Mods that can improve gas mileage?

AquamanCHS · Apr 17, 2004

I'm trying to argue a case with my father about letting me mod my car. He finds most mods unnecessary and excessive spending on a car stupid. Soo.. I seem to remember reading somewhere that some mods (intake/exhaust) can actually improve gas mileage. Is there any truth to this?

Also, could someone compile a list of mods that could be disguised for other (safety) purposes? Like suspension mods = better handling in trouble, etc.

Thanks in advance

pawn · Apr 17, 2004

brakes, suspension, exhaust, tires, k&n......

CottonBurnerz · Apr 17, 2004

fire your father..

get supercharger

Islander03GT · Apr 17, 2004

just do them at a friends house, he'll never notice unless he frequently drives or works on your car.

jas142 · Apr 17, 2004

A chip might improve gas mileage slightly. Or you can just tell him it does and get it

tangerine · Apr 17, 2004

do exhaust,intake and pullies and I know that this will give you better gas mileage. also tell him that a set of 4.10 or 4.30 will give you better gas mileage. maybe if he is car illeterate he will go for it.

mike2858 · Apr 17, 2004

a v6 engine.

nyuk98gt · Apr 17, 2004

AquamanCHS:

Mods = higher hp and torque (what you want) for a given engine speed. The engine is operating more efficiently. Can't argue with making an engine more efficient!

Start off with a better air filter and some underdrive pulleys. Next, unclog the exhaust (start with the 'intermediate' pipe and replace it with high-flow catted x- or h-pipe and then add a freer-flowing cat-back). If you intend to get your car tuned, skip the timing adjuster.

Add a PI intake (do a search on the topic) for better breathing at higher rpm.

Cams will improve gas mileage (it is true!) because the engine is 'breathing' better. If you don't want to take my word for it, take a look at the Comp Cams website (for example).

There are plenty of mods that do not cost too much but will generate a few rwhp and rwtq each. Your dad will soon be bitten by the mod bug, too, and might even get some new parts for your birthday!

Good luck.

JonJon · Apr 17, 2004

v6
turbo it

AquamanCHS · Apr 17, 2004

Islander03GT said:
just do them at a friends house, he'll never notice unless he frequently drives or works on your car.

That's what I'm going to do for some of the harder to spot mods (gears perhaps, springs) but if I came rolling up one day with loud ass exhaust with shiny tips, he'd know something was up.

Assuming I free up the flow of air (intake - plenum, TB, K&N.. and exhaust - prochamber, magnaflow catback) how many more MPG do you think I might make? 1.. 2? I'm trying to get some facts straight before I present an arguement to him.

Thanks for the replies all

CuddaWuddaShuda · Apr 17, 2004

nyuk98gt said:
Add a PI intake (do a search on the topic) for better breathing at higher rpm.

I wouldn't recommend that, unless you change the heads too. The ports are very different between the PI and non-PI manifolds. The result will probably be a poor matchup between the heads and the manifold. Am I wrong about this?

nyuk98gt said:
Mods = higher hp and torque (what you want) for a given engine speed. The engine is operating more efficiently. Can't argue with making an engine more efficient!

If the engine is making more power, it will be moving more air. If it's moving more air, it will be moving more gas as well, to maintain the proper fuel/air ratio. I'm not denying there's some truth to what you say, but the larger trend is that more power requires more gasoline.

If there were a way to make more power, and get better mileage, Ford would have found it. That's probably what your dad will tell you. There are always tradeoffs, and power-versus-economy is one. For example, a timing adjuster might improve mileage, but then you'd need to run high octane gas.

LI98GTStang · Apr 17, 2004

PI intake with the aluminum crossover to replace the NPI all plastic one for better reliability - they're cracking and there had been a Bulletin from Ford with extended coverage for 96-97s and Many 98s have cracked. You get more hp out of the deal.

Springs/shocks gets rid of the brake dive and body roll in turns. You get a better looking and handling car.

Cobra/Bullitt Brake upgrade gets better stopping distances. You get a safer car.

Pulleys release some hp, thus allowing you to stay of the gas to get better gas mileage. You get more hp.

Free flow exhaust for improved breathing, increasing mileage due to better efficiencies. You get more/better sound.

Plus all this modding keeps you busy and out of trouble!

Beau · Apr 17, 2004

LI98GTStang said:
Plus all this modding keeps you busy and out of trouble!

"see dad if I do all this modding I won't be selling crack on the streets and robbing old ladies"

jas142 · Apr 17, 2004

Just tell him it'll improve mileage. Tell him what he wants to hear if you're the one paying for the gas anyway

TomBadger · Apr 17, 2004

Tell him "Yeah...you're right. I need to be more conservative when it comes to gas mileage. I NEED a Harley. They get 40-45 mpg. That's what I NEED. If I can't have what I need, then I will just do what I want and mod my Stang. Heck, all the mods in the world can't add up to the price of a Harley. If you are going to repress my desire to be more environmentally conscious, then I guess I'll just have to say screw it and enjoy what I can." That ought to do it. If it works, let me know, so I can try it on my wife.

Dark Knight GT · Apr 18, 2004

Before we advise you to do something that might get you into trouble, we need to know a little bit more about the relationship between your father and your car. Does your father drive your car frequently ? Is it more "your car" or more "his car" ? If it is more his car than yours and if he drives it frequently then Ide tell you the only thing you can do is probably small things he wont notice much or object to. The following mods may improve gas mileage while adding power.

If he does not drive the car much, Ide say add some 3.73 gears. They're the perfect gear for the 96 GT. He wont see them cause they're in the differential but you can definately feel the acceleration gain with them. You may loose some gas mileage but on some cars people actually gain gas mileage in town with a steeper gear.

K&N FIPK(although he will notice this if he looks at the motor frequently but it may help gas mileage) If he disagrees with this mod, just get a K&N air filter and slip it into the air box. He wont notice it unless if he opens the air box to have a peak.

Steeda u/d pullies. Unless if he really looks closely at the motor, he wont even notice them. They will free up more power and torque and can increase gas mileage.

Magnaflow cat-back. I recommend magnaflow because of its wide open technology lets exhuast pulses flow smoother and thus makes more power. This may increase your gas mileage then again it may not. Although it will give the cars exhuast a somewhat louder sound, it wont be extremely loud like flowmasters or Borla would. Unless if he listens to your car all the time, he probably wont notice it.

Colder spark plugs and wires. Although this wont really add much power, you can pick up some gas mileage with it and get a better ignition response. Unless if he checks under the hood, he wont notice the wires. To keep him from spotting them, get some that are black. He probably wont tell the difference. The plugs he wont see naturally cause they will be in the motor.

Sport chip - With a sport chip, you can calibrate your speedometer for a gear change and advance your ignition timing. The chip can be seen if he looks under the drivers side dash. If he does get in the car much, he may not notice it.

Aside from these mods, I dont know what else to tell you. Try and work something out with your father and if the car is more his than yours it would probably be unwise to do anything he didnt approve of. Good luck and let us know what you think of our suggestions.

AquamanCHS · Apr 18, 2004

Dark Knight GT said:
Before we advise you to do something that might get you into trouble, we need to know a little bit more about the relationship between your father and your car. Does your father drive your car frequently ? Is it more "your car" or more "his car" ? If it is more his car than yours and if he drives it frequently then Ide tell you the only thing you can do is probably small things he wont notice much or object to. The following mods may improve gas mileage while adding power.

If he does not drive the car much, Ide say add some 3.73 gears. They're the perfect gear for the 96 GT. He wont see them cause they're in the differential but you can definately feel the acceleration gain with them. You may loose some gas mileage but on some cars people actually gain gas mileage in town with a steeper gear.

K&N FIPK(although he will notice this if he looks at the motor frequently but it may help gas mileage) If he disagrees with this mod, just get a K&N air filter and slip it into the air box. He wont notice it unless if he opens the air box to have a peak.

Steeda u/d pullies. Unless if he really looks closely at the motor, he wont even notice them. They will free up more power and torque and can increase gas mileage.

Magnaflow cat-back. I recommend magnaflow because of its wide open technology lets exhuast pulses flow smoother and thus makes more power. This may increase your gas mileage then again it may not. Although it will give the cars exhuast a somewhat louder sound, it wont be extremely loud like flowmasters or Borla would. Unless if he listens to your car all the time, he probably wont notice it.

Colder spark plugs and wires. Although this wont really add much power, you can pick up some gas mileage with it and get a better ignition response. Unless if he checks under the hood, he wont notice the wires. To keep him from spotting them, get some that are black. He probably wont tell the difference. The plugs he wont see naturally cause they will be in the motor.

Sport chip - With a sport chip, you can calibrate your speedometer for a gear change and advance your ignition timing. The chip can be seen if he looks under the drivers side dash. If he does get in the car much, he may not notice it.

Aside from these mods, I dont know what else to tell you. Try and work something out with your father and if the car is more his than yours it would probably be unwise to do anything he didnt approve of. Good luck and let us know what you think of our suggestions.

Awesome post.. thanks.

As far as my father, myself and my car - it's not my car as far as me purchasing it (gift from grandmother) so it's under his name (insurence purposes). However, it's otherwise considered my car because it's my daily driver.. he rarely/never drives it because he lives in another city (divorced parents). The only time he's driven the car in the past nine months was this past week when I was having trouble describing a problem with the car. He'll sometimes look under the hood to help me out (this past weekend, for example, we changed the spark plugs) however, he's so unfamiliar with the 4.6 under the hood (he drove a Camaro in his teen/college years and has since driven Honda Civics because they're more practical) that he wouldn't notice a minor thing like pullies, etc.

The reason he doesn't want me modding my car is because back in his day he knew all these guys who spent every single penny they had on their cars and he doesn't want me turning out like that. Plus, he doesn't fully trust me with a powerful car (yeah yeah, 96 isn't that powerful, but compare it to a Civic or something) and adding more power wouldn't make much sense.

Anyways, awesome post Keep em coming

Dark Knight GT · Apr 18, 2004

Another thing you could try to pull of would be a headswap for the 99+ PI cylinder heads. This would make the most power. However, this will be pretty expensive and you will be without your car for a little while having the heads swapped. So, that would be a problem.

pinski · Apr 18, 2004

LI98GTStang said:
PI intake with the aluminum crossover to replace the NPI all plastic one for better reliability - they're cracking and there had been a Bulletin from Ford with extended coverage for 96-97s and Many 98s have cracked. You get more hp out of the deal.

Does this mean if my stock intake cracks, Ford will give me a new and better one to replace it?

If so....*picks up sledgehammer*

JonJon · Apr 18, 2004

AquamanCHS said:
I seem to remember reading somewhere that some mods (intake/exhaust) can actually improve gas mileage. Is there any truth to this?

Oh yeah... I only have intake and exhaust work done... and I get 14-15 MPG. I got 17-18 stock. (450 mile trip : highway is 21 now, stock 23-24)

There's NO true to that stupid lie. power mods = more gas = your dad wins.

Mods that can improve gas mileage?

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