looking for a new DD and autox car

RodneyWright · **Posted:** Wed Nov 23, 2011 9:46 am

Ryan Holton wrote:

RodneyWright wrote:

The only serious problem I have is deciding where to run next year. As it sits, this car is perfect for STX, but this car sucks in STX, but all I have to do is add tires and I'm done. I also like the way the car sits and drives. VERY tough to take this back to stock.

You and Jason Mauldin need to talk.

I believe we do. I confirmed w/ Jim that it does indeed have the adjustable panhard bar, a point he failed to disclose when I was asking questions. Also the entire trunk area is cover w/ dynamat, so that's going to be a bitch to remove. Stock class is not looking like a good option right now.

EDIT: 33 pages!!!!

DickRasmussen · **Posted:** Wed Nov 23, 2011 10:01 am

Vincent Keene wrote:

RodneyWright wrote:

27mpg doing on average 72mph driving ~260 miles of i95 and us64/264. I ain't bitching there at all....

Ummmm...what? I hate to do it you Rodney, but I call bullsh*t on that. If you got that figure from the information center in the cluster, well let's just say it VERY optimistic.

FYI the info center computer on my 2012 reads about 1 tenth low compared to full tank calculations if I reset the computer at fill up and do not do short segment measurements. Short segment measurements at freeway speeds easily show 25 mpg or even better if I "eggshell" the throttle at 72 mph (2000 rpm in 6th). My commute (almost all freeway) is about 1 or 2 mpg lower than with the manual trans 2001. 22 - 23 versus 23 -24. Not too bad for an automatic unless comparing HP vs MPG with a Corvette

FYI my 2001 used to get 27 mpg on I 85 and 50 between north Raleigh and Petersburg/Richmond.

Vincent Keene · **Posted:** Wed Nov 23, 2011 10:08 am

DickRasmussen wrote:

FYI my 2001 used to get 27 mpg on I 85 and 50 between north Raleigh and Petersburg/Richmond.

What gear was in your '01 Dick? Like I said 27MPG with 3.73's, I just can't see it.

Jason Mauldin · **Posted:** Wed Nov 23, 2011 10:12 am

Vincent Keene wrote:

RodneyWright wrote:

27mpg doing on average 72mph driving ~260 miles of i95 and us64/264. I ain't bitching there at all....

Ummmm...what? I hate to do it you Rodney, but I call bullsh*t on that. If you got that figure from the information center in the cluster, well let's just say it VERY optimistic. If you got it from actual math (fill the tank, drive, fill the tank, divide the numbers) I'm sorry, but I still don't believe it. My car gets *maybe* 22-24 headed down I-95 to CMP cruising at 75MPH and I have 3.55 gears. If you have 3.73's there's no way the gas mileage could actually go up.

Congrats on the new car.

I've got a calculated 30mpg with my car before. You have to be VERY gentle with the loud pedal.

DickRasmussen · **Posted:** Wed Nov 23, 2011 10:12 am

RodneyWright wrote:

Can't argue on the BS call right now, all my data is off of the trip computer. I'll watch it over the next few days as we travel over the holidays and put some real math into it. Report back later and see how off it is.

To elaborate (the new goal is 50 pages for this thread :lol:

)

With my trip computer info center you can reset the mpg "at speed" and then get essentially instantaneous mpg on the highway starting from the reset. However, you lose the full tank info.

Jason Mauldin · **Posted:** Wed Nov 23, 2011 10:15 am

RodneyWright wrote:

Ryan Holton wrote:

RodneyWright wrote:

The only serious problem I have is deciding where to run next year. As it sits, this car is perfect for STX, but this car sucks in STX, but all I have to do is add tires and I'm done. I also like the way the car sits and drives. VERY tough to take this back to stock.

You and Jason Mauldin need to talk.

I believe we do. I confirmed w/ Jim that it does indeed have the adjustable panhard bar, a point he failed to disclose when I was asking questions. Also the entire trunk area is cover w/ dynamat, so that's going to be a bitch to remove. Stock class is not looking like a good option right now.

EDIT: 33 pages!!!!

I'm on the fence about which class I'm going to run. ESP and STX are both VERY limited with the allowed mods that you can do. There is a lot of very low hanging fruit that moves the car to SM, which is almost too good to pass up. Ultimately, I think I'm just going to throw mods at the car for the fun of it and then run in whatever class it lands in.

As it stands at the moment, the car is legal in either ESP or STX, that might change depending on what wheels go on sale this Friday.

DickRasmussen · **Posted:** Wed Nov 23, 2011 10:19 am

Vincent Keene wrote:

DickRasmussen wrote:

FYI my 2001 used to get 27 mpg on I 85 and 50 between north Raleigh and Petersburg/Richmond.

What gear was in your '01 Dick? Like I said 27MPG with 3.73's, I just can't see it.

3:31 as I recall. ALSO I got the impression that the oem GY's might have been lower rolling resistance than the subsequent Firestones and Bridgestones that I've used after no longer doing the Richmond drive. Either that or that segment of highway is downhill both ways. :lol:

Note that Ford does not change the official mpg with the gear ratio. I don't know if that is a "loophole" in the law versus the engine "doesn't care". This seemed to also be true with the new V6 which comes with either 2.73 or optional 3:31 gears. The drop is with the automatic due to losses in the trans.

FYI: Around 2007/2008 the mileage calculation rules got tougher. The Mustang window sticker numbers for the same exact car configuration dropped one MPG for the newer cars. I think they got tougher at least one other time between the 90's and the 2000's but I don't recall for sure. It might have been before then.

It is impressive that the cars keep getting faster and more economical while also gaining weight. I wish I could do that.

Dick

Vincent Keene · **Posted:** Wed Nov 23, 2011 10:21 am

Jason, do you have 3.55's? If not, you and I can't compare. Also I have a 93 tune, which I'm sure doesn't help. My MPG figure comes from a trip to CMP (3.5 hours) on I-95 using cruise control so no real effect from the loud pedal. Back and forth to work I get 18-19MPG, but I kinda like to hear the exhaust a lot so I'm on the 'loud' pedal quite a bit.

Dick, I only go by the ACTUAL MPG, which I get from resetting the trip and calculating it at the next fill up by the gallons used. My Fusion does what you suggest, and it's still very optimistic IMO.

DickRasmussen · **Posted:** Wed Nov 23, 2011 10:26 am

Vincent,

See my edit above for more guesses about gearing. :lol:

My info center drops the average really fast when I get off the freeway and/or get on the loud pedal. Conversely it takes a long time to regain the "lost mpg" when I'm back on the freeway. Could be that Ford improved the algorithm for the Mustang.

Edit: All my numbers are actual from full tank calculations. The info center numbers are just for curiosity.

Jason Mauldin · **Posted:** Wed Nov 23, 2011 10:29 am

Vincent Keene wrote:

Jason, do you have 3.55's? If not, you and I can't compare. Also I have a 93 tune, which I'm sure doesn't help. My MPG figure comes from a trip to CMP (3.5 hours) on I-95 using cruise control so no real effect from the loud pedal. Back and forth to work I get 18-19MPG, but I kinda like to hear the exhaust a lot so I'm on the 'loud' pedal quite a bit.

Actually cruise control is not the optimal way to get good gas mileage. You can easily out smart the cruise control in an attempt to get better mileage. If I run cruise, then I get 24-25mpg.

Vincent Keene · **Posted:** Wed Nov 23, 2011 10:40 am

Jason Mauldin wrote:

Actually cruise control is not the optimal way to get good gas mileage. You can easily out smart the cruise control in an attempt to get better mileage.

Really? Do tell. I guess it doesn't matter though because I LOVE cruise...MPG be damned. I use it in town, on the highway, everywhere...except on track.

Matt McGrain · **Posted:** Wed Nov 23, 2011 10:48 am

Since the cruise can't detect hills (wouldn't surprise me if Merc or Lexus had this feature someday soon) it seems to have to overcompensate on the throttle to 'catch up'. Or at least that's my theory. :wink:

I still use it but never when it's raining.

Jason Mauldin · **Posted:** Wed Nov 23, 2011 10:55 am

Vincent Keene wrote:

Jason Mauldin wrote:

Actually cruise control is not the optimal way to get good gas mileage. You can easily out smart the cruise control in an attempt to get better mileage.

Really? Do tell. I guess it doesn't matter though because I LOVE cruise...MPG be damned. I use it in town, on the highway, everywhere...except on track.

IF you're trying to get good gas mileage, you really have to anticipate things. When you see a hill maintain a constant throttle position and let the car slow down going up the hill. Let it speed up going down the hill. Cruise control doesn't do this, it just maintains a constant speed.

Do you have the info center? Set it to the instantaneous bar graph and watch it while you have the cruise control set. Then turn the cruise control off and drive in a way that keeps all bars on.

Ninja edit: Driving like this is very anti mustang mullet driving. I'm not actually suggesting you do this, just pointing out that it is possible to do, even with a mullet car. I CAN get well over 20mpg in the city. I don't do that though, because I enjoy hooning too much. Living out east like you do, you should be able to do better.

Arthur McDonald · **Joined:** Fri Aug 29, 2003 1:54 am **Posts:** 2052

Catching up on this thread is time consuming!

The purchase:
Congrats, Rodney, on your new toy! Sorry you won't be running in FS, but maybe we can have a little private PAX challenge next year

Mileage:
I assumed the bar graph is just a glorified vacuum gauge, so I don't use it. I got 27 mpg on one trip back from DC, running w/o AC and really feather footing it and generally trying to avoid sudden throttle position changes. (This is with 3.55 gears). This was in July 2008 and I had just topped off the tank with $4.21/gallon regular in Alexandria, so I was motivated. Normally I get 24 mpg on non-AX road trips. BTW -- my Garmin says that my speedo reads 2 mph high @ 75 (on OEM size/brand tires) so who really knows?

Launching:
Full throttle launches on A6s? Well, it depends on your launch RPM. There was an event a Laurinburg two years ago where I was able to launch perfectly @ 3000 RPM and stay down on the throttle until the first shift, but that was an exception. Normally, it's 2000 RPM and be careful for the first 30 feet. I'm running 295s on 18x18.5s, but run 42-45 psi in the rear per Strano's instructions, so that reduces the length of the contact patch. With a wider rim, you can probably run lower psi.

DickRasmussen · **Posted:** Wed Nov 23, 2011 12:01 pm

Jason,

Understood and agree. However I didn't buy a 400 HP car to slow down going up hills. :lol:

My camper van tow vehicle does that just fine . . . even with cruise control. :lol:

FYI it is much easier to feather/modulate with a manual transmission than with an automatic even if it has a lock up torque converter . . . especially one as quiet as a 2012 Mustang.

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