Fuel economy at 70-80 mph?

[Stitches1974]

Is it true that you got smoked by a ranger? Someone mentioned that in another thread.

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[Mattwings]

Is it true that you got smoked by a ranger? Someone mentioned that in another thread.

Yep, in every conceivable way. Dirt, pavement, 2wd, 4wd, 4A. It was when I only had about 700 miles, so I wasn't holding gears manually or going nuts in any other way trying to build boost. I also had two more passengers. Broncos (especially the BL) are heavy and the transmission/ECM seem specifically tuned to limit power at launch. Most other situations it pulls great. We will mess around a bit more now that I am past the break in period. I will also mention to "R60" transmissions is less intrusive and smoother in regular driving the the "R80".

 

[Mattwings]

Yep, in every conceivable way. Dirt, pavement, 2wd, 4wd, 4A. It was when I only had about 700 miles, so I wasn't holding gears manually or going nuts in any other way trying to build boost. I also had two more passengers. Broncos (especially the BL) are heavy and the transmission/ECM seem specifically tuned to limit power at launch. Most other situations it pulls great. We will mess around a bit more now that I am past the break in period. I will also mention to "R60" transmissions is less intrusive and smoother in regular driving the the "R80".

My 2.7 F150 Supercrew 4x4 consistently smoked this same Ranger too.

 

[sledboy]

Picked up our non-sas Badlands (2.7 4 door) yesterday. Then we proceeded to go visit the kids in a college town 120 miles away. The round trip was approximately 300 miles, 80% of it was on the freeway between 70 and 75 mph (I was trying to be nice to it). On the way there, I used normal mode and on the way back, we used eco mode. Our average mpg was 20.5 according to the gauge.

 

[johndeerefarmer]

Picked up our non-sas Badlands (2.7 4 door) yesterday. Then we proceeded to go visit the kids in a college town 120 miles away. The round trip was approximately 300 miles, 80% of it was on the freeway between 70 and 75 mph (I was trying to be nice to it). On the way there, I used normal mode and on the way back, we used eco mode. Our average mpg was 20.5 according to the gauge.

Thanks very much!

 

[AZ_Liberty]

Phoenix to the California border, set the cruise at 85:

My Mustang GT gets 25 PMG
Our Expedition gets 19.2

Ridiculous that a car 2000 lbs heavier than the Bronco with a V8 can get so much better mileage than the eco-boost.

 

[johndeerefarmer]

Phoenix to the California border, set the cruise at 85:

My Mustang GT gets 25 PMG
Our Expedition gets 19.2

Ridiculous that a car 2000 lbs heavier than the Bronco with a V8 can get so much better mileage than the eco-boost.

Thanks for that. I agree the ecoboosts are thirsty. If you talk to the F150 guys that tow, the 5.0 always does better than the 3.5 eco on fuel

 

[Stitches1974]

Phoenix to the California border, set the cruise at 85:

My Mustang GT gets 25 PMG
Our Expedition gets 19.2

Ridiculous that a car 2000 lbs heavier than the Bronco with a V8 can get so much better mileage than the eco-boost.

Your Mustang weighs 6-7000 pounds? WTH you got in it? I thought my Challenger was heavy at 4400 pounds.

 

[soonerbronco]

My BL 4 door:

traveled 160 miles home yesterday at 79 MPH. Averaged 15.2 mpg per computer. Should get better when broken in……

 

[johndeerefarmer]

My BL 4 door:

traveled 160 miles home yesterday at 79 MPH. Averaged 15.2 mpg per computer. Should get better when broken in……

SAS package?

 

[soonerbronco]

SAS package?

No sas

 

[johndeerefarmer]

No sas

Hilly terrain? Or windy? Any mods to the Bronco such as roof rack, etc?

Thanks

 

[AZ_Liberty]

Your Mustang weighs 6-7000 pounds? WTH you got in it? I thought my Challenger was heavy at 4400 pounds.

Expedition EL, official curb weight is 6048.
Mustang is only 3600

 

[elnorte]

From everything that I've read 55mph to 59mph is the optimal speed to drive on the highway if you're worried about gas mileage.

There was a study done by the department of energy and they found that on average a vehicle (since they all have different gearing and engine size) will get the sticker advertised MPG at 55mph.

According to the study this is what they concluded.


- 3% less efficient at 60 mph
- 8% less efficient at 65 mph
- 17% less efficient at 70 mph
- 23% less efficient at 75 mph
- 28% less efficient at 80 mph

So basically just take the advertised mpg that's on your vehicle sticker and subtract 28% to get a ballpark mpg figure.

Couple things that come to mind is that I wouldn't feel safe driving 80mph+ in a vehicle like a Bronco that has a high center of gravity in case you have to make a sudden turn to prevent hitting something in the road and end up flipping the vehicle. Also, if you plan on going 80mph why not get a different car that will probably get double the mpg as the Bronco?

Personally from what I've found out driving over the years is that driving 80mph+ is only worth it if you're driving long distances, say Michigan to Florida, then you will save a couple of hours but if you're just driving 10 miles or less you will barely save any time. That's why when I drive on the highway I just set cruise control at 59mph and stay in the right lane.

Couple years back I ran my own study. I work a 12 hour shift and get off at 7pm, I would drive right after work straight to the gym. I did about 85mph to see how long it would take me to drive 25 miles and then the next day I did 55mph ( this is all 95% highway). I found that the couple of minutes I saved was not worth the hassle of driving like a race car driver.


Here in MI no one drives the speed limit, especially on the highway. You have people doing 85mph+ all the time, it's like a race. On Woodward people are doing 60mph in a 45mph zone. I don't get it.

Good info, but I question the study's overall outcome. My current daily driver is a Civic, which displays MPG, and where I live in Texas there are many 70 MPH tollways/highways. When I am traveling at 70-80 MPH I have an MPG of ~32, versus slower driving which is ~27-29.

That is just me though. I know there are hundreds of variables that can be taken into account.

 

[BigTex]

Except for the ridiculous "Safety Corridor" in New Mexico. Most worthless section of asphalt any where...

I will be driving the “safety corridor” Saturday as I head to Red River, NM for some off roading

Packed up and ready to roll!

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