Something odd :-?

[lancSHO]

I drove the SHO to the Carlisle Ford Nationals last weekend. The only mod I have [performance-wise what could have affected this] is the Pipercross CAI. Running my normal Sheetz 92 octane gas, driving back I noticed the fuel needle was pointing to 3/4 full.....with 120 miles on the trip odo!? Has anyone else gotten 30mpg from their V8 SHO? I'm wondering if this is just a freak occurance [and the stars were aligned]; I usually get 18-20 normally [city/country road driving]. I understand that cruising will use less fuel than stop & go will, but I was cruising inbetween 70-75mph. I have more mods done to my ZX2 running the same gas [CAI, CWQ3 computer, 2 1/4" cat back with OE muffler, afx udp] and have gotten 42mpg on a beach trip with that.

What kinda fuel economy do you get with your Gen III SHO & what mods do you have?

 

[Mr Anonymous]

Using the gas gauge and trip odo to determine gas mileage is not the least bit accurate. You have to use the trip odo and the gauge on the pump next time you fill up to accurately determine your gas mileage. The V8 SHO gas guage is one of the least accurate I've ever seen. Showing just under 3/4 tank in most (around 7/10ths tank) is actually about 1/2 a tank. Next time you have a chance, notice how the first "half" of a tank the gauge will go down pretty slowly, and the second half will go down quite quickly.

On the many long trips I've taken in my V8, I often see 26-28 MPG pretty routinely

 

[DavidT]

I second that... the needle gets on my nerves... it floats around the gauge a whole 1/4 tank.
I have never had the sho out for a lengthy trip that would consume a full tank of gas, iirc.
I have gotten as much as 23 mpg (city/highway). I give ALL credit to my electric exhaust cutout.
I average 21-22 mpg.
I recently checked the mpg since I got the X-Cal. SCT Doug L. tune. To my surprise, I got only 21 mpg (thats using the cutout some too). Must be due to hammering the throttle way too much. I can't help myself with the much improved shifts
The 23 mpg mods are:
Exhaust cutout, no saxacone, Flowmaster 40's, a recent thorough cleaning of the intake by Chris himself (cams welded by Kirk, new plugs, etc.), 87 octane...

 

[Mr. SHO]

30 mpg is not unheard of, but it's rare. I only got 30 mpg for an entire tank of gas once, and that was returning from Kirk's with a squeaky clean intake, new plugs, new synthetic oil, etc. Not to mention my wife was with me, so I was driving "normal". My recent trip to and from the All-Ford show at Carlisle netted me only 25 mpg b/c I was over 100MPH frequently. When I behave myself and use the cruise control at 80-85, it's pretty common for me to get 26-28 mpg.

These cars are very aerodynamic and the 3.4L V8 is quite efficient at highway speeds.

 

[Glue Maker]

I hate my fuel gauge. I get 120 miles to the first quarter of the tank then 100 the last 3/4

 

[SHOZ123]

I've never know a Ford gas gage to be accurate as far as indicating the actual amount in the tank. But they generally are accurate as to the tank being empty which is what really counts.

FWIW I get 100 miles to the first quarter, 75 to the next, 75 to the next and 50 on the last quarter. At that point there is still a couple of gallons left...usually.

 

[CT97White]

I just drove my car from CT to VA and back. I had to fill up four times in all, including when I got back to CT. I got 28 mpg on the two tanks on the way down to VA and that was running without the cruise control most of the way and going as fast as 80 mph at times. I the way back I decided to see what kind of fuel economy I could get if I stayed in cruise the whole way. I set it at 65 mph and left it there for 300 miles. My sister need to stop for gas in Subaru, but my car only took about 9.5 gallons. It actualy got over 30 mpg. I'd like to repeat it before I called it more than a fluke. I got 28.5 mpg on the last tank because I started driving at a pretty steady 75 mph once I crossed the CT line & I had one day of around town driving before filling up again.

 

[stephen newberg]

You have to be pretty careful to get a good fuel consumption figure on the Gen III due to the problems with getting the tank actually full. The only way I have been able to get good numbers is to dribble the tank full all the way up to the top of the filler neck each tank, and that is very time consuming. That last 4-5 gallons can take some time to get in.

The gas level indicator itself seems to me to be almost one of the European style, which are not set up to read equally for the entire tank in the first place, but rather to move very little for the first quarter, a bit more for then next, etc. until for the last quarter you get a lot of movement so that the reading is more precise for when you are closer to empty, what you really need to know. As a result, I rather like the the way the gas meter works.

pax, smn

 

[lancSHO]

Not to rain on anyone's parade, but about the needle going slowly on the 1st half & then fast on the 2nd half........they all do that. I've seen it in Hondas, FoMoCo's, Mazdas, Chrysler Corps, BMWs and even Autometer gauges too. Unless you go full digital, don't expect analog to be completely accurate.

I finished the tank with an average of 26mpg, with two 115mph highway rolls, so I'd have to say 30 was probably pretty close.