Hi all,
I have a manual v8 and I read/heard two different practices to get better MPG. One is to row through the gears at lower RPM keeping at a steady acceleration. I also heard that on the mustangs, it is not good for MPG, to keep it at low RMP because it may flood the engine making it inefficient? Anyone have any good word about this?

 

NVM, **** double post.

 

Spark, the more you drive you will learn what to do to get better mpg's. These 5.0's are surprisingly very good on gas unless you stretch it's legs a bit. As the engine breaks in it will also improve on mileage a bit. I say just drive her, and enjoy. It will get enough mpg's to make you happy. I pay no attention to the mpg's on mine. Being the Wifey's car she's not real happy about that though......

Also, if you change the gears to soon you will cause the engine to lug, or make it feel like it's flooding (it' not). Not good for the drivetrain.

 

most sports cars are not good at getting good mpg. it takes fuel to make power.

 

Low rpm won't flood the engine, whoever told you that doesn't know what they're talking about, never seek their advice again.

Light throttle, early upshifting(2000 or less), get into 6th asap, keep speed as low as possible. These are the methods to improve fuel economy on a Mustang.

The 5.0 is easily capable of lugging the car around at cruise speed as low as 1000 rpm.

It's not the most fun way to drive your Mustang but it works, try it!

 

1-3-5-6 skip works well for me but I can never maintain that mindset for very long (The Horsepower is to addictive).

 

I quit trying for max economy since I don't drive my car much, no work commute, and all my trips lately have just been short hops with one long trip across Houston and my readout is sitting on about 20 mpg right now and has never gone below 15 mpg since I've had the car.

 

I aim for 9 mpg.....it is a heck of a lot more fun......

 

Very funny, Pete...and true!!!

 

So what was the other practice for better MPG you heard about?

My auto gets into 6th real soon when I'm just putting around; like, just over 40mph (using the factory tune). It lugs just fine and gives the same or better MPG as my V6 rice burner. But that all changes when people move out of the way!

 

The MPG's you are able to achieve have a lot to do with the type of roads you typically drive on. If you live in a more rural area with lots of hills you will (obviously) get worse mileage than others. In my case, I am in Michigan, where the roads are flat and straight (for the most part) and a lot of the roads have traffic lights timed to run at 45-50 MPH. In my typical commute I am able to see 20-21 MPG regularly. Most of the time I wind up starting in 2nd (3.73 rear), then going 2-4-5-6, or 1-3-5-6.

 

I live in Bavaria in south eastern Germany where all the roads are curvy and hills are everywhere. The roads also have a speed limit that is around 60 mph except in the small towns and I get around 18.6 average and on the autobahn where MY average speed is over 100mph I still get 21. I drive my car like she owes me rent money and we worked out an "arrangement". Ha ha.

 

 

My first week back and forth to work with my A6 got me over 23 mpg, mixed driving. The car does not even have 400 miles on it yet so it might just get better. I am very pleased, plus 87 octane is much cheaper than the 93 I put in my Trans Am.

 

I would not recommend shifting too early to attempt to obtain better fuel mileage; lugging an engine is not good for it.

 

How would you define lugging? It it running below a certain rpm, or just when there's a clear hesitation/lugging noise from the drivetrain?

 

Shifting into a higher gear without the RPM within range of that gear can "lug" the engine. Refer to the owners manual for suggested "minimum" RPM range for shifts.

No sarcasim intended, but these 5.0's get very decent mileage for the performance thay put out. If folks are getting hung up on MPG, then they bought the wrong vehicle.

 

Anyone know what the RPM shift range is for 2014 GT?

 

Same as the 12-13, they all use same engine you know.

Check the owners manual.

 

Spark if you want to get a little more MPG you can do a few bolt on mods.
I have a 2012 V8 California Special and a V6 Convertible. On both I installed a Cold air intake. A larger throttle body. 85MM on the V8 and A 73mm on the V6. I also did a aftermarket tuner which for me was a SCT tuner. This boosted the MPG in both vehicles 2 to 4 mpg and increased torque,hp and responsiveness. Note:You probably will not get the increased MPG at first because the new found power will be so tempting to play with. But once you mellow you will see the increase.