Well we made the 515 mile trip to Colorado springs yesterday averaging 27.9 MPG going the speed limit. We decided to go up Pikes Peak today, well, so did 1/2 of Colorado Springs. We waited in line 15 minutes to pay, so in that time, my car was at 190 water and trans temp, and 155 intake air temp. These were readings from my Scan Gauge II. We started up and although I am not crazy, I know that keeping air flow over the radiator keeps the car cooler than going slow and being easier on the engine. I tried to run 25-30 when I could until the very top when the switch backs were too sharp. I stopped 2 times going up to let big groups of traffic go that I had caught. I would leave the car running and open the hood allowing fans to try and cool the car. It seems like my average trans temp was 225 and water temp was 210. The intake temo went down to about 100 once we got moving. This is with a 180 drilled t-stat. The weather was 90 on the bottom, 72 1/2 way up and 60 at the top. I'm proud of how my 128K mile GP ran today.
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I get scared when my trans hits 195* on the highway, that is after a few WOT runs!!!

I just got back from NJ. And we took grandma's 04' Lesabre 3.8L to the Catskill mountains, 17k miles, and with those hills and curves, that thing needs some suspension work. I wish I had the GTP, that road up there would of been so fun. The Lesabre squeels the wheels on the slightest turns.

drive my grand marquis if u want know what is terrible inthe corners

according to my tranny guy, 180-190 is optimum, 225 is getting too hot, 250 is DANGER. I think the car would have done better if it was not heat soaked before we even started. I had 4 of us (600 pounds), a cooler full of lunch, snacks and water and 3/4 tank of 87 octane. I pulled the left headlight out at the 1/2 way point, and my intake temps dropped to 80 degrees almost immediately. I wish I could design a headlight assembly that also let ambient air directly into my gutted air box.

thats great mpg for the mts. i wish i got that even on the hwy ... i really need to do something

The drive here isn't really mountainous until the last 75 miles. It is just a gradual assent from flat Kansas to Colorado. I know I could do better if my rims were tucked in a little more than they are. From a front view, they stick out probably 3/4"+ on each side up front.

wtill thats fairly good mpg

its in the works...

FWI would fix that problem

I have a homemade CAI with an open cone, but opted for the stock gutted air box for the summer, as my past experiences with open cone setups is that you just suck in heat. I agree, a fender intake would probably fix this, but right now I am too busy, and lazy to make one.