Increase MPG with a CAI?

[PiggySmallz]

i went from 13 mpgs to 10.9 then my next tank i kept a light foot on the accelerator and wound up averaging 12.3...for the extra 1.4 mpg's i'm going to drive it the way i like it. I live in brooklyn, new york so even the highways on my way to school are at a stand still all the time between construction and rush hour. Residentially there is a stop sign or red light on every block or some who can't drive which brings everything to a stand still. When I'm on Staten Island and all of the lights are green I see about 18-19 mpg's and about 24 on the highway without traffic EDIT: I run the B@MA 93 torque as my daily driver, the race and performance mpg's were horrible, but that's not his fault, it's my overly congested neighborhood. Also the race tune took longer for me to stop (well felt like it) because my auto took longer to downshift. I assume thats because the race tune chooses a gear so that the car is always ready to fly

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[grampa_stang]

I didn't do any scientific measurements or anything, but I can say this:
The 1st 4 months I owned the car without cai/tune my avg mpg was
between 18.4-18.8. This was during my DD to work and back. And yes,
I go WOT at least once or twice a day. After the cai/tune my mpg is
between 19.2-19.8 and I drive it just as hard (if not harder). My .02

[Kevjud]

grampa, what tune are you running?

[Margarita Girl]

I noticed more out of a tank of gas after the intake. Could be I was getting more response so I laid off the gas a little more often.

[Nuke]

From all I've read over the past 6 months, I'd say you'd see a very modest gain, perhaps 1-2 MPG as long as you weren't getting into it. My Stang is my long-haul vehicle and I've only had the CAI & tune for 1 major trip. Strangely enough, I was seeing about 2 MPG more for about the first300 miles on my last trip (same roads as usual) when it began to rain and over the next 100+ miles my mileage dropped back to my previous average. Similar thing on the way home going from dry conditions to rain. That was on my Brenspeed 93 tune. I'll be taking another trip this weekend on the 89 tune. I'm curious to see what happens but I'm expecting to see that 1-2 MPG gain.

You say you want to know if a CAI will increase your fuel mileage. I doubt the CAI alone will do much of anything.

[ohnoesaz]

CAI uses more gas, not less. More air = more fuel, otherwise you'll fry a piston etc and kill the engine.

Now, how comes people on here get better gas mileage then? Its because of the horrible stock tune. Replace the tune and youll get better mileage. It just so happens that usually means a CAI too.

[marlon1]

just depends on driving style. avg, 24.2 mpg on roadtrip at 85+mph. on interstate
the next weekend burnt almost full tank on short trip thru north ga. mountains
but it was a fun ride

[Nuke]

Not to hijack this thread, but why wouldn't Ford give us a better 87 stock tune? Even without a CAI, I have no doubt a custom 87 tune from Brendspeed or whomever would still kick ass compared to the Ford stock 87 in both performance and economy. And any gain in fuel mileage would be desireable by ANY car manufacturer with respect to the CAFE requirements. I just don't get it...

[Norm Peterson]

It's a durability thing. Running slightly leaner can make a little more power as well, but exhaust gas temperatures tend to climb, which brings onthe potential for damaging the converter(s) and possibly other components, particularly in sustained higher rpm / higher load running. So Ford errs on the rich side in order to reduce warranty expense (and I'm sure that they have people running the money numbers between measured fuel economy/CAFE vs anticipated warranty). Probably why the FRPP power upgrade packages need to be dealer-installed in order to get any warranty on them at all.


Norm

[BartSimpson]

I have a stock GT and have gotten as high as 27 MPG, I average between 22 and 25 MPG most of the time. I do a lot of highway driving so that may have something to do with it.