New Owner, New Member

jaykeez · Jun 16, 2014

Howdy, ladies and gents...
As of 6/14/2014, I am a proud owner of brand new black-on-black 2014 CX-9 sport 2WD.

I just did a mental count, and this will be my 7th mazda to date. Since 16 yrs old, I've had: 92 Protege, 92 MX-3, 88 RX-7, another 92 (KLZE-swapped) MX-3, 95 MX-6, 04 6 S (still own the MX-6 and 6, but the 6 will be gone soon). I think it is safe to say I am a bit of a fanatic, for better or for worse. And the new CX-9 will be my first automatic car since my very first car, the protege. It's literally been almost a decade since I last owned an auto, so it's definitely going to take some getting used to, to not try to smash my left foot into the floorboard every time i come to a stop =P

So far, I'm loving the car, just needed something a bit more "grown-up". So as you can tell from my car history, it is a pretty big departure from my normal tastes. But when you got three large dogs to lug around, a 2 door coupe isn't going to cut it.

ceric · Jun 16, 2014

Welcome from northern Ca.

Rawyzf · Jun 17, 2014

Welcome!

IgoZoom · Jun 21, 2014

jaykeez said:
Howdy, ladies and gents...
As of 6/14/2014, I am a proud owner of brand new black-on-black 2014 CX-9 sport 2WD.

So far, I'm loving the car, just needed something a bit more "grown-up". So as you can tell from my car history, it is a pretty big departure from my normal tastes. But when you got three large dogs to lug around, a 2 door coupe isn't going to cut it.

Congrats and welcome! The CX-9 is a great car for L.A. traffic- 0-60 in 7.3sec, 60-0 in under 120ft (same as a new BMW 5-series) and a 6-speed automatic that is always ready to downshift 2-3 gears for instant go-power to 'shoot the gap'! It's fit to do battle on 'the 405' and the 'the 101' anytime! =)

I live in Georgia but I visit my cousin is L.A. (Woodland Hills) several times per year. Last fall, we traded her 2008 Lexus GX470 for a new 2014 CX-9 Grand Touring FWD with Tech Package (Liquid Silver w/ Black Leather/Suede) and she loves it! The last time I was out there (in March), I took it for a run thru Topanga Canyon over to Malibu and had no trouble running 70mph+ all the way....if I had tried that in her Lexus, I would have ended up IN Topanga Canyon! =)

jaykeez · Jun 23, 2014

Thank you all for the welcome.
I really am enjoying how the CX-9 drives, even with all the LA traffic I gotta wade through everyday.

One thing I am curious about: what kind of average MPG are people usually getting on these? I'm thinking "18mpg" as the average, when I budget for my fuel bill each month; I do a mix of city and highway driving, city on the weekdays, long distance highway cruising on the weekends (drive down to san diego about once a week).

Brucie66 · Jun 23, 2014

In LA driving, if you have a semi-heavy foot.... No better than 16 mpg. I avg. 22-25 cruising depending on amount of inclines. I have a 2010 AWD GT...

jaykeez · Jun 25, 2014

Bummer. I guess im counting on my highway cruising on the weekends to balance it out. I think based on number of miles driven, I'd say i average about 50/50 city:highway

IgoZoom · Jun 25, 2014

jaykeez said:
Bummer. I guess im counting on my highway cruising on the weekends to balance it out. I think based on number of miles driven, I'd say i average about 50/50 city:highway

I think you will do a bit better than the 16mpg suggested. Brucie66 has a 2010 CX-9 AWD with EPA ratings of 15/21. Mazda tweaked that to 16/22 for 2011-current AWD models.

The 2010 CX-9 FWD was rated at 16/22. The 2011 tweaks bumped that to 17/24. So your 2014 FWD is rated 2mpg higher in the city and 3mpg higher on the highway.

After a few thousand miles of break-in, I think youll be much closer to your 18mpg estimate than 16mpg! On the highway, with the cruise set at 75-78mph I can get 22mpg (without A/C) and just over 20mpg with the A/C on.

I replaced the OE tires (after only 29k miles) with a set of Yokohama YK580s about six weeks ago. By using Orange Oil (as in the fruit) they manage to make them Low-Rolling-Resistance while maintaining or improving Traction, Handling and Longevity. Ive put almost 3k miles on them and have seen an improvement of almost 1mpg overall (0.8mpg to be exact)!

With the OE tires, my average was just over 18 (18.2-18.4mpg) but now I am consistently hitting the 19.0 mark or just over on each tank! =)
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Brucie66 · Jun 25, 2014

Don't get me wrong... I LOVE my CX-9!!! But I can honestly tell ya that stop and go driving in LA as in NYC, sucks the gas on the car. I drive 4500 miles a month and have really learned how to best drive the car. Friendly piece of advise... Set the info screen to watch your mpg's constantly as u first start driving the 9. It's a huge help to really learn how to modulate the throttle.

IgoZoom · Jun 26, 2014

Just curious, in what area of Los Angeles do you live? How long is your daily commute?

If your commute involves the "The 405" or the "The 101", I know that the commute question will be impossible to answer. It's only 26 miles from my cousin's house in Woodland Hills to LAX, but the drive can take 35 minutes or more than two hours- even at the same time, on the same day of the week!

As I mentioned earlier, she has a 2004 CX-9 Grand Touring FWD but her driving is at least 75% on surface streets. She is always running late to pick up one of the kids or rushing to get them to one activity or another. So she always has a heavy foot and accelerates quickly. She is lucky to hit 15mpg average per tank. But in the 2008 Lexus GX470 she had before the CX-9, she was in the low 12s AND it required Premium fuel! But they recently took a 600+ mile round-trip to Big Sur and with her husband driving, it averaged in the mid 19s overall.

I will admit that nothing kills my fuel economy more than getting stuck in stop-and-go gridlock in Atlanta. My CX-9 seems to use more gas idling on the freeway than moving at 80mph!?

Anyway, I'm anxious to hear how you do.

jaykeez · Jun 26, 2014

All things considered, my commute isn't all that bad, and I avoid some of the worst freeways like the ones which you mentioned. I work in downtown, commuting from about 15 miles south but it does take a good 40 minutes on average, staying relatively consistent. It's not that bad, to be honest, as I'm able to cruise between 20-40mph without too many "stop-n-go" situations. I do tend to keep a light foot on the throttle, especially in traffic, being used to driving a stick and avoiding overusing that clutch.

Rawyzf · Jun 26, 2014

We're 50/50 (maybe 55hwy/45city) with our 2011 CX9, avg 20.1mpg over it's 55K miles of life thus far.

IgoZoom · Jun 26, 2014

Rawyzf said:
We're 50/50 (maybe 55hwy/45city) with our 2011 CX9, avg 20.1mpg over it's 55K miles of life thus far.

20.1mpg with AWD is impressive! How often do you use the A/C? The crappy thing about Georgia (just north of Atlanta) is the humidity. Even in cold weather, the A/C is necessary to keep the windows fog-free. I see a significant improvement without the A/C.

BTW, not to be a thread-jacker, but how are those rotors from R1 Concepts working out for you? My front rotors were replaced under warranty at 18k miles (after refusing to allow to just 'resurface' them). The vibration started again after 8k miles (24k miles on the vehicle). Now at just over the 30k mark, it's driving me insane!

Rawyzf · Jun 26, 2014

IgoZoom said:
20.1mpg with AWD is impressive! How often do you use the A/C? The crappy thing about Georgia (just north of Atlanta) is the humidity. Even in cold weather, the A/C is necessary to keep the windows fog-free. I see a significant improvement without the A/C.

BTW, not to be a thread-jacker, but how are those rotors from R1 Concepts working out for you? My front rotors were replaced under warranty at 18k miles (after refusing to allow to just 'resurface' them). The vibration started again after 8k miles (24k miles on the vehicle). Now at just over the 30k mark, it's driving me insane!

Wife drives it 95% of the time and uses the AC often as well as the Heater in the winter. It humid up here as well, nasty sticky.

As for the R1Concepts rotors, love them. 15K miles so far, no issues. If you're looking for a set, they're 20% off right now.

New Owner, New Member

jaykeez

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ceric

Rawyzf

IgoZoom

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jaykeez

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Brucie66

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jaykeez

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IgoZoom

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Brucie66

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IgoZoom

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jaykeez

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Rawyzf

IgoZoom

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