Gas tank and mpg questions, new to me used 2006, bear with me.

[turin39789]

I had looked up specs online before picking up my 2006 ranger(Regular cab, XLT I4, standard tranny), and was seeing the fuel tank listed as 19.5 gallons everywhere.

Looking at my owners manual it looks like a 17 gallon tank was also an option.

My first tank my fuel light came on before I hit 300 miles, and I was getting worried, drove for a bit and filled up at 310 miles with 14 gallons.


Just bought my second tank, gas light came on right as I passed a station, 303 miles and 13 gallons to fill up.

Is this normal or is my gas light tripping early?


Anyone have tricks to squeeze out the mpg? Both of these tanks have had about 150 miles highway at around 75-78 mph on cruise. Truck is stock(I believe) with plastic bedliner and metal toolbox. Tires are 225/75R15, they had low air pressure on the first tank before I caught it and filled them all up.

I keep the rpm's under 3000 99.99999% of the time, sometimes dipping under 2k.

 

[Wicked_Sludge]

the fuel light comes on when you have several gallons in reserve. sounds like its functioning properly.

looks like your getting low 20's. i would expect closer to 30 with that setup. i'd start with a complete tune up. change all your fluids and filters, spark plugs and wires, check brakes for dragging pads/shoes, check your front end alignment, make sure the correct tire size is being used (check the sticker on the drivers door).

aside from that, slow down. the slower you drive, the less fuel you waste on fighting wind resistance. you will get better mileage by keep the RPM above 3,000, but for some people, that just feels "bad", so its up to you. dont carry any extra weight around with you.

 

[aogden001]

If you lower your cruising speed you will definately see an increase in milage. I had a '02 2.3l/5spd that I managed to get 35mpg on a few occasions by cruising at 50mph. Boring as all hell but I was getting paid by the hour to make the drive. I usually cruise @70 mph and get 28mpg.

 

[turin39789]

Anyone have any ideas on tracking this down?

I've gone through a few more tanks and never hit 24mpg, usually just around 23. I cruise at 60mph on the small local highway, accelerate slowly, stay under 3krpm, etc. I'm always the slowest off the line even if I do catch up later.

I see everyone on here talking about averaging 27+mpg and living at 4500 rpm, others stay at low rpms. So far I've just been accepting of it and hoping it picks up when summer gas gets here. Got a free oil change at the dealership coming up in a week, thinking about doing some tune up then, but I hate to throw parts at a problem instead of figuring it out first.

 

[jax4bangin]

i pull well over 400 miles befor my fuel light comes on. regular cab short bed, manual tranz

 

[Dar70]

Anyone have any ideas on tracking this down?

I've gone through a few more tanks and never hit 24mpg, usually just around 23. I cruise at 60mph on the small local highway, accelerate slowly, stay under 3krpm, etc. I'm always the slowest off the line even if I do catch up later.

I see everyone on here talking about averaging 27+mpg and living at 4500 rpm, others stay at low rpms. So far I've just been accepting of it and hoping it picks up when summer gas gets here. Got a free oil change at the dealership coming up in a week, thinking about doing some tune up then, but I hate to throw parts at a problem instead of figuring it out first.

You have to remember its winter time and you are using youe heat more, plus do you warm your Ranger up before leaving home. This will all have an effect on MPG. The most I averaged was 27mpg. I drove 60MPH rather than 70 on my way to work. That was in the summer time. Im probsbly getting 23 or 24 right now. DO you have any weight in the back. That will effect MPG as well. I wouldnt worry to much. You are getting about what you are supposed to. Wait for warmer weather and see what you get than.

 

[turin39789]

You have to remember its winter time and you are using youe heat more, plus do you warm your Ranger up before leaving home. This will all have an effect on MPG. The most I averaged was 27mpg. I drove 60MPH rather than 70 on my way to work. That was in the summer time. Im probsbly getting 23 or 24 right now. DO you have any weight in the back. That will effect MPG as well. I wouldnt worry to much. You are getting about what you are supposed to. Wait for warmer weather and see what you get than.

Thanks. I was reading everyone say they were getting 400+mpg every day all the time while running 9000 rpm. At first I chalked it up to internet mpg claims, then I let it get to me. I've got a toolbox in the back with a set of wrenches and chains, so a little weight but not much. I'll hold out for the good gas.

 

[gordo]

Summer and Winter MPG extremes

I have a 2008 XLT, Extended cab w 2wd, 5 speed and 4.10 gears. During the summer of "08 I averaged 27 MPG with some highway but more city driving (i.e. not running in 5th - OD).

During the winter I run (4) snow tires (same size as summer tires) and carry (4) 60 LB sand tubes of extra wieght. The winter mileage this year has averaged 20.3 MPG. Think about it - that's like a 25% mileage hit from carrying extra weight, operating in zero degree (and below!) weather and doing a lot of driving in the snow.

The one highway-trip I took in "Winter trim", it did 27.6 MPG which included some city driving in downtown Boston.

So it appears that extra weight is a much bigger factor around town, while not using OD, and the "wind resistance thing" is still the major factor on the open road. I run at about 70 MPH using cruise control on the highway which is around 2800 RPM.

 

[rat_ranger]

you get better milage as long as you keep it under 3k. 3k is the computer switchover point from closed loop to open loop. and once you cross that line the computer goes to a map that isnt adjusted constantly like it is below 3k when it reads all the sensors. Thebest milage I ever got was a trip from oklahoma city to whichita kansas. 500 miles out of one tank, about 35mpg. I had a tail wind almost the whole way but on th way back I had a complete willys go-devil engine in the bed. truck was bone stock then.

 

[Beanmachine7000]

you get better milage as long as you keep it under 3k. 3k is the computer switchover point from closed loop to open loop. and once you cross that line the computer goes to a map that isnt adjusted constantly like it is below 3k when it reads all the sensors. Thebest milage I ever got was a trip from oklahoma city to whichita kansas. 500 miles out of one tank, about 35mpg. I had a tail wind almost the whole way but on th way back I had a complete willys go-devil engine in the bed. truck was bone stock then.

Actually your engine would be very happy at it's torque peak which is above 3500rpm... My 4.0 is most efficient at 2500rpm (it's peak torque)... If I can drive in 4th gear at 55 (2500rpm) I can easily get 20mpg... If I move to 5th gear it drops to about 17ish mpg...

Also, I'm pretty sure your RPM has nothing to do with open and closed loop...

 

[Wicked_Sludge]

^+1 to everything bean said.

 

[MikeInIdaho]

I have the same issue with my '06 I4/5sp. w/ 3.73s. My parents always ask me what kind of mileage I'm getting, they used to own the truck and claim getting as good as 30+ mpg on several occasions. I've yet to break 24 mpg, though, and average right around 18-20. I am running 29x8.5 TSL Radials and have about 200 pounds worth of tools, sand bags, fullsize spare etc in the bed, and I know these will negatively affect mileage. However, I got the same crappy gas mileage running lighter/less aggressive AT's with no weight in the back, so I'm kinda stumped. The truck is in good mechanical order; I have automotive maintenance OCD so everything is in tip-top shape. Maybe my parents were exaggerating a little?

 

[jax4bangin]

Thanks. I was reading everyone say they were getting 400+mpg every day all the time while running 9000 rpm. At first I chalked it up to internet mpg claims, then I let it get to me. I've got a toolbox in the back with a set of wrenches and chains, so a little weight but not much. I'll hold out for the good gas.

if ur highway driving the extra weight isnt really that effective. my truck always has a dirt bike, tools, and gear in the bed(close to 400 lbs) i average around 30 mpg all the time.

are u running low air pressure to get more traction with the winter conditions? i notice a slight change in mpg wen i run lower pressure(30 psi, low.. 40 psi, high)

 

[Kayak Mud Puppy]

I got 600.5 miles out of a tank of gas in a 93 Ranger XLT I4 2.3 Manual a couple of summers ago.

 

[vieuloup]

I run 187 mile for 7 gallon with my 2.3 manual 2WD yesterday with 4 winter tire at -14 celcius im live in Canada that good ? and when u said 30 mpg is the us mile or uk mile ?thank !