Posted on 05/27/2008 5:44:17 PM PDT by Chickensoup
I have been seeing this item advertised. I have two four wheel drive suvs because of my location. Would love to cut my milage twentyfive percent. Can anyone here explain this to me and tell me whether it would work, not work, be bad for my cars...
Moonshine..
Would love to cut my milage twentyfive percent.”
I said that incorrectly, didn’t I?
“spin easier to clean the treads for traction.”
Non-sequitur.
Spinning is idiotic if you want traction.
And at this point, my dear Celsus, we may, if we will be candid, make some allowance for these Paphlagonians and Pontics; the poor uneducated “fat-heads” might well be taken in when they handled the serpent—a privilege conceded to all who choose—and saw in that dim light its head with the mouth that opened and shut. It was an occasion for a Democritus, nay, for an Epicurus or a Metrodorus, perhaps, a man whose intelligence was steeled against such assaults by skepticism and insight, one who, if he could not detect the precise imposture, would at any rate have been perfectly certain that, though this escaped him, the whole thing was a lie and an impossibility. - Lucian, Alexander the Oracle-Monger
As my Daddy used to say, “If were easy, everybody would be doing it.”
well I'll be doggone - Mine was a 99 Sport with 4.0L SOHC V-6 and the auto 4WD system (with 4-HI and 4-LO lock). Best I could do was 20, and several others had similar results. Of course, I traveled with a group of modified Explorers at the time (off-roaders) so this may not have been representative of typical results.
EPA for mine was 16-city, and 19-highway.
Kicking 94hp out of a 1340Evo in a 1995 E-glide doesn’t help the mileage either.
So I’m pretty happy with 37. :-)
(and sometimes i dump a half gallon of race fuel in there for even more zoom zoom :-))
“Moonshine..”
LOL
Yep — AKA ethanol. I bet all this home-brewing fuel by these obvious science illiterates will end up in millions of poison cases and more than a few meth-lab quality explosions. Darwinism in all its glory.
Mine, fully loaded with just about everything I owned, got me across this country about a year ago, at about 35 MPG. Of course, I only drove about 60 MPH, and got passed by big diesel trucks in Idaho and Wyoming, but right now, they're more concerned with fuel prices than I am.
Depends on the surface. I found that on a deep sandy hill in Moab, Utah, it was best to maintain enough wheelspin to keep the speedometer around 30-35 MPH to transcend the incline. Unusual, and against ones' instincts (especially someone like myself who grew up driving in the Northeast Ohio snow), but that was the only technique that got vehicles up that hill.
I’m getting 15 + a little in my new Tundra 4x4 with the TAs. No sure what the old F 250 got and I like to drive heavy.
Don’t know about you but I would love to increase my mileage 25% from say 400 miles per tankful to 500.
I had the 4.0 in my 1993 4x4 ranger and had 199,000 on it when i traded it for this Explorer. Great motor! Absolutely nothing bad to say about it. I avg 16 & 21 with it.
But it was a 93, so when I was looking at 22 with the ‘05 Explorer V8 I always made the calculation at the pump and shook my head, with a smile! :-)
My pals with their Dodges hate me.
Spend this money on nitrous oxide instead. You’ll thank me later.
“I beg to differ. Michelin LTX mud and snow are the best tire anywhere. “
Could be, I love my TAs work great. I’m mostly in sand (dry and wet) and road. And they wear.
I would probably hate you too, but I'm driving a 2003 Escape now. 20 in town, and 26 on the highway and I drive 5-10 MPH over the speed limit as much as I can.
But I am impressed that you're squeaking over 22 MPG out of a V-8 Explorer. That's good.
Little Ranger story - I got one when they first came out (1982 1/2) with a 2.3 Liter 4-banger and 4-speed (no 5-speed available yet). It was a 2WD, but I got around 28 MPG on the highway with that thing. The newer Rangers are about 1000 pounds heavier though, almost as heavy as a full-sized pickup these days.
My 1200 sporty aint got numbers that good, but it'll put a smile on my face every time I give the throttle a good twist and run some gears.
“I found that on a deep sandy hill in Moab, Utah, it was best to maintain enough wheelspin to keep the speedometer around 30-35 MPH to transcend the incline.”
Could be there climbing hills with momentum. I see the big special purpose dune trucks with huge tires and loosy suspension - is that what you are driving. But that will get you stuck down here. See it all the time. Steady is best in FL. Problem also is this is a farm and we gotta stop and do stuff. If you hammer down to 30-35 you are going one place - down to your axles. LOL I pull out the vendors all the time.
Actually, for me, it was my Explorer with 32 inch BFG All Terrain tires, in 4WD high-range, Auburn Limited Slip in the rear axle, 2 inches of lift. But it was common for all vehicles going up this incline to have to use some wheelspin. Yes, momentum was involved as well. The hill was steep enough that failing to make it wouldn't get you buried - gravity was able to pull you back down. It was also long enough that pure momentum wouldn't allow you to ride to the top. You needed some speed, but you also needed a little bit of controlled wheelspin in this situation. The sand was dry, but loose enough that you couldn't just ride on top of it, and deep enough that you would sink if you weren't moving. The combination of some speed and the tires costantly digging and self-cleaning really did the trick.
Believe me, it was a learning experience. The same technique did NOT work in the wet sands of the Pine Barrens Forest in New Jersey a year later! Momentum and gentle throttle application was the key there. Having a good winch was a plus in Jersey! :)
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