I just upgraded my car

[oldman_gamer]

Granted that there are many variables in the mechanical venture of engine economy vs power etc...I personally think every vehicle is different,and that no 2 people drive exactly the same...thus, mpg will be different on any said vehicle driven by different drivers.
As far as carburators being efficient...never happen.They were a hiccup of human design....but nonetheless served the purpose well to an extent.Now,fuel injection,THAT'S another ball game entirely.The advancement of FI has come a very long way since it's early days and will advance even more in the years to come.
The days of push rods are another book we could engage in and frankly,I don't have the energy in my fingers to go there.

Nice stang BTW!

[othman11]

Originally Posted by theburan

But it's a mustang! They aren't made to turn during races! Just kidding, just kidding (the new mustangs do have the solid rear axle, right? I thought they did... hmmmmm).

The reason the Mustang isn't 4 wheel independant? The major sanctioning bodys aka, NASSCAR (Grand-AM),SCCA (Club Racing and Trans-AM), and ALMS all have rules disallowing the Mustang to race with independant rear suspinsion. These rules date back to the 60's, when GM, Chrysler, and AMC couldn't win a race (pro road race) to save there lives.

[screwballl]

Carburetors worked very well for their design... the problem came in when they were not adjusted properly. It caused the engine to run lean or rich and caused excess wear on the engines.
Relating to gas mileage, I had a 76GMC truck with a 350 V8. The original 2 barrel carb was sucking down gas and reducing my power, I was seeing around 10-12 mpg. So I replaced it with a Edelbrock 4 barrel, set it to run slightly lean, adjusted the timing for this and I averaged 25mpg around town as long as I kept my lead foot off the gas. When I did get onto it I was seeing around 14mpg. I even took it on the open road a few times and saw around 30mpg.
One big factor in this is that this truck did not have ANY emission equipment on it. One of the biggest robbers of gas mileage is all this emission equipment they have put on these vehicles. Look at gas mileage for late 1990s vehicles compared to when the new emission laws took effect in the early 2000s.. the same/similar vehicle with the exact same engine was seeing on average 25% lower mileage within a few years of each other, all due to the increase in emission equipment. I put this to the test myself.
I had a 1989 Olds Cutlass Ciera (the gutless cutlass) with a 2.5L 4cyl. It averaged around 22 mpg around town and 28 on the highway. I unplugged the O2 sensor and removed the catalytic converter. The result? More power, faster acceleration, better gas mileage. I was seeing 0-60 in 16 seconds instead of 30 seconds, I was seeing 30mpg around town and 40mpg on the highway (even on a 4000 mile round trip from FL to SD and back I was seeing 42mpg). At 200K miles I finally sold it for the 76 GMC truck.
So it is possible to increase your mileage on larger engines...

and we are still waiting on the Mustang pictures

[RA1D]

thread has been successfully derailed

[screwballl]

at least it is still automotive and partially mustang related

[Gig-O-Ram]

Sorry, guys for being negligent on posting the pics. First, I haven't taken them yet, but I plan on getting them this weekend for posting. Second, the reason I haven't posted anything yet is that I got an unexpected diversion at my job - I had to make an unplanned trip to Denver, CO that included a layover. I didn't get back home until 3am this morning!

Anyway, to answer the question as to why I "upgraded" the 06 to an 08. Some of you may recall that my 06 got vandalized last year. As a result of getting it repainted - which involved the car being disassembled - the car never really felt the same afterward. It rattled when idling, and was starting to make other related noises. Some parts that were previously solid were now loose, not to mention that the "New" paint job got damaged during our move to New Mexico. So - we just decided to trade it in. It wasn't a lease thing, I was paying for it. I got a decent trade in, but I still owed quite bit, so that gets tacked onto the price of the new car, but that's life.

And as far as the performance/mileage issue - This car performs and feels like a GT, even though it's not. It's very responsive off the line, and more responsive in motion than my 06. It's got a very solid feel to it. That's likely because it's brand new, but still - it feels great to drive. I have an hour drive to work, and the mileage seems to average between 27-40 MPG on the highway, depending on which way I'm going. Going to work is mostly uphill, so the mileage is not as high. But coming home, the mileage goes up, since it's now downhill.

Believe me - I wanted a GT 4.6L, (or even the GT with the $15K Elenore Appearance Package - sweet looking car) but with gas approaching $4/gallon, and considering my commute, it's just not practical from an economic standpoint. Hell, I want a Shelby GT500, but that's gonna be even worse on mileage.

Pics coming soon - I promise

[oldman_gamer]

We may have slid off the track a wee bit but all together it's about automotive/car/truck........ Pics will be cool im sure.

[dttuner]

Originally Posted by screwballl

nah, it is far from the end. They may be used/bought/sold for less but they will not disappear... there are too many middle to upper class soccer moms that have to drive their Lincoln Navigators for their one child.

The real disgrace are these tiny tin can cars that sacrifice security for gas mileage... sure you may get 50mpg but get in an accident and you're lucky if you survive. I prefer to live (and keep my family alive) and spend a little more on gas.

as a side note I do have a 91 Chevy Suburban with a 454 (10 mpg) that I am selling to get a Jeep Wrangler with a 4cyl.. but our main family vehicle will still be the 04 Dodge Durango since we have 2 daughters. It is impossible to have the 2 car seats, the stroller AND have room for groceries on anything smaller. Well that and with me being 6'5" it is tough for me to even fit in anything smaller.

This is my choice and my opinion, I prefer paying a bit more for safety.

You would have a point.

Regretably... the rest of the modern world manages just fine, without road behemoths to carry all their stuff. We're the only country who's citizens feel that bigger is better. We're the only country where 6000 lbs.+ vehicles are driven by "soccer moms," outside of commercial purposes.

Yes, the roads are dangerous... but mostly because of the size of the vehicles towering over us on the highways, and the lack of driver education.
By the way.. the amount of gasoline your car guzzles, doesn't equal safety. There are many cars out there which receive top saftey and crash test ratings, who don't come standard with a 12mpg V8.

We as a nation consume the most oil of any country in the world. Where do you think a part of those billions of Oil dollars go?
What do you think would have hurt terrorism more in the long run?
Killing their families in this generation, creating generations upon generations of hatful and vengeful children, bent on retaliation (hence more terrorism)?
Or cutting off our dependancy on their oil, taking away their most precious resource... Money.

Educate yourselves, for the sake of your children's future.

[drew and not u]

How to we always end up talking about some truck screwbal owns/owned....

must has to see car pictures now!

[screwballl]

Originally Posted by drew and not u

How to we always end up talking about some truck screwbal owns/owned....

must has to see car pictures now!

fine... here it is since you want to see it so bad