Extream MPG for my FX4

[kiev721]

I have a couple of Question about better fuel milage for a 4X4 Ranger.
Installing a K&N airflow system, Gibson Headers hooked up to true dual exhaust with Flowmasters and a balance tube, should give me a noticable increase in HP. higher horse power can mean better fuel milage.

Question 2.......with more HP, do I still need 4.1 gears, cant I go up to say 3.7s front and back, I have a 4X4.

More HP with 3.7s should mean much better performance and fuel milage.

Any thoughts..........................

KWW

 

[fastpakr]

Ouch. Bad answers for you across the board.

The air filtration system in your truck is already cold air, and is already capable of far more flow than you'll ever need - it's not a restriction. Changing it won't increase power or fuel economy.

The headers might make a small difference, but certainly not enough to balance their cost.

Higher horse power will not change what gears you need (higher torque at a low RPM would, but that's the opposite of what you'll get with any mod other than forced air).

Short answer - basically every product on the market that claims to increase your fuel economy won't do it in the real world.

 

[wrecking-crew]

the tests the companies perform are normally inside on a dyno.

 

[IamMonsterMan]

higher horse power can mean better fuel milage.

If that's the case, I'm going to get a top fuel dragster

 

[kiev721]

Extream MPG For FX4


KWW

 

[AllanD]

Headers may help, I have headers on my 4.0OHV.
I practically stole them off ebay several years ago
when still planning my 4.0 swap

I cannot believe they hurt... except for the increase in my blood pressure
when dealing with an exhaust leak...

Increase the economy? mabey... but I can't approach proving it
because the other 4.0's I've driven were all fairly aged and a little "sick"
so any comparison wouldn't be fair....
And my engine went into the chassis it's in now with the headers
already bolted to it.

3.73's probably would get you better mileage than 4.10's, but if your FX4 is a
SOHC4.0 don't expect miracles.

The factory intake system was already a cold air system
those aftermarket cold air syastems are primarily designed to seperate you from your money... sorry, but you were suckered.

AD

 

[kiev721]

It's still stock...........Just thinking outloud, in avery small room.
KWW

 

[Chris.S.]

A programmer maybe?

 

[AllanD]

I'm Patient... Methodical... and far more ruthless than most can imagine...

I got my headers by watching auctions on ebay for over a year.
I finally found one where the seller mis-spelled "Explorer" and
made no mention of Ranger and didn't have a reserve price
on the headers... they were used but being stainless steel who cares?

there were two bids on them both mine the first when I found them
the second placed less than two seconds before the auction closed
the opening bid price was $1 with $45shipping
My first bid was $50. My second bid was $225.

I got the headers for $46-shipped.

Otherwise I'd never have a set of headers.

I'd want them... But I probably wouldn't HAVE them.


AD

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

More HP with 3.7s should mean much better performance and fuel milage.

To a point. If you have a small engine fighting for its life to keep moving it is going to hammer down the fuel. An engine with adaquate power will do just fine. A way overpowered engine will also hammer down the gas, becuase it makes so much more power than needed that it can't offset the amount of fuel it needs just to run. A stock SOHC 4.0 should be fine in the power department. You will probably never get your return on investment for switching from 3.73's to 4.10's. There isn't a huge difference between them and they are expensive to have changed.

I put true duals (each manifold has its own pipe) on my F-150, I noticed right away it didn't downshift on hills as often on a highway I drove quite a lot at the time. However, any fuel savings on the highway was offset by me listening to the truck talk around town. It is a harder temptation that you think. It is fun, I enjoy it and would happily do it again, probably the most enjoyable mod I have done to either truck.

And on Ranger's with the way the cats are setup they won't like true duals all that well. Mine was set up about as good as they could do from the factory for true duals without actually having them.

 

[Fx4wannabe01]

I got my best numbers with the following setup:

K&N FIPK intake, TB Spacer(i know pointless...but i'm including it in this list), SINGLE 2.5" cat back w/ Flowmaster Super 40 muffler exiting in stock location w/ 3.5" tip, 4.10's, 5spd manual, and 32x11.50R15 BFG M/T's on 15x8 steelies. All this running no valence as well.

Regularly getting 18.5 average mpg's. I'm getting just about 1-1.5 mpg less than that now, being on 35's, double lifted, and 4.88's. At 65mph, my truck currently is showing 20mpg avg. I've got all my numbers via a properly calibrated ScangaugeII.

Best way to get better mileage.....is changing how you drive. Spend the $150 on a ScangaugeII...I learned alot about fuel consumption with that. My first tank after installing the gauge, I gained 2mpg.....

Oh...more HP DOES NOT mean more mpg. An efficient engine means more mpg. Horsepower gains are just a biproduct of an efficient engine.

Oh...Gibson makes headers for the 4.0L SOHC???? huh?

 

[snake]

I agree with most of the above. A programmer will sometimes give you 1 mpg (mine did) swapping to synthetic fluids (I think you already have it in the rears) and driving it right. And common sense stuff like keeping the tires aired up and filters/tune-up stuff clean and current.

One thing to consider is changing your hubs to manual locking hubs- if I remember correctly, yours may be full time locked and a electrical soleniod control T-case. If this is the case, switching over to manuals will allow you to unlock the bastards and the freewheeling front axles should give you 1 or 2 MPGs.

I would not switch the rears- the 4:10s will allow the engine to move the truck easier.

 

[Fx4wannabe01]

^^Ford tested the live axles to suck a very very very minimal amount of extra fuel consumption. I wanna say its in the 1% mpg drop between live axles and PVH system. VERY minimal mpg loss.

 

[Otto]

Ouch. Bad answers for you across the board.

The air filtration system in your truck is already cold air, and is already capable of far more flow than you'll ever need - it's not a restriction. Changing it won't increase power or fuel economy.

ur crazy I get like 10% faster acceleration with the high flow K&N filter. The engine doesnt always respond very well though, it skips ahead of the computer and will shift funny sometimes. So just give it more gas. That, plus they are kind of a rip off at 65 bucks

 

[fastpakr]

And I'm sure you measured those results very accurately in a controlled setting against baselines before making the change?