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Ford Escort Wagons: MPG-Real World Numbers
With the price of fuel being what it is, the mileage you're getting is becoming more important. This is the place to discuss the mileage performance you're getting out int he real world.
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I know... I'm a mean Dad...LOL
But my 17 year old, WHEN she puts gas in the car, lets me know what the mileage was on the tank
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PF Flyer
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kenmist
exactly the commuter car I was looking for!
hope it will run OK!
The current issue is that the fuel economy has changed by use of an extra gallon of gas in the last two weeks. I really need to know how to tweek the car to put it back to the usage that it started with.
In cold weather mixed driving I"ll get low 30s.
If I keep my tires at 45psi, drive very gently, keep speed under 65 on highway... I'll get about 36-38 mixed driving, and a little over 40mpg on the highway. Best tank ever was 46mpg. Average this winter is about 36, and climbing. 37.7 last year in NJ.
Car is a 95 Wagon w/5spd, and 137K miles. I've put 30K on it in past year and a half.
Got a Escort with 125K Miles on it last fall from the Junkyard for $600 and have put about $2000 into it. I didnt reallly plan on spending that much but I have gotten to really like this car and the fuel economy makes up for it - I could have spent a lot less but new struts were neeeded as well as a new waterpump and timing belt and I dont like doing that myself....to dangerous. replaced the tires. I did also replace the belt tensioner and the belt pulley as they were adding a lot of drag and noise due to the bearings being shot.
Lets see...put in new plugs, wires, fuel filter, battery, changed the oil a few times (boy - that oil was BAD...wonder when they last changed it) checked the Computer codes but nothing showed up as wrong. Once the oil started coming out as clean I threw a K&N oil filter in it to keep it that way. I have since added a K&N air filter which has helped by about 1MPG.
Keep my tires at 45PSI as well - drive sanely but dont hypermile or anything.
Do some mixed driving - about 70% highway when commuting (which is intermittent) but havent yet seen any real difference between around town and highway - maybe due to the high volume of traffic on the highways these days.
When I got it I was getting 26MPG - now I am 35-37 mpg with 39 being my best tank yet - Im at 150K miles or so...
It still idles a little bit rough - not bad but just enough to annoy me - considering new fuel injectors....
One thing I would LOVE to do is to find a way to replace the Air conditioner with something electric and install a second auxillary battery that I plug in at night and switch the stereo, all auxillary electronics and air conditioner to that battery.
Havent seen anything that would do the job thougth as far as small AC and I would want to remove the compressor to help make up for the weight added by the extra battery and charger....problem there is I havent found a belt that will fit only on the powersteering and alternator - they have been too tight or too loose - sure I can find one...just a matter of time.
It still has some work to go....I need to put in a new fuel filler neck since a small leak in the return line is causing some evaporation of fuel and still want to replace all the hoses - they arent failing yet but another year and they likely will be. Also need to replace the oil pan gasket which should be fun since you need to get the catalytic converter out of they way.
Since the money is getting away from me Im going to scour the junkyards for the filler neck - looks like most are charging about $120 for it plus shipping - junkyard is $10 if I pull it.
All in all I love this car - I probably could have found a better deal on the same car that had less miles but these things are so easy to work on and the engines are such tough little buggers I am not regreting it one bit - with gas at $4.00+ a gallon now the money is less of an issue anyways and as the price of gas rises it just makes sense to maintain this one and keep improving the mileage - my target is 40MPG without hypermiling but not sure if I will be able to attain that. Besides its a clean car - the rust on the body is minimal and the frame is perfect - so long as the frame is good everything else can be dealt with.
I have had the car checked over, tuned up, etc. Nothing has been found and the car runs like a dream. Is it just the different gas? Is there anything I can do?
Thanks
Your highway numbers mirror my experience with a '98 escort. Mine is also a manual. I have owned it for ten months (108,000 miles at purchase), putting about 11,000 miles on it so far. On the one highway trip I have thus far taken with it (not a very good trip car in terms of comfort), I tested economy at 70mph on the way down (from Fairbanks to Anchorage) and 60mph on the way back. My economy on the way down was 36; on the way back it was 38. There was, surprisingly, no wind during either day's travel that might have otherwise hampered or improved economy. So yes, wind resistance seems to make a marked difference above 60 mph.
It is a great commuter car.
What is it that you do to "hypermile" it?