Wow, so i've never come even close to running out. I usually fill shortly after the gas light comes on and the most i've ever put is is around 12 gallons.
Gmac
Ms3 Mpg
- Thread starter CHICO2003
- Start date
Wow, so i've never come even close to running out. I usually fill shortly after the gas light comes on and the most i've ever put is is around 12 gallons.
Gmac
oaklandopen
Member
and life's too poor to not care about mpg. although on the other hand you could say "then why not buy a yaris instead if life's too poor"
personnally i'm still a little confused about my mpg's. the other week i attempted to do a whole tank w/out boost and staying under 3k rpms. what i found was i had gotten WORSE gas mileage. this weeks im still driving normally (as in not flooring it and taking it to redline), only really boosting from stoplights or up hills, and im getting better gas mileage
the only thing i can think of is that even though i was keeping the rpms down before, and i wasn't accellerating very quickly, the engine was straining more. it's not a V8, it's a 4cyl, and 4cyls need higher rpms to keep the strain down on the engine.
Speed3ForMe
Member
- :
- 2008.5 CWP Mazdaspeed 3
Interesting because I've been doing the same and my MPG have gone up. I got 29.7 miles to the gallon on my last fill up. I made it to 400 miles on that tank.
M
my3needsaname
To go way back to the OP, I'm disappointed with my mileage too. 19.5 average every tank? WTF?
When I bought it, I got like 23 average. Now I'm all the way down to 19.5? For the smallness of the engine and power it has that's just unacceptable.
I found that out ^^^^^ the hard way...and I still only get 19.5 average.
When I bought it, I got like 23 average. Now I'm all the way down to 19.5? For the smallness of the engine and power it has that's just unacceptable.
I found that out ^^^^^ the hard way...and I still only get 19.5 average.
I have an 09 MS3 GT and i have noticed alot less mileage per tank since its been cold, i drive city/highway combined 5 days a week..roughly 50 miles round trip per day. If i don't get on it to pass someone i can usually make it all five days without stopping for gas on day 5 on the way home...but the cold air has really cut that down quite a bit. Keep in mind that i put gas in as soon as the light comes on, I think its about 11.5 to 12 gallons to fill it up when the light comes on. My Shift points are at 3-3500k..im using Shell 93 Oct. and the car is stock except for the Eibach Springs..it seemed like it got worse after i lowered it but the tempature dropped alot at the same time, my car has about 3700 miles on it right now! Hopefully it will improve, but i think these cars are just pigs when it comes to gas consumption. My 02 GTI 1.8T with full bolt ons and Apr computer got way better gas mileage then this car. although the amount of HP/torque was quite a bit less it was almost as fun and gas mileage was never a concern.
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oaklandopen
Member
^^^when it's colder the air is more dense, and this results in more fuel being sprayed into the combustion chamber. also, there are different types of gas used in the winter and summer, and those will affect gas mileage
Super Unique
Member
- :
- 2008.5 Mazdaspeed 3 Black Mica
I am happy to average 25mpg each and every tank recently, even in the winter, running winter grade fuel. Granted, I live in florida, but we had some cold snaps, and the gas is still winter blend like the rest of the east coast.
good enough for me, considering my last vehicle got 9mpg, 25 is great!
good enough for me, considering my last vehicle got 9mpg, 25 is great!
im gotten my car down to the havin gthe light on for atleast 20 miles. and when i filled it back up, i could barely get 12gals in
M
my3needsaname
How the heck do you do that?!?!?!?!? My damn 3 only gets 19.5 average recently and no matter how slow or fast or in between I drive, it just sucks right there. What's really annoying is when it was new (7 months ago), I got like 23 average.
Super Unique
Member
- :
- 2008.5 Mazdaspeed 3 Black Mica
admittedly my commute is mostly highway miles, although congestion does make it turn into stop and go quite a bit. Orlando highways are very overcrowded during morning commutes.
I've been utilizing some hypermiling techniques lately... you know, putting it in neutral whenever possible to coast... always keeping it in the highest gear I can and not going over 3.5k rpms... turning the engine off while stuck in traffic or coasting down a long hill. I'm now getting 50mpg so, even though I'm driving it like a medicated geriatric, I think it's worth it.
yeah... and I'm also full of s***. I tried some of that crap (minus the turning off the engine while driving crap... people actually do that though!! tha'ts just nuts!) and it basically made little-to-no difference. I've since just been driving it like 'normal'. I'm in the 22-25mpg range and am satisfied with that. As is the case with any negative and/or annoyance with this car... the good outweighs the bad.
yeah... and I'm also full of s***. I tried some of that crap (minus the turning off the engine while driving crap... people actually do that though!! tha'ts just nuts!) and it basically made little-to-no difference. I've since just been driving it like 'normal'. I'm in the 22-25mpg range and am satisfied with that. As is the case with any negative and/or annoyance with this car... the good outweighs the bad.
I just finished a tank using some "good mileage" techniques: skip shifting, stay out of boost, 65mph max on the expressway (yes, right lane only) I calculated mileage the only reasonably accurate way to do it, which is recording mileage between fill-ups, and recording the amount of gas used to fill the tank, then dividing the number of miles between fill ups by the number of gallons used to fill up. I used my GPS to verify the mileage, as the odometer (on my car) is off by just a bit. Also, I only used the MS3 for commuting to/from work, and my commute is exactly 29% city, 71% highway.
I reset the average mileage calculation when I filled up. When I filled up yesterday, the car computer says I got 28.8 mpg average for the previous tankful. The manual calculation method however says I averaged 25.383 mpg, which is the best I have ever gotten for commuting; this does not include highway-only road trips. I haven't had a chance yet to review all of my other fill-ups (yes, I'm one of those geeks who has a spreadsheet for everything) but I'm guessing it is about a 4mpg improvement over my typical commuter mpg. BTW, my car is completely stock except for the engine mount insert.
FWIW, based on the factory numbers of 18 city and 26 highway, my commute should get me an average of 23.68mpg (18 x 0.29) + (28 x 0.71).
I reset the average mileage calculation when I filled up. When I filled up yesterday, the car computer says I got 28.8 mpg average for the previous tankful. The manual calculation method however says I averaged 25.383 mpg, which is the best I have ever gotten for commuting; this does not include highway-only road trips. I haven't had a chance yet to review all of my other fill-ups (yes, I'm one of those geeks who has a spreadsheet for everything) but I'm guessing it is about a 4mpg improvement over my typical commuter mpg. BTW, my car is completely stock except for the engine mount insert.
FWIW, based on the factory numbers of 18 city and 26 highway, my commute should get me an average of 23.68mpg (18 x 0.29) + (28 x 0.71).
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Hypermiling won't get you any 50MPG with an MS3, LOL, but it will increase your mileage a lot. I know, because I've watched it as I've driven 76,000 miles now under all kinds of conditions. It boils down to a few simple things: low revs, very gentle acceleration, keep the speed low, stay off the brakes and gas and coast as much as you can. Also, these cars get MUCH better mileage at 45 or 50 MPH than they do at 65 or more.
Yes, the trip computer will be about 3 to 3.5 MPG too high, and the error is worse the more gently you drive (the more you try to save gas). I could say a lot more, but I don't have time to type all that crap.
Yes, the trip computer will be about 3 to 3.5 MPG too high, and the error is worse the more gently you drive (the more you try to save gas). I could say a lot more, but I don't have time to type all that crap.
M
my3needsaname
I wouldn't slowly accelerate in anything with less than 6 cylinders or a boatload of torque. The speeds can't even quality for this. You use more gas slowly accelerating in these things because it's putting the engine under more strain, it only has 4 cylinders, it's not like a V6 or V8 here. So if you accelerate in first hitting a maximum of 2500-3000RPM then you'll actually get better mileage than accelerating slowly.
Update on my fuel mileage as I'm kind of running a test right now;
The last tank prior to the one I just filled up from I got the worst gas mileage I've had yet at 16.8 MPG. However I think the weather has more to do with our mileage than our driving habits. I tanked up with the same Shell V-power 91 at the same station and at the same pump even, to the first click each time.
Gas consumed: 50 Litres (50/3.78 = 13.2 gallons)
Distance covered: 359 Kilometers (222 miles)
222/13.2 = 16.81 MPG, bloody awful
average temperature = approx. -19 C
driving habit: Shifting at ~2500rpm, light driving (too cold to push it)
I then decided lets do an RPM shifting test on mileage, and my results below show that obviously the weather has more of an effect than RPM (engine load probably doesnt change much and thats probably more involved in fuel consumption)
Gas consumed: 46 Litres (50/3.78 = 12.2 gallons)
Distance covered: 385 Kilometers (239 miles)
239/12.2 = 19.59 MPG, meets expectations
average temperature = approx. -8, warmer than before
driving habit: Shifting at ~2900-3100 rpm, heavier foot (dry roads ftw)
Interesting but the weather is throwing off my experiment. Can't prove anything other than the weather being way more at fault for lousy gas mileage. I'm currently doing a low rpm test on this tank, shifting at ~2200 rpm but I find that difficult especially in traffic with the low gearing in this car.
The last tank prior to the one I just filled up from I got the worst gas mileage I've had yet at 16.8 MPG. However I think the weather has more to do with our mileage than our driving habits. I tanked up with the same Shell V-power 91 at the same station and at the same pump even, to the first click each time.
Gas consumed: 50 Litres (50/3.78 = 13.2 gallons)
Distance covered: 359 Kilometers (222 miles)
222/13.2 = 16.81 MPG, bloody awful
average temperature = approx. -19 C
driving habit: Shifting at ~2500rpm, light driving (too cold to push it)
I then decided lets do an RPM shifting test on mileage, and my results below show that obviously the weather has more of an effect than RPM (engine load probably doesnt change much and thats probably more involved in fuel consumption)
Gas consumed: 46 Litres (50/3.78 = 12.2 gallons)
Distance covered: 385 Kilometers (239 miles)
239/12.2 = 19.59 MPG, meets expectations
average temperature = approx. -8, warmer than before
driving habit: Shifting at ~2900-3100 rpm, heavier foot (dry roads ftw)
Interesting but the weather is throwing off my experiment. Can't prove anything other than the weather being way more at fault for lousy gas mileage. I'm currently doing a low rpm test on this tank, shifting at ~2200 rpm but I find that difficult especially in traffic with the low gearing in this car.
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I checked my mpg again last night with ye ol calculator and paper method. 27.06.... mpg My lil computer reads 27.0
All is good
I really don't seem to notice a drop with the cold like everyone says. And If I remember my chemistry righ, in the winter we should get better performance anyway. Air is more dense => more air being pulled in for combustion. Tires are cold and the rubbers is harder => less friction. Air is colder, => engine cools more efficiently
I really don't understand what all the fuss about millage dropping in the winder is all about.
All is good
I really don't seem to notice a drop with the cold like everyone says. And If I remember my chemistry righ, in the winter we should get better performance anyway. Air is more dense => more air being pulled in for combustion. Tires are cold and the rubbers is harder => less friction. Air is colder, => engine cools more efficiently
I really don't understand what all the fuss about millage dropping in the winder is all about.
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I don't really understand it either, but all cars get much much worse mileage in the winter than in warmer climates.
My old car would go from getting 500k per tank to 350k per tank in the frigid months, my speed3 goes from 22 mpg to 16.8, and my father's truck goes from 15 mpg to 7 mpg....yeah SEVEN.....ouch.
Yes the air is denser but to maintain the proper ratio more fuel goes in too. Also, all the fluids (differential fluid, tranmission fluid, and engine oil) all thicken up and freeze and become resistors to the engine, burning even more fuel. When it all warms up its probably ok again, like on the highway, but during the first few miles I can actually watch the gas gauge fall on my MS3.
At -30 if I start the car and lift off the clutch pedal in neutral the car will actually stall because the gear oil is frozen solid. I have to let it idle for about 10 seconds and slowly release the clutch and then you can hear the engine going under load while it turns neutral. Shifting into second is pretty crunchy while she's warming up, too.
Not my experience. Your 3 is N/A, MS3 is turbo. The slower you go, the better the mileage readout shows as well. I drove to Hatteras last summer and most of it was 40 to 50MPH, and I got measured mileage of about 32.5MPG and trip computer said 36. I also drove 256 miles on a half tank when I usually only get 190 to 210. As I remember, the trip computer indicated the highest mileage was over 40 in 6th on flat ground at 40MPH, but this was also true at 35MPH in 5th -- not what I expected. I don't like running that slow; afraid of lugging the engine and trannsmission below 1700 or 1800 RPM.
My worst mileage was 8MPG at the track. Right at 12 gallons used in 98 miles.
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MikeHTally
Member
- :
- 2008.5 Speed3, 2006 Chrysler 300C, 2003 Ram 1500
Poorer mileage in winter may be the ethanol we're forced to feed 'em.
