MPG... WTF???

[alien_sporez]

I track every tank of gas on a spreadsheet to keep track of gas mileage, oil changes, mod installs, and tire rotations.

Anyways, driving "normal" (translation: beating the shit out of it most of the time) my usual MPG is around 22 mpg.

Well, this last tank of gas (which cost me over $50 to fill for the first time ever) I decided to drive like an old lady to maximize my fuel economy. I shifted at 3K RPM, never went WOT, cruised at 60-ish on the highway and drove almost exclusively on the highway. I even shunned the A/C (even though it's getting kinda toasty here in Houston).

The result? 26.2 MPG.

That's absolute shit for the way I was driving. I should have gotten closer to 30 mph IMO. In many ways its vindication, meaning no matter how I drive my MPH is going to be shit so I might as well drive "normal" again.

Anyone else notice MPG not affected by driving style?

[etchv10]

Ummm the mpg on this car will rarely.... (I wanna say never) reach 30 mpg.... 26.2 is actually pretty good highest I ever gotten was like 27 but that was on a trip.

[PunjabiPlaya]

Originally Posted by alien_sporez I track every tank of gas on a spreadsheet to keep track of gas mileage, oil changes, mod installs, and tire rotations. Anyways, driving "normal" (translation: beating the shit out of it most of the time) my usual MPG is around 22 mpg. Well, this last tank of gas (which cost me over $50 to fill for the first time ever) I decided to drive like an old lady to maximize my fuel economy. I shifted at 3K RPM, never went WOT, cruised at 60-ish on the highway and drove almost exclusively on the highway. I even shunned the A/C (even though it's getting kinda toasty here in Houston). The result? 26.2 MPG. That's absolute shit for the way I was driving. I should have gotten closer to 30 mph IMO. In many ways its vindication, meaning no matter how I drive my MPH is going to be shit so I might as well drive "normal" again. Anyone else notice MPG not affected by driving style?

Mine is vastly affected. I have mostly highway driving ~70mph with flooring it up every onramp and shifting down into 4th or even 3rd to go around the slow mofo in the left lane and I average around 27mpg. However, I went to Galveston for a weekend and was flooring it out of every light, and doing 80+ on the freeway and I got a tad under 20mpg.

[etchv10]

Yea it's hard not to step on it sometimes. I do about 24 mpg 80% highway and the rest city.

[cesaros]

My wife drove my ms3 on our move to NC from wy, and she got over 500 miles to the tank every fill up...idk how she did it. The hud said after we drove 100 miles from our last fill up that there was still 602 miles left in the tank. She's an mpg master.

[Speed3eak]

Yeah, I've noticed that mine doesn't respond drastically to driving style changes.

I spent half a tank driving very very very conservatively (coasting whenever going downhill, shifting before 3k, driving in the highest gear possible, etc.) and I got 27.39 mpg.

My last tank has been about 50/50 highway/city, and I've been driving it like a lunatic, and I've gotten 21.5 and 22.1 mpg for the last two tanks.

I'd rather get the 22 mpg and enjoy the car honestly. FWIW, that's right at autoweek's average for their stock car so idk all this talk about mods netting you better gas mileage. It's minimal at best IMO.

[tim12232]

just be glad your not in CA for where you get shitty winter gas year round. I can only get 20 being conservative, if i start getting on it........damn its terrible! like 17 and were at 440 a gallon out here for premium. My dad in his normal mazda3 got 43.9 mpg on there move to NC from San Diego, needless to say im jealous till i hear my turbo spool

[mizboo102]

Originally Posted by tim12232 just be glad your not in CA for where you get shitty winter gas year round. I can only get 20 being conservative, if i start getting on it........damn its terrible! like 17 and were at 440 a gallon out here for premium. My dad in his normal mazda3 got 43.9 mpg on there move to NC from San Diego, needless to say im jealous till i hear my turbo spool

CA to NC? That's a long drive

[alien_sporez]

Thanks for all the input. I guess I expected better based on how I was driving and another thread where a Gen1 with almost every bolt-on (Matte Black Enkei rpf1 17x9 +45) is getting 30+

I guess then: Mods = MPG

[Speed3eak]

Originally Posted by alien_sporez Thanks for all the input. I guess I expected better based on how I was driving and another thread where a Gen1 with almost every bolt-on (Matte Black Enkei rpf1 17x9 +45) is getting 30+ I guess then: Mods = MPG

The post you linked to is from a guy who has a genpu.

It also sounds like he's going off the trip computer numbers rather than hand calculating it. I've gotten the trip computer as high as 32 average for a tank untuned, when in reality I was probably getting 27-28. This is before I started calculating my mpg by hand for every tank.

[etchv10]

Originally Posted by cesaros My wife drove my ms3 on our move to NC from wy, and she got over 500 miles to the tank every fill up...idk how she did it. The hud said after we drove 100 miles from our last fill up that there was still 602 miles left in the tank. She's an mpg master.

Nigga 500 miles?? That shit is impossible

[Instrument_Guy]

My gas mileage went for shit after installing the AP; more boost = more fuel! Just filled up from empty; cost $75 ($5.34 a gallon, $1.41 a liter for Husky 94 octane) Good thing I work in the oil industry!! Will log this tank to see how bad my milage is now.

[Its2realj]

I did the same thing about 2 weeks back ago. I been tracking my MPG for my 07 MS6 for about a year now, with 3-4 fill ups a week. I averaged 22.1 MPG through out the logging period. My FP recently caused my car to run lean, so for 1 full week I babied the hell out of the car. I never hit boost above -1, and i only averaged....(wait for it), 26 MPG!!!!!!! I was so damn pissed. But i also realize that i live in the bay area and my work route consist of a lot of elevation changes. I came to the conclusion that i rather drive normal and have fun, then to go 55mph in the right lane.

[rghispanic88]

i get like 23 or 24 to the gallon enjoying every drive. i did the babying shit but got like 26 to the gallon, so i said to hell with it

[cesaros]

Originally Posted by etchv10 Nigga 500 miles?? That shit is impossible

But its not. Idk how she did it.

Trip was all highway and at 55-60mph tops since I was driving a uhaul...fwiw.

[Bucker]

She was definitely loading that thing in high gear then...

[sideslide4life]

Well I have an 09, but this was a trip to NH this weekend. Filled up in NJ, with the cruise at 62mph the entire way. Filled up again and calculated to 32.5 mpg.

[BLK_MS3]

I reset the average mpg's on the trip home from the dealer. My car is just used as a daily driver to work. 60 miles a day, on I95 doing 80~. I haven't reset the average mpg's since, just rolled 10,000 miles and it says 25.1 mpg.

[_riskibus_MS3]

Originally Posted by Bucker She was definitely loading that thing in high gear then...

Were you sitting next to her?

[etchv10]

Originally Posted by BLK MS3 I reset the average mpg's on the trip home from the dealer. My car is just used as a daily driver to work. 60 miles a day, on I95 doing 80~. I haven't reset the average mpg's since, just rolled 10,000 miles and it says 25.1 mpg.

Nigga I think its time to reset that average. I reset my shit every time I refill my shit up with gas.

[Bucker]

I don't trust anyone's numbers unless they actually calculate it. The displays numbers are BS and the "miles per tank" shit is stupid. See sig for a good place to track fill ups.

Originally Posted by _riskibus_MS3 Were you sitting next to her?

Nope, she was on my lap.

[snOhio]

on some sections of freeway i drive frequently i actually see better gas mileage in 5th gear/3500rpm than 6th gear/2900ish. there's times when i'll be in 6th and the instant mpg will say 20, then downshift and it says 25. even if that's not absolutely accurate the relative difference is still somewhat informative.

i would say quit granny shifting and let it run out a little bit more. rev higher but not as quickly, if that makes sense. this car seems to be a little different and not all conventional wisdom may apply.

[popecruz]

No matter how I drive it I always get 23/24 mpg. So I enjoy the car and drive spirited. I agree with OP's expectations though. My SVT Focus would get 21-23 if I drove hard and when I baby'd it I was able to get 36mpg. /shrug

[Blindeye_03]

If I have a lot of highway miles I get ~22-24mpg, but have seen as high as 24.9mpg. My usual though is 17-19mpg with mostly city driving and I average 19 according to fuelly.

Oh well... The car is stupid fun to drive so fuck it.

[BLK_MS3]

Originally Posted by etchv10 Nigga I think its time to reset that average. I reset my shit every time I refill my shit up with gas.

LOL, I reset the trip, but I wanna leave the average alone and see how long I can keep it above 25. I don't baby it, and it has a handful of 1/4 mile passes on it too. Once I drop below 25 I will reset it.

[JMEngineer]

Originally Posted by sideslide4life Well I have an 09, but this was a trip to NH this weekend. Filled up in NJ, with the cruise at 62mph the entire way. Filled up again and calculated to 32.5 mpg.

I would be excited to go that far without my gas light coming on

[4G63]

Went to a NATOR MO meet about an hour and 20mins from my house today. Absolutely flogged the hell outta it on the way there many 60-120pulls. When we got ther cruised around the city and backroads staying in 4th gear most the time around 4-5k rpms drove back all the way home I'm sitting at 283 and am on the quarter tank mark. I think it's all in the tune honestly Dustin has my car running really well I was really surprised I still had gas. I think I could get 30+ all highway I got right at 110miles on a quarter of a tank going 70 the whole way back home. I donno it's gotta be the tune

Edit: that's with 3 gallons of e85 in the mix as well which burns quicker.

[DONOTBUGME]

Originally Posted by tim12232 just be glad your not in CA for where you get shitty winter gas year round. I can only get 20 being conservative, if i start getting on it........damn its terrible! like 17 and were at 440 a gallon out here for premium. My dad in his normal mazda3 got 43.9 mpg on there move to NC from San Diego, needless to say im jealous till i hear my turbo spool

what the fuck do you do to get 17mpg. I get avg 22-24 and beat on my car daily. I had a tank were I was doing logs all week long and still got 21.

[dukebrown]

Half and half city, hwy in Houston Ac Blasting 22mpg is standard. Hwy grandma driving the best I get is 26mpg on long trips.

[ztnedman1]

On the interstate I regularly hit 30mpg. My average on interstate trips is about 27-28. RPM's mean very little to this car under 4k. Best mpg comes when there is only 1 or no bars on the boost gauge. No bars 34+, 1 bar 28-31, and goes down from there.

On a side not anyone notice the car randomly will have lower mpg than usual? Seems to happen every now and again for no reason. Its almost like the crusie control is staying on the gas more than it needs to be.

[CaptObvious75]

A tune would go a long ways in helping with fuel economy

[JS + MS3]

^ I think it helps tremendously.

[Wildfire]

I get 26 mpg. Thats normal driving for me. I drive slow alot of the times.

[Ferdball]

If you get more than 20, then you may STFU.

[unlvrebels]

Extremely late post, but thought would share thoughts on this one. Just did a drive from Vegas to Phoenix. I used my trip instead of trusting our computer and ended up geting 350 miles while filling up with 11.5 Gallons of fuel which equals 30.4 MPG. On my way back I got 400 miles on the tank filled up with 11.5 Gallons of fuel which equaled 34.7. In the city been avg around 15-20, but was pleasently suprised when I got both of these hwy numbers. How I drove was cruzed around 70-72 keeping the RPM's in the 2800-2900 range. Keep in mind the hwy to Phoenix from Vegas is not a interstate either so I had a chance to see what she could do.

[breakfstincluded]

If I'm trying I can get a solid 26mpg or around 300 miles.

Still deciding how concerned I should be about things I do to get mpg though.

ie 45mph in 6th on a decline/flat road, shifting up at 2700rpm

[zedekias]

Any noticeable differences in MPG after installing the HPFP?

[Mizzle]

A couple things.

2250 is the butter zone mpg wise. I get better mileage in 5th at 40mph than 6th at 40mph due to the rolling hills/mountains of Southwestern Pennsylvania.

I hit 29.5 (fill-up/math verified,) when staying at/under 55mph on the way to work and shifting as early as possible without bogging the engine. I never shift after 3,000 rpm if I'm on my way to work.

ANY spirited driving (eg. getting around a fuckwad that's doing 45 in a 55 ... in the left lane... of a THREE lane highway...) drops that to 24-26 almost immediately.

Also, how long you idle your car is a significant factor. With it going down to about 10 deg. here lately, I've let my car idle for about 3-5 min. before leaving and I'm down to averaging 27mpg with all other things left identical.

3 min x 5 days = 15 min of useless idling ya know?

Don't forget wide, sticky tires will shit on your average, too.

[breakfstincluded]

Originally Posted by Mizzle A couple things. 2250 is the butter zone mpg wise. I get better mileage in 5th at 40mph than 6th at 40mph due to the rolling hills/mountains of Southwestern Pennsylvania. I hit 29.5 (fill-up/math verified,) when staying at/under 55mph on the way to work and shifting as early as possible without bogging the engine. I never shift after 3,000 rpm if I'm on my way to work. ANY spirited driving (eg. getting around a fuckwad that's doing 45 in a 55 ... in the left lane... of a THREE lane highway...) drops that to 24-26 almost immediately. Also, how long you idle your car is a significant factor. With it going down to about 10 deg. here lately, I've let my car idle for about 3-5 min. before leaving and I'm down to averaging 27mpg with all other things left identical. 3 min x 5 days = 15 min of useless idling ya know? Don't forget wide, sticky tires will shit on your average, too.

it always pisses me off when I realize I'd get better mpg hooning it on mountain roads then during my crawling city commute.

2250 eh...

If the engine isn't shuddering / lugging then all is good with shifting so low?

I'm guessing it doesn't apply if you're on any sort of incline?

I'll notice the mpg computer give me unexpected numbers comparing 5th and 6th as well

[myt_tuf1]

Originally Posted by alien_sporez Thanks for all the input. I guess I expected better based on how I was driving and another thread where a Gen1 with almost every bolt-on (Matte Black Enkei rpf1 17x9 +45) is getting 30+ I guess then: Mods = MPG

I was using the HUD to calculate MPG's and that was on an a freeway trip (~520 mile round trip).

Just around town though, I get ~280 miles per tank before the gas light comes on... I'm not sure what that calculates out to...

And mods do = MPG's if you want them to... Most of the time they reduce the weight of whatever you're replacing, and they cause the motor to run more efficiently... You just gotta keep your foot off the gas. =)