Higher revving = better gas mileage?

[clicknext]

So lately I've been getting pretty poor gas mileage. For about the past half year, it's been around 24-25mpg. It never used to be this bad; I used to get 29-30 regularly, and my route/driving style should be the same.

I usually engage the clutch at ~1200 and shift just before 3000, so basically I harsh granny it. My route is 100% city.

Since I was getting crappy mileage anyway, I thought I'd just try revving higher to see what it does, so that's what I did for the entirety of the last tank of gas. I still engaged the clutch in 1st at around 1200, but revved up to 4000-5000 each time before shifting to 2nd, and at least 3500 on all my other shifts.

The result? Significantly improved mileage! 27.8mpg this tank. I've no idea why, I'll leave the speculation/reasoning to you guys. But I'm just happy my gas mileage is acceptable again, and the car drives a little bit smoother and certainly faster this way too.

 

[16902]

I don't remember what magazine (Car and Driver, Road and Track, Motortrend, Automobile...I don't remember which), they stated that on an N/A car with a manual transmission yields better mileage by heavy throttle and shifting at normal shift points (3000-3500). It only works though for this combination.

 

[newprot5fan]

well, I certainly am not hard on my car. I shift usually under 3000rpm to keep them low and hopefully save gas...mid you it is winter here and cold..but for mostly city driving, I am only getting 20mpg!!!!!

I just can;t wrap my head around using higher rpms will save gas......
Maybe the temp in vancouver had somethign to do with it..was it warmer for your last tank?

 

[njaremka]

to reduce pumping losses internal to the engine (afterall, the internal combustion engine is a basic air pump) you want to operate it at full wide open throttle. so, its no suprise that you get better efficiency when operating it this way.

 

[rednecks_r_us]

I average 28- 30 mpg and I always shift at 5K.

 

[winty87]

damn, i always baby shift mine like every gear i shift at like 2500.

 

[i12drivemyMP5]

Winter gas formula = mpg suck. Lower rpm cruising might not give the car leverage.

 

[Tom03es]

When I shift my sport-matic auto tranny myself and let the revs get up a higher than they normally do, I also see increased gas mileage.

 

[ho bag]

I think you need to find that happy medium. 5k sounds a little high to me. Im personally shifting at 3k or just before but i think im gonna rais emy crusing rpm a little more to see if that helps.

 

[lasermp5]

redline it every shift... it's the only way.

 

[FunkyBuddha]

your motor is working less to get you going at a higher rpm. makes sense. i shift around 3500rpm and i still get about 500km to 44 Liters.

 

[MP5BibbitZ]

I shift between 3k and 5k depending on the gear, and my gas mileage is in the high 20's. It probably coud be better, but I downshift when braking instead of coasting.

 

[ChopstickHero]

i shift around 3000-3500rpm usually. i get about 29-30mpg. no problem.

 

[P-Funk!]

After all your lugging around town - you built up carbon. By driving it hard - you probably burned a lot off! (we burn rich)

Your engine gets its best fuel economy operating at the lowest RPM to power the car.

 

[i12drivemyMP5]

IMO, it's somwewhat of a balancing act on rpms. Too few & build up carbon & make mpg progressively worse. Too much & well just less carbon buildup, sooner on maintenance items & less mpg just because of the nature of things. Somewhere there is a happy medium between the 2 that'll getcha the most mpg & longevity. Sometimes drive like driving test or granny & other times drive it like you stole it & most of the time stay between those. It'll balance out.

 

[kableguy]

AHAHAH finally!!!!! Give that b**** the beans! she'll make it worth your while to, i swear it runs wayyyy better after 10 min of hi revving then a day of granny driving. by the way i killed a pimped out ugly ass baby blue 95 civic hatch, almost got it on vid to, made me so happy i thought this car was "echo" slow turns out more like "sunfire gt" slow not that im really comparing our cars to a sunfire that just goes against all the moral fibers in my body.

Best part is given the p5 the "juice" means you can still stay under the speed limit, atleast on any road shorter then 10km. LOL

 

[Salmon_Rob]

redline it every shift... it's the only way.

+1

 

[InFlames]

redline it every shift... it's the only way.

yrly

 

[rednecks_r_us]

The clutch install is finished and I have to be gentle until its broke in. I hate shifting at 3000 - 3500 rpms. Its so boring.

 

[smo0f]

i have a live gas mileage gauge in my car (and an electronic one that reports avg) and i've been experimenting with it since i got the car. noticed that 3k+ shifts are better than 2000-2999, but more importantly that mpg is more associated with throttle position than rpm.