Best speed for MPG performance?

[BroncoKing610]

Drove 1200 miles on cruise control at 75-78 and got an average of 20.5 which in my eyes is great especially for a box.

above 78 and I find the Bronco not liking the speed.

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[RedDawg]

My daily commute is 20 miles on a flat highway. Speed Limit 65 mph. I drive around 70-73 mph and I’m getting 23 mpg in my Big Bend 2.3 auto

 

[old goat]

69 mph + cruise control and Sirius radio and I start getting 20mph +
No hurry, enjoy the ride

Am at 17.6 in town with 2d 2.3A BB 33 tires, pretty much stock

 

[lakesinai]

I’m getting ready to take a trip to Florida for a week, ~1000 miles, mostly flat. What should I set cruise to to maximize MPG? I’ll be hopefully going to Texas Offrodeo later in year, ~2000 mile round trip, will be using this first trip to set expectations.

I've done state hwy MPG studies on my Non-SAS OBX with the OEM 18" wheels/33" road tires: 22 mpg at 65/68 mph. Add 33" Badlands takeoffs, lowers to 20 mpg. Subtract 1 mpg for each 5mph over that. So a 2 hour, 75mph trip to relatives on the interstate, its 19 or 18 mpg.

 

[OldGuardV6]

2Door, 2.3, MT, Black Diamond 265/70/17. If I run 55-65 on Eco Mode, I get ~24-25. (I do a lot of back country roads, very late, so go slow because of the deer) but when I get up to highway speed ~75-80, it starts to drop like a stone to 19-21. At 70-75, I can get around 21-23.

I got a lot better mileage with the stock base tires, and dropped when I got a set of black Diamond wheels/tires, but I like the way they ride/handle better. It gets better gas mileage than anything else that I have in the city, and only my Mustang beats it on the highway.

 

[Alassise]

It all depends which way you are traveling. I usually use the earth rotation and wind direction when traveling. Heading west, gives me better gas mileage as the earth rotation acts like a treadmill, less drag on the Bronco. Now if there is a tailwind, better gas mileage is expected. Overall, I usually get 16-18 cruising at 70-75. Now, on mountain passes I have seen 24-25 mpg downhill regardless of cardinal direction traveled, but these gains are diminished by heading uphill again.

So, in my experience, MPG on our Broncos are commensurate to load, wheather, but most importanlty the time you want to spend traveling and on vacation.

 

[Lèòn]

75-80 in sport mode. Just reset the computer and you’ll get good mileage according to the pc

 

[swmetal]

My Bronco Wildtrak is my good MPG Car

Really? I get 30 mpg at 75 mph in my C8. Aerodynamics makes a huge difference.

 

[SuperDave150]

I've done state hwy MPG studies on my Non-SAS OBX with the OEM 18" wheels/33" road tires: 22 mpg at 65/68 mph. Add 33" Badlands takeoffs, lowers to 20 mpg. Subtract 1 mpg for each 5mph over that. So a 2 hour, 75mph trip to relatives on the interstate, its 19 or 18 mpg.

@lakesinai What tires do you have on those Badlands takeoffs? BFG ATs ?

 

[SuperDave150]

There are so many variables between other's Broncos (engine size, chassis, trim (gearing), wheel/tire size, etc.) that it is difficult to pinpoint a certain speed at which the MPG will fall off the cliff for you. The best advice is to watch the boost gauge. For me, I have a stock BD 2-dr 2.3L and I have found that the cliff is 74mph. If I set my cruise at that speed, then I'll get the best mpg that can be expected.

@Beach_Bum. What you said. Ride height matters. Tires matter (especially rolling resistance). Skid plate package matters. Bumper choice matters. Roof rack matters. Etc etc etc.

 

[Ninjak]

LOl I have not gone far yet, but I just drive it. Put the good stuff in it, and rinse and repeat.

 

[lakesinai]

@lakesinai What tires do you have on those Badlands takeoffs? BFG ATs ?

I went with the Nitto Nomad Grappler, which is their small SUV tire 285/70R17. But after several conversations with Nitto tech people, they are 200# higher rater per tire than the stock Bridgestone. Also in the Nitto website they've actually discontinued some of their tires in favor of this one in that 33 in size, so I'd have to believe they beef this tire up a little bit in this particular size. Since I do mostly Highway daily driver and fairly frequent Beach trips they're the perfect tire for me. Quiet and economical. 2 inches wider and three quarters of an inch taller than the stock. Whether they would hold up to rock climbing, or dig in enough for mud, I don't know but for my purposes they're the perfect Tire. Great on the highway, track beautifully, and air down really nice for the beach. The bonus for me was that my Ford dealer installed them, which means they're fully warrantied and I don't have any issues about upsizing the tires being out of spec for the vehicle. The Ford dealer was quite happy to upgrade to this tire

 

[Solfive]

I just drove 700 miles from San Diego to Vegas and back. Cruise was set to 77 and I ended at 20.8 mpg. There were plenty of times I kicked it up to 85 to overtake people parked in the fast lane so I’m satisfied with that relative fuel efficiency to time/speed ratio. I found that keeping it in normal mode was more efficient than eco on the hwy. This is in a 2.7 2-door badlands running premium fuel for reference sake.

 

[Merc4x4]

I routinely do 600 mile drives in a day from NJ/NY to NC. I've been making the trip for 30 years. Depending on the route, traffic, and car it has taken me between a bit over 8 hours to 12 hours. These days it's about 11 hours including the time it takes to get out of NYC.

You're overthinking it and setting yourself up for a miserable trip. When traffic is flowing on I95, they're going 80+mph. It's not safe to be driving 60-65 mph for fuel mileage when the rest of traffic is passing you at 20mph.

• Do not think about MPG.
• When your tank is about 1/4 full, look for a gas station.
• Don't snack in the car, it makes you tired and you're just sitting on your ass all day, anyway.
• Stop when you feel like it and get out and stretch your legs. I used to have cars that had a 2 hour reminder to stop and stretch, but I never followed. Especially the first part of the drive, I like to eat up at least 3/4 tank before my first stop.
• ACC and Lane Keep lessen fatigue. Use it if you have it.
• Regular CC is more frustrating than helpful when traffic slows down up hills and speeds up down hills

I rarely combine stops anymore; only if it's a coincidence that I want a coffee/tea/dinner and am near 1/4 of fuel.
Think of the drive as the adventure it is or it will quickly become a tedious task that you want to be done with. Once you've committed you have to finish no matter how long it takes; make it enjoyable.

Schedules and rules make you upset when you can't follow them. The more people with you the harder they get to follow. For everybody's sanity, just stop when anyone wants to stop.

Depending on your company, it's a good time to listen to an audio book.

Enjoy the drive, stay attentive, keep right except to pass, use your signal, and look out for drivers crossing 3 lanes of traffic to exit at the last possible minute.

 

[Owl]

I have a base 2DR with V6, 3.73 diff and 10-speed auto. I also installed OBX 32" tires instead of the stock 30s.

I have a high of about 24.5 (calculated) in north California freeway at about 62 MPH (66 calculated with the larger tires). At 64 on the speedo (calculated as 68.27 actual) I can easily get 23 (calculated).

50/50 split between highway and city... I get about 20-21.

Seems like at 70-72 (calculated) I get about 22.5 MPG.

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