need help with fuel economy

sumplot · #1 08-22-2005, 12:39 AM

I Have A 95 Windstar With The 3.8l Eng. And It Is Getting The Worst Fuel Economy In The World When Idling O Mpg I Have Checked Everything Also Does Anyone Know How To Find The Code For The Keyless Entry ..........i Need Help Bad!

raflores · #2 08-22-2005, 04:23 AM

Well ford claims the 2001 Windstar to do around 17 mpg on the city but I'm getting around 12 mpg based on refueling liters and trip odometer readings when empty tank. It's driving me nuts specially now when fuel price is rising. I let my wife use it daily since my girl is in school and I consider the Windstar safer than my corolla because of the riding height of both passengers and driver. One thing I did when I bougth the van was install a K&N Filter. I didn't monitor how much milleage I was getting since fuel was a lot cheaper that now. But could the K&N Filter been affecting my MPG?? I guy at work told me that it could be a factor since allows more air in and the flow sensor sees more air going in and also more fuel.

sumplot · #3 08-22-2005, 09:05 AM

Actually In My Van I Replaced My Stock Filter With A Custom Built Ractive Cold Air Intake In An Attempt To See If That Would Cause The Mixture To Lean Out Some But I Still Get The Same Mileage While Idling And According To My Gauges About 65 Mpg At About 70 Mph With The Pedal Left Out So The Filter Had No Real Effect On Economy But I Got A Few Extra Horses Not To Mention Looks And Sounds Cool

raflores · #4 08-22-2005, 10:18 AM

Well I did install a cold air intake to my ex 300zx and results were good but fuel economy was the worst of it also low end torque was lost. The intake I installed didn't have a radius on the tube inlet so according to some calculations on some physics book I was getting around 73% of the efficiency at the air inlet. The cold air system was replaced by it's actual owner and told me that the car is running much better with better mpg. The car did ran very good after 3500rpm but for cruising around the engine speed was around 2000-2500 in fifth gear. At those speeds I had to downshift to pass quickly to another vehicles. I didn't have to do that before the cold air system. Maybe is a car thing.

sumplot · #5 08-22-2005, 10:47 AM

how do you calculate air efficency what exactly do you mean by a radius in the inlet is that the same as havin a wider port to create a venturi effect

LeSabre97mint · #6 08-22-2005, 11:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sumplot

I Have A 95 Windstar With The 3.8l Eng. And It Is Getting The Worst Fuel Economy In The World When Idling O Mpg I Have Checked Everything Also Does Anyone Know How To Find The Code For The Keyless Entry ..........i Need Help Bad!

Sumplot

What do you mean "When idling"? is this when moving or not moving?

Dan

stratovani · #7 08-22-2005, 12:23 PM

I've got a 95 Windstar myself , and let's face it everyone, it ain't never gonna get the mileage of a Toyota Prius!! I figure I get anywhere from 15 to 18 MPG right now, which is expensive considering how much gas is. Luckily, I'm not making any car payments so that softens the blow a bit.

DRW1000 · #8 08-22-2005, 03:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LeSabre97mint

Sumplot

What do you mean "When idling"? is this when moving or not moving?

Dan

LOL. I had the same question. I thought he/she was joking when I first read it.

sumplot · #9 08-22-2005, 04:27 PM

idling is when the engine is on but you are not giving it any throttle does not matter if it is in park, neutral, drive i still get o mpg

DRW1000 · #10 08-22-2005, 08:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sumplot

idling is when the engine is on but you are not giving it any throttle does not matter if it is in park, neutral, drive i still get o mpg

If it is in Park or Neutral then you should be getting 0 mpg. If it is in drive and moving then you are not getting 0 mpg.

Are you suggesting that your van doesn't drive?

LeSabre97mint · #11 08-22-2005, 10:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DRW1000

If it is in Park or Neutral then you should be getting 0 mpg. If it is in drive and moving then you are not getting 0 mpg.

Are you suggesting that your van doesn't drive?

Do you have a read out that tells you your MPG? If it's staying at Zero, there is a problem with the electronics. I've never had a vehical with a readout.

Fill your tank, reset the trip OD, let your tank run down, Fill it up, record the milage on the Trip, and divide it by amont of fuel it took to fill up the tank. You will find your true MPG.

Dan

sumplot · #12 08-22-2005, 11:30 PM

when the van is stopped or idling the mpg per gallon should be anywhere from 7 to 9 mpg also what exactly do you mean by a read out is it like instant mpg during engine operation i will have to try that method what should i expect more or less for my actual mileage using that formula

raflores · #13 08-23-2005, 05:15 AM

Venuri effect. Yes the ideal is that the cold intake has a radius to be able to draw air from all directions around it. When the tube is cut and left like that it only draws air from the front of the tube.

12Ounce · #14 08-23-2005, 08:26 AM

When the vehicle is stopped, it is getting "zero miles" .... zero miles per hour, per day, per litre, per gallon, or per anything else.

It will always be this way, ... unless there is a Holy Intervention and the physical laws are all rearranged.

raflores · #15 08-24-2005, 05:16 AM

I think that the zero miles is getting nowhere. Let keep talking about the fuel economy and how can we increase it.

If we drive slower, let say we do 55mph everyday and we reduce the speed to 50mph or even 45mph it will take us a little longer to get there but it will be increasing the mpg. The van has a huge frontal area that does friction with air and the faster were going this increases the resistance making the engine demand more fuel.

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