04 Sport trac 4x4 Mileage

[Josh Slaney]

Hello all,



I just purchased an '04 Sport Trac with 45,000 miles on it. What is the best way to maximize fuel mileage? I am running 35psi in my tires and have been filling up with gasoline that contains no ethanol. My first tank went 340 miles on 20 gallons with a combine highway/city driving.

 

[Brendan Grant]

I have gotten a little better (17-18) with my 03 with 78K. The first thing I did when I bought it 3 months ago was put a decent set of tires on it. That took care of proper PSI and wheel balancing too.



I never stomp on the gas and don't think I have taken it above 70 on the freeway. I plan on taking a driving vacation in September and will see if the 20 mpg is obtainable on pure freeway/highway driving.

 

[Thomas Rogers]

Bucky 17mpg for mixed city highway is about as good as you can expect with the ST (I had an '04).



Exclusive city/local driving expect around 14mpg.



Mostly highway, you might top out around 20mpg.



The only other thing you can do that would cost-effectively increase your MPG is some of the hypermiling stuff:



- really slow starts (no jackrabbit),



- treat the brake like there is a rotten egg behind it that if you have to step on it hard you break...that means as slow as you start, expect to roll to stops using gravity/friction to decellerate/stop.



- Watch the RPMs, keep them as low as possible, all the time.



TJR

 

[Dreman]

Slow down. Feel the grandmother within. Be the grandmother!



Just not my grandmother! "I took off so fast those boys thought I was racing! Hee hee!"

 

[EddieS'04]

For cost effect, slow starts and coasting stops. Anything you do as some of us have is mostly for performance. Any mpg gains we get, will take a long time to recoup the $$.

Also dont fall for any gimics like the tornado or magnets on the fuel line. If you have a question about any parts upgrades. Ask here, you will get the truth from the good people on this forum. Welcome to the site.

 

[Michael Johnson 2]

welcome to the site bucky31

 

[Rodger Tellefson]

Welcome to the site.



A lot of discussion has taken place over the last couple of months. Here my summation:



Slow down to 60 mph or less.

I have added the following to get better gas milage:

AirAid Cold Air Intake (done);

Royal Purple: 5w-30 engine oil, Syncromax tranny fluid, power steering fluid, Purple Ice radiator additive, & MaxGear in the differential;

SCT XCalibrator II w/ programs for 87 octane economy & towing (this has been by far the best bang for the buck);

Trick Flow differential cover w/ Royal Purple MaxGear oil;

Flex-a-lite 180 Extreme electric fan, off w/ engine;

Taylor Vortex (switching to ThunderVolt) spark plug wires & new OEM plugs;

Flowmaster 70 Big Block single-in / duel-out muffler, because I wanted the quietest one on the market;

ZabTeck throttle body;

ZabTeck 'C&L' Mass Air Flow Sensor housing;

Accel Coil Pack (get the Scream'n Demon coil pak from ZabTeck)

 

[Richard Kolb]

My 03 2wd with a manual gets 21 highway. I can't say for sure that's really my highway because I also get 21 on my daily commute which is 1/2 and 1/2. My highway driving is almost all hills so it's hard to say if I'd do better on a flat road. It's almost also always loaded down with camping gear. For me I find I get better mileage with highway tires, keeping it below 2k rpm as much as possible (easier with the manual), and I try to keep it below 70 on the highway. Next time I go up for a weekend camping trip I won't have the wife or kid so I'll be able to stick to 60 and not hear any complaining. I'll report back if I get better mileage then.

 

[Josh Slaney]

Thanks for the tips everyone! I will post some pictures soon. Rodger, it appears you've added quite a bit to your trac, what kind of mileage are you getting?

 

[Rodger Tellefson]

I am getting 18 - 19 mpg combined city / hwy before slowing down. I am getting, acording to the live setting on my Scangauge, around 26+ mpg on the hwy doing 60 mph. I need to do some data logging with the SCT XCal II in order to fine tune the program more specifically to my vehicle. The next set to tires I get will get going back from 245/70/16 to 235/70/16 for better acceleration w/o changing the rear end from 3:73 to 4:10.



Bucky, Please enter a ST description in your profile, and the yr. & tranny type if you have a gen. 1 and the yr. & engine type (V6 or V8) if you have a gen 2 ST in your signature. That way we will know how to more accurately address your questions.