MP3 World Record in Gas Mileage.

[cbutters]

Hi everyone,
With gas prices being what they are I have recently gotten into conserving gas and increasing my MPG, I have tweaked my car and am using a driving technique called "hypermiling" which significantly increases MPG, and I thought I would post the results I have been getting in my Mazda MP3. Be warned though, my wife calls my new driving habits "the Anti-Zoom Zoom" so this might not be for everyone.
I just got one of my best tanks of Gas ever, I acheived 43 miles per gallon! Thats 562 miles on 13.2 gallons of gas!

Heres how I've been doing it:
-Remove Spare wheel from trunk, replace with Fix-a-Flat.
-increase tire pressure to max sidewall pressure (45PSI)
-lower antenna
-keep AC off and windows up.
-no idling, car is off whenever im not moving
-drive the speed limit, 55-65 range.
-accelerate ever so slightly on downhill areas of the freeway, while allowing the car to deaccelerate on uphill stretches, using the cars momentum rather than the gas to pull the car over the hill.
-never accelerating faster than is necessary, coasting to red lights rather than wasting gas just to brake off the energy. (the goal is to never have to use your brakes ever.... not possible, but you aim for that.)


Also, advanced hypermiling techniques consist of turning your engine off with your car in nuetral coasting down freeway offramps and hills (Warning, this can be extremely dangerous, as your power steering is off and your brakes loose power as well after a few pumps, you need to know what you are doing before trying this). for more info on hypermiling, visit gassavers.org or cleanmpg.com

Unless anybody else with an MP3 is hypermiling, I dare say that 562 miles on one tank of gas (43 MPG) is probably the world record for the MP3
Let me know if any of you have attempted hypermiling in your MP3.

 

[crashkelly]

Hi everyone,
With gas prices being what they are I have recently gotten into conserving gas and increasing my MPG, I have tweaked my car and am using a driving technique called "hypermiling" which significantly increases MPG, and I thought I would post the results I have been getting in my Mazda MP3. Be warned though, my wife calls my new driving habits "the Anti-Zoom Zoom" so this might not be for everyone.
I just got one of my best tanks of Gas ever, I acheived 43 miles per gallon! Thats 562 miles on 13.2 gallons of gas!

Heres how I've been doing it:
-Remove Spare wheel from trunk, replace with Fix-a-Flat.
-increase tire pressure to max sidewall pressure (45PSI)
-lower antenna
-keep AC off and windows up.
-no idling, car is off whenever im not moving
-drive the speed limit, 55-65 range.
-accelerate ever so slightly on downhill areas of the freeway, while allowing the car to deaccelerate on uphill stretches, using the cars momentum rather than the gas to pull the car over the hill.
-never accelerating faster than is necessary, coasting to red lights rather than wasting gas just to brake off the energy. (the goal is to never have to use your brakes ever.... not possible, but you aim for that.)


Also, advanced hypermiling techniques consist of turning your engine off with your car in nuetral coasting down freeway offramps and hills (Warning, this can be extremely dangerous, as your power steering is off and your brakes loose power as well after a few pumps, you need to know what you are doing before trying this). for more info on hypermiling, visit gassavers.org or cleanmpg.com

Unless anybody else with an MP3 is hypermiling, I dare say that 562 miles on one tank of gas (43 MPG) is probably the world record for the MP3
Let me know if any of you have attempted hypermiling in your MP3.

dude you are going to destroy your starter and ignition system with all that turning the car on and off crap...drive conservatively to save gas...dont drive like the worlds biggest gasnigger

 

[leetpcguy]

still, that is insane for the MP3 I got 33.94 MPG on my last tank in my mazdaspeed.

 

[03promaz]

I got 37 mpg on a road trip once.

 

[bigcc63]

Dude Try To Not Run Your A/c In Texas, You'll Pretty Much Die.......

 

[MP3Architect]

Dude Try To Not Run Your A/c In Texas, You'll Pretty Much Die.......

oh yeah. i drive with my windows down before 10am and after 6pm...but otherwise i can't help it. its too damn hot!

 

[avarela86]

HAHA I get about 25MPG or less and that's with the constant Zoom-Zoom. Congrats, you beat my sisters Corrolla that makes an insane 42MPG. That thing is sick, thats not even trying to save gas either. MP3 FTW!!

 

[Bernout]

man if i were you id just get a prius or something right off the bat...

to have an mp3 with nice suspension and other upgrades(not a fast car but still) ... and hardly even normally drive the car

like buying a car with a supercharger and taking the belt off

im sure people that have the v-8 that shuts off 4 cylinders figure out a way to just keep 4 cylinders shut off all the time!!!!

pretty stupid way to drive id say

 

[Speed_Racer]

I read about hypermilers in the newspaper the other day. they get mixed reviews because 90% of how they increase gas mileage is driving style, as opposed to actualy increasing the vehicles efficieny.

they basically tailgate big trucks, drive 10mph under the speed limit, accelerate like a grandma, and over in flate tires and coast at every opportunty. even car manufacturers wouldn't acknowledge "hypermiling" because its associated driving style is basically dangerous and annoying.

 

[mp3moose]

I did 43 mpg once too actually. Raised compression helps with that though.

 

[StealthWyvern]

Dude Try To Not Run Your A/c In Texas, You'll Pretty Much Die.......

eh to each his own... I lived in thw DFW and Amarillo area for 5 years with no a/c or tinted windows and I was just fine. Also in florida for 2 years before I got my first car that had ac working in it and it wasn't that bad. lol But then again i much rather be hot then cold

 

[Tom03es]

I rev out the motor to about 5k or so at each shift- pretty much out accelerating everything at the intersection. I use the AC when it's hot, windows down when it's not. I dive onto the brakes alot. I consider the speed limit the lower threshold for my speed. I've been getting about 26 mpgs lately and am perfectly happy with it.

 

[Kooldino]

Leaving the car in gear while you decelerate doesn't hurt either.

 

[CulRidr]

overinflating your tires is very dangerous. the reason they have recommended pressure is so that you can have the most amount of rubber touching the asphalt. If you over inflate, your tire starts looking like a bike tire (as a basis for comparison). you don't have much reistance, but you also have a lot less rubber touching the pavement, therefore greatly reducing the traction, which increases your stopping distance. I'll be the first one to try things to reduce my mileage, but I'd rather be safe then have a few extra bucks in my pockets!

 

[MP3 Abuser]

Ever check what the pressure is after the tires warm up? From my club racing days, it's not the cold tire pressure you worry about, it's what you read when they are nice, hot and sticky. I bet that 45 psi gets to be close to 60 on a hot day, no matter how much you coast. At least you'll be going slow when the tire lets go...

BTW, I average 28-29 mpg on the cheap stuff and run just a tick or two above recommended PSI.

The stock tire size is such a pain in the ass to find in a decent tire that I would rather spend the money on gas than going through tires faster than I already do.

 

[cbutters]

Just thought I would respond to a few comments.

to have an mp3 with nice suspension and other upgrades(not a fast car but still) ... and hardly even normally drive the car is like buying a car with a supercharger and taking the belt off

Actually, the MP3 is pretty much the perfect car for hypermiling, one of the key aspects of hypermiling is trying to never use your brakes, coming off of the offramps of the freeway at 50 miles an hour is something that few cars but the MP3 can do with it's nice suspension.

overinflating your tires is very dangerous. the reason they have recommended pressure is so that you can have the most amount of rubber touching the asphalt. If you over inflate, your tire starts looking like a bike tire (as a basis for comparison). you don't have much reistance, but you also have a lot less rubber touching the pavement, therefore greatly reducing the traction, which increases your stopping distance. I'll be the first one to try things to reduce my mileage, but I'd rather be safe then have a few extra bucks in my pockets!

This is in fact, a myth, modern steel belted tires do not bow out like a bike tire. In fact, the main reason that manufactuers dont inflate tires to max sidewall is so the car has a less bumpy ride, and less cabin noise. Tires also last longer under higher pressure.
If you don't believe me, please read this article:
http://www.officer.com/article/article.jsp?siteSection=19&id=27281

Here is an excerpt from the article:

Regardless of what vehicle you have, use the maximum pressure listed on the sidewall. Higher pressure results in better performance, decreased tire wear, and it lessens your chance of hydroplaning at a given speed.

This article actually recommends max sidewall pressure to reduce chances of blowouts, maximize tire life, and increase performance.

These guidelines may or may not be true for super-sticky racing tires however. I don't know.

 

[kickniteasy]

Also, advanced hypermiling techniques consist of turning your engine off with your car in nuetral coasting down freeway offramps and hills

This doesn't make sense. I've always read that it takes more gas to stop/start up a car than to leave it running for 15 minutes straight in neutral. In other words, if I was just running into the house for something that would take less than 15 minutes leaving the car running would take less gas than stopping/starting it. Not to mention.....turning your car off/on at any speed....especially in traffic.....is a ridiculously stupid idea.

 

[Tom03es]

If overinflating your tires doesn't balloon the center of the tread section- then what's the benefit of doing this for gas mileage? We all know that pushing a car with flat tires or under-inflated tires is more difficult than pushing a car with properly inflated or over-inflated tires. But why?!?!?! It's because the center section DOES balloon slightly. The whole purpose of over-inflating tires for mileage is to reduce their rolling resistance. How do you think this happens if the tire doesn't balloon? That link has no credibility. And all of its web sources have no credibility either.

 

[L8R]

AC + Windows is just a myth about consuming gas.

 

[sanblaster]

Yeah I have never been sure about a/c gas? Is it true or not and also have been told to put windows down then they tell me it causes friction or some crap causing the vehilce to consume more gas. If it is hot I have the a/c on, cool have the windows down and monroof open, cold have the heater...