn the driver when the pressure in one or more of the vehicle's tires, up to a total of four tires, is 25 percent or more below the vehicle manufacturer's recommended cold inflation pressure for the tires, or a minimum level of pressure specified in the standard, whichever pressure is higher"

Transportation Recall Enhancement, Accountability, and Documentation (TREAD) Act of 2000

 

With that being the case, the warning won't go off until a tire is under 25% of the manufacturer's PSI (see door jam or owner's manual). Not a drop of 25% from a previous inflation amount.

 

 

Thanks, as always MyPart. That's what I thought was the case. No one can beat experience! ClutchTime is honest from what I can tell. All of us support Ford, and buy Ford.

[ClutchTime]

I just got around to getting this on the computer. So, for the skeptics, here it is. The miles to empty screen was at 2 and fuel used read 18.38 although as I mentioned earlier, I couldn't get that much into the tank.

[GaryG]

I just got around to getting this on the computer. So, for the skeptics, here it is. The miles to empty screen was at 2 and fuel used read 18.38 although as I mentioned earlier, I couldn't get that much into the tank.

 

Why don't you put it on your sig page with a headline "2011 4WD Explorer Tank MPG. That should help sell more Explorers and help the amount of workers at the plant.

[VinceL]

That is some amazing mileage! I wonder how much of an effect 17" vs. 20" wheels has on the Ex, if drivers of the base with 17" steels can do better than those with the 20's?