How to get better gas mileage?

[robsSpeed3]

To the O.P.,

I have an 08 MS3 and I love it despite 19MPG I have gotten in my first 2,100 miles.

I almost bought an 07 accord 4cylinder, which was a far better deal, and would get me at least 10 MPG better milage. The dealer was a jerk, in short, didn't follow up , and comming from 17 years of Honda experience, I felt a little bit disloyal...but my MAZDASpeed3 is by far more exciting to drive.. and to own.

Live a little, pretty soon there will not be cars like this, and if you are driving a lot - budget for gas...Don't lug this gem, because it was not ment to be driven that way. Expect 20 MPG at best, and feel lucky you have once owned a truly unique car that does everything well.

I've had an RX8 which was a on par for speed if you drove it right, better handling, but much more pleasing to the eye, there was far better comfort for the driver (ME) and my ego, yet it was eating up more of my spare money that I cared to give to the car...so I traded it in! If none of that appeals to you, sell it, and get a ..something, that will get you your desired MPG. There are plenty of deals out there, and you have a pretty good trade in, just make sure you do your homework, and get what you really want next time. We have all made mistakes in our lives, and there are more to be made if don't learn from our experiences. This car will not get you a significantly better milage even if you mod it , and even more, why get a high performance car and pay a premium for it if you just want a regular car?

Best of wishes,

Merry Christmas ,or Happy Holidays

 

[TRMS3]

Wow, you people are so righteous!...

(uhm)

The entire premise behind (the) question is dumb...

(iagree)

Thanks Captain Obvious...

(stupid)

Merry Christmas ,or Happy Holidays

(2thumbs)(stopwar)(group)

 

[SwampAss]

This thread is mildly amusing.


I score mileage in the high 20s on average. I'll score low to mid 30s with extended highway driving.

Keep your tires inflated and your air filter clean. Lighter wheels helped boost me about an MPG. $1300 might take a long time to recoup that money though.

At the risk of being the second captain obvious in this thread, the biggest mod you can make to improve mileage is your right foot. Lots of miracle cure alls out there claiming to increase mileage but none of them seem to make any difference in testing.

I get about 45-47 MPG now. I ride my motorcycle. (second)

 

[3.slow]

The block mod is my favorite. Put a chunk of wood under the accelerator that only allows it to go half throttle. Then you don't have to worry about your right foot because you won't be able to go WOT or even speed for that matter.

 

[Kurt07]

I didn't know I was supposed to be worried about the gas milage of my MS3. If I want good gas milage, I will drive my wife's Focus.

 

[assman]

WOW this thread has really grown since I last came on.

Well im going to go try everything you guys suggested.

I put a piece of wood under the gas pedal, Im not going to shift after 2k and at every light im going to turn the car off.

Other then that thanks for all the great advice.

and Swampass, I have a bike too unfortunately I cant drive it in the winter, what do you ride? I have an 07 SV650S

 

[aciurczak]

I score mileage in the high 20s on average. I'll score low to mid 30s with extended highway driving.

This boggles my mind. If I enable the cruise control in 6th gear at 65 mph on flat level ground, the Scangauge never goes over 28 mpg, ever. (sure the onboard mazda one may touch 29 or 30, but it always reads 3 mpg high). If someone held a gun to my head I still wouldn't be able to get 30+ mpg out of this car. Tires inflated properly, clean air filter, zero extra weight in car, wheels properly aligned, you name it. I don't mind getting poor mileage when I'm using the car in fun (18 mpg on "fun" tanks, also if it sits in excessive bumper-to-bumper traffic). But it does slightly irk me that this small 4 cylinder in a light car doesn't get better mileage if the driver does make an effort to conserve.

 

[SwampAss]

I have a ZZR 1200.

(it's the updated version of the ZX11)

I usually get about 330-360 before the light. I've never put more than 12 gallons in it.

That's me commuting. 60mph (speed limit is 55) all country roads with only 2 traffic lights. If I take the back way, it's 45mph the whole way.

I've set my cruise at a tick under 70 on the interstate and score low 30s on average. I don't know what to say other than that's what I get.
When I beat on it, my mileage suffers dramatically. I've averaged as low as 22mpg a tank.

My actual math (not counting the mileage meter in the car) is about 2mpg less than reported.

 

[aciurczak]

It sounds like you truly have the optimum commute for great mileage! FWIW, both of my bikes get better mileage than the MS3 (ZX-10R & BMW RT). But if you count the tire cost, the cost per mile is much higher on the bikes than any car.

 

[turbobst]

Better Gas Mileage

Drive with your windows rolled up, don't use your A/C and keep the car washed and smooth. The extra dirt casuses drag!

 

[assman]

Swampass, i just got my bike this september so i only have 1000km on it. How long are tires supposed to last, 15000km ?

 

[aciurczak]

Not sure if this was addressed to me, but tire life varies depending on type of tire, riding style, type of bike, etc. If you're a relatively new rider, with the stock tires on the SV, I'd expect 6k - 8k miles out of them. The front may go 8k - 10k miles, while the rear 6k - 8k is more likely. On my 10R a rear tire is good for 2.5k - 3k miles, and a front is 4k - 5k. On the RT I get 3k - 4k out of a rear, and 5k - 6k out of the front.

 

[assman]

well 10 miles is 16 km so my guess is pretty close. Plus there are no real twisties around here so destined for chicken strips.

 

[3.slow]

It doesn't matter that our cars are 4 cylinders. It is horsepower, not necessarly the size of the motor that determines mpg. 260 hp is comparable to the early 2000 mustang gt's that get around 20mpg. Guess what, no matter what I do I cannot get above 20 MPG. V8 vs. I4. 260HP vs. 260HP.

 

[aciurczak]

That's not quite the whole story. A 500 hp vette gets 27 mpg on the highway. A Toyota Avalon with 270 hp that weighs 1000 pounds more than our car gets 30+ mpg on the highway. Fuel consumption is more directly correlated to horsepower used, rather than peak horsepower.

It only takes 25 - 30 hp for a modern car to move along at 65 mph. But our cars are surprisingly inefficient making that 25-30hp compared to the state of the art. A large V8 idling at 2k rpm can be pretty darned efficient.

When we use the max hp often on these cars, for example on a racetrack, the fuel usage is astronomical (I averaged 6 mpg the last few sessions a few weeks back).

 

[3.slow]

That's not quite the whole story. A 500 hp vette gets 27 mpg on the highway. A Toyota Avalon with 270 hp that weighs 1000 pounds more than our car gets 30+ mpg on the highway. Fuel consumption is more directly correlated to horsepower used, rather than peak horsepower.

It only takes 25 - 30 hp for a modern car to move along at 65 mph. But our cars are surprisingly inefficient making that 25-30hp compared to the state of the art. A large V8 idling at 2k rpm can be pretty darned efficient.

When we use the max hp often on these cars, for example on a racetrack, the fuel usage is astronomical (I averaged 6 mpg the last few sessions a few weeks back).

The corvette does not have a close ratio 6 speed like our cars that hovers around 3k at cruising speed. It has a 6th gear that can go up to 198 MPH. That tall 6th gear keeps that monster v8 at engine idling speed when cruising boosting overall MPG. The Toyota Avalon does not push 15.6 pounds of boost either does it?? When you get in boost this car eats big time. It loves to suck down that 91 octane faster than you can fill it up. Having a lot of fun, I got 4.5 MPG today. The turbo is the equalizer in the equation because we are getting equal gas mileage to motors twice our size and twice as many cylinders.

 

[aciurczak]

That's just it, when we get into boost all bets are off; nobody cares much about gas mileage. Pack as much air and fuel into those 4 cylinders as is reasonably possible. I just wish when we stayed completely out of boost while moseying along the highway in top gear, the engine was a bit more efficient.

 

[2ManyCars]

The corvette does not have a close ratio 6 speed like our cars that hovers around 3k at cruising speed. It has a 6th gear that can go up to 198 MPH. That tall 6th gear keeps that monster v8 at engine idling speed when cruising boosting overall MPG. The Toyota Avalon does not push 15.6 pounds of boost either does it?? When you get in boost this car eats big time. It loves to suck down that 91 octane faster than you can fill it up. Having a lot of fun, I got 4.5 MPG today. The turbo is the equalizer in the equation because we are getting equal gas mileage to motors twice our size and twice as many cylinders.

(iagree) My C6 routinely gets 30+ MPG at 80 mph because that 6th gear has it sitting at about 1600 rpm. My MS3 sits at over 3000 rpm for the same speed and gets about 25 MPG. Both suffer equally when the level of fun/zoom increases...

 

[happy and angry]

That's just it, when we get into boost all bets are off; nobody cares much about gas mileage. Pack as much air and fuel into those 4 cylinders as is reasonably possible. I just wish when we stayed completely out of boost while moseying along the highway in top gear, the engine was a bit more efficient.

This is the problem with the question that started this thread. He actually wanted to know if there was a way to lower boost to up fuel economy. Boost is, by its very nature, a means of burning more fuel than a naturally aspirated engine can normally. It is designed to burn MORE fuel per cycle, not less. Lowering boost just means you can burn a little bit less EXTRA fuel. It's not going to provide him any "better" fuel economy to lower boost except when compared to a car running more boost at WOT. The guy basically asked "So when I'm at half throttle or better at 4,000 RPM and at full boost, could I improve my fuel economy by lowering boost?" It's a dumb question. The proverbial having your cake and eating it too, wanting better fuel economy while in boost. If you want to remap boost for better mileage, just learn throttle control instead of trying to do something moronic. It's easier to stay under 3,000 rpm than it is to remap, and you'll get better results. That, and other typical means of maximizing fuel economy (tire inflation, balancing, windows up, clean car, no A/C, no internal fan, proper shifting, etc.) are going to improve your fuel economy.

 

[blkMs3th]

I get 25-32 mpg on mixture of back roads and highway, usually 300 miles before I put in about 12 gallons (I can get worse if I try, but I do enjoy the car). FWIW my car is stock and I started getting better mileage around the 10K mark. I don't know how much of that is how I drove it new versus engine break in, but I've read other reporting an increase in mpg as the mileage increased. I kept track of the first 11K worth of mpg - using my own math, and there were quite a few < 20 mpg average tanks in there. That was when I was working for The Man and driving in stop and go rush hour traffic, but some of those had heavy highway driving as well.