poor economy out of 4 banger

59Edsel · Feb 15, 2019

HI,

I'm newer to the Station. Name is Grant. I've got some questions about my Ranger (Blue Oyster).

'98 Ford Ranger XLT
2.5L I4 5 speed stick
6 ft bed 2wd
7.5 axle, 3.73 gear
237/75/R15 wheels

As far as I know All is stock, Except the mods I've done. Which are:

Pacesetter Longtube Header 2.5" collector, With 2 Flowmaster steel substrate high flow cats, 2.25 pipe through a Cherrybomb muffler to the tail.
And a Powertune computer module ( to gain some extra hp/mpg)

I purchased her for better economy than my old '82 F-150. I know I may never see 30's with my style of driving, (Shout out to Fast and Furious).

But even when I drive like Grandma keeping the rev's below 3000, and drive 55 mph on back roads and 65 on the freeway.

My best is 19 1/2 mpg's

I need help, what am I doing wrong? I'm very into this truck, done all the updates and maintenance on it myself, (except for bleeding the brakes, somehow I can never do it right).

I would appreciate any and all advise. Thanks for lending an ear.

Dirtman · Feb 15, 2019

19.5 is pretty average. It was rated at 21mpg when it was new 2 decades ago so I think you're doing pretty good.

8thTon · Feb 15, 2019

If you take off the Powertune computer module how does it do?

Dirtman · Feb 15, 2019

8thTon said:
If you take off the Powertune computer module how does it do?

Should gain some power with it removed since it's just dead weight...

8thTon · Feb 15, 2019

Dirtman said:
Should gain some power with it removed since it's just dead weight...

Yeah, that's where I was going :icon_cheers:

adsm08 · Feb 15, 2019

59Edsel said:
to gain some extra hp/mpg

These are two things that you don't get together.

anchoredinchrist · Feb 17, 2019

Sell it and buy a vw Rabbit pickup if you want mpgs. :-D
That engine isn't known for fuel economy, though my brother in law got 30 with his on long distance highway runs, but that was before the exhaust valves started giving out.
Some people swap in a diesel and get good economy, but that's a lot of work. (I plan to do that some day)

Sent from my KYOCERA-E6790 using Tapatalk

tomw · Feb 17, 2019

You should be able to look at the OBD-II data and see what the computer thinks is going on, especially with fuel trims. I would also vote for removing the 'power/mpg' fix, as you can have one or the other, but not both, and you might be stuck in the middle of 'compromise land' trying to get both needs satisfied with a chip.
Others know what the trims should be, but any long term that are in the PLUS range indicate the computer wants to feed more fuel than originally designed.
Have you checked that your engine warms up all the way and does so quickly? The upper radiator hose should not get warm as the engine begins to warm up. It should stay cold, and then begin to get hot suddenly, when the thermostat opens. Warming up slowly indicates a leaking thermostat that slows down engine warm up and uses more fuel.
tom

salguod · Feb 17, 2019

I'm new to the Ranger world too. I just picked up a very similar '95.

I think those 75 series tires are taller than the originals. The factory 15s were 235/60R15. That's what Tire Rack shows anyway. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

My truck has similar, but even taller, 30x9.5R15 tires on the rear and the 235/60R15 on the front. My speedometer is way off as a result. I think mine's off by about 10 MPH on the highway.

The upshot of that is that not only is your speedo off, but your MPG calculations will be too. A bigger tire travels farther for every revolution so you are driving farther than your odometer indicates.

All this assumes that no one recalibrated the speedometer for the new tires.

Denisefwd93 · Feb 17, 2019

The 4.0 Rangers aren't that bad on gas either! I'm actually surprised of the one I now have, my other one was automatic and it was bad on gas but "okay" as I graduated "down" from an AWD Safari van, talk about a gas hog!

All considered, the one I have now with 5-speed and 31x10.5 tires does something like +-18- 2,000 RPM at 65 mph, I believe it's the gearing (3.27 rear) and the slightly larger tires.

Lately I've been wondering, would I even consider a 4-cylinder ranger?

I see the 2.3 is in just about all the models except maybe four wheel drive which I hear was a rare combination.

But I doubt I would like not having power,. although I am a granny and drive like one, it is nice to have the power when I do need it which is almost never,. I'm always a little surprised that this truck does get out and go on the 4.0 v6!

my only experience with the 4cyl was a 1972 pinto station wagon,.[emoji1787]

Most of all I see with the 4-cylinder ranger owner's is the constant search for "more power"

in summary, be happy with what you have or as others suggested, get something else!

8thTon · Feb 17, 2019

Those tires are probably at least 12% larger in diameter than what was stock, which makes your effective axle ratio into something like 3.28:1. That's not well optimized for the engine and will keep it under a higher load than designed for, especially because it will be a slug and you'll be stomping on it all the time to make it go. Plus who know what, if anything that chip device is doing. More than likely it's going out of closed loop fuel control and into high load routines a lot.

Mods are fine, but it's good to keep in mind that the people who designed these things knew what they were doing, and to understand what it is you are changing before you do so.

59Edsel · Mar 2, 2019

I've heard /read all the replies and have estimated this from the truck.

The tuner has added power

and fuel consumption

.

The tire/wheel combo is incorrect for the truck. (supposed to have 225-70-R14's So my milage and econ is both off. And I agree with 8thTon about the ratios and such.

I will unplug the "tuner" and give results on that.

Also the exhaust came out sounding the way I intended. Its probably a little controversial but I made it sound like a JDM tuner with a fart can, without actually having one.

The motor acted like it didnt have enough back pressure until I installed the "Tuner" module. Idle is now smooth and consistent.

I'll be looking to get the proper size tires on while trying to keep the larger rims, I like the response in the wheel.

I use the vehicle as a to and from work vehicle, and to carry my Goalie gear to and from the rink. That's all. So I'll continue to play and experiment with her.

Thanks for replying.

Dirtman · Mar 2, 2019

If by tuner you mean the goofy ones that you splice in 2 wires, AT BEST they trick the computer into reading more air than is going past the MAF sensor so you run richer and sometimes get some throttle response. Usually though they are literally a fake circuit board with a blinking light that does nothing.

A true tuner envolves a 500+ dollar device and a shop that knows what they are doing that reprograms the computer software itself. But these are generally pointless as well unless youve modified the engine in someway. Sometimes you can adjust shift points.

The ones that plug into the obd2 port and stay there are a pre-programmed non adjustable and the "tune" is again worthless MAF cheat or injector pulse width changes. Again you may get a tad of throttle response on a stock engine but your just wasting fuel in the long run unless your engine is modified to make use of the extra fuel.

Ramcharger90 · Mar 2, 2019

Lol my 4 banger gets 9.21mpg feeling good right about now

59Edsel · Mar 2, 2019

Dirtman said:
If by tuner you mean the goofy ones that you splice in 2 wires, AT BEST they trick the computer into reading more air than is going past the MAF sensor so you run richer and sometimes get some throttle response. Usually though they are literally a fake circuit board with a blinking light that does nothing.

A true tuner envolves a 500+ dollar device and a shop that knows what they are doing that reprograms the computer software itself. But these are generally pointless as well unless youve modified the engine in someway. Sometimes you can adjust shift points.

The ones that plug into the obd2 port and stay there are a pre-programmed non adjustable and the "tune" is again worthless MAF cheat or injector pulse width changes. Again you may get a tad of throttle response on a stock engine but your just wasting fuel in the long run unless your engine is modified to make use of the extra fuel.

Plug into the OBD2

poor economy out of 4 banger

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