Gary - I deleted my post. I thought better of it immediately after I wrote it and then you replied. Can we strike the record please?

 

Of course we can!

GaryG

 

Your welcome Jerry.

That new Explorer is big as brick also, but it cuts through the air like nothing I've ever seen. There is a sure way to know just how much air drag a vehicle has, and its effects on MPG. I use the SGII Instant MPG gauge as the best of two tools to find out. As a race car driver, you know the other tool is drafting. I seldom draft in my FEH, because I take city routes mainly, but I'm well aware of the benefits of drafting at highway speeds in the FEH. You don't need to draft as close to a car like in the Daytona 500 with all these big rigs around. You just need to know what kind of rigs are the best to draft for the best MPG at a safe driving distance. Over the years of homo miling, I've got that down pat thanks to the SGII.

Drafting in the new Explorer is completely different from any other vehicle I've driven. In most cases, drafting in my Explorer hurts MPG more than it helps. I've never shut the A/C Off in my Explorer and I know it's good for 28mpg with just me driving city or highway.

I'm targeting the '09 FEH rear drag problem to improve 60mpg tanks as a goal. I will only use light mods like a rear spoiler that can be removed for a total stock option for resale. Lowering my '09 FEH is not an option I would consider to reduce MPG. I bought my '05 FEH for ground clearance during flooding and Hurricanes. My '09 FEH SUV can go 800 miles on a single tank, so what can be better?

GaryG

 

I love the '11 Explorer and it is on the list for the next vehicle. It's sleek, solid and not one goes by without Natalie pointing it out. I think Ford nailed the design on this one.

As far as the '09 is concerned on aero, I don't think there's too much improvement to made. So much is done in the wind tunnel by the engineers in the design stage, there's really not much margin for improvement. My buddy works for Honda in Japan designing passenger cars and they computer modeling they do is insane. Since the top and sides are pretty smooth, the only places you could really gain any improvement would be the front end or possibly traying the underside to reduce turbulance. I understand completely about hurricanes since Tampa was my home for 25+ years.

Not sure if you read this article, it's from Automotive Design & Production, July 2008 edition.

Posted on: 7/1/2008
Optimization has taken on increased importance as automakers look for ways to eke out fuel efficiency gains from existing and future vehicle programs. Ford’s ’09 Escape and Mercury Mariner are proof that attention to the smallest details can provide marked benefits when it comes to MPG ratings. As Eric Loeffler, chief engineer for the SUVs, explains: “When we did the ’08 model we thought we had optimized it, but we wanted to go back into the wind tunnel and look at all the elements and see what we could do to further optimize aero.” The team focused on redesigning the chin spoiler, along with adding a small shield at the back of the rocker panel to reduce drag. The changes result in a fuel economy improvement of ¾ MPG at a running speed of 70 MPH. “We had to get the design studio working with the aerodynamicists to perfect the shape from an appearance and performance perspective. They decided to add a scallop so that the spoiler wouldn’t look like an add on,” Loeffler said."


http://www.autofieldguide.com/produc...09-ford-escape

Oh and Bill, no more PM's please.

 

I ordered the Explorer for my wife before I told her. She got mad at me at first, but when she saw a dealer stock order come in, she really loved it. A Ford employee gave me an X-Plan PIN so I got the Explorer at $150 over Invoice. On top of that, Ford gave me another $3,000 in incentives - $500 for early order, $1,000 Cash, and $1,500 loyalty for owning a 2002 Explorer. If you haven't drove one yet, you'll love it even more. I have a boat and need the V6 for towing it. Best tank was 29.5mpg with running the A/C which we never shutoff.

If you don't need 4WD or towing, the EcoBoost 2.0L is the way to go for MPG! If Ford puts the Start/Stop technology in the Explorer, I may sale my '09 FEH and get one. I can see hypermiling a 40mpg and 700 mile 18 gallon tank on that Explorer.

I think Ford did a great aero job on the '09 FEH, but I think the rear spoiler like the '11 Explorer has should have been added also. I didn't see that article before you posted it, but I knew about those improvements before I ordered my '09 FEH.

"Oh and Bill, no more PM's please." DITO here!

GaryG

 

[quote=Jerry&Natalie;238325]for the record. i owned an Escape. it was awesome. My Passat can haul anything my Escape could.


OK Jerry... I'm just dieing to see the plate compactor I hauled in the back of my escape crammed in the trunk of that Passat! I think Gary and I might have the aero advantage with that handicap. The SUV still rules for me at this stage of life. I'm guessing that my 100 pound yellow labrador would love your back seat too if you don't mind the hair. It's all good... I'm sure I'll drive a car again someday but in the mean time I'm digging this vehicle.

 

I've kind of wanted to do something to the chin spoiler, but in order to be actually useful, it would have to be active. At least where I live and where I drive, it's not unusual to need some decent amount of ground clearance. That seemed like a better bang for buck than a spoiler (with no proof).

So, Gary, are you pursuing this? I'll be very interested in your results.

 

jerry&natalie, garyg: No more PMs eh?

Well OK, on one condition: no more baloney from you guys.

25 years professional racing experience eh?

Well, you're not the only one that's gone around the block a few times.

 

I thought about it long and hard and came up with the conclusion why Ford didn't design one. The tailgate and rear of the '09 has to many things to overcome without losing opening the rear glass or door. The rear window washer sprayer would be blocked and there are shapes at the top of the door that would be hard to conform to.

My experiment with changing the special '09 Limited Rims with the lighter weight standard FEH rims was much less work with a very big improvement in MPG. I had to put them back on my '05 FEH when I sold it last May. As a result, I have a bad drop in MPG to deal with the heavier rims and newer Michelins going back to the stock Limited rims. If I can find a used set of standard FEH rims cheap, that would do the tick also with no other experiments. I've already learned a lot getting up to a 65mpg tank going 884 miles on 13.6 gallons of E10 in the '09 FEH.

I'm a big guy and I can see the '12 Focus is to low to the ground for me to climb in and out of every day. The '09 FEH is real nice, but my new Explorer is the best thing on the market that's really got me thinking lately. The EcoBoost 2.0L has 20 pounds of torque more than the '11 V6 Explorer I need to pull my boat with. I may end up with two Explorers, the EcoBoost and V6, and retiring the '09 FEH.

GaryG

 

A little over a year ago I had the Limited rims and newer tires on my FEH still. Someone ask if I would do a video on P&G, so I got my Son to grab the camera and climb in the back of my '09 FEH and film what it looks like. The wind started blowing hard and it started raining, but I only had Kyle a little time in the morning to get the job done. You can see the conditions I have to deal with like everyone else, but I choose my routes differently to get across town the most efficient way. The weather, the bridges, the stoplights and traffic is real and has to be dealt with by every hypermiler or regular driver.

Since we have many new members and old members that don't see how getting 60mpg is possible, I'll share these two part Youtube videos again:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e54vGfAWiVc

GaryG