I live in REdding, CA and work in San Jose, CA area. about 250 miles...I drive this each week. Up til last week, I have been driving a 94 Mazda Miata for last 10 years (315,000 miles!). Started out getting 29-ish MPG and slowly dropped over time to about 25MPG. so for last 2+ years been living with 25MPG. I struggled buying the V8 vs V6 Mustang, but appeared I might get 25 under certain conditions. I gambled and took chance on 4.6l, manual, convertable 05 (19K miles on odemeter).
This Monday was my first test. Sunday PM I bought gas in Redding at about $3.46 per gallon (struggled to get tank full, had to baby pump-gas fill kept shutting off-this fill design SUCKS BAD-Ford should be ASHAMED!!!) and drove to my house, then next morning hit freeway (I-5). once I got up to 70MPH, reset MPG, only ONCE during entire trip. THen I changed over to bar graph data mode.
Maintained about 23.5MPG (to my shock), some up and down due to rolling hills for first 30 miles. then leveled out, and about 60 miles out I stopped for coffee, then back on freeway. Stopped once more in Williams, about 100 miles out. then freeway again.
monitoring MPG and bar graph, I noticed once I hit flat ground the MPG started climbing with time. by the time I stopped in Vacaville for gas I had driven EXACTLY 153.2 miles, 6.2 gallons reported as used, 26.0 MPG!!! Amazing! (BTW, I took photos of speedometer at regular intervals for record keeping,noting trip meter, MPG and gallons used-also gas pump I filled up at.)
Actual fill-up was 6.061 gallons (at $3.89 per gallon), so I actually got 25.32MPG (remember, i RESET the MPG after i drove to get gas and hit freeway). (Again, had to fight to fill up tank BAD).
CONDITIONS;
temp 65-75 F
wind = ~0
elevation - 500Ft above sea level
Fuel = Arco, 87 octain, summer blend ethynol.
Observations:
1. any stopping resutls in drop in MPG. So appears simply momentium of getting mass moving is hard on MPG (Duh!)
2. driving at 70 vs 75 mph appears to make big difference, as much as 3 MPG. I will try this next week.
3. watching and adjusting using bar graph indicator helps. (I used it for surface street driving also, helps alot)
4. Keeping RPMs below 2K makes huge difference. SHort shifting!
the balence of trip is traffic driving, some bumper to bumper, also surface streets. Even so, still was 23 by time I hit work, with new tank of gas. SHould not this week, all surface street, about 28 miles from work to apptment I stay in each day, still getting 20MPG.
I still am considering trading this in on V6 auto convertable, if I could get 29mpg, might be worth it...appears to have almost the same HP at similar torque...
I will update this as I get more data.
This Monday was my first test. Sunday PM I bought gas in Redding at about $3.46 per gallon (struggled to get tank full, had to baby pump-gas fill kept shutting off-this fill design SUCKS BAD-Ford should be ASHAMED!!!) and drove to my house, then next morning hit freeway (I-5). once I got up to 70MPH, reset MPG, only ONCE during entire trip. THen I changed over to bar graph data mode.
Maintained about 23.5MPG (to my shock), some up and down due to rolling hills for first 30 miles. then leveled out, and about 60 miles out I stopped for coffee, then back on freeway. Stopped once more in Williams, about 100 miles out. then freeway again.
monitoring MPG and bar graph, I noticed once I hit flat ground the MPG started climbing with time. by the time I stopped in Vacaville for gas I had driven EXACTLY 153.2 miles, 6.2 gallons reported as used, 26.0 MPG!!! Amazing! (BTW, I took photos of speedometer at regular intervals for record keeping,noting trip meter, MPG and gallons used-also gas pump I filled up at.)
Actual fill-up was 6.061 gallons (at $3.89 per gallon), so I actually got 25.32MPG (remember, i RESET the MPG after i drove to get gas and hit freeway). (Again, had to fight to fill up tank BAD).
CONDITIONS;
temp 65-75 F
wind = ~0
elevation - 500Ft above sea level
Fuel = Arco, 87 octain, summer blend ethynol.
Observations:
1. any stopping resutls in drop in MPG. So appears simply momentium of getting mass moving is hard on MPG (Duh!)
2. driving at 70 vs 75 mph appears to make big difference, as much as 3 MPG. I will try this next week.
3. watching and adjusting using bar graph indicator helps. (I used it for surface street driving also, helps alot)
4. Keeping RPMs below 2K makes huge difference. SHort shifting!
the balence of trip is traffic driving, some bumper to bumper, also surface streets. Even so, still was 23 by time I hit work, with new tank of gas. SHould not this week, all surface street, about 28 miles from work to apptment I stay in each day, still getting 20MPG.
I still am considering trading this in on V6 auto convertable, if I could get 29mpg, might be worth it...appears to have almost the same HP at similar torque...
I will update this as I get more data.