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MPG

Printed From: The Ford Torino Page
Category: Model Specific Forum
Forum Name: General Automotive Technical Discussion
Forum Description: Technical Automotive discussion of anything not specific to mid-size Ford/Merc
URL: https://forum.grantorinosport.org/forum_posts.asp?TID=5186
Printed Date: 18-March-2024 at 4:26PM
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 12.06 - https://www.webwizforums.com


Topic: MPG
Posted By: VegasTorino
Subject: MPG
Date Posted: 12-March-2011 at 7:17AM
hey i get less than 10 miles to the gallon in my torino. i was wondering if there is anything i can do to get better mpg?!?



Replies:
Posted By: interceptor460
Date Posted: 13-March-2011 at 6:24AM
  Normally the tire psi at 32 pounds of pressure ,any dead weight in the trunk some say keep the tank of gas half filled and a healthy engine is important .On the highway overdrive is nice . All torinos with 14 inch tires is the worse thing .The 15 or 16 inch will drive better and can give a mile on a gallon of gas . Get  tires with at least a 27 inch height like p225-70 R15 , or p235-60 R16 inch. They will not effect speedometer reading. Ford switch in 77-79 torino type bodies to 15 inch tires and a 2.50 axle ratio to increase mileage . You can use super instead of regular. Rear axle ratio, there is so much more, etc ,etc .Also driving habits.
   Remember torinos are not known for good milage. You can fine tine it to get better mileage. But that car can weigh up to 4500 lbs ,yes and my old 76 wagon 351cid 4700 lbs yes no kidding.


Posted By: ilyes
Date Posted: 13-March-2011 at 6:41AM
i get 22mpg on highway, around 3 mpg in the city.
I got 29" tires and 3.00 axle, my engine is a little built up and it helps for fuel economy compared to a worn engine.
My car weight 3700 lbs, maybe 3800 lbs with full tank and fluid


Posted By: Psquare75
Date Posted: 13-March-2011 at 12:01PM
Even my 460 equipped Cougar (Torino) gets 11-13 MPG driving "normally"

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Paul
77 XR7 460/C6/3.00:1 *SOLD*
78 XR7 523/C6/3.5:1
79 F100 460/TKO500/3.25:1
'I also have some left over potatoes-I understand you can generate electricity from them'- Foote500


Posted By: Regul8r
Date Posted: 14-March-2011 at 8:23AM
I get from one gas stop to my next stop.
I don't track the mileage I drive around town or the gas I put in.
 
Pretty sure it would be wrong anyway with the different size tires and the way I LOVE hitting the gas! I don't drive this car for mileage.


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Carl Corey (Moderator/Event Coordinator) Contact ANYTIME!
1976 Ford Elite "Lola Mae"
97 Suzuki Intruder 1400
US Army Retired


Posted By: Psquare75
Date Posted: 14-March-2011 at 8:34AM
Meh, I track it in everything I drive

Cavalier = 20-24 MPG
F100 = around 9-10 MPG
"" With 351W = around 9 - 10 MPG
"" With 302 = around 9 - 10 MPG LOL
White Cougar.. around 9 MPG
Gray Cougar = 11-13 MPG

Past cars
White 4 door base Torino (302) = 13=17 MPG (leaky fuel tank when FILLED.. oops)
85 Toronado = 16-18 MPG

For me, I always love comparing this stuff between various cars, and seeing what a mod will do to help or hurt MPG.. But I make it a point to be able to daily drive my cars. If it's a track only car, I would quickly lose interest in ownership.. closest track is 2+ hours away. 


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Paul
77 XR7 460/C6/3.00:1 *SOLD*
78 XR7 523/C6/3.5:1
79 F100 460/TKO500/3.25:1
'I also have some left over potatoes-I understand you can generate electricity from them'- Foote500


Posted By: Regul8r
Date Posted: 14-March-2011 at 9:15AM
I track it once I get it highway running road worthy so I can get a good tank full run down the highway. Then I know without a doubt what she gets highway. Around town I just know I get less and about how many miles to a full tank I get. The truck has been giving me fits lately. Needs some TLC!

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Carl Corey (Moderator/Event Coordinator) Contact ANYTIME!
1976 Ford Elite "Lola Mae"
97 Suzuki Intruder 1400
US Army Retired


Posted By: GranTorinoSport
Date Posted: 16-March-2011 at 6:10AM
Engine wear is another big factor. My 75 that has (now dead) 351W got about 11MPG. That same car ten years ago got much higher (and I'm sure brand new it could have been as good as 16?)

So, when the 521 goes in, compared to the near-dead 351W (230,000 miles), I doubt I will see much of a MPG difference. And I do drive like a grandfather.

My 66 Chrysler 300 (383 4V engine) got 14MPG on the freeway Spokane-Seattle last summer. Not tuned up, distributor is worn out (misses real bad) and the carb needs a rebuild (but the engine is new with only about 7,000 miles from a reputable engine builder).  I'm thinking an electronic distributor, rebuilt (or E-brock) carb should help out tons. The distributor was in such bad shape (shaft wobble I believe) that when I went to tune it up (new points, cap & rotor, plug wires, plugs) that I made it worse (the missing). I'm not a pro at points, but I was careful. And I think my MPG actually went down in it!

The 71 F-250 gets about 8MPG around town. Highway is all about how fast you drive - with 4.10's and wind (like I did one time to Spokane) I can get less than 6 at 70+ MPH. I'm figuring with the rebuilt heads and the other improvements that my mileage will increase dramatically, even with the 4.10's.


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Scott Eklund

Webmaster


Posted By: fordnmerc
Date Posted: 16-March-2011 at 9:25AM
Hey Scott, I would love to see some photos of your 66 Chrysler 300! My old neighbor had one from 1966 to 1991. It was a 2 door, Ruby (sort of like garnet metallic) with black and white interior. It also had the 383. He was a master mechanic and even had a lift installed in his personal garage at home years ago. He either had a stroke or started developing Alzheimer's in the fall of 1990. In the spring of 1991, he was still driving when he really shouldn't have been. He hit a tree with the Chrysler, at 58 miles per hour. That was the end of that. Fortunately, he only got bumps and bruises from it. The poor man's mind was going, though. He also had a 1985 Golf diesel. One day, I had to drain gasoline out of the windshield washer reservoir that he had filled it up with. Sad. It was a bit of a mercy when he passed away in August of 1991. It had really been painful to see him in that condition. He had gotten to the point where he really couldn't be understood verbally by most people. All of the people in the neighborhood whose cars he had worked on in the past....for free, mind you....got to the point where they would not even try to talk to him. He would come to their doors and they would just tell him to go away. He came over to see me one time and told me about it. I could still understand him, because I paid extremely close attention and read lip movement to a certain extent as well. He told me that I was the only friend that he had left. This was an 86 year old man who had always been a pillar of generosity in the neighborhood. Boy, did that make me mad at those bastards! Maybe some day they will be in that condition and people will tell them to go away, too.

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David


Posted By: fordnmerc
Date Posted: 16-March-2011 at 9:38AM
Here is a photo of a 66 Chrysler 300 that I took at a car show a number of years ago:



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David


Posted By: VegasTorino
Date Posted: 13-May-2011 at 12:22PM
thanks for the tips


Posted By: unlovedford
Date Posted: 16-May-2011 at 2:39AM
I track my mileage in the Titan for business trip reimbursement, and the others I track for the fun of it.

Titan - 9-10 city, 14 highway (best ever was 16) Awful!
Civic - 38 city, 48 highway (no power anything) Sweet!
F100 - 16 city, 19 highway (lean engine/highway gear) Slug on takeoff!
Torino - 15 city, 17 highway (found old log book from '83) lean/gearing
Boulevard - 44 whatever
Wrangler - 14 city, 15 highway (just moving more air)
Cherokee - 17 city, 21 highway
Bronco II - 19 city, 24 highway (regular tires/granny driving/5 speed)

I have found that most vehicles like a larger tire/wheel combo up to a certain point, but in the case of the Cherokee, Bronco II and F100, the closer you stay to a stock diameter, the better they perform and reward you with better mileage. On my 5 speeds, I shift at 2,000 rpm and try to get in 5th asap (taking care to not lug it), automatics I feather the throttle. The Civic is a high effiency model with no options except radio and air, so it is not an accurate rep of what they normally get, and the Titan is a hoss that will pass anything but a gas station. Those two are oddities, and the F100 is just a weird combo 302/fast shifting FMX/2.47 gear) that is an absolute slug off the line but will cruise at 60 turning 1,400 rpm.

I guess what I am getting at is that there are ways to optimize your mileage that will also reward you with better performance - up to a point. Once that equalizing point is attained, then going foward with measures to get that last highway mpg will affect the performance of the vehicle and force you to compromise. It is your decision.

Gearing, tire pressure, fuel optimization, weight, and aerodynamic drag all interact to help (or hinder) the goal of better performance and efficiency.


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Joe
1972 Mom's Squire Wagon
1972 Torino Wagon
1976 Torino       
1968 Cougar XR7-First batch
1972 Torino 460
1989 BroncoII/Jeeps/Titanimous
Popeye and Brutus (Rams)


Posted By: crispy23c
Date Posted: 19-May-2011 at 5:12AM
Let's not forget the other basics: change your oil, fresh air filter, and clean that egr valve...
~Chris

I find I get the best mileage driving downhill, with the wind at my back, with the engine off!  LOL


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Chris P. '73 GTS FastBack 351CJ-4V Triple black


"Live free or die: Death is not the worst of evils." - Gen. John Stark


Posted By: Rockatansky
Date Posted: 19-May-2011 at 7:17AM
change the cam/cam timing. stock cams aren't optimised for the low gears they stuck in the rears, they're a compromise and set retarded (the effort of the day to reduce tailpipe emissions). the engine is lugging under 85mph and not even close to efficient unless you're sailin down the highway 
 
Comp 240H, 252H are gas sippers, 260H & 268H are starting to get snappy and make some power but still slide in with no other mods. i did 20+ mpg with a 268H, 2bbl, glasspacks and 2.75 gears... and the drivability improvement was worth it alone! turn the idle down real low with a low restriction exhaust and it'll sit there and do the rumpity rumpity dance 
 
also look at 255DEH & 265DEH
 
tire pressure ain't gonna get no matter wh0 says it will


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72 GT Ute
   


Posted By: ilyes
Date Posted: 19-May-2011 at 9:55AM
i got a XE274H grind, idle is lumpy, pretty nice actually, drive ability is perfect (stall converter would make it better) and it gets really good mpgs on highway: 22mpg at 75mph


Posted By: occupant
Date Posted: 19-May-2011 at 10:57AM
255DEH and 265DEH really shine in pickups, too. I would most certainly choose a 265DEH for my 351C if I ever need to build it up. Could be what's in there now for all I know but I was told it's an Erson RV cam. So not CompCams allegedly. At some point I may change out the timing set for a mild sounding gear drive just to scare off the ricers. Maybe I'll be able to read some numbers on the cam and know exactly what I have.

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08 Uplander LS, 262K, broken again
08 Explorer EB, 195K, for the wife
still looking for another something


Posted By: Rockatansky
Date Posted: 19-May-2011 at 1:22PM
XE274 is more cam than i would recommend for MPG, exactly what i described about the stock cams ilyes, with a stock dog rear gear they don't get on the pipe until you reach Bonneville Salt Flat velocities. a shorter duration cam will run more efficiently more of the time

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72 GT Ute
   


Posted By: ilyes
Date Posted: 19-May-2011 at 2:22PM
i know, but it should perform better with a 3.79, or higher, even for mpg
i don't say it would get better mileage than a stock, torque is too high placed for street driving, but it does pretty well on highway



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