This^^ And if it is pinging, back off the timing a little bit and buy cheaper fuel.

 

Yeah its funny how so many peole dont realize what the octane rating means... I knew a guy that used to fill his crappy mini van up with Premium, and then dump in 2 bottles of octane booster in order to take it through yearly emmisions testing...

He said he did this because he never failed testing that way because his engine was running so hot and clean... I tried to explain to him a few times he was wasting money for nothing, and that his crap box on wheels would pass with regular 87 no problem, as that it what it is meant to run...

 

The only point in using higher octane would be if you were to up the timing going for slightly better performance.

 

So I just finished my mpg modifications and took a trip from Chicago to kenosha last weekend. I had a full load of furniture and half of my fuel tanks full. I got 17.6 mpg mostly highway. I have been averaging 13.5-14 mpg city light pedal and 12.5 hard pedal. So here are my mods:

Electric fans
K&N fipk
pacesetter shorties & glass pack dump
autolite platinum plugs
tune-up
motorvac
a/c delete
air pump delete
new front O2
MSD 6al
weight reduction 200 lbs (panels heat shields etc)
oem aluminum wheels
55 psi tire inflation
synthetic fluids all around
transmission shift kit

I was getting 8 city/ 12 highway when I bought the truck. Standard cab 8' bed 351W e40d 2wd

 

Glad the article helped out!

Like many on here, I have run K&N FIPK, Drop In and the paper style. IMO, the FIPK just costs way too much for what it is. The reason I went to the K&N drop in was because of excess blowby getting the filter wet. Just a bandaid to keep from replacing filters all the time.

Here's a good fuel discussion from the Ranger forum. Very informative:https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...mium-fuel.html

Chris

 

I need to change my spark plugs first and foremost. On my 95' 5.0 2WD single cab truck, (The way I'm figuring) I'm getting about 11-12. I wanted a different truck so I wouldn't have to keep driving my dad's 10 mpg Dodge. I think new plugs should make a difference though. Will have to look into some of these other mods.

 

If your interested, there is the SIXLITRE tune-up. You use standard Motorcraft copper plugs, a hotter ignition coil than stock, new distributor cap and rotor and new low resistance wires. With all of these parts, you gap the plugs to .055" which is a little bigger than stock, and bump the timing up to about 12-13* as long as it doesn't ping. When I did it I didn't see a change in city mileage, but my highway went from ~10,5 to ~14.5 mpg.

 

I am a firm believer in platnium or iridium plugs for fuel economy on oem engines

 

Might be something to do in the future...but I really don't do that much highway driving (really hardly any at all) mostly just back roads and around town with a fast mph of maybe 60 on one little stretch of road.

Thanks for the heads-up on it though! So would you recommend a different air intake?

-Cody

 

On a old engine like this it is a waste. If you like them, go for it. I would rather spend my money else where...

 

Any aftermarket air intake is a waste of time. The stock components flow more than a stock or slightly modified engine will ever need.

The big block 460 trucks and the Lightning GT40 351 trucks use the same parts. They need more air than a stock 302 or 300 etc need, and the stock air intake works fine on them.

Stick with Motorcraft copper plugs or at least Autolite copper plugs. The platinum and iridium etc does nothing for our trucks.

Stay as far away as you can from snake oil plugs like Chinese E3, Splitfire, Bosch +4 and others like these.

I also saw no gains from the six liter tune up. I have since gone back to Motorcraft parts.

For the best performance on a stock engine, generally fresh fluids, filters, and tune up parts is the best bet. Make sure to use quality parts and not cheapo stuff.