bad milage..

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Diego Menchaca

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May 13, 2004
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Location
Laredo, TX
Alright, well ive been checking my MPG on the trac on the last 5 fillups, and i really can't seem to get good milage. I've gotten 13, 13, 14, 13, 13. I mean, i don't do a ton of highway driving, but every now and then. Is there anyway to get better milage outta this without spending alot?
 
How many miles are on your ST?



My catalytic converters started to clog up at 75K and my MPG went from 20 to 13 overnight.



 
buy lighter shoes. :D DW drives mine -- gets 13-14 around town. I drive it -- get 15-16 around town. Other than lighter foot, maybe the xcal will help. Heavy truck, it's pretty thirsty no matter what. Under resources to the left on the screen you can use the mpg log to query similar models to see how you compare. I am normally right above the average.



 
I've got about 23,000 on it. And the weird thing is that im not too heavy on the pedal... my girlfiend was even telling me the other day how slow ive been driving..
 
Has it always had bad MPG or did this just start?



Do they run Oxygenated fuel in the wintertime where you are?



I know my mileage goes down a couple when my gas station goes to "winter fuel".



 
I get a constant 12 mpg around town no matter what time of year. I have tried chevron with techron, and no change. I don't get better gas mileage after an oil change, which I used to with other cars. I just put new motorcraft plugs and taylor wires on it yesterday, so we'll see if that helps. I don't understand it either, but I just can't seem to get any better gas mileage no matter what I do. And no, i don't punch it all around town. I drive reasonable, so that's not it for me. my crapyears always have air in them, blah blah... so I feel your pain.
 
I too have the same problem. I only have 37,000 kms on my truck.



I though it might have had something to do with me switching to synthetic on my first oil change but oh well. I bought a truck to drive it. I just budget for the poor mileage.



Jason
 
I got poor milage on the Texas gas I bought before I headed back home from the Dallas meet. I got under 17mpg on the highway. You're probably in the same boat we are here in NY - oxygenated gas. I just lost over 1-2mpg with the switch over to the winter fuel blend. I normally get 15 around town, but on the winter gas I get 13 to 14.
 
I get about 20 MPH the highway, and about and about 17 MPG in and around the Waco, TX area. So I don't think it's the Texas gas causing your problems.



It may be due to an increase in traffic since school has started. I know that areound here traffic increases dramatically when school starts in September.



...Rich



 
When we start talking mileage, why doesn't anyone clarify if they have 4X4 or not. Added weight, typically more aggressive tread on the tires, and increased resistance through the transfer case has to affect the mileage, not to mention different rear gear. Anyone with 4X4 get 20 mpg? That's something to crow about.



I (w/4X4) typically get 14.5 mpg around town, and 17 mpg on the run. It really doesn't seem to matter if I baby the gas pedal or drive reasonably (not overly aggressive). I do notice that the gas gauge doesn't drop as much when I keep it below 2500 rpm's on the highway.
 
I typically get 19; I have had as high as 22, and I have a 4x4.



In the winter, I drop a few MPG, due to more use of the 4x4 (I live in an area that averages several feet of snow per year) and winter blend fuel.



IMO, if you are getting less than 15MPG (highway), you either have very aggressive tires, are in need of a tune up, or perhaps have a pending problem. At least, that has been the experience with my ST. I had never dropped below 15 until my cats went bad.



I checked my mileage last week, and over 150 miles of the tank I was hauling firewood, and got 18.



I would think elevation has got nothing to do with it, since the motor is computer controlled, but it would be interesting to see a mileage chart based on elevation. I live at 6500 feet, and very rarely go below 4200 feet. Most of my driving is above 5000 feet. If I tune my '68 Mustang at home (6500') then drive all day down in the valley (4200') it gets killer gas mileage for a carburated 289.

 
I've recently radically altered my driving style towards getting better gas mileage. I basically baby it. No jack-rabbits, no floor-it-to-pass. Avoid accelerate uphill if possible. Cruise with foot/off gas as much as possible. Drift in neutral even sometimes - great for city lights driving, depending on traffic. Oh, and slowing down on the freeway. We've always heard that mileage is better at 55 than 75. I never wanted to believe it, so I ignored it. Course, it is true as I confirmed in my wife's '04 Navigator w/mpg computer. If I set the cruise at 75 and go, I get just under 17mpg. If I set it at 60 and modulate as needed the mpgs settle in around 20.5. It's almost 20% better. Don't know what it gets at 55 cause I can't drive 55.



My LS 5speed went from 22.5 at 75 to 28mpg at 60mph. Not quite as much fun to drive though.



The Sportrac - well, I haven't tried that one yet. My daughter's driving it mostly to/from high school. She complains she has to put $20 in a couple times a week. Don't know what mileage she's getting, but this thread has piqued my interest and I'm gonna find out. I did take the ST on a 500 mile weekend trip to Lake Tahoe and didn't baby it and got in the mid 19s - mostly freeway though I did do about 4 hours off-road in 4WD.
 
I have been concerned with my gas mileage recently because not only does it seem to be significantly lower than it used to be, but it fluctuates. I have a 2001 4x4 with about 42,000 miles



Ryan Y, I'm pretty much in the same boat as you. Since I've been tracking my MPG, I have logged anywhere from 13-16 and I drive mostly city.



I'm going to try Lucas Fuel Treatment again next fill-up, last time I tried it my MPG went up by about 3 miles per gallon on the next fill-up (that was the only time I got about 16), but I'm going to test it again to see if it was just a coincidence.



It's frustrating to say the least.

I don't gun it from a dead stop, and I rarely punch it when driving.

I've checked my tire pressure, I'll check it again tomorrow.

I thought about replacing my fuel filter but I don't even know if that will help at all.

I've thought about trying some other fuel injector cleaners/fuel system treatments



Other suggestions? I have a K&N intake and a Magnaflow cat-back is on the way. I think that should help a little. But I'm worried that the fun I have with it will cancel out any gains.
 
I completely agree that driving style is a big factor in relation to mpg. I'll get close to 18mpg in city/highway driving if I baby it in the city. On the freeways though, I set the cruise control at 80mph, but driving anywhere below that speed is an excercise in patience.
 
I have a scangauge plugged in that tells me in real time many selectable varables (sp), i.e. RPM.MPG,TEMP,MPH and others. It also will track some of these per tank of gas including avg MPH. If observed while driving (just glancing at readings) it will tell you about how you drive and how it effects mileage.



I do not have the site name, but nobleman had the link some time ago. Thx nobleman !!



I also have the xcal2 - highly recommended. I was able to watch Waynes program make the difference after I flashed his program. Easily, 2 MPG increase.



Terry
 
I drove my daughters BMW for a few months and it has an analog fuel milege gauge and it realy taught me alot about good and bad driving when fuel comsumption is a factor.
 
4.10's, factory cover, bull bar and back bar. Weights approximately 4800 lbs with me in it. I get about 15 MPG mixed driving with Oxygenated gas.
 
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