GAS MILEDGE

[Vincent Lipke]

What can I do to increase the gas miledge in the wifes 01 Sport Trac? Its currently averaging 10.5MPG. She drives very nicely, never gets on it much.





It has 88000 Miles on it now, I was thinking perhaps I should change the spark plugs and maybe the wires (assuming there are wires, never looked.)



Perhaps a cold air intake also?



Will any of this help, she loves the truck, but if I cant get atleast 15-16 MPG out of it, like I read its supposed to get, then I am trading it in for a Saturn Vue V6. Its got 260HP and gets 20+MPG in the city. She loves the truck though. Any suggestions?

 

[Dave S 2]

Crazy low mpg on ur ST man. I consistently obtain 19-20 MPG on my 05 with a combination of some city and more highway miles. From reading this board, it seems that MPG varies widely.



I would reinforce your idea of new plugs and wires. That would most likely give you the most increase in MPG's with the mileage now on your Trac.



After that, if you get in the ballpark that your ole lady is getting satisfied, go for Todd's TB. It not only gives better throttle response, I also noted an improvement in MPG's (1-2). Then the cold air intake. I have not installed the cold air intake yet but plan on doing so as soon as I save a few more $'s. It is also reported to give a gain in MPG.



So for now, definately new plugs n wires. Thereafter the choice is yours.



Good luck...



Edited due to fat finger syndrome...

 

[Vincent Lipke]

I should also mention its a 4x4, I suppose that hurts a bit, but I cant imagine that much. We did manage to get 22 out of it on a highway trip, but 10 around town is unacceptable and ridiculous.



I will do the plugs, perhaps an Ebay cold air intake, and new wires and go from there. I just replaced the tires on it that had 70000 miles on them with some Goodyear truck highway tires. I dont think that will change the botoom end though. We got a whopping 218 miles out of a tank.



What rear end gear is in this beast? Can I swap it for a more highway friendly MPG gear, like a 308 or something? We never tow or plan to toe anything with this vehicle.

 

[Dave S 2]

Don't believe you'll find a "true" cold air intake on ebay. Site sponsor Zabteck Performance is a "true" cold air and is very reasonably priced.



Sorry, can't give you much help on all city driving MPG because I have never done so. I hope to never do so too!!!



Another thing I have found is that keeping your tires inflated helps the MPG tremendously. You'd be surprised.



I normally do 400-450 out of a 22 gal tank depending if the low light is on or not. Try to not let it run to the low light but sh!t happens at times.



Can't answer your change of rear ends because I don't have an intelligent clue. I would think though, that the return on MPG per $ wouldn't justify it.



Again, good luck...

 

[troy malone]

3:73 gears give you beter gas milage and 4:10 gives you more power..(but tire size can affect final drive ratio) you would have to change both front and rear gears since they have to be the same for 4x4's.. my 01 was getting 13--14 mpg city driving and 15-16 hwy when i traded it.. it had fairly new plugs and a k&n filter.. it was a 4x4 with 4:10 gears..



troy

 

[Vincent Lipke]

I know someone that can change gears out, I wonder what the truck would get with 308 gears in it? Or 267 LOL....ok well maybe thats a bit low.

 

[Ron N]

I would start with the spark plugs and wires. I used the e3 spark plugs and have been very pleased with them. A good set of wires. Go with a Zabteck cold air system or make your own with a good filter.There are several projects on this. Buy an xcal 2 tuner. This will help alot. One of the best things I bought was a scangauge. This will give you current mpg to see how you are doing and show you how to get the best milage with your foot._Ron

 

[shawn stonbraker 2]

With 88,000 miles, if you haven't changed the plugs and wires, that is a great place to start. Also would recommend changing the fuel filter, check the air filter (and replace as needed), maybe try the SeaFoam treatment, and clean the throttle body (there is a project for the last two). See if that helps. I have an '03 4x4 with the 3:73 gears and 245/75r16's and average 19.5-20mpg. My father-in-law has an '02 4x4 and averages 20mpg. If that doesn't help, you may be looking at a plugged Cat on the exhaust.

 

[Johnny O]

I have 3.73 gears AND 32" tires, I didn't think it changed the mileage any. Engine loafs at about 2200 rpm at 75 mph but it is very hilly here so it kicks out of OD a lot.

I would suggest new plugs and wires, air filter, fuel filter, front end alignment (if it's out it will cause more drag), and keep the tires at 35 lb. Beyond that, synthetic oil in the engine, flush the tranny, synthetic ATF in the transfer case (I just did a member project on it ), and new synthetic lube in the axles. The Valvoline Quick-Lubes have a neat machine that will suck out the axles, so you don't have to take the covers off. People don't realize that as lubricants get old they can lose viscosity and that causes more drag.

 

[Tom Schindler]

3:73 gears give you beter gas milage and 4:10 gives you more power..

If you do some research on the MPG logs, the difference between the 4.10 and the 3.73 when it pertains to MPG, the 4.10 does as well and if not better than the 3.73.



The 4.10 has larger tires than the 3.73.





Tom

 

[Vincent Lipke]

Thanks for all of the advice, but after reasearching it more, we traded the truck in on an 06 Vue. When I first bought the truck I was on many websights, not this one though, and it seemed the average MPG for the Sport Trac should have been around 15-16. After getting 10 MPG on average, there was just no way I could keep it. The Vue has way more power, way more, gets 20+MPG locally, and first our needs better. The Wife was sad to see the truck go, but we got out of it, just about what we put into it so I wasnt to sad, and after driving the VUE she loved it just as much.



Thanks for all the advice, you all made it much easier to make the decision, and if I had found this sight before purchasing the truck, well, we probably wouldnt have bought it based on the average MPG on this sight. Its to bad the 07's dont have cylander deativation, I would have considered buying a new one of those.

 

[Rodger Tellefson]

I agree with most of the above; i.e. CAI, cat back exhaust, Zabteck throttle body, Zabteck MAF (w/ OEM sensor) with the addition of an SCT XCalibrator 2 with a 87 performance tune & an additional tune of your choice. Also, switch to high quality synthetic oil too.



Check our profile to see what we have done to increase mpg.