2009 4.0 Fuel Mileage

[rambit]

After purchasing my Ranger, and watching the fuel prices rise for the last couple years, I've been wondering how to get a bit better mileage.

I recently bought a PLX Kiwi and installed the software on my phone to log and track the fuel mileage. I was able to gain around 3 mpg by just changing my driving habits. However, I am now curious about what to do next.

Is anyone aware of any modifications, chips, etc. that legitimately will increase fuel mileage. Currently I can get the occasional tank around 26 mpg, but I am averaging 21 currently.

Just curious if anyone knows what or if anything can be done. As far as tuning goes, there's not a whole lot of information out there on how to get better mileage. Most tuning is focused on power.

2009 Ford Ranger Sport 4.0L 4x4 5sp

 

[Dirmaid]

To be fully honest, your mileage kicks mine's arse. I've been getting all of 13.5-16 for the past 2 years in my '01. But as any guy on here would say, the search function of this forum is your friend. However, the basics of modding apply here. Exhaust, better intake filter, superchips type of tuner, lose weight, check tires, oil, shake a stick at it, add stripes. Dont trust those chips that say 20 mpg gains with 60 extra horses. at best, you might see 2-3 mpg from a tune, 1 mpg from exhaust, half a mile from the intake, but in the end the costs usually offset the savings to the point youd have to drive that truck for at least 2 decades to even it out. Usually those mods are in fact with power in mind, but you will see a gain in mileage

 

[shovelmike]

As previously noted, you are doing pretty well on MPG's for a 4.0, I don't think I will ever see 26 MPG, I get between 17 and 20 with a mix of local and highway driving. Stay with stock size tires and check the pressure frequently.

 

[azreb]

21 to 26 mpg sounds pretty good. I just bought an '04 XLT equipped like yours and have gotten 22 to 23 mpg on the first three tanks. I expected worse. The only thing not stock is a previous owner put a K&N air filter on it. I'm not sure, but maybe the tires are a size narrower, but the same diameter. They are load range E, which makes for a rough ride, but I don't think that is relevant to gas mileage.

Sounds to me like you are doing pretty well.

 

[revamp]

You guys have me jealous. I just bought a new-to-me '99 Ranger XLT, 4x4 (in jalapeno green, w00t!) and get awful gas mileage.

I've only filled the tank twice, but the first tank yielded 15.4 mpg, and the 2nd tank was 14.7 mpg.

This is with a mix of highway and city driving (and honestly, probably 60-70% highway).

Since this truck is new to me, is there anything I should check to make sure there's nothing going on that is negatively impacting the mileage? The truck has new highway tires on it (low rolling resistance, at that!) and seems to be running well. Passed emissions w/ flying colors.

Also the truck seems to not be able to get out of its own way. Acceleration seems to be a chore, and is surprising to me since my last truck seemed to get up and go pretty well (a '92 GMC sonoma w/ 4.3L).

With the poor performance AND poor mileage, I'm wishing I would have been looking for a 2.3L instead...

 

[Gotta_gofast]

Is that quoted 21-26mpg calculated by your phone's program or by manually dividing miles driven by gallons of fuel burned. My "SCANGAUGE II" estimates instantaneous MPG and trip/daily average MPG. On its own calculations, it showed my truck pulling 25-26mpg on highway trips. Calculating said trip by dividing miles by gallons came out to 20.5mpg. Since then I have adjusted the SG2's parameters to more closely "zero in" on correct mileage but still it is not dead nuts compared to actual manual calculations. I would not solely trust your phone to tell you what your fuel economy is.

Best bets for increased fuel mileage are changing your driving habits by accelerating smoothly and reducing the time spent on the brake pedal. Driving slower (slow down from 70mph to 62mph). Other ways to increase mileage that are cheap or free include maintaining proper tire pressure (go as high of pressure as you can without exceeding tire's max pressure and/or altering tread to road contact pattern) Scheduled maintenance is your friend, and when performing maintenance invest in synthetic lube for your engine, transmission, rear axle, and front axle/transfer case if 4x4.

Some items that may cost more are the investment of highway tires. These tires are usually slimmer and provide less rolling resistance. I have a hard tonnaue cover on my truck that seems to make a slight difference at highway speeds (gained about 1mpg on highway trips) but in town I can't find a measurable difference. A big myth is purchasing a handheld tuner with an "economy" option. Any honest tuner will tell you its bullshit. Exhaust won't make any noticable difference at 2000rpm (which is around your most common cruising speed) so don't expect that to give you a gain unless you regularly run your truck at high rpm.

 

[azreb]

revamp--is yours an auto or manual tranny? With manual transmissions I have beat the EPA estimated mileage by quite a bit on any vehicle I have owned. Driving habits are important. No quick starts and stops. Watch ahead for slowdowns. Accelerate reasonably slowly--foot to the floor is a no-no. Don't carry a lot of extra weight. Maintain proper tire air pressure--low tires make a big difference. New plugs, new air cleaner and a timing check might make a difference, too.

[edit] Looks like Gotta_gofast beat me to most of this. He is right on.