Whats the deal with gas milage on new cars. I just got an issue of road and track magazine that had a bunch of hybrids in it, and the ford excape hybrid got 22/28 MPG. Isint that a little low? My mustang with a well built 302 and 3.80 rear gears (with a carb jetted for optimal power about 13 to one at WOT) gets 20 MPG on the freeway. It seems to me like new cars should be getting much better milage than that, but I just wanted to hear some other opinions.
Gas Milage
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they are so underpowered that it is actually a full time drag on the motor. people are afraid of HP these days and if they see alot in the ad then they will automatically think that it gets bad gas mileage. atleast thats my hold on the topic. also, they are getting heavier and heavier, with almost no torque at all to help them get moving.
Are you sure you weren't reading the MPG numbers for the non-hybrid escape? I remember looking at the escape on the Ford web site and it showed higher economy in town than on highway, something like 32/30mpg. You also have to remember that your mustang is a hair more aerodynamic than an escape... although I have to say I'm impressed that you are able to get 20mpg out of a carbd 302 with 3.80 gears!
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those are good #'s. To they come with any power to make the ride fun?
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For the 4WD escape hybrid mileage, did you mean 23 city/ 29 highway?
FE, 133HP gasoline motor, 94 HP electric. So if you mash it from a light, expect feeling about 200ish horsepower acting on a 3600lb car. So about as much get up as a Honda Civic.
Though the electric motor I'm sure has a nice torque curve... or, line I mean.
<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: thekingofazle on 4/20/06 4:20am ]</font>
FE, 133HP gasoline motor, 94 HP electric. So if you mash it from a light, expect feeling about 200ish horsepower acting on a 3600lb car. So about as much get up as a Honda Civic.
Though the electric motor I'm sure has a nice torque curve... or, line I mean.
<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: thekingofazle on 4/20/06 4:20am ]</font>
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My '88 t-Bird with the 5.0 H.O.,Explorer intake factory H-Pipe with hollowed cats and dual exhaust got 28.9 mpg on the interstate at 75 mph.
Weight. Plain and simple. Since people have been demanding better safety standards because some moron who got their driver's license from a cracker jack box was doing 90 on a twisty backroad and had a little accident and sued the right people....we now have Mustangs that weigh 3800 lbs and reg cab trucks are over 5000. My '03 Lightning is 4700. I wonder what a damn Focus weighs? 3500? Apparently making cars heavier and adding steel reinforcements anywhere they can is more important than mileage.
My old '84 Mustang GT got an honest 38 mpg on a good, fresh tune and driving easy. But it weighed around 2900 lbs, had the power/torque to keep it going down the freeway with VERY little throttle, electric fans...etc...all added up to great mileage.
You would think that with fuel injection and all of the technology we have today that mileage would be better. Nope....gotta keep all the tree huggers happy with EPA. Now, we've got EGR, 12 cat converters, stopped up manifolds...all in the name of better exhaust gas emissions. All that is also adding to the sorry ass fuel mileage situation.
You want to help do your part in conserving fuel? Get somethign with a little better mileage...leave that big ass Excursion at home and get a bike or scooter. Walk to the neighbors house, don't drive. Also, reducing demand on oil companies should theoretically lower prices. I'm in the process of working on a alternative fueled dual purpose bike (street/trail) for a daily driver to/from work. That is, IF I can get up the nads to ride on the city streets. At least with the bike I can easily hop off and bash some dumbass driver's face in or shove his/her cellphone where the sun don't shine. Should be an interesting project.
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"it is better to appear ignorant than to open your mouth and remove all doubt"--Mark Twain
<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: mavman on 4/20/06 9:37am ]</font>
My old '84 Mustang GT got an honest 38 mpg on a good, fresh tune and driving easy. But it weighed around 2900 lbs, had the power/torque to keep it going down the freeway with VERY little throttle, electric fans...etc...all added up to great mileage.
You would think that with fuel injection and all of the technology we have today that mileage would be better. Nope....gotta keep all the tree huggers happy with EPA. Now, we've got EGR, 12 cat converters, stopped up manifolds...all in the name of better exhaust gas emissions. All that is also adding to the sorry ass fuel mileage situation.
You want to help do your part in conserving fuel? Get somethign with a little better mileage...leave that big ass Excursion at home and get a bike or scooter. Walk to the neighbors house, don't drive. Also, reducing demand on oil companies should theoretically lower prices. I'm in the process of working on a alternative fueled dual purpose bike (street/trail) for a daily driver to/from work. That is, IF I can get up the nads to ride on the city streets. At least with the bike I can easily hop off and bash some dumbass driver's face in or shove his/her cellphone where the sun don't shine. Should be an interesting project.
_________________
"it is better to appear ignorant than to open your mouth and remove all doubt"--Mark Twain
<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: mavman on 4/20/06 9:37am ]</font>
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Whats funny is the people that think old cars weigh more than new ones. People think I'm crazy when I tell them my '67 is around 3000 pounds, because "It's old and made of metal"
Well what is their car made out of? It takes a lot to explain to them that all the crash standards, cast iron frames, and emissions equipment make new cars weigh a lot more than their old counterparts.
A Mustang Cobra weighs in the neighborhood of 3800lbs. My car, at 3000lbs, can almost hold its own against a box stock one, and I'm making probably 280 RWHP. They weigh literally almost two tons...the only old cars that approached 4000lbs back in the day were monstrous. When a "muscle car" like the Mustang is approaching the same weight that cars like the Lincoln Park Lane and Merc Marauder, somthing is wrong.
Well what is their car made out of? It takes a lot to explain to them that all the crash standards, cast iron frames, and emissions equipment make new cars weigh a lot more than their old counterparts.
A Mustang Cobra weighs in the neighborhood of 3800lbs. My car, at 3000lbs, can almost hold its own against a box stock one, and I'm making probably 280 RWHP. They weigh literally almost two tons...the only old cars that approached 4000lbs back in the day were monstrous. When a "muscle car" like the Mustang is approaching the same weight that cars like the Lincoln Park Lane and Merc Marauder, somthing is wrong.
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my 06 mustang gt gets 24 highway already- and thats including half a dozen scorched onramps
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I hear 26 is about the norm, one guy said he added a shaker and with no other mods than 'true' cold air got 30mpg- not too shabby from a mid 13 second pig of a car...I had it sitting next to the 65 galaxie- the new mustang is as tall/wide as that boat- but a couple feet shorter in length.
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had my 69 sitting outside a while back, the new one dwarfs it. Window sticker said 'subcompact'...guess they myst rate them by gastank size/rear seat room or something like that- sure as heck aint by weight/height/width!
the highway mpg is all gearing with enough torque to pull it along- shifting from fourth to fifth, feels more like '4th to 10th' as the rpm drops so far. I think any engine with a mild cam profile building fair bottom end torque should have a steep overdrive- cant gear a low torque 4cyl that low, but with a decent torque gearing down sure helps...
I personally wish they offered a same displacement but 'severely undersquare' version of the modular, even with severely limited redline(even 4k?), I think an extra 100 ft/lb down low via extra stroke would 'feel' more powerful in everyday driving, and yet allow an even steeper overdrive for further mpg improvement. Kinda like a strong diesel- gobs of torque, limited rpm just requires wider ratio (or just more) gears. Heck some diesels sit you in the seat pretty good without ever hitting 4k...why not a long stroke/small bore gas?(also requires taller decks/longer rods to keep friction down)
<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: ford4v429 on 4/20/06 11:40am ]</font>
I hear 26 is about the norm, one guy said he added a shaker and with no other mods than 'true' cold air got 30mpg- not too shabby from a mid 13 second pig of a car...I had it sitting next to the 65 galaxie- the new mustang is as tall/wide as that boat- but a couple feet shorter in length.
had my 69 sitting outside a while back, the new one dwarfs it. Window sticker said 'subcompact'...guess they myst rate them by gastank size/rear seat room or something like that- sure as heck aint by weight/height/width!
the highway mpg is all gearing with enough torque to pull it along- shifting from fourth to fifth, feels more like '4th to 10th' as the rpm drops so far. I think any engine with a mild cam profile building fair bottom end torque should have a steep overdrive- cant gear a low torque 4cyl that low, but with a decent torque gearing down sure helps...
I personally wish they offered a same displacement but 'severely undersquare' version of the modular, even with severely limited redline(even 4k?), I think an extra 100 ft/lb down low via extra stroke would 'feel' more powerful in everyday driving, and yet allow an even steeper overdrive for further mpg improvement. Kinda like a strong diesel- gobs of torque, limited rpm just requires wider ratio (or just more) gears. Heck some diesels sit you in the seat pretty good without ever hitting 4k...why not a long stroke/small bore gas?(also requires taller decks/longer rods to keep friction down)
<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: ford4v429 on 4/20/06 11:40am ]</font>
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btw- when my Mom drove our old 69 4 barrel 429 Galaxie to work, (2/3 highway) she AVERAGED 17 mpg- and Momma had a lead foot too
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she got that car when I was 7~8, I totalled it promptly when I was 16 (1980), but the motor is still lying in wait- if I live long enough, God willing, it will eventually find its way into my 69 mustang- hopefully the 16yr old in me wont return to trash that one- but I got kids that will eventually be getting to driving age...yikes!
she got that car when I was 7~8, I totalled it promptly when I was 16 (1980), but the motor is still lying in wait- if I live long enough, God willing, it will eventually find its way into my 69 mustang- hopefully the 16yr old in me wont return to trash that one- but I got kids that will eventually be getting to driving age...yikes!
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the toyota prius gets something like 61 city/ 50 highway. If I were in the market for a hybrid, that's what I would be looking at.
The honda civic hybrid does pretty good as well
<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: mikemustang289 on 4/20/06 3:20pm ]</font>
The honda civic hybrid does pretty good as well
<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: mikemustang289 on 4/20/06 3:20pm ]</font>
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