Gas Mileage

[goodnigh]

Took the Mustang to Yosemite for the annual Glacier Point star party.

This is the first long haul excursion for the new engine.

Car was packed with camping gear and astronomy equipment just like

last year. Same load and route. Only difference being the new

engine. Last Fall my 351C 4V developed a cracked block so we

installed a rebuilt 351C 4V long block purchased from Don of OMS.

Only real difference between the two engines is the carb and cam.

The new engine has a "mild" cam and bigger carb. Long story short,

last year I put 15 gallons in the tank at a station outside Yosemite

after topping off before leaving home. This year it took 10 gallons to

top off the tank at the same station. So 50% better mileage with the

new engine, cam and 100 cfm bigger carb. How do you explain that?

mike

 

[hyena429]

Took the Mustang to Yosemite for the annual Glacier Point star party.

This is the first long haul excursion for the new engine.

Car was packed with camping gear and astronomy equipment just like

last year. Same load and route. Only difference being the new

engine. Last Fall my 351C 4V developed a cracked block so we

installed a rebuilt 351C 4V long block purchased from Don of OMS.

Only real difference between the two engines is the carb and cam.

The new engine has a "mild" cam and bigger carb. Long story short,

last year I put 15 gallons in the tank at a station outside Yosemite

after topping off before leaving home. This year it took 10 gallons to

top off the tank at the same station. So 50% better mileage with the

new engine, cam and 100 cfm bigger carb. How do you explain that?

mike

Your motor has more power and is more efficient...Same with my cousins trans am...It was a stock 400 pontiac motor.....It got about 14mpg....Its now a stroked and poked 465ci with 850cfm carb...pushing 504 Horse power at the rear tire...Long as he drives it normal...He now gets 21 mpg...lol Same gearing and rear end as the original....Long as your not a lead foot..Your motor using less gas to push the same mass....ohhh no...that rymed lol

 

[goodnigh]

Your motor has more power and is more efficient...Same with my cousins trans am...It was a stock 400 pontiac motor.....It got about 14mpg....Its now a stroked and poked 465ci with 850cfm carb...pushing 504 Horse power at the rear tire...Long as he drives it normal...He now gets 21 mpg...lol Same gearing and rear end as the original....Long as your not a lead foot..Your motor using less gas to push the same mass....ohhh no...that rymed lol

And people complain about our gas guzzling smoke belching 40 year

old cars:huh: I estimate I got around 18 mpg. This is overall travel

from sea level to 7500 feet with mixed highway and mountain roads.

That includes 300 pounds of gear (telescope alone weighs 130 lbs)

and a tank of gas.

mike

 

[hyena429]

And people complain about our gas guzzling smoke belching 40 year

old cars:huh: I estimate I got around 18 mpg. This is overall travel

from sea level to 7500 feet with mixed highway and mountain roads.

That includes 300 pounds of gear (telescope alone weighs 130 lbs)

and a tank of gas.

mike

Very true!! And funny thing is..All the low compression gas saving crap will all have better gas milage with bit higher compression and more cam lift."just cam lift some times is all they need"...I seen a high compression ford escort runing water injection into the carb...getting a amazing 50 too 60 mpg..Long as you wasnt a lead foot that is

130 pound scope....packing a nice dobsonion telescope up there?..I got a little 5 inch meade dob...But i need better eye peices still..lol..and im tring to film the moon with it a bit..but camera cant handle how bright it is...Im going to buy some proper moon filters...but i seen a guy online using 3d glasses from the movies and cutting them up...The modern style.."not the blue and red ones" hehe...Cutt them out and he made some good filters...im going to try it for a quick fix for now...lol

 

[Steven Harris]

Wow 18 MPG - that is great.

All the fun and decent mileage to boot.

I have got to get my Mach 1 on the road.

 

[Don65Stang]

Wow 18 MPG - that is great.

All the fun and decent mileage to boot.

I have got to get my Mach 1 on the road.

I was thinking the same thing. 18 mpg from a fire breathing Cleveland!

Mike: What rear gear do you have? What was your cruising speed on the highway?

 

[Jeff73Mach1]

Running on the primaries of a 4 barrel and not letting the secondaries come in can produce some respectable numbers. Remember that CFM's refer to cubic feet of air per minute, not fuel.

A larger carb can allow more air to pass through it, but the jetting of the carb determines the amount of gas that will flow thru it.

Air is drawn thru the carb and a larger carb will not force any more air into an engine than a smaller one, nor will the air draw any more fuel. It can draw less due to decreased vacuum signal though.

Sounds like you have it in the sweet spot. Enjoy!

 

[imusa76]

with my Stock 302 2 bbl carb 2100 I get a combined milage of about 17-20 MPG's, Not bad for a 40 yrs old car!!

 

[goodnigh]

130 pound scope....packing a nice dobsonion telescope up there?..I got a little 5 inch meade dob...But i need better eye peices still..lol..and im tring to film the moon with it a bit..but camera cant handle how bright it is...Im going to buy some proper moon filters...but i seen a guy online using 3d glasses from the movies and cutting them up...The modern style.."not the blue and red ones" hehe...Cutt them out and he made some good filters...im going to try it for a quick fix for now...lol

Moon filters are not expensive and you do need one.

Bought the biggest Dob that would fit in the trunk of the

Grande, a 10" 1200mm f/4.7 from Orion. Have had a couple

of "goto" scopes in the past but with less than adequate results.

So I settled on a decent Dob and learned how to star hop.

This last weekend it was partially cloudy near Half Dome so I

had a hard time aiming my scope without visible landmarks.

A properly polar aligned goto would have been better.

A fellow astronomer had a 5" apochromatic that was polar aligned

and you could see M31 (Andromeda galaxy) though the clouds.

mike

 

[HighOctane]

My car is about as stock as you can get except I have an aftermarket 4 barrel. It has a C-6. I get 12-13 on long trips and 10mpg otherwise. I do not drive it very hard but I do not hyper-mile either.

 

[goodnigh]

I was thinking the same thing. 18 mpg from a fire breathing Cleveland!

Mike: What rear gear do you have? What was your cruising speed on the highway?

The 18 mpg is an average for the whole trip. On the highway it

was closer to 24 mpg. The rear is 2.75 and my speedo is not

working properly so I followed the flow of traffic and kept the

tach around 2800. The car came with a 3.25 which was replaced

years before I bought the car. I would be looking for another

3.25 some day

Driving through a mountain pass I was playing with a modern GT

and had no trouble keeping up with him, even fully loaded

mike

Running on the primaries of a 4 barrel and not letting the secondaries come in can produce some respectable numbers. Remember that CFM's refer to cubic feet of air per minute, not fuel.

A larger carb can allow more air to pass through it, but the jetting of the carb determines the amount of gas that will flow thru it.

Air is drawn thru the carb and a larger carb will not force any more air into an engine than a smaller one, nor will the air draw any more fuel. It can draw less due to decreased vacuum signal though.

Sounds like you have it in the sweet spot. Enjoy!

That brings up an interesting question. How much gas do you use

coasting down a hill? When driving down the hills I rarely used

the brake pedal, just took my foot off the gas.

mike

 

[hyena429]

My car is about as stock as you can get except I have an aftermarket 4 barrel. It has a C-6. I get 12-13 on long trips and 10mpg otherwise. I do not drive it very hard but I do not hyper-mile either.

My q code gets the same milage...Or did before i tore it down...They realy restricted the flow in our q codes...bigger cam...carb...and some headers...and they will get much better mileage...our poor motors cant breath...Same with my cousin trans am...It got poor gas milage as a stock 1974 T/A...But it now gets amazing 21mpg....Use much less gas to push its mass around...He just increased the effciency of his motor is all...lol

Moon filters are not expensive and you do need one.

Bought the biggest Dob that would fit in the trunk of the

Grande, a 10" 1200mm f/4.7 from Orion. Have had a couple

of "goto" scopes in the past but with less than adequate results.

So I settled on a decent Dob and learned how to star hop.

This last weekend it was partially cloudy near Half Dome so I

had a hard time aiming my scope without visible landmarks.

A properly polar aligned goto would have been better.

A fellow astronomer had a 5" apochromatic that was polar aligned

and you could see M31 (Andromeda galaxy) though the clouds.

mike

I got a starfinder,,But i refused to use it...I just use the remote...I wanna do the work and find the star my self...I was amazed when one early night i found saturn and seen the rings and everything..even with my horrible huygen eyepeices {going to replace soon} This 5inch meade dob isnt too bad..for a starter...but i wanna move up into..the 10..12'5...I like the 16..but sure looks like a little more than i will ever need...lol...IM using this one too learn on..and pick up some eyepeices i can use on it...Some good plossi's and maybe a zoom eyepeice.

 

[goodnigh]

I got a starfinder,,But i refused to use it...I just use the remote...I wanna do the work and find the star my self...I was amazed when one early night i found saturn and seen the rings and everything..even with my horrible huygen eyepeices {going to replace soon} This 5inch meade dob isnt too bad..for a starter...but i wanna move up into..the 10..12'5...I like the 16..but sure looks like a little more than i will ever need...lol...IM using this one too learn on..and pick up some eyepeices i can use on it...Some good plossi's and maybe a zoom eyepeice.

Checkout the eyepieces from www.explorescientific.com they are

inexpensive compared to a Televue and a great value. I have some

of their 82 series and love them.

mike

 

[droptop73]

I pulled down 17.4 on a recent trip. I usually get 13 - 14 around town, not driving it easy.

I've found if you lean out the jetting too far you can hurt mileage as well. It requires more throttle opening.

 

[hyena429]

Checkout the eyepieces from www.explorescientific.com they are

inexpensive compared to a Televue and a great value. I have some

of their 82 series and love them.

mike

Not bad at all realy..and look like nice eye peices...I been to a few websites where they give reviews of eyepeices old and new..And it does seem you lose alot of your scopes power with cheap eyepeices...I can tell..Most sets cost more than some scopes..lol..And i went and watched a few websites of people using the same scope i have and gettings some great shots...Im in a good area for a telescope too...High desert type area...Tall hills...And no clouds most of the time......Im thinkin about picking up around a 6mm,,,10mm,,,25mm...and a 30 or 40mm just to start out with....And im thinking about getting a zoom lens.I hear they are not a bad thing to have in your eyepeice set..But i do hear they not quite as clear as a set lens.

 

[marks73]

Took the Mustang to Yosemite for the annual Glacier Point star party.

This is the first long haul excursion for the new engine.

Car was packed with camping gear and astronomy equipment just like

last year. Same load and route. Only difference being the new

engine. Last Fall my 351C 4V developed a cracked block so we

installed a rebuilt 351C 4V long block purchased from Don of OMS.

Only real difference between the two engines is the carb and cam.

The new engine has a "mild" cam and bigger carb. Long story short,

last year I put 15 gallons in the tank at a station outside Yosemite

after topping off before leaving home. This year it took 10 gallons to

top off the tank at the same station. So 50% better mileage with the

new engine, cam and 100 cfm bigger carb. How do you explain that?

mike

Your apparently excellent building skills. A well matched carburator and exhaust sytem can achieve some great results. ::goodjob::

 

[goodnigh]

Your apparently excellent building skills. A well matched carburator and exhaust sytem can achieve some great results. ::goodjob::

This is the never fired long block I bought from Don Witt of OMS.

All we did was install a couple of manifolds.

My mechanic taught me how to tune this engine using only your ear,

a screw driver and wrench for the dizzy.

It apparently worked.

mike