Yesterday I topped my tank off at and went and ran some errands and the like, nothing over 55. I put 97.2 miles on it. I went and topped it off today and it took 4.247 gallons.

The last time I checked my mileage was when I was two summers ago (19 yrs old then) and I got about 17. That just goes to show how much driving habits impact mileage.

I was extremely happy to see what kind of mileage I get!

1998 regular cab 3.0 auto 2wd (on profile)

 

19 MPG HWY downhill with a tail wind is the best LIL BLUE has ever attained
congratulations.....

 

Umm, with the gas tanks used in vehicles for the last 30 years or so there is an air pocket in there for the EVAP system. Because of this, it's virtually impossible to truly top off a gas tank, unlike cars of, say the 60's. Therefore, to check mileage with reasonable accuracy you need to fill it all the way, burn the full tank off, and repeat this a few times using mileage and gas consumption over multiple fills in your calculation. 100 miles is not a reliable/valid gas mileage check in a vehicle with an EVAP system. Not intending this to be a slam, but just a heads up on the reality of how things are.

 

22... hehe. I can burn the ac and do 65 and still get that. One (and perhaps the only) advantage to driving the 2.3L. Lets see, over the last 5 years (and yes I do have this recorded... yes I am big on statistics... just don't ask) I have gotten an average of around 25mpg (year-round), winter I usually get around 22-23, summer time (ac) I can get around 26 or so... ac off and keeping 'er under 70mph... around 28-29.

Highest recorded mpg, 30.3 mpg. (summer time, turnpike 60mpg average...325miles).

hehe...

STan

 

Those are pretty close to my numbers too... good ole 2.3

 

Okay. After the pump stopped I got another 3.4 gallons in. It took me about 5 minutes to do it. The trick is to gently open the trigger and let it run VERY slowly.

You are telling me that when I can see gasoline in the filler hole where the gas cap goes it isn't topped off?

 

but i think you need to look at the long term averages. 1 gas tank or more. Best mileage I ever got with my 2.5 was a little over 25mpg. Funny part, my bed was loaded with wood, tents chairs-camping stuff. I drove almost 400 miles non stop at 55. Probably had a tail wind, too. Daily driving I average a bit under 20mpg.(long term average)

jim

 

My 93 4.0, 4x4, 5-speed, 31" MTs, 3.73 gears gets 21.5-22 highway/city combination day-in/day-out.

 

98 4.0 4x4 5spd, 33's with 3.73 on a 3" lift, best I've seen with this is 17mpg. I average 14-15 all around. Wish the gas prices would drop

 

I average around 16-17. Today I filled it with 255 miles on the odo. since the last fillup, expecting it to take at least 15 gallons or more, it barely took 12. Crunched the numbers and came up with 21 mpg. It was an unusual tank, almost all hiway miles but still, the best I've ever gotten was just a tick under 17. Just a freak thing, I guess. -TD

 

Correct, but how much more it would take if there was no EVAP system I don't know. By design there will be an air pocket in the gas tank for the collection of fumes. Parking in the same place when gassing it up each time, doing like you're doing during fillups, and putting some noteworthy miles on each tankfull will let you know where you are at. Do it over 3 or so tankfulls.

Let's think about that air space and as we both know it's hard to dribble fuel into it after the pump shuts off. Let's also consider the consequences of only 100 miles on the tankful in a mileage calc.

a) 100 miles, 5 gallons = 20 MPG
b) 100 miles, 4 1/3 gallons = 23.1 MPG

The petty amount of miles makes mileage very sensitive to getting the tank full. But easily and consistently accomplishing that that is the dillema/situation/frustration we've all faced for like 30 years now. To get around this, you need to run some gas through it and put miles on each tankful to accomplish this.

 

I rock the truck back and forth so I can squeeze every last drop in. Like I said I usually get 3-4 gallons more than when the pump shuts off.

 

I have a 98 2wd Ranger, 3.0 5-spd. I have a fiberglass camper shell. A one month average comes to 23.7 MPG. I have checked the mileage on vacation (4.5 hours one way on the interstate) I drove at 65 MPH with a load of camping equipment and got the same mileage. I have gotten as low as 20 MPH in below zero weather.

 

There is a high spot in the tank for the fuel vent, but it is away from the filler neck in most vehicles. I don't think Ford, or any other manufacturer, would figure that area of the tank when calculating the capacity of the fuel tank.

Don't try to put more than about a gallon in after the pump stops though. It is possible for liquid fuel to get into the vent line and saturate the charcoal cannister with raw fuel and causing vapor lock in the fuel system because the tank doesn't have a proper vent anymore.

 

With my 1999 Ranger 4.0 auto 2wd, I usually get about 19-20 mpg on the highway with the cruise set at 120 (That 75 in imperial speak). I never ever use the A/C so I couldn't tell you how that affects it. I plan to put a tonneau cover on it and some 15x7 Torq-thrust originals (TTO's) as well as a flowmaster dual output muff and maybe a chip. I'm curious to see how that will change things around.
Sean