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Duratec 2.3l terrible gas mileage


r3j2

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Hey all, I recently bought an 08 Ranger XLT with the 2.3l and a 5 speed. EPA says that the mileage should be 21/25 mpg, but I'm seeing 16/19 regularly. I'd like to think I don't drive like a maniac, but most of it is definitely city driving at relatively low speeds. The only things I've done to the truck (besides an oil change) were put some BF Goodrich All Terrains on it and throw 240lbs of sand in the bed for traction during the winter. Could those two things really erode my mileage by that much, or should I be looking for other culprits?

Sorry if this is the wrong forum, I just can't think that more aggressive tires and a bit of weight would shave 6 mpg.

Thanks.
 


Original_Ranger84

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If you didn't increase the tires size then it shouldn't affect the MPG's that much...

However short slow city driving will kill mileage, and put alot of wear and tear on your truck. if you take less then 30 minutes to drive it where ever in winter then its not warming up fully and carbon and what not can build up in the cats and plugs fouling.

But you should see some drop in mileage in the winter and especially if you have wieght in the back. On average i would say most vehicles lose 3 -5 mpg's between summer and winter. Depending what kind of driving you do and how long you warm your car up and how cold it actually gets.

I got 16 mpg on my way up to fairbanks because i had about 700 - 800lbs of stuff in the truck and it was -50 degrees out so the truck was actually cooling off too much. In the summer with the same load i got 19.
 

r3j2

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See, I would expect 700-800 lbs to take off that much, but 240 just seemed like too little to rob me of that much. And I am seeing the mileage drop on the highway as well. I've driven a few tanks mostly on the highway and using cruise control 75% of the time while going more or less the speed limit still only yields me 19-20 mpg, not the 25 that I was hoping for.

The tires are a tad taller (235's rather than 215's), and my commute generally takes 25-35 minutes. So, would a potential solution be to let my truck warm up longer? This hasn't been a terrible winter; temps were around freezing for a while, but nothing crazy.

I guess I'll check my plugs as well, sometimes it does crank for a while without turning over.
 

Original_Ranger84

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See, I would expect 700-800 lbs to take off that much, but 240 just seemed like too little to rob me of that much. And I am seeing the mileage drop on the highway as well. I've driven a few tanks mostly on the highway and using cruise control 75% of the time while going more or less the speed limit still only yields me 19-20 mpg, not the 25 that I was hoping for.

The tires are a tad taller (235's rather than 215's), and my commute generally takes 25-35 minutes. So, would a potential solution be to let my truck warm up longer? This hasn't been a terrible winter; temps were around freezing for a while, but nothing crazy.

I guess I'll check my plugs as well, sometimes it does crank for a while without turning over.
I think its like ever extra 100lb's will see you a drop of .5 - 1 % drop in fuel economy. Ok well is the truck auto or manual and are you using cruise control in a hilly area? Cruise Control will only really work if your driving very flat roads. Otherwise its actually very inefficent, becuase unlike a real person who would spped up a bit to get more into the power band on a hill the computer just notices the speed drop and opens throttle and dumps fuel into the engine using more then what is need. And on down hills it keeps keeps the engine going and applies the brake to slow down. and maintain speed instead of coasting. I never use my cruise cause i notice about 7 mpg drop when i use it.

The taller tire will decrease your mileage a bit as well, also are you factoring in the increase in size of your tire into your odometer? Going with a igger tire means unless you corrected your speometer or are putting in the tire difference you are going farther then your odometer says. (for example my truck ran 225's and i put 31's which are approximately 10% larger so when my speedo says 50 I'm really going 55 and when my odometer has done 100 miles i've really gone 110 miles.) As for the warm up thing I think you'll be fine i was just thinking in terms of where i'm at where it gets to be -50 degrees in the winter, anything above 20 F you should be fine with like 3 - 5 minutes of warming up your truck especially if your commute is over 20 minutes.

So I would check out the tire difference calculator and figure out what your odometer error is and then go from there. The tires and cruise control seem to be the things affecting your mileage. One more thing Have you actually gotten 21/ 25 out of the truck or are you just going off the EPA and saying thats what you expect? Because thats just what the average person gets but it really depends on driving conditions and habits. The EPA says my truck should only get 19 and 21 but I have gotten from 10 all the way to 27 mpg depending on how i drive and what the conditions are.
 

theturbokid83

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My credo
We're only as good as our gear.
something to remember about winter, more dense air=more fuel.
 

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