Mustang v-6 averages 48.5 mpg; runs 1,457 laps at bristol on a single tank of gas

DieselDan

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June 24, 2010


To: All Ford and Lincoln Mercury Dealers
Subject: Mustang V-6 Averages 48.5 MPG; Runs 1,457 Laps at Bristol on a Single Tank of Gas

MUSTANG V-6 AVERAGES 48.5 MPG; RUNS 1,457 LAPS AT BRISTOL ON A SINGLE TANK OF GAS

The 2011 Ford Mustang V-6 sets a new record by averaging 48.5 mpg on a track while completing 1,457 laps with an average speed of 43.9 mph
Mustang is powered by a new 3.7-liter V-6 engine that uses advanced engineering and technology to deliver great performance and fuel economy
More than 51,000 entries were received for the Mustang 1,000 Lap Challenge with 22 entries guessing the winning number of laps
A team of five drivers, including four Ford Mustang engineers and Ford NASCAR star David Ragan, drove the Mustang during its record run



BRISTOL, TN., June 24, 2010 – The 2011 Ford Mustang, which made history when it became the first car ever to deliver more than 30 mpg and 305 horsepower, has set a new record by running 1,457 laps at Bristol Motor Speedway while averaging 48.5 mpg.

The Mustang 1,000 Lap Challenge was designed to demonstrate that a stock production Mustang V-6 could run 1,000 laps and 533 miles on a single of tank of fuel. With the aid of fuel efficient driving techniques by Ford engineers, the Mustang far surpassed its goal of 1,000 laps.

“To see a Mustang post average fuel economy of 48.5 mpg while running at Bristol is impressive,” said Dave Pericak, Mustang chief engineer. “The new V-6 engine along with the advanced six-speed transmission in the car is a key element in delivering both fuel economy and performance for Mustang.”

Ford is committed to being a fuel economy leader in every segment it competes in and Mustang’s class-leading fuel economy along with other Ford fuel economy leaders like the Ford Fiesta, Fusion Hybrid and new Lincoln MKZ Hybrid, America’s most fuel efficient luxury sedan.

The Challenge team, which included NASCAR star David Ragan and four Ford Mustang engineers, completed the challenge in 17 hours and 40 minutes, showing off the 2011 Mustang V-6’s class-leading fuel economy by averaging 48.5 mpg over the course of the 776.5 miles logged during the Challenge. That distance is more than the two complete NASCAR Sprint Cup events that take place in Bristol every year.

Ragan pushed the Mustang past the 1,000-lap mark at 7:26 p.m., 12 hours and 26 minutes into the Challenge, but the car wasn’t close to being out of fuel. Mustang engineer Seong Park was behind the wheel when it finally came to a halt (on the backstretch) of the famed NASCAR track at 12:41 a.m. local time.

Other Mustang Challenge team drivers included Tom Barnes, Jonathan Mehl, Carl Ek, who along with Park each took one-hour driving stints during the event, which took place at the world’s fastest half-mile track.

“When we hit 1,000 laps we still had a quarter of a tank of gas left,” said David Ragan, driver of the No. 6 UPS Ford Fusion for Roush Fenway Racing, and the man who drove the 2011 V-6 Mustang past the 1,000 lap mark. “The last driving stint before I passed 1,000 laps I was averaging 43.7 miles a gallon and that is unbelievable. These guys have run the distance of more than two Sprint Cup races at Bristol and they still have fuel left. Congratulations to everyone behind the Mustang and to everyone at Ford, because this 2011 Mustang V-6 is really something special.”

A team of Ford engineers prepared for the challenge by implementing fuel efficient driving tips like minimizing the use of air conditioning, steady and consistent driving, avoiding sudden stops/starts and by keeping the RPMs low. The engine in the Mustang is powered by a lightweight, all-aluminum 3.7-liter dual-overhead-cam (DOHC) V-6 engine that uses advanced engineering to deliver its combination of power and economy. Twin independent variable camshaft timing (Ti-VCT) adjusts the valve train in microseconds depending on driver inputs, further contributing to the engine’s overall efficiency. The Mustang used in the challenge is a stock production vehicle that can be purchased through a Ford dealer.

“This is beyond our wildest dreams,” said Tom Barnes, the lead engineer for the Ford Mustang 1,000 Lap Challenge. “There have been a lot of people who have done a lot of things in preparing this 2011 Mustang V-6 to run the Mustang 1,000 Lap Challenge and have the success we have had today. It was great when we went past the 1,000 lap mark with David, but nobody could ever imagine that we still had five hours ahead of us. This is a fantastic feeling and it shows again what a great car the 2011 Mustang V-6 is.”

More than 51,000 consumers registered their guesses for the event at http://www.mustang1000lapchallenge.com/. One lucky consumer that correctly guessed 1,457 laps will be randomly drawn from all correct entries and will win their own 2011 Mustang V-6.

# # #

About Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company, a global automotive industry leader based in Dearborn, Mich., manufactures or distributes automobiles across six continents. With about 176,000 employees and about 80 plants worldwide, the company’s automotive brands include Ford, Lincoln and Mercury, production of which has been announced by the company to be ending in the fourth quarter of 2010, and, until its sale, Volvo. The company provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company. For more information regarding Ford’s products, please visit www.ford.com.
 
I just read that. That's pretty cool. Almost 50mpg from a V-6! The only thing is, it was done on a track by drivers who have been trained in fuel saving driving techniques. Normal folks won't be able to duplicate that by any stretch of the imagination. I'd be willing to bet that the average driver will be hard pressed to get 25mpg out of their stock 6-speed V-6 Mustang in real world driving situations. That's similar to what happened with the Prius. The brochure stated something like 65mpg and the average driver was only getting 40. But still that new 'Stang is pretty awesome!
 
I found a cheap 93 Mark on a local listing that I was interested in. When I called about it the guy started trying to tell me that he averaged 45mpg. I just sorta smiled and nodded my head. :rolleyes: I don't know why but it seems like nobody else on here has even come close to that.
 
When I first got my '96, when it had 70k miles on it, I drove it to Myrtle Beach and back and averaged about 30mpg. That's the best it's ever done. It averages around 22-24 driving to work and back every day - 80 miles round trip.
 
305 hp out of a 3.7 L engine is pretty impressive. That's more power than my 97 LSC and my Cummins diesel.
 
their average speed was only 43.9mph........ :shifty:

http://www.autoblog.com/2010/06/24/2011-ford-mustang-v6-runs-776-5-miles-on-one-tank-48-5-mpg-w-v/



best MPG ive managed to get out of my Mark is 33MPG............

60MPH cruise on
123 degrees out
-1xx feet below sea level
No wind
Flat road




33mpgx18gallons = 594miles on a tank...........at 60mph


imagine if i drove at 45mph :rolleyes:


33 mpg is impressive. My 97 LSC is completely stock and 26 mpg is about the best she will do. Maybe if I used premium fuel, it would go up. What did you do to increase your fuel economy? Did you notice fuel economy improvements with the Sniper Tune and XPipe/exhaust mods? You probably could get even better fuel economy if you had narrower tires. Right now I have tires with a width of 225mm but I would say on our cars, 205's would be the best for fuel economy without sacrificing too much handling.
 
Major BS on 33mpg buddy.

ok 'buddy', this was last summer, cruising at 70mph, 115 out.....easy 26mpg+ reading......

YouTube- MOV00039


a Mark can reach 30mpg no problem you just gotta drive really slow, which sucks, normal everyday to work, i pretty much get what thaywood mentioned, 22-25ish..........cause im not looking for MPGs............and 33mpg is the highest ive ever gotten out of it............




33 mpg is impressive. My 97 LSC is completely stock and 26 mpg is about the best she will do. Maybe if I used premium fuel, it would go up. What did you do to increase your fuel economy? Did you notice fuel economy improvements with the Sniper Tune and XPipe/exhaust mods? You probably could get even better fuel economy if you had narrower tires. Right now I have tires with a width of 225mm but I would say on our cars, 205's would be the best for fuel economy without sacrificing too much handling.


the exhaust did help, lowering it will also, as for the tires i got them pumped up to 40psi........been running 40psi for about two years now, given the Toyos are rated at 45psi max, so dont go put 40psi in just any tire :D
 
OK, I just call BS on people saying they AVERAGE 27mpg while doing 70MPH and mix in city driving. Both my LSCs when box stock down to the snorkle I could get to average 26.8 doing 70 but drop to 24mpg at 75. Add in 30% city driving and that dropped them both to a 22.2mog average. Adding a tune and exhaust dropped them both to 21.2 average (mind you these tests were over a 1000+ mile test each time). Adding gears to my 98 dropped my average to 19.8 if I always did the speed limit in mixed driving and 22.9 if I keep between 70-73mph. With the blower I now average 16.8 overall and pure highway driving at 70-73mph will net a 19.9 mpg rating.

The only time I ever averaged above 28 mpg was on the drive home with them where I never went above 65 and 90% of the drive was freeway. One time I have also seen a 31mpg average after driving 30 miles @ 55mph.

So yes if they are stock or exhaust only I can see 30+ on a Mark that goes 55-60mph. Move it to 70 and there is no damn way.

I like Geno, call him a friend, buy stuff from him and all but when he said he averages 24 or 25 mpg on his Mark with the 4.10s while doing 70 I gotta call BS cause mine wouldnt do it with 3.73's. Sure my car was prolly 200lbs heavier but that wont make a 14% difference in mileage...... unless the first gens are much more aerodynamic..... and his tires are narrower.
 
if i stick to the highway ill get around 28 but combine the 2 and it only averages out to 25 or so.
this was on my last trip

IMG_0150.jpg
 
instant? ive seen mine spike to 38+ ill even take a picture next time i go for a drive. i know its complete bull but it says so its self! on average ive hit 26mpg
 
that was the average speed with a stop everyhour for driver change, that means 0 mph for minute every hour,plus gradual acceleration,they probably drove 55-58 mph.

their average speed was only 43.9mph........ :shifty:

http://www.autoblog.com/2010/06/24/2011-ford-mustang-v6-runs-776-5-miles-on-one-tank-48-5-mpg-w-v/



best MPG ive managed to get out of my Mark is 33MPG............

60MPH cruise on
123 degrees out
-1xx feet below sea level
No wind
Flat road




33mpgx18gallons = 594miles on a tank...........at 60mph


imagine if i drove at 45mph :rolleyes:
 
i managed 30.1 mpg on my 10 mile trip to work a few years ago, from parked at home to parked at work

it's not very fun driving like that
 
It's all in the techniques. I 'only' average 23mpg or so myself, but I drive it like it's a V8 personal luxury coupe - NOT a Prius.

However, as an individual who has been somewhat trained (and has some common sense) in fuel saving techniques - I can say that close to 30mpg is very possible with our Marks. I just can't be bothered to drive that way, I do that at work.

My work is driving a truck, where fuel consumption rates are a huge concern (right after not smashing it up). By accelerating gently, shifting at 1200rpm (18 speed), not stopping at lights (slowing prior, keeping some momentum), I save about 20% more fuel compared to drivers who ignore the issue. I'm paid by the hour, so why burn more fuel, break components, and risk lives?

What this Mustang has achieved is amazing, but no - the average driver will not see anything like that, not even myself when I own one in the far off future. But 30mpg, with 300hp, driving it like it's my Mark8? Sweet :cool:.
 
33mpg for a Mark on the highway is certainly not out of the question, I had many 30-32mpg 200 mile runs in my old 94 (6000+ft altitude, low 70s MPH, fairly hilly terrain.) My Mark would start losing fuel economy when cruising under about 60 or so.
 
I would guess they stayed at the 55 mph mark. Suppose to be the most efficent speed for mpg. Still impressive.

My best in the conti was 35 mpg, that was on 696, all concrete walls and alot of drafting. Overall I usually average 20.5 - 21.5 stop and go really puts a hurting on the numbers. Also I get +1.5 mpg with the windows up. Wind has a lot to do with it, can get 26 on the way down, then 22 on the way back.
 
instant? ive seen mine spike to 38+ ill even take a picture next time i go for a drive. i know its complete bull but it says so its self! on average ive hit 26mpg

Man I love that "Instant MPG" reading! When I'm coasting downhill in OD, I have seen 99mpg on many occasions. It's awesome. Too bad it's total bs.:D

My average mpg reading on the '96 is 20.6 right now. And that's driving 80 miles a day round trip. Now when I actually fill it up and check the mileage, it's usually a couple miles a gallon better than what the computer says. So I'm really getting around 22mpg. On my wife's '97 LSC, the average reading is 17.5mpg. But she only drives about 15-20 miles a day, stop and go, and she has a lead foot like me. On the rare occasion that she lets me drive it to work, the average will go up about 2/10ths of a point to about 17.7mpg. I'm expecting that to increase a little since I put a new air filter, fuel filter, and pcv valve in recently. And as far as tires, I'm running P245/50/HR16's on my '96 and the tires that were on the '97 LSC when we got it are P215/60R16's. Too narrow for this car. As soon as the tread wears out we'll be putting some 245/50's on it too.
 
I was driving down u.s. 23 in michigan along the cost and was averaging about 29.5 when i was coming home. I was averaging 29 when i was driving down i-75 from KY to atlanta GA so it is possible. was i driving it like a v-8 no not really but i wasnt in a hurry and was driving for the mileage. it is possible and does happen on occasion but my mark is almost completely stock... for now :)
 

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