Mpg???

[Carraudio]

I just drove my car from Kearney, NE to Albuquerque, NM it is a 700mile trip. I did it in 10 hours. I only got 20 mpg on the highway this seems very low for this car, is it?

My Contour gets 28 mpg and my 99 Taurus SE get 30 mpg. I know this car was not taken care of by is last owners so where should I start working to make this car run better?

 

[spazmoid]

So did you average 70mph? or like 75 or 80 seeing you probably stopped a few times in that 10 hours. I get around 24mpg doin around 70, 75.

 

[RAYJAY]

if i keep it at or under 65 i do about 25 + the faster it goes the less i get .....

Jeff

 

[Jonny Cash]

I get 5

 

[SuperHO]

Wow....you guys suck.....I get between 33-35 on the highway (checked MANY times driving between Kalamazoo and Savannah) and 21 city while delivering pizzas..... And I cruise around 77-80 on the highway if traffic allows.

 

[Carraudio]

I was tring yo to 70 mph but with no cruise it was hard.

 

[SuperHO]

ah, learn throttle control, young grasshopper!

 

[Carraudio]

I did a good job. it was the last hour I hard a hard time keeping my foot out of it. The problem I had was slowing down not speeding up. but 20mpg is really bad. I am just glad I have the SLO to take on road trips.

 

[DHMag]

averaging 80MPH, i got ~30MPG. 60MPH = 24MPG.

have the plugs and wires been changed ? also, clean the MAF and IAB Solenoid.

 

[Carraudio]

All I have done is change the oil. I didn't have time to do much more then that this weekend.

 

[SuperHO]

averaging 80MPH, i got ~30MPG. 60MPH = 24MPG.

have the plugs and wires been changed ? also, clean the MAF and IAB Solenoid.

...and gut your airbox, get a K&N, get a free-flowing exhaust, turn the AC off, run premium fuel, gut the car, put a really big fan on the trunk to give you a tail-wind.......

 

[93MTXSHO_STUD]

I get around 25-27 using regular 86 octane highway going around 76-78. and in city around 19-21. If you are getting worse give your car a good tune up. Clean the Idle Air, clean the MAF sensor and screen, change plugs and wire if you havent lately, change the fuel filter, put some injector cleaner in, get an K&N or if you have one clean it and dont put a lot of oil on or youll regret it(stupid FORD cant engineer anything, thank goodness for the foreign motor) and ill bet you'll get much better MPG, fuel grade matters maybe by .5-1 MPG better I wouldnt worry about it, especially driving in the city.

 

[NotSoSlowSHO]

just keep your foot out if it and you should get decent mileage.

I get 28+ on the highway.

And 14+ in the city.

Typically I see a 25-26mpg average.

Not too shabby for a 16 year old hot rod taurus.

 

[Carraudio]

I didn't have my foot in it at all and I got 20mpg now if I had been rodding it I wouldn't be asking what I could do. I would know that it was a case of the lead foot but it isn't.

 

[Sexymeatball]

I get around 28+ on the highway with a few toll booth WOT moments
I average around 22-23 normally.

Have you checked your alignment? A/F ratio? Maybe a brake is sticking? Tire pressure low? Old plug wires? Bad MAF? any and all of these things can contribute to poor mpg. but usually its just a lead foot

 

[Bob Gervais]

Last year, on our 900+ mile trip to Gingerman Raceway in MI, I averaged 28.9 MPG in my 91, which had a loaded to the gills trunk. My wife was following in the 97 SLO (Vulcan) and only averaged about 24 MPG. We varied speed between 75 and 85.

I would say if the car was not taken care of, start with the 60k service (or at least parts of it). Plugs, wires, plug well seals if they're leaking, and go from there. My 91 ran like crap and got lousy fuel mileage until I put new plugs and wires on it.

Also, check for vacuum/after MAF leaks.

 

[USHOMEISHOU]

...and gut your airbox, get a K&N, get a free-flowing exhaust, turn the AC off, run premium fuel, gut the car, put a really big fan on the trunk to give you a tail-wind.......

and make sure everywhere you go you're going downhill

 

[thecrew2999]

i know no one seems to believe me on my other posts but my 92 donor car with a 3.0 got 38 mpg.

i was going 55mph on the trip back from new york.

 

[SuperHO]

Holy bump, batman!!!

 

[thinkingstrings]

off the assembly belt they r only rated at 18-26 says msn autos but i would die for 20mpg i got a front main leak that killed the front bank cat and then my trans governor plate or whatever the trans shop said was leaking and killed therear bank cat so now in the city i get 11mpg and gas here is 2.49$ for premium its a killer but i am getting new cats this week