[Stoopy]

Submit yo' info, not just another "Gas Mileage" thread....I hope...and NOT about gas PRICES neither!

I could be wrong, but I have not seen a really full comparison-based accounting here of owner experience with gas mileage and the different drivetrain combinations. I am VERY curious about this after reading between the lines of some other owners and also having a co-worker with a V6/Auto that sounds like it's getting the same, or worse, mileage than my GT/Manual car.

Obviously driver habit and conditions have a lot to do with it, but the "Average MPH" reading on the Message Center (for those who have the IUP) can help indicate your environment to an extent. I think it would be very interesting to see where the four different engine/trans combos stack up, if all interested parties can provide some of the minimal information such as:

Average MPG (per tank)
Engine - V6 or V8/GT
Trans - Auto or Stick
Average Speed (from "Message Center" if IUP-Equipped)
Engine/Drivetrain Mods, if any.

And maybe the additional info if willing:
Your own rating as a "fuel-economy-conscious driver" Leadfoot, Occasional Puncher, Lightfoot.
Best MPG you've seen in any single stretch:

Sure, I'll go first:
Average MPG per tank:..... 17.5 MPG
Engine - V6 or V8/GT.......V8 GT
Trans - Auto or Stick......Stick
Average Speed..............28MPH (lotta heavy creeping rush-hour freeway traffic, plus suburban/city stuff)
Engine/Drivetrain Mods.....Stock (aftermarket shifter shouldn't be a factor)

My own rating: ............Occasional Puncher (how can you NOT sometimes?!??! )
Best MPG I've seen in trip leg: 26.9 MPG


My theory/question here is that the Stick GT's will probably be really comparable to the auto-equipped V6 Mustangs, more than the EPA numbers on the window sticker would indicate. And I'm rooting for the manual-equipped V6's to come in as the winners. Interested in how auto-equipped GT's stack up too. Who knows, maybe the results will have widespread and far-reaching ramifications that may actually influence someone's purchasing decision.....aren't you curious too?

 

[junior]

Average MPG per tank:..... 21.2 MPG
Engine - V6 or V8/GT.......V8 GT
Trans - Auto or Stick......Stick
Average Speed..............33MPH (suburban freeways and country roads)
Engine/Drivetrain Mods.....Stock

My own rating: ............Occasional Puncher (garage queen with 3800 miles)
Best MPG I've seen in trip leg: 31 MPG (doesn't apply to whole tank of fuel)

I wonder if my spoiler delete helps my mileage...:laughlitt

 

[ultraclyde]

Average MPG per tank:..... 18.2 MPG
Engine - V6 or V8/GT.......V8 GT
Trans - Auto or Stick......Stick
Average Speed..............32MPH mixed city/short highway
Engine/Drivetrain Mods.....Stock

My own rating: ............Occasional Puncher - I baby it for the mileage, until the moment requires the horses!

Best MPG I've seen in trip leg: 29 MPG - 70 mph interstate w/ cruise on

 

[KiLLeR_WoMBaT]

Average MPG per tank:..... 24 MPG
Engine - V6 or V8/GT.......V6 Conv.
Trans - Auto or Stick......Stick
Average Speed..............37 MPH mostly on post / some hwy
Engine/Drivetrain Mods.....Stock

My own rating: ............Occasional Puncher

Best MPG I've seen in trip leg: 30 MPG - 70 mph interstate w/ cruise on

 

[Kyle F]

Average MPG per tank:..... 18.5 MPG
Engine - V6 or V8/GT.......V8 GT
Trans - Auto or Stick......Stick
Average Speed..............42MPH mixed city/short highway
Engine/Drivetrain Mods.....Stock

My own rating: ............Occasional Puncher - Too Much Friggen Traffic

 

[HazMatLadder26]

Why do we know these painful answers......

Whats Up Stoopster-


Average MPG per tank:..... 16 MPG
Engine - V6 or V8/GT.......V8 GT
Trans - Auto or Stick......Stick
Average Speed..............28MPH mixed city/short highway
Engine/Drivetrain Mods.....K & N CAI

 

[Stoopy]

Heya, HazMat!

Here's where I'm goin' with this.....interesting data so far!

It makes sense to everyone, I'm sure, that the slower average MPH speeds indicate wasted gas sitting in traffic, stoplights, drive-thru's, etc, and everyone notices better MPG at an optimum speed, so taking the average MPG over the average MPH is a crude way to come up with some kind of "efficiency" number that should, with enough people participating, show how the vehicles rate against each other as well. Take a look at how junior's numbers come out.......man that's some smooooooth drivin'!

And specifically, knowing were you rank with others in your class as far as efficiency goes, might be of benefit if you are fuel-conscious in any way. would be nice to know how far off the optimum curve you might be, y'know?

Anyway here's what I did so far with those of you who took the time to plug in your numbers (THANK YOU!!)

GT/Stick:
MPG.....MPH.....Best....MPG/MPH.........Driver
====....===.....====....=======.........======
21.2....33......31.0....0.64............junior
19.8....39......24.0....0.51............iplaydat
19.0....31......30.0....0.61............alkaline3
18.5....42......N/A.....0.44............Kyle F
18.2....32......29.0....0.57............ultraclyde
17.5....28......26.9....0.63............Stoopy
16.0....28......N/A.....0.57............HazMatLadder26 (Mod: K & N CAI)

Average: 18.6 MPG @ 33 MPH = 0.57 MPG/MPH Efficiency

V6/Stick:
MPG.....MPH.....Best....MPG/MPH.........Driver
====....===.....====....=======.........======
24.0....37......30.0....0.65............KiLLeR_WoMBaT
23.0....30......N/A.....0.77............Goliath (guesstimate on avg. speed)

Average: 23.5 MPG @ 34 MPH = 0.71 MPG/MPH Efficiency

GT/Auto:
Nooo data yet.....

V6/Auto:
Nooo data yet.....

Its early yet and this should get REAL interesting! I see over 90 views of the thread so far but only a few people giving up numbers... so c'mon folks, don't be shy, it's not a contest or anything. It's just knowledge....and knowledge is power...and the truth shall set you free.......

Keep them numbers comin', please!

 

[Goliath]

Average MPG (per tank) 23mpg
Engine - V6
Trans - Stick
Average Speed (from "Message Center" if IUP-Equipped) NA, if had to guess, low 30's.
Engine/Drivetrain Mods, if any. none, yet.

Driver Type - Lead Foot. more recently I've been gas conscious.

 

[alkaline3]

GT Stick

Avg: 19mpg
Avg Spd: 31mph
Best: 30mpg
Style: Pretty "Normal" with more than a few WOT runs (hey, I'm 25!)

No mods.

Now, if I can mix it up a bit:

1) Do you get any better milage running something other than 87? I swear I got a little better than usual while running it harder using 94, but tests were definitely less than scientific.

2) What highway speed do you find gives the best milage? My '99 contour (V6, stick) got great milage below 50mph and then slowly dropped off (I usually ran about 23mpg overall, lots of around-town and the 7K redline was fun), but actually picked up again at a little over 87 mph (4K RPM, piston engine operating closer to torque peak, and the secondary intake runners opened at that point).

 

[iplaydat]

Average MPG per tank:..... 19.8 MPG
Engine - V6 or V8/GT.......V8/GT
Trans - Auto or Stick......Stick
Average Speed..............39 MPH some hwy
Engine/Drivetrain Mods.....Stock

My own rating: ............Occasional Puncher

Best MPG I've seen in trip leg: 24 MPG - From gas station/work to home, driving really careful!(up & down hills and traffic).

 

[junior]

Stoopy

That smooooth driving as you call it was 37 mph in 5th gear on country roads. Talk about a Sunday driver. When it was over I had to paint the asphalt. hehehe

 

[VHStang]

Average MPG per tank:..... 19.0 MPG (18.6 overall according to message center
Engine - V6 or V8/GT.......V6
Trans - Auto or Stick......Auto
Average Speed..............24MPH (commuter traffic in burbs)
Engine/Drivetrain Mods.....Stock

My own rating: ............Occasional Puncher

Best MPG I've seen in trip leg: 19.8 MPG

One other thing that might matter is how many miles are on the car. Mine only has 1552. I've only filled up 7 times so far. Not even had the oil changed yet. I am hoping the MPG gets a little better as the engine breaks in.

 

[woodj]

Average MPG per tank:..... 17.4 MPG
Engine - V6 or V8/GT.......V8 GT
Trans - Auto or Stick......Auto
Average Speed..............35MPH
Engine/Drivetrain Mods.....C&L CAI

My own rating: ............Occasional Puncher
Best MPG I've seen in trip leg: 26.5 MPG


There's a GT Auto for your poll.

 

[Stoopy]

Cool! Thanks!! I agree that the mileage on a new vehicle should improve as it breaks in. I have only about 2K on mine so am including it anyway. And with enough input it should all balance out well....so....we are now at:

V6/Stick:
MPG.....MPH.....Best....MPG/MPH.........Driver
====....===.....====....=======.........======
24.0....37......30.0....0.65............KiLLeR_WoMBaT
23.0....30......N/A.....0.77............Goliath (guesstimate on avg. speed)
26.0....50......N/A.....0.52............army_eod (VERY new!)

Average: 24.35 MPG @ 39 MPH = 0.65 MPG/MPH Efficiency

V6/Auto:
MPG.....MPH.....Best....MPG/MPH.........Driver
====....===.....====....=======.........======
19.0....24.....19.8.....0.79............VHStang

Average: 19.0 MPG @ 24 MPH = 0.79 MPG/MPH Efficiency

GT/Stick:
MPG.....MPH.....Best....MPG/MPH.........Driver
====....===.....====....=======.........======
21.2....33......31.0....0.64............junior
19.8....39......24.0....0.51............iplaydat
19.0....31......30.0....0.61............alkaline3
18.5....42......N/A.....0.44............Kyle F
18.2....32......29.0....0.57............ultraclyde
17.5....28......26.9....0.63............Stoopy
16.0....28......N/A.....0.57............HazMatLadder26 (Mod: K & N CAI)

Average: 18.6 MPG @ 33 MPH = 0.57 MPG/MPH Efficiency

GT/Auto:
MPG.....MPH.....Best....MPG/MPH.........Driver
====....===.....====....=======.........======
17.4....35......26.5....0.50............woodj (Mod: C&L CAI)
22.1....36......24.4....0.61............Andretti

Average: 19.8 MPG @ 35 MPH = 0.56 MPG/MPH Efficiency

Let's Keep the numbers coming, for valid comparisons......this is starting to shape up pretty good.....

 

[army_eod]

Mileage deal

OK...remember I only have 550 miles on this baby.

Average MPG per tank:..... 26
Engine - V6 or V8/GT.......V6
Trans - Auto or Stick......Stick
Average Speed..............50

Occasional Puncher :eyebulge:

I would imagine if all my driving would be around town I would get about 22 MPG. On the highway, 28.

 

[Andretti]

Average MPG (per tank) 22.1
Engine - V6 or V8/GT V8/GT
Trans - Auto or Stick Auto
Average Speed 36 mph
Engine/Drivetrain Mods, if any. None

Your own rating Occasional Puncher
Best MPG you've seen 24.4

Regular gas only...
Must admit, since Katrina ($) and 2 speeding tickets I've slowed down

 

[ford4v429]

I think we need a better yardstick...right now 10 mpg @ 10mph =100% efficiency?

reversing the formula to mpg/mph gives you real number- gallons per hour, but that dont help much...I see where you are wanting to go with this, and while sitting around waiting on mine to show up this was one thing I'd hoped to do...but the missing 'piece' here is RPM. finding that elusive peak efficiency RPM...I had planned on driving at highway rpm in 5th, topping off/check mileage, try 4th gear, same speed, top off, check mileage, etc to try to plot a 2D graph of rpm and mpg in 4th and 5th gear and see if the sweet spot was same in both- should be kinda close...use these two numbers as target (and shift point) to see what peak mpg could be achieved. I see some claims of best near 30mpg for a GT! would like to know how to shoot for that on a trip.

My old Camaro got best of 35 mpg @85mph across new mexico, 100 deg heat, air on...around 55 it gets 20 something. Every car has its sweet spot, would be nice to know what it is.

thinking about trying to hook a 2 channel strip chart recorder to a injector and a speed sensor(maybe tap into abs sensor to read hz?) and plot fuel consumption in each gear from 1500-3000 rpm in say 500 rpm increments.
Load(gearing) will effect mixture(injector frequency recorded), and combined with actual speed based(abs hz) I think a very accurate profile could be seen. Engine vacuum gage could tell same sweet spot, but injector firing would give exact fuel consumption(much more accurate than topping a tank...).

eager to see where this goes...cool thread idea.

 

[Stoopy]

I think we need a better yardstick...right now 10 mpg @ 10mph =100% efficiency?

Yeah, it's not really "efficiency" - maybe a poor choice of words on my part. What I'm getting at, hopefully, is that I'd expect the mean average MPH to end up being about equal for all four drivetrain combos. I mean, traffic is traffic, we all (as an average) drive in the same stuff sooner or later regardless of vehicle type, right?

So, if the avergae speed of each category finallly averages out to, say, 35 MPH, then we rank 'em by what kind of MPG they get - which is reflective of City/Highway mix, in a general sense, would you agree? Respective to each other, and things being as equal as they can be at that point. Going by MPG alone, well, I don't buy it, because then the person driving cross-country at 65 on cruise control in an Auto-GT whips up on a Manual-V6 driving in the Bronx. Have to factor average speed in, somehow.

Then, in each drivetrain category, you could look at someone who is close to your own average MPH (meaning City/Highway mix) and see how well you are doing in comparison to them in roughly similar conditions.

Maybe "Leadfoot Index" is a better choice than "efficiency"?? Fr'instance if HazMat and ultraclyde both have the same average speed of 27 MPH per tank, meaning their driving conditions are likely similar, but HazMat is getting 20 MPG and ultraclyde is getting 16 MPG, then ultracyde knows he can get wayyy better (if he wants to) and Haz knows he's doing pretty good. And if they cared to, they could talk shift points, etc, and go from there, that's all.

I'm hoping once we get a fair number of responses in the categories (maybe 10 each, hopefully, the stick-GT's are showing a good baseline right off the bat) then maybe it'll be more clear......or, hey, if there's a better formula to use I'm all for it. Learnin' as we go, here.....

Trying to ascertain the peak operating efficiency speed/RPM of each vehicle is a GREAT idea but a bit more beyond what the numbers collected here can accomplish - I absolutely agree that'd be a cool project also. And actually, with the IUP, it'd be easy if someone had the chance, and a long long flat road trip. Just set the cruise to 50, reset the MPG counter, check it 20 or 30 miles later.......then bump the cruise to 60, reset the MPG meter again, check it 20 or 30 miles later again......lather, rinse repeat, y'think?

 

[Johnnytuinals]

Well what do yea all get when you FILLUP you car and reset everything....
When I first got my Stang Gt it said 310 miles till empty.And now when I fillup it says 280 miles till empty......Only have 600 miles on the car lol.JohnnyT

 

[Stoopy]

Well what do yea all get when you FILLUP you car and reset everything....
When I first got my Stang Gt it said 310 miles till empty.And now when I fillup it says 280 miles till empty......Only have 600 miles on the car lol.JohnnyT

I get about 280 as well.