No it's not really that bad!! It's got a victor 5.0 intake on it so it doesn't really make much power down there to cause that many problems. They sure are hard on tires thought!! Oh wait, maybe that's the guy driving!!
I get about 12-14mpg in town and 22+ on the highway. My auto gets better hwy mileage (3.27's) and my stick gets better in town (3.55's).
My suggestions for mileage would be free-flowing exhaust and intake, electric fan, underdrive pulleys, etc. Don't overlook general maintenence items like plugs, wires, rotor & cap, O2 sensors, cleaning the throttle body, injector cleaner, etc. You could also try to lighten the car a bit. You probably won't see any immediate change from that, but fractions of a gallon add up eventually.
And, of course, there's the option of using a light right foot.
kevin, quick question, when do you usually work? and where do you park? every time I goto work, I can't see your car anywhere...
-and btw, the best 2 things I've done for milage is O/R exhaust, and CAI... although, I've heard that porting the intake really helps too.. oh yeah, and clean your TB!!! those things get dirty fast!
I park in between Trader Joes and the Credit Union. I am usually driving my Jeep Cherokee, but last week I was driving the Mustang. I am back to driving the Jeep though, so if you drive by there will be a Grey Jeep Cherokee parked in between Trader Joes and The Credit Union.
As for gas mileage, I think I am going to start with my exhaust system. Probably clean engine parts also. Thanks for the ideas!!!
personally, btw, I'd start w/ the intake setup stuff... like cai type things... or ported intake... then work your way to exhaust... would kinda hurt your performance to do exhaust on a virtually stock car... but a better intake system will always help
-btw, check ebay for some good quality, cheap CAI, or do whatever type you want, it's your car!
something I noticed with a 4.6,..... the higher the engine speed, the better the mileage. I usually get about 17-23 mixed hwy/cty and mixed driving depending on my moods.
But on a trip to the middle of BFE central Wyoming (kids, dont try this at home) I set the cruise at 104, and 3.5hours later, I finally let off. The tach was at 2900 RPMs, automatic. Mercury cougar (Heavy). and My MPGs were ~28.5 I was totally stoked!!!! But noone wanted to go back that fast, so I never got that good again.