47.5 MPG on Big Bend using Eco Mode 🍃

[Glamdring70]

My 42.3 post was 20 miles of freeway, some at 65 mph but most at 55 mph, I let the Intelligent CC do its thing.

I never reset that screen, just the Trip screen. Then I can see lifetime vs. tank. Depending on how you drive it, the first 20 miles can give crazy over or under-estimates. No doubt you're squeezing more out of it than rated- the adaptive cruise has a wonderfully light touch. But if you're spending more on fuel and additives and filters and overinflating the tires to achieve it, you'll still pay about the same per trip on the back end for TCOO as someone that spends less for worse trip numbers.

Sponsored

 

[SenzeiReese]

Hmm, interesting comment. This is a forum to share information, somestimes useful sometimes not. It's generally a fun forum amongst good old boys who are Ford enthusiasts from a early age and new Ford guys and gals coming on board. Your rather obtuse comment kinda goes against what this forum is all about. You do have one comment about impeding traffic that is spot on. Not sure why you posted the obvious but hey maybe someone didn't know that so it might be helpful.

You're absolutely right. This is for enthusiasts and I was being pointed. Please carry on.

 

[V8 Yankee]

I never reset that screen, just the Trip screen. Then I can see lifetime vs. tank. Depending on how you drive it, the first 20 miles can give crazy over or under-estimates. No doubt you're squeezing more out of it than rated- the adaptive cruise has a wonderfully light touch. But if you're spending more on fuel and additives and filters and overinflating the tires to achieve it, you'll still pay about the same per trip on the back end for TCOO as someone that spends less for worse trip numbers.

That's true, my milaege will drop down over the course of the week to the around 33-34. Its the weekly avg. number that establishes a true trend line assuming that the same type of driving is calculated week after week. It's that weekly number that is moving the trend line upwards for me. I reset my lifetime odo at 5000 miles figuring I've passed the breaking in period. This trend line is moving upwards as well but is lower than the weekly avg.
As far as cost versus reward goes. I ran the the numbers. The payback for the additives is less than 6 months using my current miles driven per month. The rest is icing on the cake as say. The tire pressure is only 3 over which is negligible other than the ride is somewhat harsher. The other benefit directly tied to mpg is range. When I was in the breaking in period I was filling up every 7 to 8 days. Now I've extended this to every 9 to 10 days for virtually the same amount of miles. Gas here in Southern Florida just breached the five dollar mark for 87, closer to 6 for 93 octane. I really didn't even care about mpg when I bought the Bronco, I just wanted a Bronco. Hell 20 mpg would have been okay with me. Now that I have it it's fun to tweak on it a bit and see what happens. Saving 40 to 50 dollars a month is nice too.

 

[V8 Yankee]

That's true, my milaege will drop down over the course of the week to the around 33-34. Its the weekly avg. number that establishes a true trend line assuming that the same type of driving is calculated week after week. It's that weekly number that is moving the trend line upwards for me. I reset my lifetime odo at 5000 miles figuring I've passed the breaking in period. This trend line is moving upwards as well but is lower than the weekly avg.
As far as cost versus reward goes. I ran the the numbers. The payback for the additives is less than 6 months using my current miles driven per month. The rest is icing on the cake as say. The tire pressure is only 3 over which is negligible other than the ride is somewhat harsher. The other benefit directly tied to mpg is range. When I was in the breaking in period I was filling up every 7 to 8 days. Now I've extended this to every 9 to 10 days for virtually the same amount of miles. Gas here in Southern Florida just breached the five dollar mark for 87, closer to 6 for 93 octane. I really didn't even care about mpg when I bought the Bronco, I just wanted a Bronco. Hell 20 mpg would have been okay with me. Now that I have it it's fun to tweak on it a bit and see what happens. Saving 40 to 50 dollars a month is nice too.

One last thing to add. My oil changes are free. I ran across a add for a FordPass Visa Card awhile back. The perks are absolutely the best I've seen on a card with no yearly fee. I use it for everything, the points add up fast and pay not only for dealer service but with plenty left over for other Ford parts and accessories.

 

[ck122]

im getting 29.6 in sport mode

 

[Osco]

You guys do know they reach city and highway mpg’s with very tightly controlled parameters like,
Tires at 44 psi,
They take the spare out and the floor mats,
The guy driving is a 78 pound retired Kentucky derby rider,
And the weather is calm and the ground is level.

 

[LocoGringo]

Ain't that the truth!

It does seen to sip a lil slower in Eco Mode.

 

[Mark S.]

You guys do know they reach city and highway mpg’s with very tightly controlled parameters like,
Tires at 44 psi,
They take the spare out and the floor mats,
The guy driving is a 78 pound retired Kentucky derby rider,
And the weather is calm and the ground is level.

They used to do that, but the EPA now has a standardized test all manufacturers must follow. They still find ways to game the test, but they all do it so comparisons are valid.

https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/how_tested.shtml

 

[Carolo]

You guys do know they reach city and highway mpg’s with very tightly controlled parameters like,
Tires at 44 psi,
They take the spare out and the floor mats,
The guy driving is a 78 pound retired Kentucky derby rider,
And the weather is calm and the ground is level.

And NEVER, NEVER fill the fuel tank more than 1/2 full!

 

[DMEARC]

I'm staying at 54-56 mph hitting 40 mpg consistently.

I tested the 55 theory years ago in a Ford Windstar and save hundreds on gas driving across country from Ohio to California.

Anybody coming close to these #'s?



I 7

Yep. There are several threads devoted to gas mileage with a fair number of us getting very good gas mileage, especially on longer trips with average speeds below 70.

 

[LastBronco]

Good day all MPG guys. I've been following this thread for weeks now hoping to have something worth posting. After reading a post about a BS getting 40.3 mpg I was a little skeptical. At first I thought okay possible if coasting on the downside of a mountain pass for 8 miles it would be possible. As I was getting closer to that number after my breaking in period and adding a few mods than I understood this type of mileage is really within reach.
I just finished my daily commute into work and pulled 42.3 mpg. No coasting down a mountain just a normal 23 mile commute on I 95 from Hallandale to Miami. This was done with 6319 on the odo, 87 octane gas, normal mode, Intellegent Cruise Control,

AC on, 36 psi in the tires, full synthetic oil with a oil additive, custom dual exhaust and K&N air filter. I also use a fuel additive which has increased my mpg by a minimum of 15%. All of these factors added together have taken my milaege steadily upwards. So there you go, 42.3 mpg!

There is no fuel additive shown to increase mileage more than 1-2 mpg.

 

[V8 Yankee]

41.3 MPG!!!_ I did a day trip today to Key West and made a effort to channel my inner hyper-miler the whole round trip, all 353.8 miles of it. I filled up at 0537 in the morning in Hallandale (north of Miami) and was on my way. My peak mpg going down was 47.2 mpg, returning my peak was 46.8

mpg. In reality the true peaks are lower but thats what the ECU is showing. I used Intelligent Cruise as much as possible, normal mode, AC on and just me for weight. 95% of this trip was Freeway speeds anywhere from 45 to 65. There is a very long section between the Key Islands, 80 miles or so of nothing but 45 mph. When I returned I filled up at the same station as I did this morning. My avg for the entire trip according to the ECU was 43.8 mpg. I cross checked this figure manually after filling up with 8.565 gl and came up with a slightly lower overall average of 41.3 mpg. Pretty decent I would say.

Now I know there is some reading this thinking no effin way. Well yes effin way to the non- believers. To elaborate I cheated a little to get this kind of milaege. I put about $1000 dollars worth of mods and other tweaks to enhance this awesome 1.5 Dragon. Since 1976 I've modified V8s, V6s, inline 4s and 6s and now this amazing little L3. This engine has potential for much more tweaking but with what I pulled off today on mpg I'm going to call it good for now. A word of experience here especially to those thinking that the EPA rating is written in stone and that's it. Have some fun and build on what Ford has started. This engine really responds to upgrades, the after market has some really cool stuff, tweak away young grass hoppers.

 

[M3H7363]

A word of experience here especially to those thinking that the EPA rating is written in stone and that's it.

You're right. The EPA doesn't do its testing at 45mph for 80 miles with no stops. You got great mileage under circumstances that most people will never encounter. Most people's highway mileage is at 70mph or faster.

Yes, under ideal conditions, anyone can get great mileage.

 

[SenzeiReese]

You're right. The EPA doesn't do its testing at 45mph for 80 miles with no stops. You got great mileage under circumstances that most people will never encounter. Most people's highway mileage is at 70mph or faster.

Yes, under ideal conditions, anyone can get great mileage.

Really bewildering that anyone would willingly drive well under the posted speed limit just to save on gas and potentially endanger other drivers.


I average around 22.5 - 23mpg in a Badlands 2.0. I have a hood deflector and mud flaps, I have alternated between premium and normal gas, and my window sticker feels mostly accurate. The MPG worry feels very similar to audiophile stuff in that if you look for the intricacies, you'll confirm them. If you don't, you'll still have a good time with tempered expectations.

I drive the speed limit or about 5mph over. I don't switch between drive modes because I forget to, and I buy gas because I need it. I can't remember a time I've ever reset a trip meter or paid much attention to more than when it's time to fill up. But I guess it's like extreme couponing. I don't understand it and the passion seems like a sunk cost scenario, but at least they're having fun.

 

[V8 Yankee]

Really bewildering that anyone would willingly drive well under the posted speed limit just to save on gas and potentially endanger other drivers.


I average around 22.5 - 23mpg in a Badlands 2.0. I have a hood deflector and mud flaps, I have alternated between premium and normal gas, and my window sticker feels mostly accurate. The MPG worry feels very similar to audiophile stuff in that if you look for the intricacies, you'll confirm them. If you don't, you'll still have a good time with tempered expectations.

I drive the speed limit or about 5mph over. I don't switch between drive modes because I forget to, and I buy gas because I need it. I can't remember a time I've ever reset a trip meter or paid much attention to more than when it's time to fill up. But I guess it's like extreme couponing. I don't understand it and the passion seems like a sunk cost scenario, but at least they're having fun.

Hello, you are confused, I drive the speed limit too except when entering the Freeway and opening it up. I'm also a power guy on the side, in Sport Mode my BS screams up ramps, more so than any other BS I'm willing to bet. I digress, it seems you missed the part in my previous post where I mentioned using Intelligent Cruise during the trip.

IC keeps the vehicle at the posted speed limit. The 45 mph stretches going to the keys are posted at 45 mph so thats what I was doing. Myself as well as the hundreds of other vehicles I could see who were doing the same speed except for the occaisional idiot wanting to go faster, it was somewhat amusing to see one of these drivers pulled over further down the road. Could have been for speeding or passing in a no passing zone which the majority of this stretch is, hopefull ticketed for both. If u have ever been to the keys u would know this stretch has the most speed checks of any section of hwy. In southern Florida.

I've also tested the regular versus premium, ethanol versus non ethenol fuel to calculate any cost benefit. There is virtually no benefit in power or mpg unless you are towing or have a full load of people and gear and have less than ideal topography to navigate. That is where Sport Mode comes in. SM gives you more extra power than any premium fuel ever will in Normal Mode.

For me the extra few minutes it takes to get to work or just driving around is far outweighed by cost savings. The point is I have fun building engines, or in this case building onto an existing engine. I relay my personal results here because that is the intent of this forum. I can take my hobby savings to the bank and basically get a free tank of gas every month.

Sponsored