Protege Gas Mileage Thread

[Not Jo3L]

1999 Protege ES
Mods: Header, catless midpipe, racing beat exhaust, CAI, Lightweight pullies.
22 city...rarely drive highway so dont have an estimate.
Im driving pretty conservatively..I coast to red lights or stop signs for like 2 blocks if I have nobody behind me. Still only yields me 255avg per tank.

 

[sandypro]

I managed 37mpg once, driving really slow. Driving without the a/c helps too. I inflate my tires to 32psi, and yeah stock tire size hleps.

 

[red95_240sx]

hell yeah driving with no a/c helps, even with power. its almost like vtec power when i turn my a/c off. (1.6)

 

[eszoom]

01 pro es 5 sp.
injen, thunder, racing beat axle back. i get 28 mpg on mostly freeway driving. if i drive good then, 30-31 mpg. all this with reg unleaded with air con always.

 

[french02chris]

1999 protege dx 1.6L...with 137000miles on it!!!!!! still running strong!
OBX header
BORLA muffler
tyres size are 195/60r14...psi@33
i do between 350 and 400 miles with a full tank depending on driving style...(about 12 gallons to refill)

 

[CantCMe]

Car- '02 ES 5-speed

Mods- MSP turbo kit, custom fmic, AEM intake, Corksport exhaust and hangers, AWR motor mounts, Tokico blues shocks/springs, slotted & drilled rotors, P5 front end, ADR 18" rims, 215/35/18's, Kenwood Excelon head unit, MTX 600.4 @ 8001D amps, 3 12" Xtant subs, cap, MB Quart 5.25 component (f) and 6x9 component (r) speakers, DaveB rings, Greddy shift knob, Motorsport gauges.

Miles- 189K

Mileage- about 260-270 per tank

Location- Capitol Heights, Md.

 

[french02chris]

189k on the same engine???? if yes, that's impressive!!

 

[njaremka]

189k on the same engine???? if yes, that's impressive!!

sure, why not. i've had 4 cars that all got over 200+k miles on them, and my protege is on its way too. (146k as of this morning)

 

[Tom03es]

Damn you drive A LOT! That's like a 20,000 mile/year average.

 

[njaremka]

he-he, yup - i drive everywhere

 

[french02chris]

on mine I got 137000,but i drove it to California and back from Orlando,fl..

 

[CantCMe]

189k on the same engine???? if yes, that's impressive!!

Same motor...guess it was built to last huh?(rockon)

 

[Chawk]

i am getting about 33 to 35 highway miles on my 2000 protege with original everything but clutch. 206,000 miles and going strong. (now that i got it to start after changing the timing belt)

 

[Mike Kamm]

Has anyone here ever really tried to get better mileage? I mean forget performance altogether and go the full mileage route.

I am preparing a 152-K 2000 Protege DX [1.6 -auto] to be my daily driver. It's supposed to get 31-34 on the highway. I'm shooting for 38 or so.

I plan to remove about 100 lbs. of useless things out of it. Things like the spare tire [when's the last time you've needed one honestly?] I haven't change a flat tire in 20 years. The jack and tools - get rid of them. Just as in racing, weight is the enemy. I might toss the working A/C system as well. Floor mats - gone. If you don't really need it, get rid of it.

I will advance the timing 3 to 5 degrees. This helps most cars gain fuel mileage.

Lastly, I will buy the skinniest tires I can find for it. Wide tires waste fuel. Why does almost ever car have them today? Have you ever seen the narrow tires on the Honda Insight? That's what I'm talking about. I'll run them at some fairly high pressures too.

I also plan to run thinner oil. I will use the new 5W-20 grade. Maybe 0W-20?

I feel my goal of 38 is realistic. So how about you all? What have you done to increase your gas mileage?

 

[Tom03es]

check out:
http://www.gassavers.org/
There are some people on that board that get pretty crazy with their fuel economy mods.

Other ideas to consider are:
- an air dam across the front to keep air from going under the car
- block off the radiator (sounds like a pretty bad idea to me- but there are other ways of getting air across the radiator)
- wheel well covers (like the Honda Insight)
- remove the right side mirror- I believe you need a left mirror by law


There was a guy on a Saturn board that I frequent that put a resistor inline with his Intake Air Temp Sensor to fool the computer into thinking the air was REALLY hot, thus requiring less fuel. I believe he was getting in the 40's for mpgs.

 

[Joost27]

Car - 2000 LX 1.6 Manual
Mods - Injen CAI, Mazdaspeed oval tip axle back, 01+ front lip, and 18s
Miles - 81k
Milage (highway / city) - 38-40 / 32-35
Location - NH, VT, some MA driving

 

[ghettoracingkid]

190400+ on it

did my mileage check

25 MPG on average

about 260 miles per tank.

 

[Joost27]

on which motor?thats pretty terrible, it is high mileage tho

 

[ghettoracingkid]

original of coarse

 

[Tom03es]

on which motor?

original of coarse

When he said which motor, he meant which displacement type. 1.6L, 1.8L, 2.0L.....