440 mpg

[Kevin68N71]

I got ready to write something about MPG, but then Autodynamics picture...uh, where was I, oh yes, MPG.

I think with the "standard" gear set of say 3.23 10-15mpg if you are easy on it should not be a problem.  Seems to me the last time I checked on my Super Bee it was about that.  I don't think my 383 was much less.

Interestingly, my 6 cylinder Taurus gets 20 mpg around town and maybe 27 if I am easy on in on the highway.  Many of these so called "high mileage" cars have recently been downgraded to real world numbers, its amazing how many 40mpg cars are really 25 mpg cars, and some 25mpg cars are really getting 17 or so.

We get the lower mileage in our cars, obviously, because we "put our foot into it".  One doesn't do a high speed freeway entrance in a Civic.  Plus, with a 4 speed or 3 speed auto, you do not have the benefit of an overdrive or other high gear to yield better mileage.

Bottom line, they're are not quite as gas guzzling as the enviro crowd would have you believe, especially when driven smoothly.

[Kevin68N71]

Mine does 13 mpg on the Autobahn (@75mph/3.23gears that is - it seems not to be designed for constant faster speeds, especially the tranny would overheat quickly I was told)
Worst I had was 8mpg.


btw: My '94 Audi V6 gives me 18mpg @ 135mph 

Hmmm, that doesn't seem quite right.  I would think that you could do 100mph for an extended period of time, I haven't heard of the 727 (I am assuming you have an automatic) overheating like that, although an added oil cooler is not that bad an idea.

3.23 is a very "highway" rear end.  I would be more worried about the infamous "Mopar front end drift" and sloppy steering boxes at a constant 100mph than the transmission overheating, but others may disagree.

Obviously, all these cases depend also on how well your car is tuned.  Remember, "feeling right"--which is how I tune and drive my cars, right or wrong--does not necessarily mean you are tuned for optimum gas mileage.  Also factors such as what kind of carb, do you have headers, are your mufflers a bit restrictive, your rear end size, did you upgrade to electronic ignition, cam, modified compression, etc have a potential impact not only on performance, but + or - on MPG.

[Silver R/T]

I got ready to write something about MPG, but then Autodynamics picture...uh, where was I, oh yes, MPG.

I think with the "standard" gear set of say 3.23 10-15mpg if you are easy on it should not be a problem.  Seems to me the last time I checked on my Super Bee it was about that.  I don't think my 383 was much less.

Interestingly, my 6 cylinder Taurus gets 20 mpg around town and maybe 27 if I am easy on in on the highway.  Many of these so called "high mileage" cars have recently been downgraded to real world numbers, its amazing how many 40mpg cars are really 25 mpg cars, and some 25mpg cars are really getting 17 or so.

We get the lower mileage in our cars, obviously, because we "put our foot into it".  One doesn't do a high speed freeway entrance in a Civic.  Plus, with a 4 speed or 3 speed auto, you do not have the benefit of an overdrive or other high gear to yield better mileage.

Bottom line, they're are not quite as gas guzzling as the enviro crowd would have you believe, especially when driven smoothly.

Also they're putting ethanol in gas nowadays. Everyone knows ethanol burns faster thus giving you less mpg. Also Ive heard it ruins your fuel pump over time

[Mike DC]

 
Run 2.94 rearend gears and a 318 motor with vacuum secondaries & electronic ignition. 

Gas mileage problem solved.

 

[Paul G]

You want the real scoop? Less than 10 MPG around town.

I average 7 MPG in my 440. That is just cruising around town. It wont get much better on the highway. Still less than 10. If you have low gears and a mild near stock build it will be closer to 10, if you have taller performance gears it will be much less than 10.

Last summer we took the Charger on the first leg of the power tour. I got 7 MPG doing 80 MPH. I was turning almost 4000 RPM trying to keep up with the other guys. I have 3:55 gears btw. At the first fuel stop I told them I had to slow down. We cut it back to 65 or 70 MPH, I got a little more like 9 MPG.

[sick dawg]

after reading all this I don't fell so bad about mpg's on my Hemi stroker. most of you are getting around the same mpg's with half the hp.  now I don't feel so bad about my mpg's anymore.

[Mike DC]

Ain't that the truth.  A hemi's cruising-round-town mileage isn't really any worse than a wedge BB of the same size.



Street cruiser musclecar in 2008 = needs overdrive tranny gear IMHO.

We're spending $4/gallon for 91+ octane gas, and we're investing $4-7K even on a lot of our "mild" motors.  Gearing down the cruising RPM just makes good sense.

 

[Kevin68N71]

What is needed is an overdrive for the Torqueflite 727.  Could you imagine?

[Troy]

What is needed is an overdrive for the Torqueflite 727.  Could you imagine?

It's called an A-518 - and it even fits! It's a small block trans (newer Ram truck) but there is an adapter to convert it to the big block bolt pattern. Lots of people just use a Gear Vendors unit instead.

Troy

[Kevin68N71]

That is SWEET.  I figured there was a way to bolt a new trans onto it.

[69bronzeT5]

I'll let ya know when it's running 

I know that feeling

[sick dawg]

What is needed is an overdrive for the Torqueflite 727.  Could you imagine?

It's called an A-518 - and it even fits! It's a small block trans (newer Ram truck) but there is an adapter to convert it to the big block bolt pattern. Lots of people just use a Gear Vendors unit instead.

Troy

I thought about a Gear Venders under / overdrive, but the $$$ is in the way

[Troy]

What is needed is an overdrive for the Torqueflite 727.  Could you imagine?

It's called an A-518 - and it even fits! It's a small block trans (newer Ram truck) but there is an adapter to convert it to the big block bolt pattern. Lots of people just use a Gear Vendors unit instead.

Troy

I thought about a Gear Venders under / overdrive, but the $$$ is in the way

Yeah, you can drive a whole lot of miles with crummy gas mileage before the costs would be justified. The difference is drivability isn't as easy to measure though.

Oh, my 440 seems to be stuck on about 10 mpg but my speedometer cable broke so I don't know if I've been able to improve that recently.

Troy

[Brock Samson]

anyone have the stats from the magazines back in the day?...
I'll try to git to mine later... 

[Mike DC]

The A518 will bolt onto the back end of any SB wedge motor, but the trans itself won't clear a lot of muscle-era trans crossmembers & tunnels without major hacking.  And the power threshhold of the tranny & OD is not great for BB motors that actually hook up the tires.



IMHO the GM-based 4L60E is a better idea. 

[konigcharger]

Mine does 13 mpg on the Autobahn (@75mph/3.23gears that is - it seems not to be designed for constant faster speeds, especially the tranny would overheat quickly I was told)
Worst I had was 8mpg.

well you got the wrong kinda charger for the autobahn... you need one of the pointy ones 

[69_500]

There was a nice B5 blue, 440 4 speed Daytona that used to cruise the autobahn back in the early 70's. Would have definitely been a site to see.

[RDR838]

Hmmm, that doesn't seem quite right.  I would think that you could do 100mph for an extended period of time, I haven't heard of the 727 (I am assuming you have an automatic) overheating like that, although an added oil cooler is not that bad an idea.

Yeah, well, I don't have an extra oil cooler and no gauge for tranny temp. And mpg would increase significantly, so I'll stick with 75mph for the time. I just was told to better not do much more than 3000rpm all the time. And I'm fine with it...

There's one guy with a '69 Super Bee over here who's running 2.76 gears and an extremely well tuned suspension. I guess his car is the 'fastest' (top speed that is) Mopar over here in Germany, he says it's built strictly for the Autobahn:
http://pentastars.de/DSCN14701.jpg
http://pentastars.de/DSCN1089.JPG

well you got the wrong kinda charger for the autobahn... you need one of the pointy ones 

If I just could afford one I'd do it! 

There was a nice B5 blue, 440 4 speed Daytona that used to cruise the autobahn back in the early 70's. Would have definitely been a site to see.

Never heard of that one, I bet it actually must have caused accidents! In that era over here a 'sportscar' had 70bhp from a 4-cylinder engine and Hans Average drove a 30bhp VW-bug!

[69_500]

Well the B5 blue Daytona made its way back to the USA in 1978, after being shipped to German in 1970. Car was still wearing a sticker on the front windshield in 1986 that was a pass for the Autobahn. I'll see if I have any pictures of the sticker, but I know I have pictures of the car as it was my dad's car.

[RDR838]

Well the B5 blue Daytona made its way back to the USA in 1978, after being shipped to German in 1970. Car was still wearing a sticker on the front windshield in 1986 that was a pass for the Autobahn. I'll see if I have any pictures of the sticker, but I know I have pictures of the car as it was my dad's car.

That's an incredible story! I need to know more about that! Was your dad in the army and stationed over here or something? I would LOVE to hear stories about how people reacted when they saw that car! And I'd love to see a picture of that car!

CU!

[70charginglizard]

I just changed my gears out over the winter so I'm not sure. I'm doing a trip down to oregon in a couple weeks so I'll do some calculations then to see.

Well after calculating and averaging out the milage from my trip to seaside I figure I was getting around 13 MPG with my 440 3:23 gear set up. Sound about right?