The quest for 20 MPG!!!

[03 EdGe 30]

OK guys ive got an 03 Edge reg cab 3.0 auto 4.11 gears with 31x10.50 tires.I am currently getting around 16 mpg combined city higway.Ive cleaned the fuel injectors,changed the fuel filter,put a k&n drop in filter,and converted the motor,tranny,and rear axle to synthetic Royal Purple fluids.What all have you guys done that has given you actual NOTICEABLE fuel mileage increases?? Im debating electric fans,K&N full intake,full DUI ignition upgrade,magnaflow exhaust,and a tuner.All i want is 20 MPG.....HELP!!!!

 

[Tony Raine]

a standard transmission swap would probably get you to 20 mpg, for the same, if not less, price

 

[02RangerXLT]

Kept the stock tires... With my 2000 3.0 Supercab 4x4 I had with 235's I routinely got 18-22 mpg...

Mind you mine had 3.73 gears (but it was also an auto)... so all of those things help.

Oh... and K&N's suck.

 

[bobbywalter]

stock tires.


i would agree that the k@n filter is not for joe shmoe the sticker collector..

but they more then have their place for true performance applications.

depending on your actual drive cycle it may be impossible to get 20.

 

[stmitch]

My truck is a 2wd 3.0 AT with 3.73's. I've got an MAC air intake, gibson cat-back, 4 piece underdrive pulley set, and an e-fan. When I use gasoline I get 18-20 mpg's in mixed driving conditions. 22mpg's on all highway tanks.

Your list of planned mods looks good to me, but you're not making it any easier on yourself with the 31's. There's really no reason to worry about the ignition system either. It's one of Ford's better systems, and you wouldn't gain enough by switching to make it worthwile in my opinion. I'd suggest replacing the ignition stuff on your list with an underdrive crank pulley or set.

Another thing to consider, is that if you do all of the mods on your list, you'd be spending a significant amount of money. So you'd have to keep your truck for a long time before the mods would pay themselves off in terms of fuel economy gains. For example, I've got around $900 in engine mods on my truck(It could be done for less, but I used brand new parts that I considered to be the highest quality). A tuner would be another $400. So basically $1300 in mods. If gas is $3.50 a gallon, that's the same price as 400 gallons of gas.

 

[Ranger Kip]

put a pedal system and a disabled 4 cylinder in it and you can break ~mph =p Just be sure to exercise pacing and well built legs.

Nah, throw a 4 cylinder in and get 23 for the first 20k miles, but thats my guess. =p I dont know if the 3.0 can hit that much constantly. Last I heard was a 4.0 getting 23 highway

 

[locovaca]

1. If those are not stock tires or gears then you may need to run a chip to fix the speed sensor calculations. http://www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/Speedogear.html

2. Get a Scangauge and monitor your Instant MPG. It will change your driving habits for sure.

 

[Rearanger]

1. If those are not stock tires or gears then you may need to run a chip to fix the speed sensor calculations.

My 03 had an option for 4:11 rear end but it did not come with limited slip so I chose the 3:73 gears and LS. When I went to 16" wheels the dealer was able to reprogram the ECU for the larger wheels for about 1/2hr labor. You might ask if it can also be reprogrammed for the 31.5s.

 

[03 EdGe 30]

On the subject of a programmer.Is it better to get a good programmer?Or just get the tire recalibrator?? And save the extra cash??

 

[stmitch]

Definitley get a good programmer with some custom tunes written specifically for your truck and your mods. That way, you can change the trans shift patterns, and take full advantage of any other mods that you've got. You can also have special mileage, towing, or performance tunes written using the fuel type of your choice. That way, you can get the fuel economy you need for daily use, and almost instantly switch to a towing or performance tune if you want to.

 

[Froggmann]

I regularly get 18-20mpg mixed in my truck and easily get 20+mpg highway cruising at 70+mph. Heck, I've achieved 20mpg hwy with E-85 before.

If your truck is flex-fuel, run a couple tanks of E-85 through it. It does wonders for how the engine runs.

 

[bobbywalter]

drive cycle is impossible for me to calculate.

sure its possible for one of these to average 20. or 14 may be all it can do depending on situation.


may get 1-3 mpg just cleaning the maf properly because it is fouled from the k@n, or possibly the maf is damaged from improper use of the k@n filter and maximizing economy wont happen....or everything is fine and with the 31's 16-17 average is all it has..


doing pulleys and an e fan may produce increased mpg...may do nothing.



only one way to find out.

 

[407Link]

I just did my plugs, fuel/air filter, and get 20mpg in the city and 25ish on the highway(at 80mph with a 330lb jetski in the bed) with 31x10.50 tires

 

[TomB1269]

I have an 02 Edge model 3.73, 235/15 tires. My mileage is dead on consistant;
Late Spring Summer early fall - 14 / 15 Mpg straight city
Winter - 12 / 14 MPG Striaght city
(based on 4mile drive here in Albany and 13 mile drive in NJ on rt 3 pas Gaint stadium everyday)
The variation is due to outside temp on 2 parts,
1. I idle truck more
2. At sub freezing temps the truck will run in open loop longer (IE presets vs O2 etc variables)
3. MASS Air sensor - it is my understanding Fords do not utilize the mass air sensor data for processing fuel curve when the outside air temp drops below 40* (I beleive this to be true due to a ping problem in my van that is solely air temp driven)
Hiway reguardless of seasons (for the most part) 18 / 22 mpg - this is 100% driving style and terrain varied. If I drive the truck on back county roads 50 to 60 mph I get upwards of 23 mpg, 68 to 72 is 20 / 21 mpg, and 78 - 80 is 18 / 20 mpg. The one twist is the hills, on I-88 west of Albany are some decently long up hill pulls. I have found that driving 70 to 75 on this type of terrain and trying to maintain speed cause the truck to downshift to 3rd and run 4000rpms (there goes the gas) results in mileage around 19 /20, however I run 80 mph and let the truck fall off in speed with out shifting gears and I get about the same (if I have any gear in the truck ie weight even small like 300lbs it drops to 18mpg)

So after all this, what I am trying to say is DRIVING STYLE and TERRAIN make a HUGE difference in the Ranger 3.0s MPG. If your tac reads 3000 or higher there goes your fuel mileage.

FYI: Taurus airodynamics seem to mediate this issue - brother owns a 2005 Taurus 3.0 and gets much much better MPG.

 

[03 EdGe 30]

Thanks for all the great feedback....im really not too upset with the gas mileage because the truck is dead sexy with the 31s i just wanna put a good list of fuel improvement mods for down the road.This is one truck im not gonna get rid of....anyone have experiance with the tuners?? Like which brand you prefer?Hypertech,Superchips,Diablosport etc etc??