Well, your thoughts would be to just ignore the tested and proven methods and means and go with the unproven and unsound advice. If I followed your line of reasoning I would not long have my 200 acres, 6 tractors, excavator, bulldozer, baler, 2 trucks, 2 vans, jeep, motorhome, rv trailer, 28ft boat, jetski, or 4 atvs running for very long. Follow the manufacturers service recomendations and you'll be A LOT BETTER OFF. Snake oil does not work!!

 

I drive a 04 model E250 van. Its the big extended model. It gets 9 to 12 city & 13 to 16 highway. Its the driving style that kills my mileage. I do lots of stop & go & driving in heavy traffic. The van drinks gas when I drive it this way.It isn't bad when I get on open roads & cruise at 55 to 65mph .I can get 16 mpg on the highway. I don't think that is bad for a truck as big as my van. I run 5w20 oil in my van. I tried the heavier oil in my F150 & lost 2 mpg. Thats all it took to get me using the oil Ford recommends.

 

hey guy's, play nice or i will make you take a time out!
[ok thats a joke, but lets do play nice please]!

as far as someones fuel mileage, never doubt them! i have seen vehicles equpped the same way, drivin by the same person, get a very wide differance in fuel mileage. this is even more noticeable in todays computer controled vehicles.
the programming in the ecm is supposed to be the same, but very rarely is.

contrary to popular belief, the engineers at ford do kinda know what they are doing. that means follow the manufactureres recomendations on oil viscosity, tire pressures, maitenance intervals, and so on. this also means they new where to run the inlet for the air intake.

hot engine air is probably part of the problem here, along with MABEY the oil viscosity thing. mileage on the van may also be a contributing factor, along with
driving style, load, and on and on and on!

 

I tend to lurk and not post, but all I can say is WTF? The spread of false info on the internet is getting crazy. What is even worse is that people are sucked in by it. Use your head people. As said before, Ford, GM and all of the car manufactures have spent a ton of cash for R+D. If they could increase the fuel economy and MPG by changing oil and using hot air, don't you think they would?

tradosaurus,
Look at other threads on this forum and you will see that 99% of the people here with far more experience and knowledge than you or I agree with the replies that were given. All you have managed to do is show your lack of comprehension and prove your incredible gullibility. I think you should buy anything that the website mentioned above recommends. They need the continued support ($$$) to spread FUD to unsuspecting vehicle owners.

Brian

 

I suppose the sheeples such as yourself believe in fairy tales like the earth revolves around the sun instead of the geocentric theory just because you read it in a book?

Open your eyes my good man! And think for yourself!

 

This conspiracy crap out there is riduculus. The article on oils and such is crap. The name calling that has gone on in this thread is ridicules.

You followed the recomendations of the article and got poor milage. You came here and (although got called names (Rudely)) got advice that your methods were wrong. If you do not belive a bunch of guys who do not work for Ford, Then go about your merry misguided ways. I do belive it is you who belive in the fairy tales, even when your own experience proves them wrong.

 

once more with gusto,

BE NICE! IF YOU CANT, DONT MAKE A REPLY.

 

Jim you crack me up. Good job though. I guess the guy just doesn't get it.

 

Just to let you know how wrong you are both my Honda and Mazda use hot air from the engine for the intake. This is factory design and amazingly both cars get great gas mileage (that and being 4 cylinders). And all internal combustion engines operate on the same principle regardless of whether 4 or 8 cylinders.

The following information is free but future information will cost you. Please pay attention.

6. Use Warm Air Intake: Modify intakes to draw warm air near radiators rather than taking cold air from under the fender. This is an important change. NEVER draw cold air into your engine if you expect good MPG.
<SMALL>Advantage: Deliver warm and smooth air to the intake for best MPG. The smoother the intake flow, the better for mileage. The less turbulence, the better. Makes a noticable improvement to the Thermal Efficiency of your engine.</SMALL>
<SMALL>Directions: Disconnect the cold air hose or housing from the fender well. Remove filter. Clean up the parts. Bore about ten 1-3/4 inch holes into plastic housing (if this applies) to draw air from the engine compartment directly to the air filter. Deburr the holes and clean the parts. Plug up the cold air inlet leading to the air collector box. Reinstall the air filter assembly. This will improve the engine Thermal Efficiency and mileage. Some uneducated persons believe cold air is better for mileage. What cold air DOES is allow lower viscosity of air that flows easier and faster. The lower viscosity colder air in diesel coolers gives more power to diesels in hot weather. But what is best for power is different for economy. The thermodynamic equations for Thermal Efficiency clearly state warmer air is better for efficiency and mileage. Another thing that pays off in both mileage and power is to grind the protruding little screws in the throttle plate and also to grind smooth every sharp corner and edge in the throttle body that upsets the air flow going through your carburetor or throttle body. You want the smoothest possible air flow. Been doing this for many years. I did this to my Mazda (Ranger) pickup and found a little more power and torque as well as a MPG boost. </SMALL>

 

So what psychotic source is this

 

It's a secret....

 

My '99 E150 gets 15 mpg general driving back & forth to work, to shopping.
I have a stock 4.2L 6 cyl w/automatic trans & air cond.
tradosaurus, could you please tell me where to find "The thermodynamic equations for Thermal Efficiency".

 

Well after reading that artical, I can't find fault with everything, there are some good ideas, but there is one glaring thing that really stands out - 35 % better mileage with thicker oil ? 35 % ??? 35 % ??????? 35 % ????????? yes, I have to say that three times in disbelief.

WOW that is a HUGE change, more than can be had with mechanical enhancments such as a overdrive gear or such. Of course 35 % on a 10 mpg gallon truck is only what, 3.5 mpg, but what if you were starting with a 1984 Honda Civic FE, rated at 67 mpg (EPA estimate) on the hiway? Do you mean to tell me that with thicker oil you would see close to 100 mpg? I wonder if you put 140w GL-5 if you would gain even more ?? 120 or more mpg on that Civic?

Sorry, I have to laugh at this one. If it were only so easy .... I would do it in a second!

I do agree with one thing said - that things that make for the most performance don't always produce the highest mileage. So true.

David

 

I just got back from a 1000 mile round trip vacation.

Best MPG on highway = 16.3 MPG

Worst MPG on highway = 13.5 MPG

All the changes I made really don't make too much of a difference.

Although I will keep using 15W/40 in order for my engine to last longer. That won't be good news to the auto makers since parts=money.

 

You're engine isn't going to last longer with 15w40 in it. It may actually cut it's life down. You've only got about 90k (88k taken from your first post) miles on that motor. I'd stick with the 5w30 as not to damage the oil pump, bearings, crank shafts, and cams. Unless it's about 55 degrees outside you're oil pump will have trouble moving that oil first thing in the morning. Trust me I know, I've run 15w40 in high mileage engines that were on their way out for a while. It helps a lot when you have 200k on an engine that was run hard and has the bearings torn up in it. You don't need an oil thicker than 5w30 that motor YET. If you keep running that 15w40 you will need to. Not trying to attack you, trying to point you in the RIGHT direction. I read that guys entire website. I can tell you now that from MY personal experiences that you can expect a 2 to 3% reduction in mileage from just switching to a thicker oil. If it were mine I'd put a tuner on it and increase the timing, lean out the mixture a little, and run 89 octane in it. That would get better mileage and help the engine last longer.