gas mileage Mechanical vs Vacuum Secondaries

Right here "These are competition carbs, and they are supposed to work this way. Why don't we just put leaner jets in them to get mileage? Because the PVCR's are small, and under power conditions, the carb will supply an overall lean condition. What you can do is lean the jets out, then enlarge the PVCR's to compensate for power situations."

That says "under power conditions" meaning WOT. Not cruise conditions.

If you put leaner jets in the carb, you get your better fuel mileage under cruise conditions, but when you got WOT and the power valve opens, the small PVCRs can't supply enough enrichment with the smaller jets and you get a lean condition.