What have you done to your P5 today?

[shane02pro5]

8-10mpg romping on it when I was tuning but 30+ cruising...mazda tune not so great at times!

 

[magnumP5]

Currently at 350 miles with a quarter of a tank left. Let's see how far this will go...

 

[THE Phen]

That's about where I am as well. I've been driving it like a grandma. bad tires, no rear sway bar, bad stock springs. No fun.

 

[mx-p5]

i hit 330 and was dang near empty....but managed 25 mpg 100% highway

 

[THE Phen]

I believe the best relative mileage, based on the gauge alone, was around 260 miles at half tank.

 

[magnumP5]

I've often wondered how far I'd be able to go just cruising at 60-65 mph (which appears to be the most efficient speed). My current trip includes a 5 hour drive back from Blacksburg, VA through the mountains of WV going upwards of 75 mph at times. Definitely not the most efficient way to travel so I'm surprise my mileage is what it is. Even so, as it currently stands I'm looking at around 31 mpg. Not bad for a turbocharged car with over 200 whp.

 

[evilmonkeyMSP]

I wonder how much mileage would improve on the highway if the MSP had 6 gears....I get 31-32 mpg as it is lol and thats averaging 80mph

 

[pureliquidhw]

I wonder how much mileage would improve on the highway if the MSP had 6 gears....I get 31-32 mpg as it is lol and thats averaging 80mph

Or just a better 5th gear. 3000 RPM @ 60mph/100kmh is ridiculous.

 

[THE Phen]

That's a good question, although with the 6 speed, they'll probably put the gear ratios closer, leaving you at about the same ratio as your 5th is.

 

[evilmonkeyMSP]

troof

That's a good question, although with the 6 speed, they'll probably put the gear ratios closer, leaving you at about the same ratio as your 5th is.

 

[THE Phen]

Or just a better 5th gear. 3000 RPM @ 60mph/100kmh is ridiculous.

Better than my Civic. 4200 rpm at 80.

 

[Rockin03mp5]

So after spark plugs & wires & atf change, my mpg improved from 16mpg to 20.3 mpg. I guess it's some progress, better than nothing. Or maybe it's just the warmer weather.

it has been a couple months since i changed my plugs and atf. i was getting around 24 mpg. Ive been itching up about .5 mpg every fill, and now i am at around 26. i really hope they change to summer blend soon. last summer i was getting 29-31 mpg. i really want that again.

That's a good question, although with the 6 speed, they'll probably put the gear ratios closer, leaving you at about the same ratio as your 5th is.

yup... that is pretty much what they did with the new 3, at least in the manual version.

 

[magnumP5]

Lower RPM != better mileage in most cases. All combustion engines have a "sweet spot" for efficiency. I actually find 3000 RPM to be a very efficient operating speed. Much better than 2500 RPM or lower where excessive load is required of the engine to accelerate. I think the gearing is actually pretty good...

 

[thecrash91]

got my roof rack removal fill strips yesterday! woo, gonna knock that out today!

 

[Rockin03mp5]

last gear should be a cruising gear. who accelerates in 5th or 6th?

 

[magnumP5]

last gear should be a cruising gear. who accelerates in 5th or 6th?

But every time you downshift to accelerate you are burning more fuel. It is also good to have a little bit of power for passing and being able to maintain speeds going up inclines without mashing on the gas (and burning more fuel). Cruising at 3000 RPM puts you almost at the peak torque RPM.

I don't know, I tested puttering around at around 2000 RPM for a tank and I found I got much worse gas mileage than keeping it around 2500 RPM and above.

Now my truck is completely different. It doesn't like to be above 2500 RPM too much at all and 2000 RPM seems to be the best cruising engine speed.

 

[Rockin03mp5]

yeah, my p5 gets pretty much the same mpg no matter in town or not.

 

[pureliquidhw]

But every time you downshift to accelerate you are burning more fuel. It is also good to have a little bit of power for passing and being able to maintain speeds going up inclines without mashing on the gas (and burning more fuel). Cruising at 3000 RPM puts you almost at the peak torque RPM.

I don't know, I tested puttering around at around 2000 RPM for a tank and I found I got much worse gas mileage than keeping it around 2500 RPM and above.

Now my truck is completely different. It doesn't like to be above 2500 RPM too much at all and 2000 RPM seems to be the best cruising engine speed.

I was thinking about that, and yeah, for the 2.0 2000 would be way low, but if it cruised at 3000RPM @ 70 instead of 60, it would be ideal.

 

[aMaff]

I wonder how much mileage would improve on the highway if the MSP had 6 gears....I get 31-32 mpg as it is lol and thats averaging 80mph

That's a good question, although with the 6 speed, they'll probably put the gear ratios closer, leaving you at about the same ratio as your 5th is.

yep. They did that with the miata 6 speeds. Cruising RPM was pretty much the same, but the 'tweeners' were a lot shorter.

Better than my Civic. 4200 rpm at 80.

Just like the S2k... only the S is a 6 speed. That's the only frustrating thing... why make 6th gear so short? I did the math and, assuming it would push the wind up to that speed, it would top out @ redline in 6th at 167, give or take an MPH. And it's not like it's a transmission that's not an absolute joy to flick a couple gears lower to blow past someone. 3rd gear at 60mph = VTAKZ! Really fun for blowing past someone that's been hogging your lane , especially when they try to keep up.

 

[pureliquidhw]

also, turbo is sitting in my apartment as we speak. Perhaps a half day of work....