Whats your mpg (duratec ONLY)

[BlueMan]

I don't know why you keep thinking everyone is lying - all vehicles are a little different, and the extra weight of the X-cab will certainly bring your mileage down a bit over a reg cab, and remember, you've probably got 4.10 gears too. I think they are better aerodynamically than they have been in the past, combine that with a lightweight all aluminum efficient engine and it does make a difference. Most of the guys posting the 30 to 30+ mileage are reg cabs with some sort of bed cover too, not to mention tires with less rolling resistance can also make a difference. I've also got 3.73 gears, and ditched the stock Continental tires a long time ago.

I compute my mileage every time I fill up, which is about every 10-14 days, depending on where I'm driving. I have also taken the truck on several 1000+ mile trips since I've had it, so I know how it does as a daily driver, and all highway (for multiple tanks at a time).

[Rainier]

For me personally, I just say it's hard to believe. I don't neccasserily firmly believe people aren't getting above 31, but I've never personally witnessed it. I couldn't achieve it with very good conditions, and surely don't come close now after the lift. Our Focus ZX3 could hardly be more areodynamic as it's shaped like some space pod and at best it usually gets 34 mpg and its a 2.0 Duratec yet that is less than some people are claiming they get with a Ranger. But like I said, not stating they are lying, but that's it's hard to swallow with my experience.

[Dogsofjune]

DOJ - there's a real problem with your '08 if it's only getting 20 MPG. Take it in and have the dealer look at it, as that's WAY below the EPA estimate.

Been to the dealer. Tired of losing IQ dealing with them. They say nothing is wrong with it.
It has around 12k on it and averages around just shy of 280 miles per tank. It's what, a 15, 16 gallon tank?
Outside of a mild stereo and a couple of exterior mods, which includes a bed cover, the vehicle is stock.

[Roush]

well I can't say for the others but this past weekend I went to the Albany NY meet (300 miles expressway) and I got 32mpg with an average speed of 70mph at 2800-3000rpm.

[Roush]

Been to the dealer. Tired of losing IQ dealing with them. They say nothing is wrong with it.
It has around 12k on it and averages around just shy of 280 miles per tank. It's what, a 15, 16 gallon tank?
Outside of a mild stereo and a couple of exterior mods, which includes a bed cover, the vehicle is stock.

You get 280 per tank? WTF?!?! When I'm leaning hard on the gas pedal I still get 430 per tank. My average per tank is 480-490miles

[nn2004]

For me personally, I just say it's hard to believe. I don't neccasserily firmly believe people aren't getting above 31, but I've never personally witnessed it. I couldn't achieve it with very good conditions, and surely don't come close now after the lift. Our Focus ZX3 could hardly be more areodynamic as it's shaped like some space pod and at best it usually gets 34 mpg and its a 2.0 Duratec yet that is less than some people are claiming they get with a Ranger. But like I said, not stating they are lying, but that's it's hard to swallow with my experience.

Looks like our MPGs are backwards. My truck hits 30 easily, but the Focus barely taps in at 27.5. Both city. Hwy is about 31 truck, 29 car.

[Rainier]

Looks like our MPGs are backwards. My truck hits 30 easily, but the Focus barely taps in at 27.5. Both city. Hwy is about 31 truck, 29 car.

That is odd considering the smaller Duratec on the Focus and the extreme tear drop aerodynamic shape as well as the lower stance in comparison to the Ranger. Though, your Focus is an auto (so is mine), but the engine size and shape of the car should be a bigger factor. I'm guessing your driving style on a stick in the city allows for a lot of coasting as compared to the Focus' auto in the city. One thing with the Ranger is that no matter if it's highway or city, I get about 25 mpg pretty consistently now. I can't wait until the fall when it's mild outside and I don't have to use the A/C, my numbers will go back up.

[budgie]

I'm pretty impressed that you can get 25 mpgs with that huge lift and those large, heavy tires!

Yeah, lots of folks are doing the "hypermiling" thing getting great fuel economy results by just changing their driving habits. there are whole forums dedicated to that. I should have added above that, like neptuniregis, I drive real slow and gentle. Easier both on gas and repairs...

While a teardrop shape should certainly help aerodynamics most cars have it backwards. Vehicles should taper more on the back than the front like a falling drop of water. I read somewhere that most cars have better drag coefficients if they are pointed backwards.

A cap like this would help. It got a guy in an F150 from an average of 18mpgs hwy to 22:

link to the thread here

[BlueMan]

Been to the dealer. Tired of losing IQ dealing with them. They say nothing is wrong with it.
It has around 12k on it and averages around just shy of 280 miles per tank. It's what, a 15, 16 gallon tank?

Tank size doesn't really matter, it's how much fuel it takes to refill when you check the trip odometer, then dividing miles by gallons. Sounds like you need to go to a new dealership if they aren't interested in listening to you. That truck is EPA rated at 21/26 with a 5-speed under the new testing procedures, but I don't see how you should be getting less than 25 mixed use with a 2.3l duratec engine. If it was a 3.0 V6 I'd understand the crappy mileage.

[Rainier]

I'm pretty impressed that you can get 25 mpgs with that huge lift and those large, heavy tires!

Well, when it was stock I was getting 28 mpg, so it has gone down considerably. However, that was in the spring and when I got the lift (still during spring) I was getting 26 mpg. In the summer with all the a/c use, after the lift, lowest I got was 23. BUT, I've since got the gear changed to 4.56 and I'm up 25 mpg in this dead heat. (105 degree weather so the a/c is always on). Anxious to see what I get in the fall with these new gears and no a/c.

Interesting about the F-150 cab. I had a 06 Frontier 4.0L crew cab before this truck and it got terrible mileage. I averaged around 17, but managed to get 19.8 once trying to drive like a grandma. I am in a very hilly area though (more of a concern for the 4 cylinders).

[Dogsofjune]

Tank size doesn't really matter, it's how much fuel it takes to refill when you check the trip odometer, then dividing miles by gallons. Sounds like you need to go to a new dealership if they aren't interested in listening to you. That truck is EPA rated at 21/26 with a 5-speed under the new testing procedures, but I don't see how you should be getting less than 25 mixed use with a 2.3l duratec engine. If it was a 3.0 V6 I'd understand the crappy mileage.

Should have stated dealers. One in Junction City, one in Topeka, and one in Lawrence.
It's a huge pain because they take forever and I depend on the truck daily for work. They always want to give me a tiny rental car in exchange.

They all shrug the shoulders and say they can't find anything.
An example of mileage, taken today. 230.8 miles and to fill it up was 11.539 gallons. I always fill up when I get gas.
Mixture of city highway and very little AC. Never pulls a trailer or has any serious weight in the bed.
Empty wheel barrow and some testing equipment and I myself only weigh 170.

Why can't these things use E85? Sure would be cheaper.

[BlueMan]

They aren't a flex fuel engine, only the 3.0 is, and even though it may be cheaper, it takes a larger volume of fuel for the same amount of miles driven, which would probably more than offset the cost-per-gallon difference.

[ericsmith32]

Dogsofjune.. Shawnee Mission Ford is a good dealership in KC if you ever get over this way. Olathe might be another. I took my truck to Shawnee because of a vacuum problem and they fixed it no problems.. although it came back a year later.

[phoenixranger08]

I just moved from Minnesota to Arizona last week, and drove my 08 Ranger down. I averaged 32.5 MPG for the whole trip and my best tank of gas was 38 MPG (it hit 38 MPG on two tanks of gas in a row!) Speed was 65-70 MPH the whole way. I am now sitting with 3,100 Miles on the truck. As the trip went on, the mileage only got better and better. I started off with 30.5 MPG on the first fill-up and the last fillups were 38 MPG.

[guildos]

Are you using the small or the big gallon in your calculations? 3,78L vs 4,54L?

[Rainier]

Heh, now claims of 38 mpg! Ok!

[phoenixranger08]

I am using US Gallons, 3.78L.

Rainier, you would probably get the same mileage if your truck didn't have big wheels and tires on it.

During my trip, I cruised at 65-70MPH the whole way and was shifting at 2,000 RPM.

Yes, I pulled off 38 MPG not once, but twice during the trip.

[Rainier]

My best mileage was literally exactly 10 mpg less than that when it was stock, and that was in good weather conditions (70 degrees in the spring so no a/c etc.) and driving pretty conservatively. My big tires wouldn't create a 13 mile per gallon difference. I saw a 3 mpg drop with the new tires/lift.

[Johnbaum13]

BTW, I've logged my best tank ever, on the highway out to Lawton OK, around the O/R park, and back to Wichita Falls. 29.8mpg. Most of my time on the highway was done at 80mph, and I have a ticket to prove it.

[Roush]

BTW, I've logged my best tank ever, on the highway out to Lawton OK, around the O/R park, and back to Wichita Falls. 29.8mpg. Most of my time on the highway was done at 80mph, and I have a ticket to prove it.

lol, if ya drop it to 75mph you would have gained 2 mpg.

[Ponyguy]

When I pulled into the driveway tonight coming home from school, my "low fuel" light came on and blinked off again... Which means I should start looking for a good deal on ~13-14 gallons of gasoline, if there are any to be had. I poked the trip ODO button and saw 402 miles since I filled up with Mobil 93 octane.

FWIW: I'm running with a "93 Octane Performance" tune from VMPTuning, too. I should probably switch to the "Fuel Economy" tune annd see what mileage I get...

[booneylander]

The best I've EVER managed was just a touch better than 40mpg. But to get that I had to REALLY and I mean REALLY try. My commute is 40 minutes one way and all on 55mph roads with only about 3-5 stops on the way depending on the lights when I get close to the office. I have to drive painfully slow (~40mph) and really pay attention to inclines/declines to get this though. Driving the same route, if I'm matching traffic acceleration, going the speed limit, but still being mindful of getting the inclines/decline right and downshifting just right coming up to a stop (so that I don't have to use the brakes hardly at all) I usually end up getting about 36mpg, and if I'm really not paying attention I usually sit at about 31mpg. The worst I will ever get if I'm in stop-and-go traffic, or going really fast on the highway, or making a lot of super short trips, is about 27mpg.

If I'm pulling my 6X12 enclosed Pace trailer, fully loaded with a couple race bikes and all my pit-gear, I can still manage 23-24mpg if I drive the speed limit, but if I am in a hurry and drive 70-80mph it drops fast to about 15mpg.

I use a Scangauge2 tool to track my instantaneous and average fuel economy as well as a bunch of other parameters, I'd never be able to get those kinds of numbers without it. You'd be surprised how little fuel you can use if you keep the revs under 2300 and keep the TPS at like 25%. The other thing is you can save HUGE fuel over the course of a trip if you plan your stops properly and just let off the gas far enough away from the stop so that you can downshift and keep the engine decelerating with the fuel cut off. Brakes are your enemy! Of course you can only do that kind of stuff if you drive on roads where it's appropriate to do so, I'm lucky in that I'm doing like 80% country back roads so it's easy to get good FE.

Oh yeah all of this is with a 2007 Mazda B2300 2WD with a 5 speed and no A/C. And the really good mpg only started to come in after about 20 000 miles on the clock.

[Dogsofjune]

Dogsofjune.. Shawnee Mission Ford is a good dealership in KC if you ever get over this way. Olathe might be another. I took my truck to Shawnee because of a vacuum problem and they fixed it no problems.. although it came back a year later.

Good to know, but that is a bit out of my way.
At this point I am resigned to just accept this, thing, for now.
I'll trade it in next year for something different.

[Rainier]

@Booney: That was a pretty good write up there. For me, I don't really go by gas mileage as what's possible under the most strict conditions, because people (even gas conscious people like myself) just don't/can't drive like that. Even as you said yourself, you have to be able to drive on roads that permit that kind of driving. I'm fairly conservative when I drive, but everyday I can't go 20 mph under the speed limit to get optimal mileage or I'd get rear-ended lol. I do plan my stops though because I try to not have to stop, but I also try to balance that with not pissing everyone off behind me. I shift at around 2500 rpm, I coast when I can, etc etc. Yes, my truck has a lift now, but it literally only dropped 3 mpg at most. I never surpassed 28 mpg before the lift, even w/out a/c. I do live in a hilly area (though I usually coast downhill), but that's something that I have to account for in my gas mileage. It's possible in the hill country of Texas, the Ranger, with even above average economic driving, just can't get past 28 mpg, which is still 2 mpg's higher than what Ford says it can get. If I wasn't in the hills, I assume I might gain a 2 mpg increase, which would still only net me 30 mpg.

I'm not dismissing claims of 36, 38 (with normal driving mind you) or even your 40 mpg, but considering all the official info about the truck, my own experience, and knowing that hi-tech expensive hybrid applications get about 43/46 mpg, you can see why some find it hard to believe this non-aerodynamic truck can get such high mpg. Even if it is possible, it's hardly representative of what most drivers, or even economic drives will attain. So in my eyes, it's about as useful as calculating your gas mileage as if you happen to surf a gust of wind behind you for 300 miles while going downhill.

That said, I also think it's great to know it might be possible to get that mileage. I just wouldn't want people googling the mpg of the truck and finding this thread and thinking they will achieve 36-40 mpg. But you did address your mileage dips fast under certain conditions too, so that's good.

(/rant) :P

For me, after the lift, in the heat of summer with tons of a/c usage, I'm getting about 25 mpg. Going 75-80 mph on a trip with the back LOADED with camping gear (I mean, my bed was sagging!) net me about 22 mpg. I suspect this Fall, under normal/easy commuting driving conditions I'll be at about 26-28 mpg.

[Kaz]

at my current height, im getting around 27 mpg. im slammed 4/5 with the roush body kit and all, which im sure does help, but my rims are also heavier than stock(i weighted them) im sure if i threw the stock steelies back on id see 1 or 2 mpg gain. also dont have ac which might help a little. i drive a mix, and stop and go traffic is not uncommon. i also usually dont shift before about 4k. merging into traffic 3 days a week on my way to school it is a must to rev it out that high, if not higher. This also includes my runs at the track on friday nights as well, which i am not nice to this truck at all.

[budgie]

I'm not dismissing claims of 36, 38 (with normal driving mind you) or even your 40 mpg, but considering all the official info about the truck, my own experience, and knowing that hi-tech expensive hybrid applications get about 43/46 mpg, you can see why some find it hard to believe this non-aerodynamic truck can get such high mpg. Even if it is possible, it's hardly representative of what most drivers, or even economic drives will attain. So in my eyes, it's about as useful as calculating your gas mileage as if you happen to surf a gust of wind behind you for 300 miles while going downhill.

Obviously Rainier with the lift and tires you put on your truck fuel economy isn't what you're after. That said you have a great truck there for its purpose and sharing about your experience on those factors has been helpful to us all. But input on how to improve mpgs seems to be outside your experience or interest.

The point of the thread is MPGs and is a great place to learn about what our trucks are capable of. Hypermiling--really adjusting driving habits and even modding a vehicle to get maximum MPGs--is certainly a fitting topic for this thread. It certainly isn't "representative" of most drivers on this forum, nor are the Truck of the Month awards for greatly modified trucks. But both are interesting to learn what is possible.

Lots of folks on the forum at ecomodders.com are getting huge increases in MPGs over EPA out of their hybrids too (and their civics and metros and even trucks). Aerodynamics (even the crappy 0.49 coefficient of drag of the b2300) are certainly a MPG killer at high speeds for these trucks but doesn't detract as much if one keeps the overall speed low and constant like Booneylander explained.

So Booneylander--way to go! Thanks for sharing. You certainly get the hypermiler truck of the month award!

BTW, it would also be interesting to see what could be done by modding the aerodynamics like people are doing with other vehicles and see what's possible at 65-70 mph. Such as an air dam up front, plugging some of the grille, adding a raking bed cap, smaller mirrors, etc. Or even extreme mods like a duck tail, wheel skirts, full belly pan...

[chevys]

The best I've EVER managed was just a touch better than 40mpg. But to get that I had to REALLY and I mean REALLY try. My commute is 40 minutes one way and all on 55mph roads with only about 3-5 stops on the way depending on the lights when I get close to the office. I have to drive painfully slow (~40mph) and really pay attention to inclines/declines to get this though. Driving the same route, if I'm matching traffic acceleration, going the speed limit, but still being mindful of getting the inclines/decline right and downshifting just right coming up to a stop (so that I don't have to use the brakes hardly at all) I usually end up getting about 36mpg, and if I'm really not paying attention I usually sit at about 31mpg. The worst I will ever get if I'm in stop-and-go traffic, or going really fast on the highway, or making a lot of super short trips, is about 27mpg.

If I'm pulling my 6X12 enclosed Pace trailer, fully loaded with a couple race bikes and all my pit-gear, I can still manage 23-24mpg if I drive the speed limit, but if I am in a hurry and drive 70-80mph it drops fast to about 15mpg.

I use a Scangauge2 tool to track my instantaneous and average fuel economy as well as a bunch of other parameters, I'd never be able to get those kinds of numbers without it. You'd be surprised how little fuel you can use if you keep the revs under 2300 and keep the TPS at like 25%. The other thing is you can save HUGE fuel over the course of a trip if you plan your stops properly and just let off the gas far enough away from the stop so that you can downshift and keep the engine decelerating with the fuel cut off. Brakes are your enemy! Of course you can only do that kind of stuff if you drive on roads where it's appropriate to do so, I'm lucky in that I'm doing like 80% country back roads so it's easy to get good FE.

Oh yeah all of this is with a 2007 Mazda B2300 2WD with a 5 speed and no A/C. And the really good mpg only started to come in after about 20 000 miles on the clock.

Booney, how does that truck pull that trailer? If memory serves me those thing weigh about 1400 lbs empty and thats a single axle. The wind resistance is what kills you from my understanding and that is from guys that pull them with a full size truck. Im still on the fence about a ranger. Its either a 4 banger or full size. There really is no inbetween in my way of thinking. The temptation is the 4 banger tacoma because it says it can tow 3500 lbs but the price is way higher. Im wondering if the ranger is very conservatively rated on tow capability. I remember way back when people pulled all sorts of stuff with the small toyota and 22r engine. I had one myself and they were indestructable and did a lot of work cheap.

[budgie]

There have been a number of threads on towing capacity in the Duratec forum for these 4 bangers with lots of info:
Max Towing Weight
Duratech towing vs older 2.3L?
Towing capacity

[booneylander]

LOL I don't know about hypermiler of the month, I'm not nearly as hardcore as a lot of people I know. I actually wish I had kept better records of the gas mileage of the truck since I had it from new, because I never really paid any attention to any of this stuff until this past winter really. If I had to guess though I would say that my normal, day-to-day average mileage is something in the 33mpg range, and that's doing mostly 55mph country roads. It was neat to find out what the truck could do if you really try though, but I really don't make a habit of trying to get 40mpg because it's just not worth the risk of pissing people off or risking someone ramming into you because you're going 20 under and he's not paying attention.

The biggest help for FE was getting the Scangauge, there's quite a few times when you're driving along and depending on the headwind/tailwind/incline, etc, you can gain 5-6mpg just by slowing down 5 mph, and other times you can speed up and up and still only drop a couple mpg. I think when I got the SG, I probably gained 6-8mpg just by being able to track what the truck was doing in real time rather than filling up and going "well, this tank is worse than the last one, seems like I drove the same, so I wonder why?". And there are a few "break points" like from 40-60mph you only lose a few mpg, but then from 60-70mph there's a big drop in mpg all of a sudden, and then anything above 70 starts to drop mpg in a hurry. It's handy on the highway too because you can come up on a transport and see where you start to get the draft and the mpg goes way up, you can actually get significant mpg gains a lot further away from a transport than you might think you need to be, which is sweet because I have no interest in being right up a transport's ass (dangerous and prone to getting stone chips and junk).

You guys should see what I can do with my diesel smart car. 75mpg if I REALLY try, 65mpg for normal, daily driving. The gas smarts that just came out aren't nearly as good which is disappointing since the car has huge potential as a diesel.

@ chevys: The ranger is fine for pulling the 6X12 so long as you don't need to go 90mph with it. The truck's got lots enough power to merge on the highway even with my trailer (1200lbs) with bikes (800lbs for the pair) and gear (maybe 300lbs), but you have to keep the motor at 4k rpm+ to be in the power for merging. Once you are up to speed you can easily cruise in 5th gear at 55-60mph even if it's a bit hilly, just gotta try and use your momentum a bit if you're in rolling hills. If you want to go 65mph you can still do 5th gear if you are on level-ish ground but if it gets hilly/windy or if you want to go any faster than that you have to drop it to 4th gear. My trailer has a blunt nose so it grabs the air pretty bad, I don't know if the v-nose would be a lot better or not, but if I were to buy another trailer I would get it V-nosed. My trailer is 6.5ft inside so it sticks about 2 feet above the roof of the truck, again if I were shopping for a trailer again I'd be tempted to get one that was maybe a bit shorter just so it'd be less sensitive to windy days. The truck has lots of power for accelerating and stops fine with the trailer, I don't have e-brakes on it. You need to do a decent job distributing the weight in the trailer because it'll squat the rear of the truck pretty bad if it's too tongue-heavy. I put the bikes at the back with the motor behind the trailer axle and that seems to work really well, the truck only squats maybe 6-8 inches like that.

[chevys]

Thanks for the info booney. I have pulled lots of stuff with 4 banger toyotas and s10s. The biggest challenge I always found was pulling a bass boat that was so much wider than the truck. Im talking about hanging out a foot or two on each side. Some of the roads we have has you with the left trailer wheel on the yellow line and the other about a 6 inches from the ditch. You get used to it but when you meet another one just like what you have it gets close.

I thought those tow ratings may have been very conservative. I know full well what its like to plan ahead on braking and so forth and I never punish the engine but just be patient as possible. I also think its probably best never to get higher than 4th gear. Pulling with my 4.3 sonoma right now I run out of truck way before I run out of engine. There is only so much the brakes and chassis can safely handle.

By the way, I think those v nose trailers are the way to go from what I have read.