How to save gas in a 5.0

Don't drive it Push it Oh yeah!!

keep your 2:73 gears, or switch back to them. dont rev past ~2000. take all the extra weight out you can. (this means no fat chicks too!) set timing to run lowest possible octane. get a tune up. properly inflated tires.... pretty much the same ways you do with any vehicle...

...

Buy a 4 banger.

HISSIN50 said:

Buy a 4 banger.

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Fo' reals. That or buy a moped for commuting, keep the 5.0 for fun.

ride a bicycle - I don't understand folks driving mustangs and trying to save on gas. There was another thread about some guy building a 331, but wants to run 87 octane. Ya gotta pay if you want to play. If you are concerned about gas, don't drive a mustang.

cobradvm said:

ride a bicycle - I don't understand folks driving mustangs and trying to save on gas. There was another thread about some guy building a 331, but wants to run 87 octane. Ya gotta pay if you want to play. If you are concerned about gas, don't drive a mustang.

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A little trick i use sometimes when the tanks low low is to throw it into neutral and coast down big hills,i do alot of mountian driving so it does help,its cheap and its work but if your that worried about gas try it! I remember years back my buddys digi dash on his 89 blazer blewout and we had no gas gauge,we lived 65 miles out of town so the comute would be sketchy,we tried to keep it full just to be on the safe side and coast coast coast,with the drivetrain not holding you back you can build up some speed quick.

Humboldt5.0 said:

A little trick i use sometimes when the tanks low low is to throw it into neutral and coast down big hills,i do alot of mountian driving so it does help,its cheap and its work but if your that worried about gas try it! I remember years back my buddys digi dash on his 89 blazer blewout and we had no gas gauge,we lived 65 miles out of town so the comute would be sketchy,we tried to keep it full just to be on the safe side and coast coast coast,with the drivetrain not holding you back you can build up some speed quick.

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That's what we call Mexican Overdrive, my friend

Keep your foot out of it, short shift and keep your tires well inflated. Ehxaust and K&N?

I have never seen anybody swap a 2.3L 5 speed, into a 5.0L fox!! Interesting!!!....uuuh no...

cobradvm said:

ride a bicycle - I don't understand folks driving mustangs and trying to save on gas. There was another thread about some guy building a 331, but wants to run 87 octane. Ya gotta pay if you want to play. If you are concerned about gas, don't drive a mustang.

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I really dont agree with you at all on this matter. Whats wrong with knocking down good gas mileage on your daily driven fox? Sure if you have a econo car for daily driving then you're lucky and you shouldnt be contributing to this conversation. I daily drive my 300+ HP mustang and knock down good gas mileage. I always get 25+ on the highway doing 75-80mph...and driving back and forth to work i always get 18-19. Its all about matching the right parts and knowing how to drive a car like this.

Here's a couple tricks i have learned. mechanically...everything must be in perfect working order. Good plugs (properly gapped), cap, rotor, wires, and fuel filter. Timing...on a fox i think 12° will net you the best balance between performance and economy. You can always take 3 minutes to bump it up at the track or cruise night! Obviously weight and tire pressure are important. Also look into good synthetic oils/lubricants. Running a good gear oil and tranny fluid will go a long way in reducing fiction. Not to mention good motor oils reduce friction and run cooler...all these things will marginally boost efficiency.

Gear ratio: Honestly the stock 2.73 are horrible for economy. They are simply too long. 3.27 and 3.55 are the best ratios for getting good mileage...and which of those you choose depends on the conditions you drive in. All highway -- 3.27. Mixed driving -- 3.55. Gears give you higher torque multiplication...and that effective increase in torque gets the vehicle moving easier (less throttle input) and gets you into high gear sooner. Both my brother and i got better mixed driving mileage after swapping to 3.55's and 3.73's from the stockers. Our highway mileage has remained exactly the same.

Driving style: Get a vacuum gauge and watch it like a hawk. Manifold Vacuum is directly proportional to the efficiency of a motor. The less throttle input required to maintain a desired speed..obviously the better. An engine is simply an air pump...when you let more air in...you let more fuel in. Also...do not listen to people who tell you to shift really early ~below 2000. While this is good advice some of the time it is not entirely true. Buy a Vac gauge and shift real early and you will see what i mean. The motor loads up really bad when you accelerate in the lower rpms. I bring 1st and 2nd up to at least 2500 every time and b/c you arent pressing the gas hardly at all...vacuum is high and you arent using very much gas. And when you upshift you dont land really low in the rpms...so the subsequent gears require less throttle input to accelerate as well.

You can wring out quite a bit of economy from these cars if you are willing to keep your foot out of it.

ninety15.0.......That is some really good advice. I like the section about vacuum. Makes total sense!

sorry

LAME

Why even have a Mustang if you are going to drive it like a granny to save $3 on your next fillup?

Life's short, drive it like you've got a pair!

You'll be a old man before you know it and then you can drive like one.

svtpower said:

LAME

Why even have a Mustang if you are going to drive it like a granny to save $3 on your next fillup?

Life's short, drive it like you've got a pair!

You'll be a old man before you know it and then you can drive like one.

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Yeah.....thats how I feel

Could every one that responds to this please put your age and marital status. I would love to see how this pattern looks. I have gotten as much as 30mpg with a 89 gt. 3.55 gears good tune and driving style will take you a long way.
31 single

How old are you two? When you are driving to work a 7am there is absolutely no need to beat on your car. Why not get some good mileage and save some cash? No need to be driving around like a fool attracting unwanted attention when you're driving to and from work....dam

The point of this thread was to increase fuel economy...obviously you dont have anything worthwhile to contribute. Ok so you get around 10-14 mpg because you drive like a tool all the time and you might get 200 miles to a tank if you are lucky. I get 300 miles to a tank. Thats at least 7 gallons difference the way you drive. So that will cost you over 20 bucks now. Now on a daily driver thats a big difference. Say you fill up once a week...thats almost 100 bucks a month. That means i save 500 bucks a driving season or over 1000 bucks a year by driving conservatively just to work and back. Thats a lot of mod money that you dont have anymore huh! Not to mention the additional wear and tear on your car that comes with beating it everytime you drive it.

Think what you will...but you've got some learning to do grasshopper.

Hahaha nice call 88ttop...i was thinking the same thing!

AGE

To answer your question:

I'm 31, been married for 10 years. I have a 9 month old son.

I drive a Mustang because mashing the go pedal puts a smile on my face and keeps the morning commute fun. I've been a huge Mustang fan since I was about 15 when a friend of mine got a 5.0

If it got 10mpg I'd still keep it.

If mpg is a concern I think you are driving the wrong car.

If you want something fast that gets good mpg get a cycle. Mine gets 30+ even when I wind out the gears.

I look at it like this: Some people like to go out to eat several times a week for $20-$30 a pop. Some people like to go to the bars a few times a week $, some people like the 100+ cable channels at whatever $ that is a month. The Mustang is my hobby and I drive it for FUN.