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Have Solution for Low MPG's but FORD won't lets do it!


ptjones
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...I have also thought about a battery charger.  I understand that they would love to sell the Energi's, but I think a charger accessory option for the standard C-Max would be great.  With the EV+ coming into work and home now, my battery is extremely low when I turn the car off.  With a charge, it would at least save me a bit of fuel.

 

This is a nice concept if you can implement it w/ a portable solar panel charger!  I don't know how much energy it would require to charge the C-Max but that would be a nice accessory to have.

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I already talked to them  and they said ENERGI is an option not a separate car line. Fuelly is up to 40.6mpg and by the end of the month 47mpg. I have my ScanGuage installed so I can monitor water temp.,air intake temp, instantaneous mpg and RPM's. This will help fine tune my ideas. Stay tuned for further updates. :)  

 

They told me that they are going to add the category for the Energi soon, I don't see it there yet and they did not give a timeline - just soon.

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Temperature is the problem as each drop of 10 degrees loses 1.5-2mpg. I installed a ScanGuage and the problems are very obvious. The ICE never heats up. I could only get it up to 150 degrees in city driving. Temps here are 40-45 degrees. I have a standard driving test loop on the Fwy of 14.2mi on ECO cruise. The ICE made it to 195 degrees at mid turnaround and in EV mode reached 206 degrees. When ICE came on it went down to 195 degrees. The center grill cover was on and I am going to add the bottom grill cover to see if it makes a difference. Next step will be adding an oil pan heater.     

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Temperature is the problem as each drop of 10 degrees loses 1.5-2mpg. I installed a ScanGuage and the problems are very obvious. The ICE never heats up. I could only get it up to 150 degrees in city driving. Temps here are 40-45 degrees. I have a standard driving test loop on the Fwy of 14.2mi on ECO cruise. The ICE made it to 195 degrees at mid turnaround and in EV mode reached 206 degrees. When ICE came on it went down to 195 degrees. The center grill cover was on and I am going to add the bottom grill cover to see if it makes a difference. Next step will be adding an oil pan heater.     

 

 

I went from the dash reading 48 mpg on my way to work with morning temps in the 60s to 36 mpg with 20s temps. Same route, driving style, traffic, same time of day.

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Had a brake thru today. This noon City driving the WT only got to 150 degrees. So I covered the bottom grill with Packing tape , it is impossible to get a tight fit some air is still going to get thru.  Temps went to 195 degrees close to the thermostat opening temp.  This does prove that  the shutters still let a significant amount of air in the radiator. Now we need to figure out the correlation between engine temp  and MPG for City and Hwy driving. That will take some doing.

Edited by ptjones
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ptjones, a trick I learned from the VW TDI world is to insert foam pipe insulation between the slats of the grill. It survives wet winter weather well, and a single 6' length of insulation costs just a couple bucks from your local hardware store. Cut it to length with a knife, and then slice it to fit over the vertical supports within the grill. Easily removable once warmer weather comes along.

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ptjones, a trick I learned from the VW TDI world is to insert foam pipe insulation between the slats of the grill. It survives wet winter weather well, and a single 6' length of insulation costs just a couple bucks from your local hardware store. Cut it to length with a knife, and then slice it to fit over the vertical supports within the grill. Easily removable once warmer weather comes along.

Thanks for info. I'm using Lexan plastic primarily for the aerodynamics. Let's get together when you get your Energi.

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Well WT is the problem with MPG! This morning I went on the fwy for 6mi at 70mph at 41 degrees OT and WT 175 degrees with both grills blocked. Not close to 200 degrees needed  for best MPG. So much for the louvers working very well. Oil pan heater is the next step. I have submitted some ideas for solving these problems to FMC and we will see where that goes. I filled out my C-MAX questionaire form and the Servace Mgr checked my battery voltage to see what it was. He FAXed it to Ford. We will see where that goes. With the info I have come up with it looks like you could block both grills up to 65-70 degrees without over heating at 70mph. Maybe 90 degrees  City driving  Amazing!

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  • 2 weeks later...

Thanks for the info, PTJones.  However, I am very afraid to cover these dampers.  What is the maximum temp before there are problems?  If the fan kicks on, where is it getting cool air to cool down the coolant?  Will blocking the dampers damage the automatic motor operator for them?  I like the concept, but want to be sure I am not creating problems.  Thanks

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  • 2 weeks later...
Thanks for the info, PTJones.  However, I am very afraid to cover these dampers.  What is the maximum temp before there are problems?  If the fan kicks on, where is it getting cool air to cool down the coolant?  Will blocking the dampers damage the automatic motor operator for them?  I like the concept, but want to be sure I am not creating problems.  Thanks

I have over 5kmi without any problems, covers are on the outside of grill so has no effect on dampers. Grill covers still allow some air to get to radiator. I have only heard the fans on twice in a month and a half. Look at my post on 3mpg gain with grill cover theads.

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  • 5 months later...

You could make one for $10 in material, a few fillups would do it, although in your case it might take awhile. :)

 

Yes, YOU could possibly make one or $10 in material. Ford, who carries extensive liability, must engage in significant testing, must use higher-quality parts and plastics, has to present it to the customer in appealing and unconfusing packaging, must provide service documentation and support, must make available replacement parts for a decade, must offer recalls if any safety problems are found… cannot. 

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