Lighten it up for better gas mileage?

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Amber Clymer

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I was wondering if removing the stock bed cover/bed xtender/ & spare tire would help at all with my gas mileage. Basically just reaching here, I just get sick looking at my 8.2mpg average city. Highway trips seems to have gotten it to about 12mpg on a 2 hr. highway trip set at 70mph. Just don't know what to do about it while I wait for the time to trade her in. Thanks in advance.
 
hmm... it should, dont think it would be enough to notice or make that big of a difference.



and... 8.2 mpg? do u have a lead foot? cuz thats really really low....
 
jsut try to lighten up on the foot a little, both take offs and slow downs. one thing that always gets me are the drivers who gas it all the way to a red light then get on the brakes. lightening would help, but i dont know how much what you describe would do. clean or change your air filter and maybe some upgrades such as an intake and exhaust would help, and you will love your S/T more!:wub:
 
Well I have the Magnaflow exhaust & about 7k miles on her so far. I honestly don't drive like it is a race car, really don't. Trying to deal with the dealership here is like talking to Dorie on Finding Nemo....they never seem to remember what I talk to them about from visit to visit. I absolutely plan on trading her in when the time is right, which isn't as soon as I would like, so for now I am just reaching on what I can do to get better mpg.

I don't think I want to add any other extras since I am going to get rid of her in this calender year. On take off I go slow, never mashing the pedal. I also stop slow because I have a LOUD brake squeak, on top of the steering colum clicking & thrusting transmission. I might resort to just paying the monthly payments and lock her up until ready to trade. I just can't justify my 8.2 mpg & the dealership who never wants to help. Especially with the rapidly rising pump prices.



(SIGH):(
 
Sad. I'm getting about 14mpg in city driving (haven't had her out on the road for an extended freeway trip yet). I have a stock 2003 ST.
 
I would like to add that the ST surely is a beautiful & perfect size "truck" for me. I had such high hopes, but I can't live with myself eating up that kind of gas. I would even be alright with 12mpg, but it's not happening with mine.
 
Bootsy,



Something is very wrong here. I have posted many times about my elation with my gas mileage on my 07 V8. I consistently get 16 in the city and anywhere from 20 - 24 depending on the speed.



Heck - I even get 15-16 towing 4,500 pounds at 60-65 mph.



I have to admit that I have a very light foot and no performance mods (yet). I just got a Throttle body from Zabteck but haven't yet installed it.



From the picts in your library, you have some really nice wheels - are they over sized? Looks like you have spacers - could that make a difference?



Like you, I'm reaching too. Something is really wrong when your getting only 8-9 mph.



I would invite all members on this site to help Bootsy figure out what's going on. There are many more expert people here that may be able to help - especially if the dealer is not.



 
Just curious, how many days to you go between fill-ups? Getting ~ 8 mpg gets you roughly 160 miles per tank without running dry. Is this what you're calculating?



 
The wheels in my librabry were taken off last October and surprisingly I got better gas mileage WITH them ON, around 11-12mpg. They are 20's too as opposed to the stock 18's. The only mod is the exhaust and wheels. No spacers or anything at all. So basically getting the mileage I am is light footed driving and stock everything except the exhaust. It is such a beautiful "truck" and I would never result in getting rid of it if it weren't for the issues I am having. I looked long and hard for this Trac and I feel so cheated every day because of my horrible gas mileage. I was staring at it out in the office parking lot today thinking "what a beautiful truck", I could do so many things to it but all I can think about is the mileage. Maybe I do have a lemon because I am out of ideas. I hand calculated up to 1/2 tank was 100 miles, and then I got about another 100 and it is just below the 3/4 tank. All through the city, which isn't really a city, more like a college town. It makes no sense to me & the dealership pretends like nothing is wrong.



I have an actual full size truck '08 Sierra Denali that I have been driving around most of the time, because gets 14mpg city. SO resulting in driving the big truck around because it gets WAY better mileage then my Trac. I'm sad, I really like the Trac better then the Denali because it's size & appearance is perfect...the Denali is just a Denali, nothing quite unique like my little Trac....weird I know.
 
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They FINALLY listened to me and scheduled it to be looked at tomorrow at 3. I have been in 4 other times and they never really looked at it ANY of those times. I told them it was the worste mistake of my life and if I could do it over again I would have NEVER bought a Ford. So I drop her off tomorrow to look into the transmission thrusts, steering colum clicking, and POOR gas mileage. Hopefully I get some good news.
 
Please check in and let us know how you do at the dealership.

On my worst day, pulling a horse trailer with a horse and all her gear and 4 people riding in the Trac, I got 14 mpg from my '02 Trac with no mods.

If I got a consistent 8 mpg, I would push it off a cliff and tell God it was an accident!:eek:

 
If you have over 10K mile on your Sport Trac and getting only 8-9 MPG in the city and 12 on the highway, you have got a lot more problems than the tonneauc over and bed extender can solve.



Removing any excess weight from a vehicle will always help your gas mileage, but removing about 100 lbs is not enough to show any significant improvement. Any gain in MPG can easily be lost by just getting stuck at a light for an extra minute., or just catching an extra light or two on you way to work.



I have a computer on my Mercedes that displays the current average MPG and when I take off from a stop and accelerate gently I can see a drop of about one tenth of a MPG per every 100-200 feet until I stop accelerating and just cruise.



If I accellerate just a little bit harder, I can drop about a tenth of a MPG every 20-30 feet. and can easily loose 1 MPG just accelerating up to speed briskly. I see the same kind of drop in MPG when I speed up after a slow-down and traffic clears again. That's what eats up the gas in city driving, It's the acceleration and getting the vehicle back up to speed.



The car is rated to get 25 MPG on the highway, and I have already gotten 28.0 and 28.1 MPG on my last two trips to Dallas on the weekends. I have gotten 27.7 MPG on the return trips, but they are later in the day and the traffic is heavier, even on Sautrdays.



...Rich
 
I hand calculated up to 1/2 tank was 100 miles, and then I got about another 100 and it is just below the 3/4 tank. All through the city, which isn't really a city, more like a college town. It makes no sense to me & the dealership pretends like nothing is wrong.
Click to expand...



You need to fill your tank right up, drive it till it is getting empty, fill it up and the divide the miles driven by the actual gallons you put into it at the second fill up. That will tell you your actual MPG. Guessing from the gas gauge won't work.
 
geeze, i would have a feild day at that dealership if they didnt listen to me.



the first time i went down for a warranty issue, no one listened to me either, went back again and when they said there was nothing they could do i...well i pretty much just started yelling and cussing up a storm for a bit.

Finally got my truck in and found a guy down in the service area, and the body shop and became pretty good friends with them, so if i ever need anything i just call them.

but yea, try to talk to the same person everytime you go in and try to develope a casual friendship even if just on a professional level and maybe you wont have a hard time next time...

 
I did one trip count in my dash cluster from the last fill up to the fill up today. I totalled 208 miles and it said I had 22 miles to empty. I am getting anxious to take her in today.



(fingers crossed)



Maybe they let me take the NICE Shelby they have out for a spin while I wait.....LOL!!!
 
I have an early '07, and I check periodically actual tripometer/odometer miles divided by gallons at fill-up, and I'm usually +/- 1mpg with the computer.



I've noticed that what the computer says gallons used vs. gallons at the pump are sometimes off by more than a gallon. I'd figure the pump is more accurate, due to the pumps needing calibration.



If I remember the TSB's right, isn't one of the TSB's supposed to correct one or more of the computer functions? If you are going off of just the computer, Bootsy, maybe the TSB would help? Here's hoping the techs can find & fix it for you. Keep us looped!



additional: I had the TSB copy in my library, but now shows error. Lil Red, I looked up your library, hope you don't mind. The TSB that mentioned symptions that included "Inaccurate Message Center average fuel economy estimation" was 07-10-12. In case you are just relying on the Trac computer for MPG, then maybe this will help?
 
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Well she is at the dealership. As I was getting picked up by my ride I seen them tear out of the garage with my Trac as if it were a sporty little focus or something....ggrrrrrr.
 

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