Tips to improve the Sports fuel economy

[omelet1978]

I drive like 100 miles total commute to work. I'm getting around 22mpg overall which isn't bad, but I think it could be better.

 

Are there any tips to improve the fuel economy? I've heard things such as the Sport tires are not the best for mpg's and you can put a cold air intake on?

 

To put things in perspective for every 1mpg I can do better than 22 I would save like $20 a month. I drive ALOT!!!

[Grey]

Eliminate excess weight (clean out the trunk - even consider eliminating the spare in favor of a "Can-of-air"). Inflate tires to the upper limit as stated in your owner's manual/door sticker. Try to avoid braking and use moderate acceleration (brakes are MPG killers). Set your speed control, where practical, at the speed limit. Sell your tires and get high MPG tires with a slightly smaller footprint (narrower). Try to get gas without ethanol when possible.

Edited July 22, 2010 by Grey

[omelet1978]

Eliminate excess weight (clean out the trunk - even consider eliminating the spare in favor of a "Can-of-air"). Inflate tires to the upper limit as stated in your owner's manual/door sticker. Try to avoid braking and use moderate acceleration (brakes are MPG killers). Set your speed control, where practical, at the speed limit. Sell your tires and get high MPG tires with a slightly smaller footprint (narrower). Try to get gas without ethanol when possible.

 

 

 

So what's up with the sport tires? I've had a couple people tell me they aren't the best for mpg's??

 

Don't have the cash for new tires now though. Would putting nitrogen in them help?

[bbf2530]

So what's up with the sport tires? I've had a couple people tell me they aren't the best for mpg's??

 

Don't have the cash for new tires now though. Would putting nitrogen in them help?

 

 

Hi omelet. :D This is an attempt at a simple explanation: There is nothing wrong with the Fusion Sport tires. However, they are an All-Season tire designed for handling and performance, not fuel optimum mileage. Essentially, you can't have everything in one tire, especially not handling/performance and high fuel mileage..

 

The reason Ford does not install a high mileage ("Green") tire on the Fusion Sport? In general, people who's prime consideration is gas mileage are not usually in the market for the model of a car that has a "Sport" designation with the biggest engine available in a particular car line (i.e. the Fusion Sport).

 

Most of the other Fusion models (I-4's etc.) have "Green " designated tires, but of course, they are not "Sport" models.

 

Of course, this is a simplified explanation. But anyone who wants Fusion Sport with higher mileage "Green" tires is free to replace the tires. They just need to realize that there will be handling drawbacks to those higher mileage tires.

 

Concerning nitrogen. While it can have some limited benefits in other aspects of tire usage, nitrogen has absolutely no effect on mileage, assuming that two sets of tires are inflated to the same psi. In other words, if you keep your tires inflated to 34psi with nitrogen, you will get the same mpg's as when they are inflated to 34psi with compressed air (insert any other psi rating and the results will be the same). The benefits of nitrogen have more to do with tire maintenance than anything else.

 

Hope this information helps.

 

Good luck. :beerchug:

Edited July 23, 2010 by bbf2530

[xmech2k]

As others have pointed out, you already have 78% nitrogen in your tires. Save your money!

 

I think the best fuel saving feature in a car is the one behind the wheel.

[Oldguy16]

As others have pointed out, you already have 78% nitrogen in your tires. Save your money!

 

I think the best fuel saving feature in a car is the one behind the wheel.

Agreed, set the cruise control, I've pulled 36 to the gallon setting the cruise control at 55mph in my dad's sport, obviously that's not practical, but 65mph will get you 33mpg.

[pcsgrp35se]

At 70 with a/c I am getting a little less then 30. I did find that with the 6 speed auto, the way you come off the line makes a huge difference in "city" driving. I found being light until it gets going helps lots, also I found around 38mph, it goes into either 6th or lock and the rpms drop a few hundred over what they run at 35.

[autoxr1]

I also got 30 mpg in my Sport recently when running a constant 65 on a trip (2-lane roads, posted 55).

 

I don't understand how the OP is getting just 22 mpg driving 50 miles each way to work. Is your car an AWD? That would cost around 2 mpg vs. my FWD car. I figure the loss of AWD for the 2-3 winter days I would need it each year is not worth 2 mpg the rest of the time. :D

[TX 2010 Ford Fusion Sport]

I also got 30 mpg in my Sport recently when running a constant 65 on a trip (2-lane roads, posted 55).

 

I don't understand how the OP is getting just 22 mpg driving 50 miles each way to work. Is your car an AWD? That would cost around 2 mpg vs. my FWD car. I figure the loss of AWD for the 2-3 winter days I would need it each year is not worth 2 mpg the rest of the time. :D

I've never gotten better than 24 (and some change) mpg when measuring on the refill. Most miles on my Fusion are 25 miles each way to work. I've not had my Fusion Sport on the road exclusively for highway driving so I don't know what the highway only mileage would be on my vehicle (I always have some city miles mixed in with the highway miles). That said, if I reset the computer I can achieve better mpg's than 24+ over a shorter period of time than a full tank of gas. It all depends on how and when you measure mpg.

Edited July 24, 2010 by TX 2010 Ford Fusion Sport

[omelet1978]

I also got 30 mpg in my Sport recently when running a constant 65 on a trip (2-lane roads, posted 55).

 

I don't understand how the OP is getting just 22 mpg driving 50 miles each way to work. Is your car an AWD? That would cost around 2 mpg vs. my FWD car. I figure the loss of AWD for the 2-3 winter days I would need it each year is not worth 2 mpg the rest of the time. :D

 

I'm the original poster and I expected to get a little better. Long story but I had a BMW 3 series and an Acura TL before this. I bought used and had a lot of problems and just decided to buy new to avoid having repair costs. The TL averaged 24-25mpg, the 3 Series averaged 23-24mpg and the Sport averages around 22mpg. However the cost pretty much evens out bc the sport uses 87 octane.

 

Speed limit is 70 so I drive 79 mph Also from Las Vegas is 2000 above sea level and its an uphill drive to Indian springs to 3000 feet above sea level.

 

I do drive aggressively and like driving that way, and in the cars I drive I typically get close to the new combined mileage estimates they have for cars.

 

Never seen 30mpg and I calculate everything out when I fill up the tank. On a trip to California last month I got like 23.5 mpg.

[Upstream]

I also got 30 mpg in my Sport recently when running a constant 65 on a trip (2-lane roads, posted 55).

 

I don't understand how the OP is getting just 22 mpg driving 50 miles each way to work. Is your car an AWD? That would cost around 2 mpg vs. my FWD car. I figure the loss of AWD for the 2-3 winter days I would need it each year is not worth 2 mpg the rest of the time. :D

 

 

My wife has a new AWD Sport. According to the onboard computer, she averaged about 26 mph on a 40 mile highway trip yesterday (where she was able to maintain speeds between 45 and 70 mph, depending on traffic), with the air conditioning at max (since the outside temp here in NJ was in the high 90s). If that improves to 28 mph on an open road without AC, I'd be very happy.

[pcsgrp35se]

With this discussion on mpg, I was wondering the following. I just returned from long highway trip, over 3kmiles. Throughout the trip I was up around 30mpg. When I got home, I started driving around the area and within about a tank full of gas, my mpg went down to 24mpg. If you figure all the miles where I was getting great mpg and then just a few hundred around town (and this easy driving), the arithmetic just doesn't add up unless Ford has a pre-determined loop reset or rolling avg built into the computer. This isn't the first time I noticed this. When I am around town I am getting 23-24. I wonder if the loop they are using is linked to when you fill up the tank or perhaps a few hundred miles.

[omelet1978]

So if I were to put green tires on my car would it be realistic to get 1 mpg more out of my Sport? Also would it affect the handling? It's not a BMW but it does handle pretty good for a FWD sedan...

 

So with me putting like 40,000 miles a year on this car if I could get 1mpg better on the Sport it actually comes out to $250 in yearly gas savings.

[bbf2530]

So if I were to put green tires on my car would it be realistic to get 1 mpg more out of my Sport? Also would it affect the handling? It's not a BMW but it does handle pretty good for a FWD sedan...

 

So with me putting like 40,000 miles a year on this car if I could get 1mpg better on the Sport it actually comes out to $250 in yearly gas savings.

 

 

Hi omelet. :D Let's try to answer your questions (and a question you did not ask) one at a time:

 

1 - "If I were to put green tires on my car would it be realistic to get 1 mpg more out of my Sport?". Yes, possibly. Maybe a little more, maybe a little less depending on your driving habits.

 

2 - "Would it affect the handling?" Yes, it would. Good handling and top mileage are pretty exclusive traits. A tire designed for good handling will be designed with a softer/stickier compound and a tread pattern designed for handling/grip. A high mpg/"Green" tire will be designed with a harder compound for lower rolling resistance and a tread pattern designed for low rolling resistance. You generally don't get the best of both in one tire. More of one trait generally means less of the other. Would it be enough of a loss in handling for you to notice? That would depend on what tire you install and how you drive. According to the tire and how "hard" you drive the car, you may never notice any loss in handling.

 

3 - Is the money I save on fuel worth the cost of the tires? You don't actually ask this question, but it is important. Let's say you install four tires at a cost of $170 a piece, mounted and balanced. That totals out to $680. If you save $250 a year on fuel, it would take you approximately 2 1/2 years to recoup the cost of the tires in fuel savings. That means those tires would have to last 2 1/2 years and 100,000 miles to break even. In general, most tires do not last 100,000 miles.

 

Therefore ,it makes little sense to take the new factory/stock off just to put them in the garage, because the fuel savings will probably not make up for the cost of the tires. But if you use the factory tires you have now until they need replacement, you can then replace them with "Green" tires in a year/year-and-a-half or so (at 40,000 miles a year, that is about how long they will last anyway), and realize some fuel savings for the life of those new "Green" tires tires.

 

In the end, it all comes down to your personal preference. If you want to save fuel, buy a set of lower rolling resistance tires when you are ready for new tires, not now. In my opinion, that will give you your best return on your money.

 

Hope this information helps.

 

Good luck. :beerchug:

Edited August 2, 2010 by bbf2530

[omelet1978]

My current plan is to probably replace the sport tires at around 50,000 miles or so and right now I'm at like 22,000. So in about 7-8 months the way I'm going...What I'm going to look for are GOOD tires that are a balance b/w fuel economy and performance.

 

I bought the Sport for a reason and despite my drive fuel economy was a priority but not the deciding factor. I wanted sporty but reliable and if it breaks wouldn't automatically be a grand to fix like a BMW.

 

I looked at the V6 Accord and with almost even power and weight it gets 23mpg overall vs 21 for the Sport. So after what you just said could the tires be the reason? Maybe not the deciding factor but I'm guessing that the Accord is going to have tires more optimized for fuel economy. Maybe not like Toyota Prius tires but much more so than the Sport...

[redbandit]

use shell gas i get like 31 miles a gallon and i drive 60 miles a day to and from work

[jazztrumpet216]

use shell gas i get like 31 miles a gallon and i drive 60 miles a day to and from work

 

Unless the OP is using bad gas, the brand of gas will have little to no impact on MPG. All gas is sold from a common distributor, additives are added at each station. Contrary to their Nitrogen ad campaign (Nitrogen is inert, therefore it does NOTHING for mileage), Shell does not have magic voodoo juice that miraculously gives you better MPGs than the BP or Mobil across the street.

 

As to the original question, you've bought a machine with the largest possible engine, and like to drive it aggressively. You also want to save money on gas. You cannot have your cake and eat it too. Which is more important, driving aggressively or saving money? $250 a year isn't enough money to justify expensive modifications.

Edited August 2, 2010 by jazztrumpet216

[autoxr1]

Unless the OP is using bad gas, the brand of gas will have little to no impact on MPG. All gas is sold from a common distributor, additives are added at each station. Contrary to their Nitrogen ad campaign (Nitrogen is inert, therefore it does NOTHING for mileage), Shell does not have magic voodoo juice that miraculously gives you better MPGs than the BP or Mobil across the street.

 

Actually, gasoline CAN affect your mileage if you are buying a brand that includes 10% ethanol (fairly common). Fuel economy in Flex-fuel vehicles running e-85 is about 30% lower than when they are running on pure gasoline. So for a 10% ethanol blend, fuel economy would be about 3% less than for pure gasoline. That is close to 1 mpg on the highway.

[jazztrumpet216]

Actually, gasoline CAN affect your mileage if you are buying a brand that includes 10% ethanol (fairly common). Fuel economy in Flex-fuel vehicles running e-85 is about 30% lower than when they are running on pure gasoline. So for a 10% ethanol blend, fuel economy would be about 3% less than for pure gasoline. That is close to 1 mpg on the highway.

 

True, but that usually not so much brand dependent as it is location dependent. The poster was implying switching to Shell gas would make an impact, which it will not.

[drolds1]

 

As to the original question, you've bought a machine with the largest possible engine, and like to drive it aggressively. You also want to save money on gas. You cannot have your cake and eat it too. Which is more important, driving aggressively or saving money? $250 a year isn't enough money to justify expensive modifications.

 

+1

[omelet1978]

True, but that usually not so much brand dependent as it is location dependent. The poster was implying switching to Shell gas would make an impact, which it will not.

 

 

 

I'm not replacing my tires now...but in about 7-8 months when I'm at like 50,000 miles. I drive 100 miles total commute daily...

 

What I'm trying to figure out is if I just put non sport tires on the car would it increase the mileage by 1 mpg and then save me the $250 over the course of a year and if it would be worth it b/c I would lose some performance...

[jazztrumpet216]

You could expect roughly a 5% improvement in mileage from high FE tires. That's a little more than 1 MPG.

 

You seem like the type of person that likes to drive aggressively. You will lose some grip with high FE tires. I have not had an issue with the Goodyear Assurance Fuelmax tires on my Fusion S, but I am more of a "middle of the road" driver.

[omelet1978]

You could expect roughly a 5% improvement in mileage from high FE tires. That's a little more than 1 MPG.

 

You seem like the type of person that likes to drive aggressively. You will lose some grip with high FE tires. I have not had an issue with the Goodyear Assurance Fuelmax tires on my Fusion S, but I am more of a "middle of the road" driver.

 

 

5% huh, so I'm guessing thats one reason the SE V6 gets 22mpg and the Sport gets 21 despite similar power output?

 

I went to tirerack.com and they came out with like 18 all season tires for the Sport. Any recommendations as to a tire that is a good mixture of both performance and fuel economy (Yes I know they are the opposite, but it can't hurt to ask!)

 

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/TireSearchResults.jsp?tireIndex=0&autoMake=Ford&autoYear=2010&autoModel=Fusion&autoModClar=Sport&width=225/&ratio=45&diameter=18&sortCode=53700&skipOver=true&minSpeedRating=H&minLoadRating=S&tab=All

[Oldguy16]

I would like to explain it this way. You want good gas mileage don't buy the sport which has the largest engine offered, and drive it like a nut. You worried about mileage, take it slow, and don't floor it at every red light. I either pull 26mpg or 20, solely on the way I drive. This is not the car, this is me using techniques like very little braking, trying to stay at a constant speed. If you drive city, it's difficult to get good mileage, only thing I can say, don't floor it at every light to beat the guy next to you. You should know you can beat him lol. I do that sometimes, unless it's some bullshit honda civic that I can't stand. Tires do make a difference in mileage, the michelins or goodyears that come from the factory are good tires, you can get better but it is true, you want grip, you need grippy soft tires that wear down much faster. The Eagle RS-A's are a good tire, they are kind of in the middle of grip and durability.

[2010SEL]

5% huh, so I'm guessing thats one reason the SE V6 gets 22mpg and the Sport gets 21 despite similar power output?

 

 

Sport has an engine that is .5 liters bigger. That's 17% bigger. It puts out 263 hp vs 240 hp for the 3.0 in the SE. That's 10% more horsepower. 21 mpg vs 22 mpg is only a 5% loss. I think that's pretty outstanding. More horsepower with a really negligible loss in mpg!

 

Re tires, AFAIK, the only cars that come with special "green" low rolling-resistance tires are some Hybrids and economy 4-cylinder models. 99.999% of the people who buy a V6 car are not worried about miniscule MPG differences.