[777funk]

I've got a 98 Vulcan Wagon (just picked it up). I checked the fuel economy and it's around 20 MPG (19 but with probably 1-2 hours of idle time some with the A/C on).

That doesn't seem too great to me but maybe that's normal? Should I expect better?

Is there anything I can do to improve that? (i.e. bigger exhaust, better plugs, etc)?

I'm going from a 6 cylinder Diesel Mercedes 300D (still have the car) to the Taurus. With that Mercedes I got 43 MPG one time (taking it really easy and keeping it under 60 on the highway). So 20 MPG is a little bit of a bummer compared to that. Just curious if this is the norm?

 

[hhu168]

You won't get anywhere near your diesel Mercedes with the Vulcan. The norm is about the same for Vulcan or Duratec, around 25 MPG.

On the other hand, to get a decent idea of MPG you need to average over at least 3 tanks of gas.

 

[austex04]

That's normal on these cars, when running a/c and city driving. Maintaining the car, tune up, air filters, ect, will help get the most mpgs out of any car. When I run my a/c, it uses 2-3 mpgs more than if I keep it off (I have the trip computer), both hwy and around town.

 

[03FordTaurus]

Dude I get 16 mpg.

 

[therealm0rh0us]

20 is probably normal for that car.
my FFV gets 20mpg average 22 or 23mpg TOPS
i think the lowest was 18mpg since i've owned it

my old 95 vulcan got way better than that. this 2k that i have now was sorta a dissapointment

 

[KhanTyranitar]

I get 25 to 30 in my '96 Duratec wagon. A vulcan should do at least as well.

 

[777funk]

I wonder if a tuneup would help. I also wonder if maybe my cat is plugged/plugging. The car has 165k on it.

I may try to clean the intake manifold as well if I can figure out a good way.

 

[01wagonses]

mine has 163,xxx and i only AV. bought 19 -24 dependin on if i run the air or how i drive.

 

[777funk]

mine has 163,xxx and i only AV. bought 19 -24 dependin on if i run the air or how i drive.

That makes sense. But what surprised me is that a lot of this driving was highway (some city but mostly highway) and I took it pretty easy on driving. I even kept it from downshifting up hills by letting it slow down. Still only 19MPG.

 

[KhanTyranitar]

I would say you need a tune up. BTW, if you don't get a tune up, thats what causes the cat to plug up. Otherwise the cat will outlast your engine.

 

[mrbuj]

Keep your speed down and use cruise control.

Our '04 Duratec gets 31mpg/hwy if you keep it at 55 MPH and that's using miles divided by gallons and not the trip computer.

A mix of city/hwy and it gets 24mpg, though highway in this case is really stop and go rush hour.

 

[BigPip]

I have a 96 vulcan wagon and I get between 16-17 with A/C on-ALWAYS! I have replaced MANY new parts and I was surprised it did so little. I think it is mostly because my wife has a much heavier foot then I do but don't tell her I said so...

 

[soundu]

My gen3 Vulcans in a hilly town get 16/18 in town. 23 or so on the road.
My 93 wagon got 29 once on a road trip, but my GEN3's have never matched
that.

bob

 

[sable23]

my old 92 wagon got 29 mpg on 100 percent highway. our 98 wagon gets about 26-28 mix driving (more highway) and our 07 sedan gets about 28 all highway. my sable on the other hand (only taurus/sable we have owned without a vulcan) got like 11-12 one winter it was bad i hope to see much better mileage out of the new engine!

 

[901-Memphis]

My Vulcan can only average between 14-16 mpg in the city with high idle time but on long highway only with cruise i top 30 mpg.

Probably mostly related to city driving with high idle time and a/c on.

A tune up never hurts if your behind your maintenance.

 

[777funk]

I'm seeing a lot of fluctuation here. Are all these numbers given calculated (full tank used and taking the miles driven divided by the gallons needed to refill the tank on level ground)? And done a few times for consistency?

The reason I ask is because I see a range from 11 miles per gallon to around 30 mpg. I wonder if that's 100% accurate (carefully calculated from the above). If so I wonder why this would be? That's a huge range. Thats like the difference between an old 350 carbureted engine in a truck to a compact car with a 4 cylinder and fuel injection. But we're talking about only Tauruses. Why the huge range all from one car and mostly all the same basic engine?

 

[sable23]

disregaurd the one for my sable i dont think it was as healthy as it could have been and my driving style sucks...

 

[sable23]

we have had 7 vulcan powered tauruses and sables and they all got 25 mpg or higher on the highway. going by number of miles divided by gallons used at the same gas station every time and ussually the same pump always filled until the pump shuts itself off and no further. so it should be pretty acurate.

 

[KhanTyranitar]

Yeah, you get something like a bad thermostat, worn plugs, or a fouled MAF sensor or old worn out O2 sensors and it can cut your mileage by half without any obvious drivability problems. Hilly terrain will eat into the economy regardless. As in my previous post my '96 Wagon typically gets better than 25 most of the time. On just highway it can push 28-30, and around town it can go between 22-25. I calculate mine by miles divided by gallons across multiple tanks.

 

[dsmuts]

Thats like the difference between an old 350 carbureted engine in a truck to a compact car with a 4 cylinder and fuel injection. But we're talking about only Tauruses. Why the huge range all from one car and mostly all the same basic engine?

Jeez my el camino with a carb 350 got 19mpg. lol but my sho get 22 mpg and it has the 3.4L v8 so you should be getting better than that, i would say a tune up is in order.