Surprised by my gas mileage

[D Fresh]

Please provide documentation to back up another one of your bogus remarks. Provide documentation that states Ford only engineers their vehicles to last through the warranty.

Another one of my bogus remarks?

I may be opinionated, but bogus?

You can lead a horse to water, but sometimes they don't possess the critical thinking to drink, I guess.

If you can't believe that engineers who work @ major autobuilders are at times hamstrung by marketing/accounting/sales or any other division you're kidding yourself.

Bottom line a vehicle with oil changes @ 10k and regular fuel looks better to consumers than one with oil changes @ 5k and premium fuel. And has the same likelihood of lasting through warranty. Maybe not, if you expect a vehicle to last longer

Can I document this? Sure, read back through Phil's stories. As a former Ford engineer his stories are not only entertaining, they often contain the exact type of thing I'm referring to.

Take that, apply it to your knowledge of D.I. turbocharged engines, and ask yourself if saving 3 cents a mile is worth it to you. If it is, great! But it isn't to me.

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[D Fresh]

Hi Left,

We engineer and test to 150,000 miles of the 90 percentile customer...not the warranty period.

Best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired

Have there ever been times as an engineer that your expertise has been ignored by accounting, sales or marketing?


And what octane of fuel do you put in YOUR Ranger?

 

[HenryMac]

Took a trip from NJ to NC this past weekend. I averaged a little over 25 mpg and most of my driving was at 70 mph using the adaptive cruise control.

Does Virginia use winter fuel?

I have never seen 25 mpg in my truck before. I currently have around 23,000 miles on it.

Based on my experiences with our FX-4, it's the 70 mph that's hurting your mpg. We routinely do a 240 mile round trip drive.

There are (2) different routes we take.

• Route 1: The majority of the distance has a speed limit of 65 mph. It's a shorter drive than route #2, typical mpg for this drive is 27.
• Route 2: The majority of the distance has a speed limit of 55 mph. We always get about 2 mpg better on this route, last time, mpg was 28.9

We always run top tier fuel, and the highest octane available at that pump.

 

[Trigganometry]

I’ve been running 94 octane since I got it. Fun factor is awesome ? My mileage is 19 or so. Granted still breaking in (first oil change yesterday). My trips daily are short at 12 miles each way and some other highway driving. Now only thing I have done otherwise is put in a Velossa big mouth. I was speculating this can’t be giving me that much of a difference but, today’s fillup and Fuelly says almost a 2 mpg difference. Nothing else changed. Same driving habits and morning warmups. Still cold here! Winter gas too

 

[HenryMac]

I’ve been running 94 octane since I got it. Fun factor is awesome ? My mileage is 19 or so. Granted still breaking in (first oil change yesterday). My trips daily are short at 12 miles each way and some other highway driving. Now only thing I have done otherwise is put in a Velossa big mouth. I was speculating this can’t be giving me that much of a difference but, today’s fillup and Fuelly says almost a 2 mpg difference. Nothing else changed. Same driving habits and morning warmups. Still cold here! Winter gas too

A 2 mpg increase or decrease with the big mouth...

 

[Trigganometry]

A 2 mpg increase or decrease with the big mouth...

Increase. Sorry, see what you mean! ?

 

[Robisten8]

I have literally never checked fuel/gas mileage in any auto I've ever owned until I became a member on this forum. With that in mind, I have done it on the Ranger a couple times now. You people getting 20+ must be fibbing a bit or are some tender foot driving fools who get honked at for driving 15 under the speed limit! My MPG is hardly hitting 16 mpg!

 

[HenryMac]

I have literally never checked fuel/gas mileage in any auto I've ever owned until I became a member on this forum. With that in mind, I have done it on the Ranger a couple times now. You people getting 20+ must be fibbing a bit or are some tender foot driving fools who get honked at for driving 15 under the speed limit! My MPG is hardly hitting 16 mpg!

I drive the speed limit, use the cruise control a lot and get 25-27 mpg routinely.

You're getting 16 mpg... and have made alterations to the truck that don't help mpg.

Who's calling who a fool?

 

[24dRanger]

Before the pandemic I was driving over 26,000 miles per year as the base I work at is at the other end of the little world I live in. My diesel would get me 26 mpg before the EPA and California forced FCA to keep modifying the PCM. Mileage and drivability suffered. This little truck has registered 22.8 mpg on its first 1500 miles using regular gas. I don’t drive like I stole it, if I want fast my wife’s Genesis 5.0 will haul the mail and I don’t need the wewo to stop me. But if this motor couldn’t handle the 87 they wouldn’t state that it was designed for it. Does the computer adjust for higher and provide better performance? That’s what they say and I’m inclined to believe it will. But my truck will never see it.
Of course I predict I will move back to a bigger truck within five years so unless something changes I won’t worry about the longevity of this particular truck. But I hope for y’all that your trucks last a long time like every other Ford I’ve ever had.

 

[CB750F]

Maybe using 91 will be better?
I'll wait another month to see but an older car lost 60miles on a tank in winter.
Ford says 87 & 91 for towing or hard driving. When I'll tow, I'll use 91.
Not sure 87 will grenade the motor. Shit does happen though.
I'll switch & see what happens, see if cost per mile is less/equal/more.

Great conversation guys.

 

[D Fresh]

Maybe using 91 will be better?
I'll wait another month to see but an older car lost 60miles on a tank in winter.
Ford says 87 & 91 for towing or hard driving. When I'll tow, I'll use 91.
Not sure 87 will grenade the motor. Shit does happen though.
I'll switch & see what happens, see if cost per mile is less/equal/more.

Great conversation guys.

Will it grenade a Ranger engine? Probably not. Will said engine perform better AND last longer with premium? Without a doubt.

 

[BassRanger]

Running higher octane for fuel economy rarely ever makes economic sense. There have been a few studies ran comparing octane rating on the same vehicle and in the cases where fuel economy is improved, it's never enough to justify the price difference of the fuel.

The NHTSA did a pretty exhaustive report on the 3.5l ecoboost/10r80 combo in the F150. It's worth the read if you're interested, but the conclusion on octane's effect on fuel economy where that mpg between 88 and 93 were nearly identical in most situations with 93 taking a slight 1% edge on 1 of 4 tests. Car and driver tested the same drive train configuration, with far less scientific methodology, but yielded about a 3.5% fuel economy increase between 87 and 93.

https://www.nhtsa.gov/sites/nhtsa.dot.gov/files/documents/812520.pdf
https://www.caranddriver.com/features/a28565486/honda-cr-v-vs-bmw-m5-ford-f-150-dodge-charger/

Also running 87 is not going to damage your engine at all. There is so much mis/outdated information floating around about the entire subject of octane and knock.

Stewart Sanderson has an excellent article about the subject as it pertains to the ecoboost in the Focus. Again it's a great read if your interested.
https://motorsport-developments.co.uk/Understanding_Ford_Ecoboost_Knock_Detection.html

 

[D Fresh]

Does the computer adjust for higher and provide better performance? That’s what they say and I’m inclined to believe it will.

I could be wrong in the instance of our 2.3s. But in the case of my FiST's 1.6 EB the computer actually pulls timing if the the knock sensor detects a problem. Meaning that while "designed" for premium it will adjust for lower octane fuel. For this to happen there has to be knock to detect. Which IS harmful.

I'm almost certain the 2.3 operates the same.


Edit: As usual I was partially right. OAR starts at 0 and learns wether to move positive or negative. However, to go positive (lower octane fuel) the computer relies on the knock sensor to call for it.

https://www.cobbtuning.com/ford-ecoboost-and-the-octane-adjust-ratio-monitor/

Also LSPI protocols are dependant upon this OAR value as well. Which again is dependant upon the knock sensor to adjust.

Does it adjust swiftly? Sure.

However, I'd prefer my engine not to knock at all, like ever, if possible. I'll stick with the good stuff.

 

[24dRanger]

Ford said:
Your vehicle is designed to operate on
regular unleaded gasoline with a minimum
pump (R+M)/2 octane rating of 87.

4. The manual basically says premium is recommended, but regular will suffice. I don't normally do the minimum in anything.

Meaning that while "designed" for premium it will adjust for lower octane fuel.

Whether you are splitting hairs or not doesn't matter but you are interpreting incorrectly what the manual states: Your vehicle is designed to run on regular unleaded on 87 ... therefore excluding those areas where < 87 is available. Later it states you will get higher performance from 91 octane. It does not state that basically premium is recommended but regular will suffice not that it was designed for premium but will adjust for lower.

There is no empirical proof that premium will make it last longer just as there is none that shows that top tier fuel will make it last longer. Studies are rarely unbiased and statistics can be sampled to put a spin on anything. But hey, I'm happy you are rocking along using higher octane and I'm happy I'm not ... everybody wins. Between this, the oil change thread and the threw a rod thread ... it appears to me that we all need to get out and enjoy the truck more and spend less time on the internet. Y'all have a great day!

 

[CB750F]

Whether you are splitting hairs or not doesn't matter but you are interpreting incorrectly what the manual states: Your vehicle is designed to run on regular unleaded on 87 ... therefore excluding those areas where < 87 is available. Later it states you will get higher performance from 91 octane. It does not state that basically premium is recommended but regular will suffice not that it was designed for premium but will adjust for lower.

There is no empirical proof that premium will make it last longer just as there is none that shows that top tier fuel will make it last longer. Studies are rarely unbiased and statistics can be sampled to put a spin on anything. But hey, I'm happy you are rocking along using higher octane and I'm happy I'm not ... everybody wins. Between this, the oil change thread and the threw a rod thread ... it appears to me that we all need to get out and enjoy the truck more and spend less time on the internet. Y'all have a great day!

I'm with you on this.
91 will be 'better' & ....... ah, frack it, your right, just enjoy the truck.

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