[Tigers] Gas mileage

[CoolVT at aol.com]

After reading a recent article on a Corvette it caused me to do  some 
thinking.  How is it that a 3500lb.(approx.) Corvette with 400 HP can  get 32 mpg on 
the highway and a 2500 lb. Tiger with 164 HP can only manage  22mpg?
I realize that the Vet will have a fuel management system which  should be 
much better than a carb. and the cleaner front lines of the Vet will  be much 
better for drag than a Tiger, but.......
When a few people have switched a fairly modern Ford 5.0 (fuel  injected) 
engine into their Tiger, I've never heard them brag of 30  mpg.
And sure, the Tiger is like a brick wall as far as design goes, but  it's not 
like a van or a big truck.  The aerodynamics might be terrible,  but this is 
still a pretty small car and the frontal area is  not huge.
Also, I think the Vet is 6 speed with double overdrive.  I  imagine that at 
road speed this thing isn't much above idle...maybe 1,400  rpm?   By today's 
standards our Tiger is really winding at 3,000 rpm  at 70mph.
So, what is the Vet's secret?  Is it just a combination of  many small things 
adding up to create efficiency?
 



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