Zetec MPG Advice

[150mphzetec]

your biggest culprit here is the ATX. If you have CC use it as often as possible. Also make sure that your tires are always properly inflated

[Magus2727]

when they need to be replaced also go with skinny tire.

Remove the spare, most insurance companies have free road side assistance.

Get a vacuum gauge (usually also paired with a boost but you don't care about that) and when driving try to keep the vacuum as high as possible = better MPG.

You could get extreme and look at shaving your antenna on the roof and smooth that out. Perhaps see what you can do to tuck in the side mirrors. if skilled with body work you can install covers over the rear wheels to keep the body lines spokes on rims cause air turbulence can also look at new light weight rims that a solid faced (ford even has "convertible" rims on their new F-150 concept)

[tmittelstaedt]

I forgot this one earlier - air conditioning. The AC really knocks down the mileage - although at high speed it is better than opening a window. But at low speed - cruising in the city at 35 or under - it is probably better to turn the AC off and open the windows wide. Besides, if you have a thumpin stereo might as well give the populace exposure to decent music instead of top 40. :-)

And don't forget the defroster turns on the AC. You can override that and turn on defrost then turn off ac. it will take longer to clear the windows of course.

[Fluffy6079]

Yeah, your best bet is to simply slow down and try not to drive aggressively. I drive 80 miles or more a day and manage about 32 MPGs averaging between 65-70 MPH. I've done my commute at 55 MPH for a whole tank and actually managed 35 MPGs. Your driving style is going to be the biggest factor in the mileage you get, unless there is just something really wrong with your car.

[Fluffy6079]

Originally Posted by tmittelstaedt

Besides, if you have a thumpin stereo might as well give the populace exposure to decent music instead of top 40. :-)

And, no. Never do this, unless your goal is to look like a complete d-bag.

[JFrye]

Since my speedometer is off due to running smaller than stock tires(less than 6200 miles on a 70,000 mile tire, so wont be replacing these anytime soon as previousily mentioned), at 74 on the dash I am actually running 70 on the GPS. So at 74 on the dash, Im right around 2900-3000 on the tach. With the dash reading 79-80mph, where it normally is because I hate getting up in the morning, is right around 3200-3300rpm. I drive TO work not for work. I cant take my backseats out though, because I get my son every other weekend and Im not willing to take the seats out, just to put them back in 10 days later. To me its not worth that little gain in MPG to do that.

I just had a 18 inch long 2.5 inch glasspack installed in the exhaust, and I honestly dont THINK I have changed my driving style(maybe I have), but I am now seeing closer to 25MPG now.


Also, with the speedometer being off, I have done the math, for every 100 miles I drive I need to subtract 5 miles off what the trip meter says. So if I go 200 miles on 10 gallons, then in reality, I went 190 miles. So even though my last fillup said I went 258.8 miles, I really went 248.8, netting me almost 25mpg. I also do not have cruise control, but in normal conditions, I have gotten pretty good at keeping the speed with 2mph at all times. As for the A/C, I never use that in the summer unless my son is with me. I prefer the windows down if I can.

[alpha]

im running a stock size 16 tire, and today over a 250mi round trip i was getting 39mpg, my car is stock other than wheels and magnaflow exaust. and almost dead tires. so when i get new tires, i expect my city range to go up, and a hair in the high way miles

that was with my and a friend, together weighing 450lbs plus my 3 year old son with his car seat, and my 65lb tool box and a detail bag

i use a SG2 to monitor my Throttle position, on level ground to make 65, my throttle is at no more than 38% that was with a head wind. i never took it over 3krpm, was not drafting, and was in no hurry to keep up with traffic. my temp was 222f deg, window half open with no fan on, no ac, no headlights, i did have my stereo on with no amps.

im not a hypermiler, just giving you the stats on it, it was a good challange, but id rather go fast