How to Drive a FORD Fusion Hybrid to get Great Gas Mileage

[Texasota]

 

Trans failures weren't caused by heat, they were caused by a bad bearing. http://fordcmaxhybridforum.com/topic/5288-mileage-and-build-date-for-ecvt-that-have-failed/page-1 Trans were failing at 10's-20's k miles and when mine failed at 98k miles I had more miles than anyone else so obviously Grill Covers made my trans last longer. :) BTW the angled "Aluminum Fins" were glued( not bolted ) on with silicon rubber to help the trans cool. At the time we hadn't heard the reason for the failures, but FORD knew, they didn't ask me any questions and just replaced it. Also the Trans doesn't put out an error code until 399*F, WOW

Nice job of completely avoiding the question. You know my question had nothing to do with the cause of your transmission failure. I asked why did you remove your grill covers prior to bringing your CMAX into the service department for the transmission issue? This seems like an odd and inconsistent thing to do given your statement:

 

 

I monitor all four Hybrid/Energi forums for over 6 yrs and there has never been a warranty problem with any of MY MOD's.

[Texasota]

Drafting isn't illegal! I just checked on google and I couldn't find any Laws on Extended Drafting is what I do or Drafting period! :)

Drafting, as you practice it, certainly is illegal in Georgia but you won't find it by googling for "drafting" or your "extended drafting" term.

 

https://law.justia.com/codes/georgia/2010/title-40/chapter-6/article-3/40-6-49/

 

Most (maybe all) states have similar "Following too closely" laws.

[ptjones]

I had a heater hose fitting start leaking back in Nov. which I tried to fix myself, but turned to be a big job so I ended up getting FORD to fix it for $1,100, ouch! Well with 218k mi. things are bond to break down. I took MADMAX with only 40 miles on the tank and around 50 mpg and I got it back with 16 mpg and it took 550 miles HWY driving to get it to 44.6 mpg. I learned something that I suspected for sometime that MADMAX gets better MPG's running WT temps between 218*F to 230*F with center and bottom Grill Covers on than 206*F to 220*F with partial bottom Grill Cover on for an improvement of .5-1 MPG.

Shows bottom Grill Cover with holes to let more air through.

Paul

[ptjones]

Got Premium gas last night at Sam's for $2.67 and Reg. was $2.41 so I'm getting pretty close to break even point of cost vs mpg improvement now.

Paul

[ptjones]

Someone wanted to know what GAS PODS look like.

With 223k miles on my CMAX my Fuelly.com average went up to 49.3 mpg.

Paul

[ethermion]

To all normal people on this forum, ptjones is NOT taking his meds. He does not own a FFH, and recommends things that are outrageously stupid, wrong, and dangerous. Gas is still silly cheap. A hospital stay, less so. An extra 1 mpg is, if true, well, you do the math.

 

If you choose to surf to his youtube vids,, make sure antivirus is in max mode.

[ptjones]

Interesting that in two years with 14k views with many people using ECO Tips and improving their MPG's, not one person has commented negatively, only people that don't use them and they're wasting GAS! Where is the sense in that? It goes back to what Grandma said, "If you have anything nice to say don't say anything at all" :) BTY I drove a FFH for a month and they have the same Drive Train so the same ECO Tips will work for both Hybrids.

 

Have Fun Saving Gas

Paul

[Texasota]

BTY I drove a FFH for a month and they have the same Drive Train so the same ECO Tips will work for both Hybrids.

Would that be the rental car that you partially disassembled and performed experiments on?

Edited May 1, 2019 by Texasota

[ptjones]

Would that be the rental car that you partially disassembled and performed experiments on?

The only thing I did was add Gill Covers to the rental FFH and which I sold some sets to FFH owners and many more FFH owners made their own from foam and plastic. http://fordfusionhybridforum.com/topic/7788-preparing-for-winter-with-a-comprehensive-strategy-to-improve-mpgs-including-grille-blocking-more/page-1 Again it is interesting to note that not a single user said they didn't work for the record. :) Most of the earlier main posters on this forum used them.

 

Paul

[billford]

Interesting that in two years with 14k views with many people using ECO Tips and improving their MPG's, not one person has commented negatively, only people that don't use them and they're wasting GAS! W

 

What about the ones who blocked their grills and they overheated uphills using your methods on one of the other fourms. Wouldn't that be considered negative?

[ethermion]

Paul is taking either too much or too little of his medications. Why he continues to think he is smarter than Ford is puzzling. Why he is hanging out on a FFH forum, when he does not own one, is puzzling. Why he wants people to damage their cars or die is puzzling.

 

I hate engaging in such, but given that somebody new may stop by for good advice, which is here in bountiful abundance, just want to warn them off of ptjones.

[ptjones]

 

What about the ones who blocked their grills and they overheated uphills using your methods on one of the other fourms. Wouldn't that be considered negative?

No one has actually overheated their ICE and if you had read OM or the thread on Grill Covers you would know that it is impossible to overheat the ICE without the radiator running out of coolant. From testing I found out that you get a pending overheating Alarm at 246*F , the ECM will start to take action to lower the temperature of the ICE. The cooling system boiling point is around 264*F, if you got to that temp. the ICE would shut down to protect itself from damage. And again I have 223.5K miles on the Odometer,I go up to 30K miles between oil changes (15k ICE miles) never have added oil and I have my oil tested by BlackStone Labs showing everything is fine, I could have gone 5K miles farther easily. :)

 

Paul

[Texasota]

 

I hate engaging in such, but given that somebody new may stop by for good advice, which is here in bountiful abundance, just want to warn them off of ptjones.

Agreed. This thread (and many others) are full of his dangerous nonsense, lack of ethics, inability to distinguish right from wrong and the promotion of illegal driving activities. I'm confident any new members will quickly see this. The last post (#237) is just more of the same. You will find an abundance of similar nonsense from him all over this forum.

Edited May 2, 2019 by Texasota

[billford]

No one has actually overheated their ICE and if you had read OM or the thread on Grill Covers you would know that it is impossible to overheat the ICE without the radiator running out of coolant. From testing I found out that you get a pending overheating Alarm at 246*F , the ECM will start to take action to lower the temperature of the ICE. The cooling system boiling point is around 264*F, if you got to that temp. the ICE would shut down to protect itself from damage. And again I have 223.5K miles on the Odometer,I go up to 30K miles between oil changes (15k ICE miles) never have added oil and I have my oil tested by BlackStone Labs showing everything is fine, I could have gone 5K miles farther easily. :) total miles.JPG

 

Paul

 

They wrote that they had to pull over because they lost power up hill and the alarm went off using your grille block method. That seems to be negative comment to me. I'm sure you know the post I'm referring to.

 

Yes, the car will go into failsafe mode to protect itself. But if it goes into failsafe and there is nowhere safe to pull over, and shuts down, it can turn into a life and death situation that is totally avoidable. Luckily nothing happened to them as they wrote to tell about it.

[ptjones]

billford you need to check your information before you put out miss information. Here is the quote you're talking about.

 

Grill Cover Testing Post#32

"Bad news, I have similar covers with middle and lower. Tonight the overheat warning came on with the outside temps at 33F!!! This was during a 3 bar burn climbing Sherwin grade at 66 mph set on eco cruise. Maxine was fully, fully loaded and it came on after 5 minutes of this moderately hard burn. I was shocked it came on at that speed and especially at that temp.

Took me 30 secs to process this "wtf" moment and I backed down to a 2 bar burn and the temp dropped back to middle. That was scarier than running out of gas.

I checked Maxine when I got to town and nothing appeared out of ordinary and the engine functioned fine."

 

As you can see he left the Grill Covers on and just slowed down to get the temps to drop and the car was fine. The Alarm is load and will get your attention, but just slowing down solves the problem. He could have when he had a place to pull over removed the lower Grill Cover, problem solved. Then put it back on when he stopped climbing. :)

 

Paul

Edited May 2, 2019 by ptjones

[md13ffhguy]

The only thing I did was add Gill Covers to the rental FFH and which I sold some sets to FFH owners and many more FFH owners made their own from foam and plastic. http://fordfusionhybridforum.com/topic/7788-preparing-for-winter-with-a-comprehensive-strategy-to-improve-mpgs-including-grille-blocking-more/page-1 Again it is interesting to note that not a single user said they didn't work for the record. :) Most of the earlier main posters on this forum used them.

 

Paul

I blocked my grill with foam for a single winter in 2013-14. Other than being able to get heat a little sooner without forcing the ICE to run constantly, I couldn't discern any significant improvement in full economy. The placebo effect was strong, however, and I may have posted that my experience was great, but really, it was... meh. Not worth the effort, imo. Haven't done it since then, and I really couldn't say my MPGs have suffered for it. I'm well above EPA sticker numbers on both cars I've driven over that time.

Have fun with your mods, but folks should know that none of them are the key to higher MPGs.

Edited May 3, 2019 by md13ffhguy

[billford]

billford you need to check your information before you put out miss information. Here is the quote you're talking about.

 

Grill Cover Testing Post#32

"Bad news, I have similar covers with middle and lower. Tonight the overheat warning came on with the outside temps at 33F!!! This was during a 3 bar burn climbing Sherwin grade at 66 mph set on eco cruise. Maxine was fully, fully loaded and it came on after 5 minutes of this moderately hard burn. I was shocked it came on at that speed and especially at that temp.

 

Took me 30 secs to process this "wtf" moment and I backed down to a 2 bar burn and the temp dropped back to middle. That was scarier than running out of gas.

 

I checked Maxine when I got to town and nothing appeared out of ordinary and the engine functioned fine."

 

As you can see he left the Grill Covers on and just slowed down to get the temps to drop and the car was fine. The Alarm is load and will get your attention, but just slowing down solves the problem. He could have when he had a place to pull over removed the lower Grill Cover, problem solved. Then put it back on when he stopped climbing. :)

 

Paul

 

Did not see that quote before, there was another one I was referring to. But since you brought it up. So they slowed down from 66 mph to what speed that made it so scary? Was there highway traffic behind them that they were impeding? Was there a safe place to pull over? This was at 33F. Would the situation be worse at maybe 80F.

 

Just saying that if the car temperature alarm goes off or enters failsafe and it slows down or turns off to protect itself and you have nowhere to pull over safely, it could be a dangerous situation. You can't deny that no matter which way you try and spin it.

[mwr]

 

Did not see that quote before, there was another one I was referring to. But since you brought it up. So they slowed down from 66 mph to what speed that made it so scary? Was there highway traffic behind them that they were impeding? Was there a safe place to pull over? This was at 33F. Would the situation be worse at maybe 80F.

 

Just saying that if the car temperature alarm goes off or enters failsafe and it slows down or turns off to protect itself and you have nowhere to pull over safely, it could be a dangerous situation. You can't deny that no matter which way you try and spin it.

I generally don't comment in this thread, but I will say that my 2015 FFH has NEVER shown a temp alarm and I drive in hilly and mountainous country. I want no part of any mod that causes a temp alarm.

[Cobra348]

I have no extra blockers in my car and have taken it thru the Appalachians a few times with no temp alarms. Then again this range isn't quite like the Rockies or Cascades.

[ptjones]

I blocked my grill with foam for a single winter in 2013-14. Other than being able to get heat a little sooner without forcing the ICE to run constantly, I couldn't discern any significant improvement in full economy. The placebo effect was strong, however, and I may have posted that my experience was great, but really, it was... meh. Not worth the effort, imo. Haven't done it since then, and I really couldn't say my MPGs have suffered for it. I'm well above EPA sticker numbers on both cars I've driven over that time.

Have fun with your mods, but folks should know that none of them are the key to higher MPGs.

You said that " Other than being able to get heat a little sooner without forcing the ICE to run constantly" if the ICE runs less you are automatically getting better gas mileage. :)

 

 

Did not see that quote before, there was another one I was referring to. this is the only one I'm aware of. But since you brought it up. So they slowed down from 66 mph to what speed that made it so scary? The alarm going off was scary and he went from a three Bar Power which I almost never use to a Two Bar Power which is standard which would slow you down 5-10 mph, temps dropped down to normal and he never stopped. Was there highway traffic behind them that they were impeding? Was there a safe place to pull over? This was at 33F. Would the situation be worse at maybe 80F. Surprising that outside temps don't effect WT very much.

 

Just saying that if the car temperature alarm goes off or enters failsafe and it slows down or turns off to protect itself and you have nowhere to pull over safely, it could be a dangerous situation. The ICE doesn't slow down when the alarm goes off and you letting off the gas solves the temps drop very quickly. The ICE isn't overheating when the Alarm goes off and you would have to have loose your coolant from the cooling system to go into Fail Safe mode. You can't deny that no matter which way you try and spin it. And look who is spinning misinformation.

 

I went back through my post to find out when I figured what the temp was for the alarm to come on. It took almost a year and a half with Grill Covers on before I finally got the alarm to come on.

Posted 21 May 2014 - 04:49 PM

Well I finally did it Jus! LOL AZ people know the long up hill grade going south out of Camp Verde on I17, I got the over heating Message at 247 degrees F as I was cresting the hill going 65mph, OT of 93*F. I actually hit 249*F for about 2 seconds and 5 seconds at 247*F. I had the A/C on and the temps drop very quickly when you let off the accelerator, down to 230*F in 30 seconds. Most of the time car runs cooler with A/C on because of fan running all the time. The fan is very strong and will suck the cover out of your hands when installing it with the fan on. Most of the time with the A/C on the WT is in the 190's with lower cover on and 170's with it off, so I leave it on. Also I didn't notice any significant difference with lower cover on or off with the A/C out put.

 

To get the best MPG's you need WT in the 215-230*F range, you are lucky to get to 200*F without Grill Covers. The Graph shows the improvement with Grill Covers on and off vs OT

Bottom Line Is it is very hard to get to 247*F WT even with Grill Covers On and an OT of 93*F. :)

Have Fun Improving You MPG's

Paul

Edited May 4, 2019 by ptjones

[billford]

"The ICE doesn't slow down when the alarm goes off and you letting off the gas solves the temps drop very quickly. The ICE isn't overheating when the Alarm goes off and you would have to have loose your coolant from the cooling system to go into Fail Safe mode"

 

From the service manual:

 

"Before injectors are disabled, the fail safe cooling strategy alerts the customer to a cooling system problem by illuminating the instrument panel cluster (IPC) temperature light and setting DTC P1285. Depending on the vehicle, other indicators such as an audible chime or warning lamp, can be used to alert the customer of fail safe cooling."

 

A cooling system problem includes, loss of coolant, coolant not circulating, lack of air flow (shutters stuck closed, grill blocked)

 

[ptjones]

From OM:

 

"How Fail-Safe Cooling Works

If the engine begins to overheat, the engine coolant, temperature gauge will move to RED ​(Hot) area and: The coolant temperature warning light will illuminate.

The service engine soon indicator will illuminate."

 

None of these things happened, the temp gauge was below the RED area. Coolant temperature light didn't illuminate and the service engine soon indicator didn't illuminate.

 

BTW the boiling point with 50/50% H2O/Coolant with 21 PSI is 275-280*F, much higher than the alarm temp of 247*F

You seem to be ignoring the fact that I have 223K miles on my car and the ICE is in very good Health. No problems here, Grill Covers work Great. :)

Paul

[billford]

Actually, before the engine overheats, failsafe activates first. It disables 2 injectors so the engine pumps air. Power is lost, this gives a warning to the driver to pull over. If the driver ignores it, it shuts down the engine, before the engine overheats. If you don't have a safe place to pull over, the car will quit on the road.

[ptjones]

That's nice, but It doesn't have anything to do with our alarm situation. That's a different deal altogether.

 

Paul

[billford]

It has to do with the cooling system which is defeated by blocking or restricting cooling air which happened in your quote in post 240.

 

If you are going to quote the owners manual, you forgot this part of it:

 

"When in fail-safe mode, the vehicle will
have limited power, will not be able to
maintain high-speed operation, and may
completely shut down without warning,
potentially losing engine power, power
steering assist, and power brake assist,
which may increase the possibility of a
crash resulting in serious injury."

 

When promoting your method of blocking or restricting cooling air to the engine, trans, ac, motor electronics, just make sure they understand and are aware of the potential consequences as on post 240.

Edited May 4, 2019 by billford