3S gearing, I'm shocked!

[foreveralone]

Okay there DuTTch, way to reveal your true character, attack a guy for thinking outside the box, asking questions. Maybe you could please consider trying to improve your thinking-and-asking? Or maybe you'd rather just offer me $1300 cash for my car, so I don't "molest" it? Bring a trailer.
30 MPG at 2300 RPM seems optimistic, but I'll give it a chance. Still can't help but expect it should be 35, in such a sleek 3-liter car, if only the revs were lots less. May need custom-reground cams to improve the low-RPM torque, but in the thin air at my elevation, that shouldn't cause detonation.

[stealthee]

Ignore DuTTch. He's an idiot who says stupid shit just to post whore.

As for your comments, you are overthinking this. RPM's are only one part of the equation. Like I said I was getting 26 mpg daily driving. Half of my commute it windy 2 lane roads and the other half is a bypass/highway. When on a trip I could easily get 28 mpg running 80mph. 80mph is around 3500 rpm.

You also dont want to drop the revs too low because you can actually hurt your mileage if you push it too low.

[donniekak]

Ignore DuTTch. He's an idiot who says stupid shit just to post whore.

As for your comments, you are overthinking this. RPM's are only one part of the equation. Like I said I was getting 26 mpg daily driving. Half of my commute it windy 2 lane roads and the other half is a bypass/highway. When on a trip I could easily get 28 mpg running 80mph. 80mph is around 3500 rpm.

You also dont want to drop the revs too low because you can actually hurt your mileage if you push it too low.

Yes, the engine is most efficient with the highest volumetric efficiency, with rpms low nough to keep internal losses at a minimum. My 600cc bike got 50 mpg at about 6000 rpms.

[ChargerX3]

I think its funny you are comparing a 3.0L car to 5.7 V8's. The gearing in our cars is actually ideal for their powerband. Our cars have little torque on the low end, so why do you think the rpms at cruising speed are so close to the mid 2k range? We dont have the torque. Keep in mind also that we are still lower on cc's, so those revs dont make that much of an impact on fuel mileage because of the lower fuel demand per cylinder. My TT before i sold it bested 32mpg at 65-70mph driving through Nevada.

[Diesel]

playing with the truck for mpg while towing its not always the rpm's that matter but what load % your operating at.

[EvanH]

All engines are efficient at a certain rpm. Trains can haul 2000 lbs for 456 miles a gallon. Yes, they are diesel electric, but the engine is 4-6000 HP turning at a near constant speed. Weight and aerodynamics are the biggest factors for mpg. There is a yugo getting 75 mpg and I read in a popular mechanics, a civic crx getting 60 mpg. He made a home made front air splitter that makes the front bumper a Sharp wedge.

[Boost4VR4]

If you keep RPMS and load down, you will get great mileage. 6 speeds aren't bad, but the efficiency of the 6 speed is when you are over 80mph because the amount of engine load it takes to maintain speed is higher because of the gearing. My 5 speed Stealth SOHC was averaging 30-35mpgs on the highway at 70 mph and I was pulling 3000 RPMS.

[BigTyla]

I believe the term you all are looking for is "brake specific fuel consumption."