Bronco MPG
Elder User
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 725
Likes: 1
From: Upstate New York
Ha i don't know most of these questions but i can say i have 35s, stock manifold for cherry bombs out behind the door, stock gears to the best of my knowledge, lowest octane gas cause it's cheap, and only heavy on the throttle when i am happy or pissed. I usually am very tender on the gas pedal.
Post Fiend
Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 8,908
Likes: 1
From: Algona, Washington
Oh i am positive they do, i knew before buying this bronco that it was going to be terrible on gas and my parents made sure i understood the consequences of having something that big, so i was well prepared but not prepared enough... I had never driven something like this before so it was definitely crazy on the packed highway going home.
Posting Guru
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 1,749
Likes: 0
if it matters, you know how I told you guys it's 10mpg for me no matter what? I went from 31s to 33s to 35s, still 10mpg.
nah, truthfully my 35s are stupid, STUPID for highway mileage. I have to near floor it to keep it at 60.. with stock gearing, if you're getting bad mileage with 35s it's absolutely normal.
The 400 wasn't just a smog motor though, Ford built it to be economical. You can get more MPG out of one than a 351w if you have it tuned right and now how to drive it, it's strenghts are lowend torque so you should never, ever have to be heavy footed on it. Lean up your accelerator pump one notch if you can do it without your motor cutting out.. also double check your tranny kickdown as it can make a difference
nah, truthfully my 35s are stupid, STUPID for highway mileage. I have to near floor it to keep it at 60.. with stock gearing, if you're getting bad mileage with 35s it's absolutely normal.
The 400 wasn't just a smog motor though, Ford built it to be economical. You can get more MPG out of one than a 351w if you have it tuned right and now how to drive it, it's strenghts are lowend torque so you should never, ever have to be heavy footed on it. Lean up your accelerator pump one notch if you can do it without your motor cutting out.. also double check your tranny kickdown as it can make a difference
Post Fiend
Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 8,908
Likes: 1
From: Algona, Washington
if it matters, you know how I told you guys it's 10mpg for me no matter what? I went from 31s to 33s to 35s, still 10mpg.
nah, truthfully my 35s are stupid, STUPID for highway mileage. I have to near floor it to keep it at 60.. with stock gearing, if you're getting bad mileage with 35s it's absolutely normal.
The 400 wasn't just a smog motor though, Ford built it to be economical. You can get more MPG out of one than a 351w if you have it tuned right and now how to drive it, it's strenghts are lowend torque so you should never, ever have to be heavy footed on it. Lean up your accelerator pump one notch if you can do it without your motor cutting out.. also double check your tranny kickdown as it can make a difference
nah, truthfully my 35s are stupid, STUPID for highway mileage. I have to near floor it to keep it at 60.. with stock gearing, if you're getting bad mileage with 35s it's absolutely normal.
The 400 wasn't just a smog motor though, Ford built it to be economical. You can get more MPG out of one than a 351w if you have it tuned right and now how to drive it, it's strenghts are lowend torque so you should never, ever have to be heavy footed on it. Lean up your accelerator pump one notch if you can do it without your motor cutting out.. also double check your tranny kickdown as it can make a difference
Elder User
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 725
Likes: 1
From: Upstate New York
if it matters, you know how I told you guys it's 10mpg for me no matter what? I went from 31s to 33s to 35s, still 10mpg.
nah, truthfully my 35s are stupid, STUPID for highway mileage. I have to near floor it to keep it at 60.. with stock gearing, if you're getting bad mileage with 35s it's absolutely normal.
The 400 wasn't just a smog motor though, Ford built it to be economical. You can get more MPG out of one than a 351w if you have it tuned right and now how to drive it, it's strenghts are lowend torque so you should never, ever have to be heavy footed on it. Lean up your accelerator pump one notch if you can do it without your motor cutting out.. also double check your tranny kickdown as it can make a difference
nah, truthfully my 35s are stupid, STUPID for highway mileage. I have to near floor it to keep it at 60.. with stock gearing, if you're getting bad mileage with 35s it's absolutely normal.
The 400 wasn't just a smog motor though, Ford built it to be economical. You can get more MPG out of one than a 351w if you have it tuned right and now how to drive it, it's strenghts are lowend torque so you should never, ever have to be heavy footed on it. Lean up your accelerator pump one notch if you can do it without your motor cutting out.. also double check your tranny kickdown as it can make a difference
Regardless of gas or diesel, anything you can do to raise your low end torque will generally increase fuel mileage, assuming the engine is running in its torque "sweet spot" at cruising speeds. Thus, the lower the rpm of the engine's peak torque, the lower the rpm should be at cruising speeds.
Freshman User
Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 28
Likes: 0
7 on the highway or just around town, with you heavy on the throttle? If it's only around town, stomping the throttle a lot, 7 is about average. Otherwise, that's pretty low. I figured 12city/15high average for these trucks in good tune with stock 3.50 gearing and driving easy. On yours, what gears, what tires, and what's the total ignition advance at 2500 rpm? What idle advance is it set for? Also, what type of carb? Are the spark plugs are good and properly gapped? Wires are good? Does it miss or run rough at all? Does the exhaust smell rich? What mufflers does it have? Check for an exhaust system restriction? As a rule of thumb, you want as much ignition timing as the motor will tolerate without any pinging whatsoever. What grade of fuel do you run in it? An octane that's too high for the engine's requirement will actually reduce your power and fuel mileage, because the gas burns too slowly for proper combustion. Lastly, have you checked the engine's compression ratio and have you calibrated your timing mark so it's exactly at TDC? Accurate timing is absolutely critical. Sorry for the flood of questions, but maybe I can help you with it.
Elder User
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 725
Likes: 1
From: Upstate New York
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Moderator
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 7,987
Likes: 104
From: Boise, Idaho
Whats your elevation? Its possible your carburetor has factory jetting and you need to readjust.
For every 2000 ft. above sea level, drop your jets by 1 size below factory.
Also, did you set your floats correctly? Are you sure they're still good and not sinking?
For every 2000 ft. above sea level, drop your jets by 1 size below factory.
Also, did you set your floats correctly? Are you sure they're still good and not sinking?
Freshman User
Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 28
Likes: 0
I replaced the floats when I rebuilt the carb and from how much better it runs now, as far as acceleration and idle is concerned, I think they are fine and set correctly. A local website here says my elevation is 89ft so I am assuming that means 89ft above sea level.
Moderator
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 7,987
Likes: 104
From: Boise, Idaho
I replaced the floats when I rebuilt the carb and from how much better it runs now, as far as acceleration and idle is concerned, I think they are fine and set correctly. A local website here says my elevation is 89ft so I am assuming that means 89ft above sea level.
Freshman User
Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 28
Likes: 0
If that's the case, you should probably stick with stock jetting. Do you know what size jets are in the carburetor? A lot of times, people erroneously think they can get more horsepower by dumping more fuel through the carb, so they'll put in larger jets. (All it does is result in less power, soggy performance, and worse gas mileage).
Posting Guru
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 1,749
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im noticing with my tires that my hwy mileage is being murdered the bigger I go, but around town is just about the same. So I cut it to like 8mpg or so.. it's definitely a tire thing for me. Gonna eventually regear when I don't always blow my money on my cheatin' scum of a girl
Post Fiend
Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 8,908
Likes: 1
From: Algona, Washington
im noticing with my tires that my hwy mileage is being murdered the bigger I go, but around town is just about the same. So I cut it to like 8mpg or so.. it's definitely a tire thing for me. Gonna eventually regear when I don't always blow my money on my cheatin' scum of a girl
My 35s are taking their toll as well.