thats actually pretty good. you could get a custom tune for gas mileage, and maybe a k&n drop in filter, thats about it.

 

I know it is getting pretty good. Just wondering if there is anything I can do.

I was planning on getting a K&N drop in and tossing the "lunchbox".....I think you are right about the ECU tune.

 

if it really is a commuter car, and you dont care about much else, then i suggest a huge weight loss regime. strip out the rear seat, carpet interior trim. Also bump you tire pressure up to about 40 psi. use cruise control as much as possible. don't speed. these things are free and will help.

other stuff like an intake and exhaust may help theoretically, but its unlikely that you will ever recoup the cost in gas savings.

 

31 in my opinion is good , I would do syn oils in everything , drop in filter , tire psi , new plugs a little more then called for

A tune may help but with doing 31 now dont know how much it would gian

Tom

 

I've done 41MPG Dont ask how though cuz I have no idea myself. I was on the drive from Sacramento to Long Beach

 

You must of been down hill and the wind blowing about 45mph

Tom

 

Where I clocked the MPG was after the flat part of the drive before I went over the mountain. I was doin 80-90 the whole way.

 

haha, best i ever did was 44, that was driving mostly down hill following a semi the entire way on cruise about 10 ft from the rear end of the car. nothing in the back, not even a back seat and a completely stock motor w/ panel filter lol , haven't touched that much since!

 

if you really want to see a monumental increase in gas mileage you need to stick the nose of your car up the butt of a tractor trailer when going down the highway. a few weeks ago i went 430 miles on a tank of gas (11.2 gallons) which included me making SEVERAL passes on a 1/8th drag at my destination.

myself and a buddy have also had really good success with home made hydrogen injection kits in his ranger and taurus. havent tried it on the focus yet. i kinda doubt i will.

 

at those speeds your MPG would drop. most fuel efficient speed for the zetec is around 60-65 in my experience.

 

Thats why I'm still really confused how it happened. lol.

Going thru Bakersfield would help MPG since theres mass cow fart in the air [drummer]

 

31 is what I am getting with my 87 Escort 1.9l CFI automatic. I am hoping for better with the new 2001 ZX3 stick car. I too drive just over 100 miles a day commuting.

Only mods done to the old escort are K&N filter, Accel coil, MSD 8.5 super conductor wires, Platinum Plugs and the original Ford Escort GT header no cat and a turbo muffler. I do run Mobil One Extended performance synthetic oil and run 35psi in the tires. Seems like the basics apply to any car for better mileage. Do what you can to improve breathing, update the ignition, use synthetic oils and tire pressure to reduce rolling resistance.

If you want to go the weight reduction route it will also help. People here are really helpful I'm glad I joined the site.

 

FocusManiac is spot on. If I go over 68 - 70 my mpg TANKZORS. So im the slow guy in a sporty car =[

I get about 350 - 360 a tank doing about 63 ish mph.

My "not to exceed" for me is 70mph and 2800 rpm.

 

funny me too (except that 350 to a tank) something about that sweet 63mph-ish zone. No more than that or it does suck it down more so than what it does now lol.

 

I just drove from Houston to New Orleans (370 miles) and averaged 30.8 mpg. It's an 02 sedan, 5sp and is bone stock except for a WIX air filter and oil change. It has 151,xxx miles on the clock. I was impressed to say the least, especially know this car needs a tune up. I just bought it from a family member and brought her home Memorial Day weekend. I stayed between 65-70 and did 75 twice to get around slower vehicles.

 

am I missing something?

I have 2000 zx3 auto and a 2001 zx3 stick neither one of them gets more than 230 miles per tank combined driving, everything is changed, maybe the egr's have something with it?

 

Well, what I have done is use FULL Synthetic (Mobil-1) oil and transmission fluid.
NGK Iridium spark plugs, change the fuel filter every 20,000 and always made sure my tire pressure was correct.

Also, a K&N air filter.

With just the small mods I listed above has helped my MPG. And i have 140,000 miles on the car.
Also, take your time when accelerating from a stop light. Mashing down on the gas pedal really kills your MPG.


.

 

people who dont spin tires when taking off from a traffic light are such buzz kills

 

Thanks for all the responses!!

K&N is on its way.

I run Motocraft Synthetic Blend.....its cheapers than regular oil...haha

I dont think its cost effective to run the full synthetic plus the possibility of developing leaks deturrs me

My car has just shy of 100k. The tranny needs a service so thats coming very soon.

I'll probably do the fuel filter, plugs and wires at the same time.

I wouldnt say I have a lead foot but. But I spend half of my 1.5 hour 45 mile commute going about 25-30mph so when the freeway opens up its 75+mph for me.

 

I run Motocraft Synthetic Blend.....its cheapers than regular oil...haha

I dont think its cost effective to run the full synthetic plus the possibility of developing leaks deturrs me
.

That synthetic oil causing leaks thing is a myth. I have run it in all my used cars after buying them without any leaks. One that comes to mind is the 87 Escort that I have. I bought the current engine in the car 5 years ago and it had 27000 original miles on it. I put the synthetic in and never had any oil leaks and it now has 141000 on it. It is a perfect example of busting the myth as I am sure the granny that had it before me just used conventional oil and it sat in the garage and bone yard for 18 years before I got my hands on it.

I been using the Mobil one extended performance 15000 mile guarantee oil and you could not get more cost effective. 1 oil change every 10-12000 miles at like 35 bucks. You would have done at least 2 or 3 changes in that time with other oils at a higher cost and less protection.

Still you should see some benefits from your plans just had to vent on the cost effective thing. I have lots of customers that love the fact that they can save money with this particular oil and none have every had leaks as a result of running the synthetic oil.

 

huh I find I get better mileage at speeds from 70-80 mph than what i do at lower speeds. I got 36 going through michigan going 80. Then later I got stuck going 60 mph on a different leg of the trip and only got 31 mpg.

 

as far as synthetics causing leaks... i cannot say... ive run nothing but synthetic in my car since i bought it at 70k and its now at 113k with not a drop of oil hitting the ground.

the reason you got better mileage at 70-80mph than you did at 60mph is because you were probably agitated and were in and out of the throttle constantly during the slow spell.

and if you are really concerned with getting the best mileage possible then you should keep your eyes and ears open over the next while. tom is testing a new MPG tune for fuel economy and has sent it out to several people, myself included, for testing to see what difference it makes. results will be coming in sporadically over the next few weeks.

 

Keep us posted.

My rebuttle....yes, Synthetics can cause leaks. Maybe not always....but it can aggrivate it. I'm not talking about full on drip leaks or anything. I'm talking extremely mild weaping where you would just start to see moisture.

This usually only happens on cars with high miles that are switched over to synthetics.

Reason: Because the synthetic molecules are much smaller (1/2 the size) than regular oils and might find a leak where standard oils wouldnt.

You guys have been lucky......I have been too.

I had a Toyota Tacoma with 140k that I switched over to synthetic. No leaks. Only reason I did was because it was a Toyota and they are really tight vehicles.

Fords, Chevys and so on.......eh.....not to tight. So I dont want to risk developing a leak on my bone dry car.

With that said.....I think the 15,000 mile oils are a joke. They may lube it just fine.....but one of the main reasons you change your oil is to remove all of the carbon deposited in the oil. No oil is going to be able to remove the carbon from itself. Carbon floating around in your oil causes breakdown of the oil and excessive wear.

I do beilieve that true synthetics are far superior to regular oil and can free up HP and MPG's but I am just going to stick with my motocraft synthetic blend. Its better than regular oil and its cheaper.

Cant beat that.

 

lmao what in the hell are you talking about?
"I had a Toyota Tacoma with 140k that I switched over to synthetic. No leaks. Only reason I did was because it was a Toyota and they are really tight vehicles.

Fords, Chevys and so on.......eh.....not to tight. So I dont want to risk developing a leak on my bone dry car. "

I'm sorry this is just silly sounding.

 

With my city commuting, I average 24 mpg. Spirited driving [wiggle]

Not bad for hardly ever going on the freeway.

 

That is pretty good mpg. There is always a little room for improvement, but for cost effectiveness,,, that is best done by who is driving it. Spending a lot of money to only POSSIBLY,,, but DOUBTFULLY,,, get 1-2 mpg, is not realistic.
Make sure that it has a good tune-up, filters, [ a K & N air filter may help a little ] good tires, [ OK to go to #40 air ] & drive like an egg is under your foot. NEVER over 65mph. Don't warm the engine up. Lighten the load if possible.
I have a 2003 ZX3 , 5 spd. & get 32-33, but used to get a little better [ +-10% ] before ethanol was added to gas. Last week, I found a station that didn't have ethanol-laden gas in one pump, & filled up with it. I'll report back the results.

 

With a 45 miles 1.5 hour commute if I get the chance to go over 65 I am. haha.

The drop in K&N gave me about +1 MPG so I'm happy with that.

Next the lunchbox is coming off.

I do plan on doing a few maintenance things to the car since the mileage is getting up there @ 100k and I think this was one of those cars that was just driven. Not beaten. But just the regular old maintenance. I like to stay on top of the preventative maintenance stuff so I dont have a catastrophic failure because of some $100 part.

Plans:
Fuel Filter & some Injector Cleaner
Trans flush and filter
Timing Belt
Plugs, wires......maybe coil pack (suggestions???).
Radiator
& hopefully figure out my rough idle via a new IAC valve or new motor mounts being as I've already checked for vacuum leaks and replaced the PCV valve and elbow with no luck.

 

Almost every ford chevy dodge I've seen on the road either leaks or has way less than 100k.

Hows is that silly sounding when Toyotas and Hondas are the only cars where you consistantly see dry well running vehicles with over 200k.

Dont get me wrong, a well maintained american car can last, but not like a Jap car.

By tight I mean just that. When I pulled my valve cover off my honda to adjust the valves all of the bolts were lock tighted and "cracked" loose.

My focus valve cover??? Leaky and have the bolts were hand tight.

& my honda had twice the miles my focus does.

The only reason I bought a focus over another honda or a toyota was because I like the styling and I'm not afraid of the extra maintenace it would need.


& dont quote my long post....only to copy and past quote it again in your post with a 5 word comment. Stay out of the thread unless you have something useful to add.

 

I would spend your money on getting it tuned up & running well, in original condition before possibly wastingit on mods. If you are getting 31 & it idles rough, hasn't been tuned , has 100k miles,, you are doing VERY well.

 

You said American cars aren't "tight" that really means nothing.. if you said that in your opinion foreign cars run longer then fine but your measure of "tight" means nothing... I see tons of American cars going 200k+ miles, and yes I see tons of foreign cars doing the same.