hi!
 

im new, been a member for a while, figured id finally make a post.

i drive a 94 ford explorer, 4.0 v6 automatic, 4x4, all the bells and whistles (half of them in working order) that just ticked over 200k miles today.

i usually get anywhere from 13-15 mpg in it (mostly city driving).

im gonna try to drive easy for a whole tank and see what good that does (im kind of a lead foot, 3 recent tickets attest to that)

i filled the tank with premium today, and added some lucas injector cleaner.

anyway, just thought id introduce myself.

fuel economy forum
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honda gas mileage

I used to be like that... always had to 'win the race' when the light turns green, had to be the passer (hated be passed), always did 10-15 over, retaliated when someone pissed me off, etc etc. Now that I'm a Dad, but also that I'm hypermiling, I found that keeping your ego in check and sitting in the right lane around the POSTED speed limit really is great. It's a LOT less stress than hassling with a-holes like I used to be. Plus, I can attest that most of the time at the next red light, you catch up to everyone doing 15 over anyway :rolleyes: Sorry for the lecture, but it really makes the drive much more enjoyable when you just chill and keep right! Nobody wins a prize by wining 'the race'.

Good luck to you!

A little patience, a little learning, a little seafoam, and a little change in priorities and you will be well on your way. Welcome!

ezeedee -

Welcome to GS! You'll have fun watching your MPG go up and your wallet get fatter. It'll be interesting to hear about your "easy driving" tank. I looked up your EPA mileage figures here :

https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/calcu...umn=1&id=11520

Based on the new EPA figures, it sounds like you are getting a little under normal MPG.

CarloSW2

I couldn't have put it any better. Nowadays I try and save the speed for the track, and keep the MPGs up on the highway!
BTW, Welcome aboard! :thumbup:

whew, drove to work today at or below the speed limit, and hardly went over 2000 rpm's. it was definatly hard trying to accelerate slow and stay at the speed limit.

dont do a whole lot of driving these days, my tank will last me at least a week.

Welcome and good luck in regard to your quest for better fuel economy!

well... did a gaslog entry.

Ummm.
Larger MAF housing. That changes things. (from notes in Gaslog)
A larger MAF is a performance upgrade. To allow more air into the engine, thus also more fuel, for more power out. You're trying to get less mixture into it, or "stock", anyway.

I'd go back to the stock MAF right away. And then drive 45 minutes before topping off to start a new mpg measurement cycle. At least on the Bosch-computer cars I've been driving that's what my mechanic says it needs when the computer resets itself or has to relearn what the parameters and ranges are.

I've read a bit re. changes in intake manifold, MAF and injectors. Guys who rebuild an engine for higher performance do often need to change those three items to get in the larger amount of fuel/air mixture that the "revised" engine can now pull in. But they have to match the injectors to the larger MAF. It's not as if you can change that single item and still have everything in balance.

Actually I suspect the larger housing allowed in MORE air (leaner) than what the sensor was reading. Sensor reads change in temperature of a small wire caused by the airflow over the wire. So a bigger housing allows more air while having the same effect on that little wire's temperature. So it's running lean. But computer got confused and gave up, set itself back to the basic "fail safe" program.

Probably what happened was the computer noticed that readings were way off from what it usually gets. So it went back to closed loop operation: basic internal program designed to keep the engine running and get you home. Disregarding feed back from the O2 sensor. Sort of flying blind.

Hang in there!
Go back to the stock MAF, let computer get its act back together, then see what you can do.

Also make sure your tires are at least at max sidewall pressure.
Don't know if you already did that. But that's a basic step to take.

God Luck!