- :
- Mazda, Protege5 2002
not to forget to mention that the insurance will be 400 more a year ofr a newer vehicle.
Real World MPG numbers?
- Thread starter jesus_man
- Start date
not to forget to mention that the insurance will be 400 more a year ofr a newer vehicle.
- :
- -- 03 P5 / 23 CX-5 --
Wouldn't really be concerned with the insurance part. I'm 50, clean driving record & still doing full coverage on the P5 now so that wouldn't be that much different...for the high mpg cars that were being considered. Corolla, Yaris, Mazda 2, Fiesta, Elantra, etc. The wife's 2010 Genesis Coupe is 2 door sports car and ins didn't change from her 07 RAV4 much at all if any. We aren't even paying 2000 yr for full coverage on '03 P5, '10 GC & '05 Tacoma combined.
tweety2300
Member
- :
- 2001 mazda protege mp3
Ha I'm 19 bad driving record everything is in fiances name I was 17 payin 170 a month for liability for my 240sx before I got any tickets. Bein young sucks
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- -- 03 P5 / 23 CX-5 --
No it doesn't...................and you won't be young sooner than you'll know so enjoy it. Just yesterday I was young too but that was actually 30+ yrs ago, lol.
SocialStealth
Member
- :
- 2002 Mazda Protege ES, 120k miles
In my experience, Hiking up your MPG has more to do with your driving habits than it does mods.
I've tested out a few different driving 'methods', and noticed that with a few simple changes, I go from 25 mpg to 33 mpg.
#1, shift at 2.5k revs. (this might take some practice, as shifting into below 2k revs may bog down the engine, and completely ruin any chance you had at getting a better MPG. At the same time, giving it too much gas and reving the engine up while you shift wastes gas as well)
#2, accelerate slowly. Pretty self explanatory. Try putting as little pressure as possible on the gas petal to get you going.
#3, drive at a constant speed. Have a steady foot. If you find yourself speeding up and slowing down, then your using more gas than you need to.
#4, the most important of all: coast to a stop/slow down, and time traffic lights. This is 10x more important than everything I've mentioned above. Whenever you press on the brakes, your wasting gas.
The rotation of the wheels will actually keep the engine going when your coasting (you have to leave the car in gear). I think I've noticed that it switches out from this mode into neutral at around 1.5k revs (so you can take it out of gear after 1.5k revs).
If your a master at shifting, you can put it down into a lower gear at this point, and continue your gas saving, but be warned that this will put additional wear on your transmission (something anyone with less than a third gen 2002.5 should be very concerned about).
Timing stop lights is easier than you think.
Personally, I know the timings for each stop light on my daily commute, but you don't have to memorize them all to take advantage of them.
If you see a red light ahead, don't continue at a constant speed. You should start coasting, so that you slow down slowly (by using the rotation of the wheels to run the engine). Time this slow-down correctly, and you SHOULD get to the light after it turns green. You never want to get to a light when its red, because then you have to stop, and as we all know by now, stopping is MPG's worst enemy.
The highest I've gotten with town/city driving is 35 mpg. The highest I've gotten with highway is 36 mpg.
Using these methods/tips, you should be able to get low/mid 30's 'town' driving.
Another note on MPG:
If anyone has seen Myth Busters, they had an episode on trailer myths. One was; if you tailgate a truck on the highway, then you'll decrease a huge amount of wind resistance, and get better gas mileage.
This, turned out to be true. The results were (rounded, i don't remember the exact numbers, but these are still very close)
(this was traveling at 55 mph)
100 feet behind truck: +15%
50 feet behind truck: +30%
30 feet behind truck: +40%
10 feet behind truck: +50%
The % is your increase in gas mileage.
The MINIMUM safe driving distance behind a truck, traveling at 55 mph, is 150 feet. This gives you 2 seconds of reaction time.
Tailgating a truck about 50 feet behind it will give you around 43-47 mpg on the highway at 55 mph.
However, its very dangerous to do. Similar results might be achieved by tailgating cars (the study was done with trailer trucks).
Keep in mind that after 50 feet, your completely in the truck driver's blind spot! Driving like this is basically suicidal! Not to mention illegal!
Edit: If you have an automatic, then sorry. lol.
I've tested out a few different driving 'methods', and noticed that with a few simple changes, I go from 25 mpg to 33 mpg.
#1, shift at 2.5k revs. (this might take some practice, as shifting into below 2k revs may bog down the engine, and completely ruin any chance you had at getting a better MPG. At the same time, giving it too much gas and reving the engine up while you shift wastes gas as well)
#2, accelerate slowly. Pretty self explanatory. Try putting as little pressure as possible on the gas petal to get you going.
#3, drive at a constant speed. Have a steady foot. If you find yourself speeding up and slowing down, then your using more gas than you need to.
#4, the most important of all: coast to a stop/slow down, and time traffic lights. This is 10x more important than everything I've mentioned above. Whenever you press on the brakes, your wasting gas.
The rotation of the wheels will actually keep the engine going when your coasting (you have to leave the car in gear). I think I've noticed that it switches out from this mode into neutral at around 1.5k revs (so you can take it out of gear after 1.5k revs).
If your a master at shifting, you can put it down into a lower gear at this point, and continue your gas saving, but be warned that this will put additional wear on your transmission (something anyone with less than a third gen 2002.5 should be very concerned about).
Timing stop lights is easier than you think.
Personally, I know the timings for each stop light on my daily commute, but you don't have to memorize them all to take advantage of them.
If you see a red light ahead, don't continue at a constant speed. You should start coasting, so that you slow down slowly (by using the rotation of the wheels to run the engine). Time this slow-down correctly, and you SHOULD get to the light after it turns green. You never want to get to a light when its red, because then you have to stop, and as we all know by now, stopping is MPG's worst enemy.
The highest I've gotten with town/city driving is 35 mpg. The highest I've gotten with highway is 36 mpg.
Using these methods/tips, you should be able to get low/mid 30's 'town' driving.
Another note on MPG:
If anyone has seen Myth Busters, they had an episode on trailer myths. One was; if you tailgate a truck on the highway, then you'll decrease a huge amount of wind resistance, and get better gas mileage.
This, turned out to be true. The results were (rounded, i don't remember the exact numbers, but these are still very close)
(this was traveling at 55 mph)
100 feet behind truck: +15%
50 feet behind truck: +30%
30 feet behind truck: +40%
10 feet behind truck: +50%
The % is your increase in gas mileage.
The MINIMUM safe driving distance behind a truck, traveling at 55 mph, is 150 feet. This gives you 2 seconds of reaction time.
Tailgating a truck about 50 feet behind it will give you around 43-47 mpg on the highway at 55 mph.
However, its very dangerous to do. Similar results might be achieved by tailgating cars (the study was done with trailer trucks).
Keep in mind that after 50 feet, your completely in the truck driver's blind spot! Driving like this is basically suicidal! Not to mention illegal!
Edit: If you have an automatic, then sorry. lol.
Last edited:
tweety2300
Member
- :
- 2001 mazda protege mp3
I don't mind being young just annoying that I can go to war and die but can't drink a beer...legally
tweety2300
Member
- :
- 2001 mazda protege mp3
To anybody getting 30+ mpgs can you please list your mods and avg mpgs? I'm wondering if some mods affect the gas milage any at all or alot
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- -- 03 P5 / 23 CX-5 --
See post #20..........
I drive 57 miles each way for work. Most of it is interstate or 4-lane highway. My P5 is a 2003 manual trans with 145,000 miles on it. I average 32 mpg. I check frequently. On the hwy portion of my drive which is about 25 miles I cruise around 66-67 mph. On the interstate I cruise around 70 or just over.
keeping your tires over inflated might help with the added mpg, but it would surprise me if your tires didn't wear in the middle sooner. you might have spent that savings on new tires. I suppose the recommended tire pressure for any car is a balance between gas mileage and tire wear. Also, the friction between tire and asphalt causes the tires to warm up, and in turn the air in the tires expand. So, if you were putting 40 PSI in your tires, than you really had a lot more in them after driving on the highway.
Ahh, but less friction, less heat, less expansion. Just playing the devils advocate...
