Yeah, my top is extremely loud after 65-70mph. My wife tells me we can't have a conversation if we take the Bronco. I just nod and smile.
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Yeah, my top is extremely loud after 65-70mph. My wife tells me we can't have a conversation if we take the Bronco. I just nod and smile.
In the for what it's worth department: 24 mpg over my first 900 miles
Maybe 200 miles interstate, 500 two lane 100 in town and 100 dirt 4000 to 12000 feet,several mountain passes. 2.3 auto, 4.27's.
I think the 4.27's actually help with mpg and certainly power, especially in my case: high altitude/mountains.
Other than the 200 mi on the interstate I probably did not excede 65 mph.
And yes, above 65 wind noise picks up pretty good, in my case I blame it on the roof rails.
Maybe 200 miles interstate, 500 two lane 100 in town and 100 dirt 4000 to 12000 feet,several mountain passes. 2.3 auto, 4.27's.
I think the 4.27's actually help with mpg and certainly power, especially in my case: high altitude/mountains.
Other than the 200 mi on the interstate I probably did not excede 65 mph.
And yes, above 65 wind noise picks up pretty good, in my case I blame it on the roof rails.
I did 6800 in a JLU rubicon 2.0, one of the big reasons i swapped 2.7 to 2.3 in my build. 21.6mpg during the 3 week journey
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Rain-X is still a thing and I highly recommend it. In light rain, you hardly need wipers at all, if you have Rain-X applied.
So
Long story short I think with 4.27 gears you will find yourself happier with a tall 33 or even a 34. Yours are a tall 32. That difference should pull your sweet spot up 5 or 6 mph and get you a lil better mileage. Yeah you may need to gun it more rock crawling to keep it from bogging but once those tires wear out get em just a lil taller and I think you will be happier.
So alot of people will disagree with me here, but as a person who is usually too poor to regear when adding bigger tires. I am really suprised at how deep of gears they are giving us for 33s and 35s. It is probably more for the rock crawling credentials than anything else. Since rock crawling is sooo important of a ability these days. (disclaimer I like mud and rpms) Anyways my point is that I have wheeled alot of jeeps, ford 4x4 vans, and broncos with 33" tires and very tall gears. 3.00, 3.07, 3.50, 3.54, and 3.73s. Most of those vehicles have barely had 150 hp. And all of those vehicles got okay mileage on the highway 65-70(ohio speeds). Also for the CJs that was basically their top speed. Though I did have a CJ5 with a 360 over 80 once. Most of these had no overdrives either.
Long story short I think with 4.27 gears you will find yourself happier with a tall 33 or even a 34. Yours are a tall 32. That difference should pull your sweet spot up 5 or 6 mph and get you a lil better mileage. Yeah you may need to gun it more rock crawling to keep it from bogging but once those tires wear out get em just a lil taller and I think you will be happier.
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I wonder if the 4.46 gearing with 33s keeps you out of the boost a little longer in top gear.
Thanks for that detailed write-up. It's great to get owner feedback - especially after a long highway trip. I'm not surprised by your highway mpg. While the Bronco's 2.3 liter engine w/auto box is very economical on fuel, two variables probably negated that advantage: speed and payload. 1) Speed. The most fuel efficient speed for vehicles (still) is 55-65 mph. Above that range, engines just gulp more fuel relative to distance. (All the active aero in the world won't save my fuel economy when I romp on my Porsche Cayman above 65.) 2) Payload. With four passengers, two dogs and accompanying luggage, weight probably hit your mpg. The greater the weight onboard, the harder the engine works to maintain speed, and the more fuel it slurps down.
Moving on to the problem of bugs on the near-vertical windshield, there's been a lot of advances in the auto detailing world that could help. RainX remains easy to apply but it doesn't last very long compared to modern glass sealants. If you're interested in the latter, some of the better sealants to consider are Wolf's Nano Glass Sealant and GTechniq G1 Clearvision Smart Glass.
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My thinking is they're going deep because the deep overdrive can compensate. Back in the day we could figure on around a .75 OD but they gave us sub .65 on both the auto and manual.
Rain X is toatally necessary on road trips. It helps glide bugs off too a bit. If you wash the windshield at the pumps then apply the good stuff it should last you a couple fill ups atleast as long as you do not use the wipers. They remove it quickly. There is washer fluid with rain x, it works 75% as good and is applied by the squirters but only lasts a lil while. Still minimal use of wipers is preferred for best results.
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Nice to see someone else from San Diego! I'll see you on the road one day, once I get my Bronco.
One thing I noticed at highway speeds, I rolled my driver window down and it wouldn't seal again when I rolled it up. It was being sucked (pushed?) outward by the wind and there was a noticeable gap between the top of the glass and the seal. I had to pull over to get the wind resistance to stop and the window to go back up in the proper sealed location.
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Hey Mike777, 13.5 yikes?! Really not sure what to tell you there. I do drive pretty conservative but even my first tank of gas when I was having some fun on the throttle I was around 15 MPG so
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WHAT, my fuel mileage will be lower when driving 80 instead of 65 mph?
Thats it Ford, I have enough of your tricks. Fed up.
Thats it Ford, I have enough of your tricks. Fed up.
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Hum, everyone has different experiences and opinions.
I did 800 miles in November w/my BigBend 2.3 mid mostly interstate with a few days in West Virginia cities….2 passengers and luggage.
1) Averaged 20.4 mpg (Normal mode according to guage) with Shell premium (average is now 21.0 exact at 3700 miles).
- Highway driving was typically 75-80 mph when possible.
2) Wind noise…I notice a swirl at shoulders and above but certainly don’t consider it excessive at all.
3) Never once noticed excessive bugs on windshield
4) I think all the time how nice the front wipers work.
I did 800 miles in November w/my BigBend 2.3 mid mostly interstate with a few days in West Virginia cities….2 passengers and luggage.
1) Averaged 20.4 mpg (Normal mode according to guage) with Shell premium (average is now 21.0 exact at 3700 miles).
- Highway driving was typically 75-80 mph when possible.
2) Wind noise…I notice a swirl at shoulders and above but certainly don’t consider it excessive at all.
3) Never once noticed excessive bugs on windshield
4) I think all the time how nice the front wipers work.
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