Anyone succeeded in increasing their Gas mileage? 93 Ranger STX X-tra 4.0 L Auto 2x4

[jimtmcdaniels]

I'm getting around town about 15.5 miles to the gallon.

Has anyone found successful ways to increase their gas mileage?

I saw one post mention the velocity tuner air intake tornado making a dramatic difference. Velocity Tuner -

I've read about adding about 2 ozs of Acetone to each 10 gallons of gas making a dramatic difference.

I can find many claims that these have worked on owner's vehicles and I can find some claims that they didn't work.

It seems it depends on the vehicle and possibly where you live.

Most of these gadgets have money back guarantees, I'm thinking about trying them one at a time and returning them if they don't do anything.

Please only give me replies with experiences with products/modifications.

Thanks

[jonmark1985]

Easiest modification ever!

Drive 10 mph slower than you usually drive. That and do a full tune-up.

[cabowabo]

what rear end gearing is it 4 .10 limited slip might want to change the rear end gear to get better gas mileage

[froggerxt]

I have a 1995 Ranger 4.0 V6 250,000 miles.
When I bought it I got 17-18 in the city and 20-22 highway.

Now I get 20-22 city and 24+ Highway.

Here is what I did.

New Plugs (Motorcraft), Wires, Coil Pack,
I cut open the end of the Air Box to allow more air in the system. Filters get dirty faster, but that is the cheapest part on the car.

I also installed a Tornado in the intake tube.
Check my Tire pressure weekly, and rotate tires every other Oil Change.

I switched to a Pure Synthetic Oil and also use Z-Max Oil and Gas Treatment every Oil Change. 6000 Miles

I still get in it once and awhile.

Hope this helped, as above 10 miles and hour slower can mean a 2-4% savings in fuel.

Jerry

[65fastfalcon]

one great way is to lose weight in your vehicle.....remember that with more weight means that the engine has to work harder therefore using more gas....also keep an eye on your tire pressure....use cruise control and slow down...they say that every 10 mph over 55 uses another 4mpg of gas....for example on my bronco I took off the tire rack on the back which was probably 40 lbs of weight and took the junk out of the trunk! I gained another 4-5 mpg just doing that

[GalaxieJeff]

Originally Posted by jimtmcdaniels

I'm getting around town about 15.5 miles to the gallon.

Has anyone found successful ways to increase their gas mileage?

I saw one post mention the velocity tuner air intake tornado making a dramatic difference. Velocity Tuner -

I've read about adding about 2 ozs of Acetone to each 10 gallons of gas making a dramatic difference.

I can find many claims that these have worked on owner's vehicles and I can find some claims that they didn't work.

It seems it depends on the vehicle and possibly where you live.

Most of these gadgets have money back guarantees, I'm thinking about trying them one at a time and returning them if they don't do anything.

Please only give me replies with experiences with products/modifications.

Thanks

That tornado thing is a joke. It's been tested and tested and tested by independent labs as well as a million chumps that fell for the gimmick. It does ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. Think about it for a minute it is BEFORE the carb or TB and supposedly imparts a swirl to the air, um, what happens when that "swirling" air passed into the carb or TB...yep, it straightens out again. Also, once it passes the swirly vanes whats going to keep it swirling? Ever put your hand in front of a fan? Does the air spin or come straight out!

I've heard a lot about acetone both ways, some make wild claims some say no difference, some say it's bad for rubber O-rings or gaskets, some say they've run with acetone over 50k with no problems on these parts????
Acetine greatly reduces the surface tension of the gasoline (some say I works with diesel too), thats a fact. The calim is that with lower surface tension the fuel atomizes much better, thus you more completely burn all the fuel rather then some not combusting.
I was going to try this after more research first but it's low on my priority list and I haven't looked deeper yet.
FWIW The 2oz per 10 gallons seems to be the starting point to a max of 4-5oz per 10g. Some say after 4-5 oz mileage actually drops.


As others have mentioned, ensure you have fresh parts/tune, if you can tolerate the ride inflate the tires to the max rating on the side wall, drive "gently" up to the posted limits. Driving 10mph under everywhere doesn't always cut it. I'll guarantee almost every vehicle out there will get better mileage at 40 then it will at 30. best mileage (on the average) is between 45-60, of course it all depends on vehicle type/set up, but most modern vehicles thats the range.
Less restrictive exhaust, some times a simple as putting a turbo type muffler on a stock exhaust will see a measurable gain. Years ago I had an '85 Caprice with 305/4bbl. Caught something on the road that put a small gash in it and it leaked. I picked up a cheap turbo from a local parts store. The stock pipes looked a good size, 2.25 IIRC. When I took off the stock muffle I happened to look inside, about 4-5 inches in the tube diameter shrunk to a little over an inch and a quarter!!! Right away I felt an improvement in acceleration and, though back then I didn't bother worrying about mpg I did notice I was able to go about 50% farther before filling up.
Replace your O2 sensor with a factory replacement. Even if everything is running right they degrade over time, I replace mine every 50-75k.

If you can find some one that knows what they're doing a reprogram to the PCM will again see benefits. Most PCM 'tuners' know the changes needed to increase performance, though some of those changes will get you better mpg not all changes will give mpg gains.
I reprogrammed the PCMs in my GTP (supercharged V6) and Caprice (LT1) strictly to take advantage of the mods I've done (exhaust and low restriction CAI). On the GTP the mpg picked up 2-3 around town but stayed even on the highway, 28@70, haven't tracked hp but it's close to 50 over stock. The Caprice went from 16 around town to 17.5-19 (depending on how I drive) and 24@70 before to 26+ at 70. Horse power went up 70-75 over stock based on drag strip results. Remember this was the differences after all mods so I cant say what each contributed to mpg gains. I did document performance gains at each step and just using that as a rough guide, each mod (exhaust, intake and PCM) contributed something.

The biggest boost in mpg would come from parking it and getting an old cylinder Metro, 50+ mpg or the newer VW turbo diesels, 40-55+mpg depending on model and trans.

[GalaxieJeff]

Almost forgot, something else to think about IF acetone worked as claimed the oil companies would have known this and added it to their gasoline long ago, or at the very least they would be adding it now. Think of the marketing claims they, especially the first one to do it could make, "..use our gasoline and see big mpg gains as well as power from every tank full."
Same with those worthless gimmicks like the tornado crap. The auto makers would use it in a New York second IF it worked. A 5,10-20% increase in each vehicle would be a MAJOR selling point, again, especially now-a-days with $4 gas and slumping sales.

[theoldwizard]

Why is it that everyone thinks there is some little trick that will "Magically" improve their fuel economy for next to nothing ?

I was in the business and know that engineers would give their left gonad for 10% better fuel economy !

The 4.0L just gets bad fuel economy, period.

Synthetic oil helps some. Change to synthetic in the transmission and rear axle also helps.

Better air flow (holes in the air box or a whole K&N cold air intake kit) helps some.

Everything I mentioned might get you 2-4%.