Which uses more gas; High throttle at low RPM or low throttle at high RPM?

[85_SS_302_Coupe]

Wow.


About that 1/4 mile tuneup stuff....lol I know a guy who has an original '70 Challenger, and it runs like a turd because he never drives it "like it should be"..

 

[stangbear427]

I knew I could count on him!
Agreed, not as necessary as it used to be. However, I still believe these things were made to be driven not babied. As for the best strategy for conserving fuel- I've tried everything. I think I agree with you- but in my case the highest gear I can drive in without lugging isn't a high gear at all, or a low RPM either. That doesn't mean driving at the highest rpm or in the lowest gear does either- so again, I think I agree... right? So, for me it's higher r's and lower gears or be happy with 12 mpg. Driving how it felt right usually got me 15 or so. Driving by the vacuum gauge got me up to 17. That's normal driving- if I fill it and hop right on the highway and stay there till my next fillup, it's 20mpg. (If I drive 80mph... any slower and it drops like a brick in the water) That's an up to date report, 234,500 miles never rebuilt- hammered nearly to death over 75k ago and then bought my me and still tickin strong... although it should have died years ago and may blow at any time

 

[cleanLX]

If you could run a 12 second car and get 20+mpg, wouldnt you be interested?

Why does everyone freak out and tell people "you shouldnt be driving a Mustang if you're so concerned about gas mileage" just when you try to conserve gas?

12.96 @ 104.0, 4.10's, 26mpg all day at legal interstate speeds... 29mpg on one trip at sea level cruising at 55mph on scenic backroads.

 

[Michael Yount]

double post

 

[Michael Yount]

CleanLX - you're my hero; as the year's pass, I get more excited with high fuel mileage than I do low et's! But I still like the potential for low et's....

That's what I like about my bike - mid 10's at 120-130; 40 mpg around town; 44-48 mpg on the cruise.

 

[CobraGT87]

LOL, think so?





If you could run a 12 second car and get 20+mpg, wouldnt you be interested?

Hey bud, it does happen to alot of people. I drove my freshly built 347 from Sacramento to Arizona (an 850 mile trip) and averaged 27mpg. I made stops to top off at 55 miles, 130 miles a few times, 140 miles, 170 miles etc just to be as accurate as I could and each time it always came up between 26-27 MPG. I found for my car's setup that 60-65MPH gave me the best mileage, and thats with 3.73's and all the other goodies. I "try" to use a light pedal (It's tough tho LOL)

The thing I don't care to much about is in town driving, I only get 12MPG at best and thats being real easy shifting at 2300 rpm. Oh well, the price we pay for having a little power right? -)

Take Care,
Scott

 

[Michael Yount]

That's great mileage Scott. Mine's been getting consistent 17.5-19 around town, and 24-26 on the road, with a best of 26.8 on one tank. It too seems to get the best mileage in the 60-65 mph range, although if traffic is moving along at about 65-70, that works even better as the 'draft' really helps out the brick-like aero profile of the Volvo. My tires are a bit shorter than the stock Stang size, which makes my rear gear/revs about like a Stang with 3.90's.

 

[Ray III]

well I wrote up a pretty detailed reply last night which a computer gremlin promptly swallowed. SO

Simple answer is you want to maximize cylinder pressure by having the engine near its torque peak (best volumetric efficiency) AND plenty of throttle. Basically what I do is keep the revs as low as I can and still have acceptable throttle response; when you have to go WOT to meet the load demand it's time to downshift.

 

[remat457]

The reason i'm curious, is that i usually drive a Cherokee as my DD. It gets about 16mpg which isnt very great, considering when i drive easy my stang gets about 15 or so, and that's with all the mods and the gear, and it's still carbureted. That's pretty cool to me, especially if i can widdle down another mile or 2 per gallon. That means i can drive my 'stang more often.

[Offtopic] Hey a Stang and Cherokee-- what a great combo!
That's what I have too!