Checked my MPG today, after a 114 mile freeway cruise (out of garage, and back into garage at night) 18.8 MPG. Mostly flat roads, little to no headwinds. Both rows of seats removed. P215 75 R14 tires, stock Aerostar wheels with factory spoke hubcaps. 1987 Aerostar XLT 3.0 V6 140,4XX MI. Kicked on AC for about 10 miles just to keep it "exercised" in November. Only used heater early in the morning when it was daybreak. 60-65-70 mph effortlessly. 5w30 Royal Purple oil, Motorcraft FL400s oil filter, Purolator paper air filter, throttle plate cleaned with CRC the night before. Given all these factors, age of van, mileage, etc. Am I "good" "crappy" "average" "OK, nothing big" "something is wrong" "lousy MPG" "outstanding MPG" what do you think? Also, I did all my calculations the old fashioned way. Miles traveled since last fill up, divided by number of gallons of gasoline added to refill the tank (Chevron 87 oct. Reg. Unleaded is what was in the Aerostar, and what I refilled it with). Thank You Ed
PS "OD" in the A4LD trans engaged @ freeway cruising speed. Legendary 70s music playing on stereo. Wife sleeping most of the ride home. Anything else?
PS When I shut off the Aerostar in the garage, the exhaust system (and other things hot) "clicked" "splicked" "cracked" "snap" and "popped" for ten minutes cooling down! In a way, it sounded funny, like the Aerostar was trying to talk to me. That 3.0 v6 was HOT, but ran just fine...

 

sounds like you're just about right...maybe just a tad low. nothing to be concerned with though. most of the aero's get right around 20 mpg.
just FYI...running the heater shouldn't affect the mpg since the only changes in heater mode are done with vacuum or electrical systems. it's the a/c that sucks the mpg down.

 

I just adjusted my linkage for the gas pedal and my mileage improved from 12 mpg to 15 mpg. 237000 miles all original parts, except for mods duals exhaust, bigger maf and 60 series 15" tires

 

18.8mpg for an old van is excellent. For the 3.0L, I get about 22mpg on the highway, but combined is only 18mpg. For the 4.0L, it's about 2 mpg less.

 

I got 23mpg on a 250 mile trip a while back in my '91 3.0 shorty. This was on a combo of freeway & 2-lane, going up to 2000' elevation and back. Kept it at 60 most of the time. Above that mpg drops fast.

Ray Mac.

 

I got 21 mpg on my 4.0 liter extended with the A/C running.

 

Ed,
good mileage, you treat that girl right, she gets all the right stuff.
what tire pressure?, if you can stand the ride and have mainly smooth roads, try 35 psi in your tires, P series are usually rated for max of 35 or 44 psi,
I run my P215's ,which are 44psi max rated, at 40 psi cold, handles firmer and more stable and seems to have helped fuel mileage.

 

91' 3.0 shorty 23mpg highway 19mpg city

I got 23mpg on a 400 mile trip going an average of 85-90mph the entire trip

14" wheels, 215 75r 14 tires

50 psi rear
42 psi front

 

Usually get 20-22 on the open road, more like 17 around town. I think that's acceptable for a vehicle with the aerodynamics of a loaf of bread and 118k on the clock.

 

My usually get 16-17 around town and about 22-25 on the open road at 50-70 mph.

Aero 3.0 XL, manual tranny

 

Wow!
50 psi rear
42 psi front
...seems pretty high for an Aero. What are you hauling in the back, and what do the rest of you guys think?

 

I go with 35psi cold, front and rear. Unless you are way low on pressure, it doesn't save you that much in mileage, why risk a blowout.

 

dangerous to run tires over side wall rated max pressure, can cause the tire to blow bead out from rim at speed or cause belt/radial cross ply separation. both will definitely ruin a week or two at 70 mph on freeway and add an unwanted open air moon roof to top of van
Aero is heavy veh with high center of gravity that puts extra loading on tires on curves

 

Good shocks will do much more for a smooth ride in the back than higher tire pressures, plus a good shock can go a long way towards improveing the feel of cornering and brakeing. Just helps handle better. The tires are designed to run at 35 psi. If you want higher pressure tires, you will likely need different tires, and rims that are compatible with the higher pressure.

 

The first thing I did when I got the Aero was put 14" wheels, to lower it's center, HD shocks, a good tune up and keep it's oil changed every 2000 miles and I get 23-24 mpg. It is a 90 4.0 with the auto trans, now with 234000 miles on her.