MS3 Gas milage?

[FrequentFlyer]

OK, so my coworker was showing me his '08 Z06 with the 7-liter engine. He's getting ~20MPG in the city and 26 on the highway with that beast! I'll have to tell my wife we need a car with better fuel economy than the MS3

I guess it doesn't hurt to weigh 3100 lbs, but jeez - with a LS7 engine???!!!!

He's full of crap if he claims he's getting 20mpg+ in the city with a Z06. It's rated for 15mpg city and 24mpg highway and the new EPA estimates are pretty accurate. They were always known for getting decent highway mileage because of low 6th gear ratio's. They cruise at like 1800 RPM on the highway doing 65-70mph, but there is no way he gets 20+ around town unless he drives like grandma and that's stretching it.

 

[MS3077]

I'll bet the Z06 owner could also get at least 27 (overall average) out of an MS3 too.

YOu think that would offset the cost and insurance payments????? Highly doubt Z06 gets 27 mpg overall, unless you baby the s*** out of it.

 

[MS3077]

He's full of crap if he claims he's getting 20mpg+ in the city with a Z06. It's rated for 15mpg city and 24mpg highway and the new EPA estimates are pretty accurate. They were always known for getting decent highway mileage because of low 6th gear ratio's. They cruise at like 1800 RPM on the highway doing 65-70mph, but there is no way he gets 20+ around town unless he drives like grandma and that's stretching it.

+1

 

[stevekt]

The best mileage I've gotten is under 22 MPG and I use a calculator at the pump to figure my mileage. Those of you getting 24-25 MPG are you using the trip computer or calculating manually?

 

[MS3077]

The best mileage I've gotten is under 22 MPG and I use a calculator at the pump to figure my mileage. Those of you getting 24-25 MPG are you using the trip computer or calculating manually?

They're babying the s*** out of it most likely or mostly HWY driving (setting it on cruise control) around 65mph watching other cars blast by them.

 

[PaulVincent]

MS3077, I said nothing about insurance or payments; however, my comment about the Z06 driver ability to get 27 mpg in a MS3 stays. If the Z06 driver gets 26 mpg in his Z06, than he/she knows how to "baby" it, and he/she would also be able to get 27 mpg out of an MS3.

 

[mrjoshyman]

for highway driving do you guys find its best to ride windows down or a/c on?

 

[FrequentFlyer]

They're babying the s*** out of it most likely or mostly HWY driving (setting it on cruise control) around 65mph watching other cars blast by them.

Hey, that's fine by me. They can blast right by me right to the gas station. There are too many impatient people in a rush to go nowhere these days and what they don't think about (or maybe just don't give a crap), is that they're burning about 15-20% more gas doing 80mph than they would doing 65 (as speed doubles, drag quadruples?). Probably more for the road mongers in their 5000lb SUV's that flow about as nicely through the air as a barn door.

If we do some math for someone who commutes 90 miles round trip to work everyday (me), lets say 75 of which are on the highway and 15 through town. Lets say at 65mph, I can average 31mpg, but at 80, 15% reduction is about 26mpg. 75 highway miles, 5 days a week for 52 weeks out of the year is 19,500 miles. I'll take 1,000 miles off that to account for holidays, vacation, sick days, etc... and come up with 18,500 highway miles driven per year. At 31mpg, it'd take 596.77 gallons to drive 18,500 miles. The cost of 91 octane in Jersey these days is about $3.80, so that is $2,267.73 per year. At 26 mpg, it takes 711.54 gallons. Again, at $3.80, that's $2,703.85 for a difference of $436.12. Now, $436.12 may sound insignificant over the course of a year, but I'd much rather put that money into a college fund for my kid or my IRA or heck, blow it on mods for the car. Whatever the case may be, is getting to work 6 minutes quicker everyday doing 80mph worth $436.12 when I can just leave the house 6 minutes earlier? No, not to me. Factor in having a spouse that drives to work and we could be looking at closer to $1,000 savings per year. Anyone who turns their nose up to a grand and says, "Bah... that's nothing!", is crazy. Don't get me wrong. I love fast cars. Every car I've owned over the past 16 years have been sports cars, but as we approach $4.00 a gallon this summer (or pass it), it's just stupid to waste gas to get somewhere 5 minutes early, unless of course you're rushing to the hospital because your wife is in labor (like I had to do a few weeks ago). lol

 

[FrequentFlyer]

for highway driving do you guys find its best to ride windows down or a/c on?

I would say A/C on. They did a study on Myth Busters a few years ago where they tested to see which car burned more fuel. With A/C windows up, or A/C off, windows down. I believe there was no difference, but I would think that driving with the windows down at 65mph+ would increase drag and just be too damn loud. Now around town, during stop and go driving, I think having the A/C is a lot harder on the car and will reduce your city mileage. On the highway, not so much.

 

[Savate]

I agree with FrequentFlyer. On the highway, cruising the is very little parasitic loss from the AC. Drag would out weigh the AC difference.

 

[blue-sun]

gased up my first tank on Sat night. My MPG was 27.7 on the MS3. Not bad, but that's A) breakin miles and B) majority highway miles

 

[#sand]

Bought the car in Oct 2007. First couple of thousand miles improved from 22 to 24 mpg. Now I've got about 7K miles and it's 27.5 mostly highway, small town roads.

 

[lynx17]

I just did two 300 mile freeway trips and averaged 29 mpg -- much better than I expected. A few extra psi in the tires and keeping the speeds reasonable make quite a difference.

 

[FritzTCoyote]

More Gas Mileage Math

If we do some math for someone who commutes 90 miles round trip to work everyday (me), lets say 75 of which are on the highway and 15 through town. Lets say at 65mph, I can average 31mpg, but at 80, 15% reduction is about 26mpg. 75 highway miles, 5 days a week for 52 weeks out of the year is 19,500 miles. I'll take 1,000 miles off that to account for holidays, vacation, sick days, etc... and come up with 18,500 highway miles driven per year. At 31mpg, it'd take 596.77 gallons to drive 18,500 miles. The cost of 91 octane in Jersey these days is about $3.80, so that is $2,267.73 per year. At 26 mpg, it takes 711.54 gallons. Again, at $3.80, that's $2,703.85 for a difference of $436.12. Now, $436.12 may sound insignificant

18,500 miles at 65mph 284.62 hours
18,500 miles at 80mpg 231.25 hours

Net time savings 53.37 hours.

Hourly rate (dollars saved divided by time spent) $8.17 per hour.

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If we were Serious about gas mileage, we would be joining those humorless self-righteous prigs driving hybrids.

 

[FrequentFlyer]

18,500 miles at 65mph 284.62 hours
18,500 miles at 80mpg 231.25 hours

Net time savings 53.37 hours.

Hourly rate (dollars saved divided by time spent) $8.17 per hour.

------
If we were Serious about gas mileage, we would be joining those humorless self-righteous prigs driving hybrids.

Now if I can cummulate all that time and actually do something with it, we'd have something, but that 7 minutes in the morning may allow me to spend a little more time on the crapper and that's about it.

 

[PaulVincent]

Just for your information: I managed to average 36.147 miles/gallon (miles driven = 428.6 / fuel replaced = 11.857 gallons). I drove as gingerly as possible (with one exception). My MS3 needs an oil change, I use Shell V-Power, and my tires are inflated to 32 lbs. Also, I have been working on improving my mileage for a few months now, and I believe that the computer has relearned my driving style during this period (as it has been easier for me to get improved mileage as time has passed). Short of driving non-stop on the Interstate at a modest speed (for the same distance), I doubt that I could improve my mileage much more.

 

[SSMS3]

I get 25-26 mpg nearly every tank. 70/30 highway/city, figured using math. Highway trips in the 29 mpg range keeping speeds reasonable

 

[mrjoshyman]

ok, I know that @ highway speeds it is best to use AC versus windows down. A lot of my driving is done on roads where the speed limit is between 50 and 60...but with traffic lights, so there definitely is stop and go involved. I've been trying to get the best mileage I can, but its a pain in the ass going from a/c while moving above say 45 to rolling the windows down wen slowing down for a light & waiting there.

think I will see a noticeable difference in my gas mileage if I run either windows down the entire time or A/C on the entire time? Which would likely give me the best mileage?

 

[Kain]

think I will see a noticeable difference in my gas mileage if I run either windows down the entire time or A/C on the entire time? Which would likely give me the best mileage?

Windows up, no A/C. Throw in some sauna rocks (not too many; they're heavy and will kill your MPG), a water bucket, a ladle, and you should be good to go.




p.s. stop worrying about stuff that'll net you maybe 1-2 MPG.

 

[imac]

i seem to be getting right around 26 mpg according to the car's computer. thats driving around town, 40 - 60 mph with mildly frequent stops.