FINALLY someone that makes sense!!! I don't know about "Valvetronic", but with a 6 speed, weight reductuion, GDI, improved aero and cylinder deactivation the Mustang could easily get 30 mpg!!

The most important is to get the revs down! My 85 GT often got 30+ mpg sometime as high as 32! It had a 5 speed and 2.73 gears so at 70 mph I was only turning 1800 rpm. With a 6 speed I think we could get the rpm of the 4.6 down under 2000 at highway speeds.

Weight reduction always helps mileage and performance, I think manufacturers will implement weight reduction on ALL vehicles.

GDI-Gas Direct Injection will be used more and more by Ford in the future. It allows higher compression ratio's and leaner A/F ratios (as high as 60:1 at low loads) because most of the compression stroke has happened before the fuel is shot in the cylinder at extremely high pressure.

Improving aero is a NO BRAINER, the current Mustang is a BUS! I hope the next generation is alot more aerodynamic, which will help mileage and speed.

Cylinder de-activation would have a V8 Mustang using only 4 cylinders at low load and steady speeds. Even if it was only a 5% increase in efficiency, every little bit helps.

Ford can build a 350+ hp Mustang that gets 30 mpg on the highway, of course it might be a TT V6.

 

I still don't understand why the Mustang base model and GT still don't have a 6 speed. I mean c'mon Ford was willing to put it in their SVT Focus but not the everyday Mustang GT? Think about it GM had started putting 6 speeds in the F-body as far back as 93'. This was huge for them because despite having a much bigger and in most applications powerful engine the gas mileage was about the same as the 5.0 and 4.6 engines. I agree that a 6 speed would help the Mustang's highway mileage a great deal. I'm not sure on this but I think Ford already has a 6 speed auto or is very close to releasing one, this would also make a great addition to the Mustang.

 

I'm not sure it could EASILY get 30mpg, but I think there could be noticeable improvements from today's car.

If you look at what Ferrari intends to do over the next several years, their focus is on weight reduction.

Since aerodynamics would greatly impact the Mustang styling, I would guess that most people would prefer styling vs. trying to "super sleek" the muscle car shape.

I am not an engineer, so my comments are based in supposition, but I think its possible to see a 2-3 mpg increase in overall mileage with application of the engine technology changes (direct injection, cylinder deactivation).

I am not certain if we would see engine displacement shrink in the next 3 years, but I do think if things change in the truck and van lines, that's when the effect on the Mustang lineup will be seen.

 

 

Part of the Corvette's impressive fuel economy comes from the fact that it is much lighter than the Mustang. The 04' GTO has the same motor as the C5 vette and actually had worse mileage than the current Mustang GT.

 

Well, if you want to make the Mustang more aerodynamic (which I'd rather not see!!) you could always sleek it up a bit and make it look like the GTO!! From what I've read, it has the same CD as the old car. If Ford would figure out how to put it on a diet and put a 6-speed in it (both man. and auto), we'd see quite some mpg improvement!!

 

Ford is planning on removing a lot of weight from all of their vehicles. This is down the road, but if you watch the EcoBoost video on YouTube, it shows all of Fords plans to improve fuel economy.

 

THANK YOU

 

And don't forget how much more aerodynamic the Vette is compared to a Mustang.

 

The problem is that there is a VERY limited choice in 6 speed manuals that can handle the Mustang's torque. About the only thing out there is the Tremec T56 or newer T6600. They are significantly more expensive than the 5 speed Mustang trannie and Tremec does not have the maufacturing capacity to supply enough of them for the Mustang GT.

Ford's 6 speed auto is currently available, but it is for FWD and FWD based AWD vehicles, not RWD vehicles. Ford does have a big truck auto, but it will not fit in the Mustang.

 

+1000 The Vette is extremely low to the ground, and very sleek.

 

Overall I still think the weight is the main contributer to the car's impressive fuel economy. I think people are to hung up over the aero issues. I don't see this causing major issues in fuel economy unless you are consistantly driving at highly illeagal speeds (100+mph). Perhaps i'm wrong but how much can you save from just aerodynamics?

 

Did Tremec make the 6 speeds for the F-bodies?

 

Aero is huge. Why do you think hybrids like the Prius have really sleak designs?

 

Aerodynamics are HUGE in fuel economy standards, especially on the highway.

 

I just did some research on C/D (coefficient of drag) and found that as a general rule, for every .01 increase in C/D you can expect about a .2mpg decrease. The new Z06 has a C/D of about .26, the Mustang GT is about .36. That means .1 difference, = 2mpg gain just on aerodynamics.

 

Fd = 0.5 Cd * p * A * v^2

Fd = Drag Force
Cd = Drag Coefficient
p = atmospheric density
A = frontal surface area [area the Cd is applied to]
v = velocity

To add to that, the power it takes to match drag is given by

Pd = Fd * v


Vehicle weight is only a factor in rolling friction [tires] and is the greater factor when driving on a surface thats not level. Most vehicles get higher mileage on cold concrete than on warm asphalt due to the friction difference.

The absolute biggest difference in gas mileage is provided with the efficiency in the engine. This is where GDI technology provides a greater improvement. Unlike air/fuel mixtures in the intake runners, GDI allows much higher air/fuel ratios during compression, as it injects the fuel after most of the compression stroke has occured, resulting in a much lower chance of pre-ignition. This technology can also be used with cylinder de-activation in cases where sustained speed need only 30-40hp without risking a lean ignition in an unused cylinder.

As far as EcoBoost is concerned, its simply a way to cheat the power of a larger engine without the larger weight.

 

I've been saying this for the past year and a half, but no one wanted to believe me. The days of old where you can get a car with several choices of V8s are gone, PERIOD! The gas issue isn't going away and will only get worse as price for fuel goes up. We as sports car and muscle car fans/owners have to be lucky just to have a chance to have a V8 powered car by 2020. Its going to be different, I can tell you that, and I'm not looking forward to it anytime soon. No econoboxes for me.

Oh, and it is official that the Impala RWD car is dead, according to Lutz. Its a sad state for us car guys right now.

 

Go see how it feels to stand up in a constant 70 MPH wind.
You'll then have an appreciation of how important aero issue are.

 

I believe so. About the only manufacturers left that make manual transmissions for rear wheel drive passenger cars are Tremec and ZF.