Fill your tires to within 90% or so of the max indicated on the tire, fill your tank beyond first shut off and stay under 3300 rpms if you want max gas mileage. Not always fun but that is what it seems to take. And no doubt the fraudulent corn gas mix reduces mpg's.
there could be alot of things that are causing your MPG to be lower then expected. I would consentrate on the "smoking at startup" issue you metioned. That can not be good for the car and means there is something wrong. You most likely have oil getting into somewhere it shouldn't be. I would check the valve cover gasket and head gasket. After that, get some long reach plugs and gap them correctly and install those with new wires. Clean your MAF sensor with the appropriate cleaner as well as your EGR valve. Also do a sea-foam treatment on the engine to help remove any carbon build up in the upper cylinders. Make sure you have a clean air filter, think about installing a new higher flowing one. Inflate your tires properly, even a bit higher then suggested and check them often. A fuel injector cleaner run thru on your next fill up would be a good idea as well. Also many states use a different formula of gas in the winter that will negatively effect MPG's. I get about 30-32 in the summer and about 26-28 in the winter. The colder air temps also effect the MPG's as well as warming the car up before driving when it's cold.
Umm what's the point in cheap premium exactly? A big thing for my car is different brands of gas. I got 22 mpg on bp gas and I normaly get 24-27 on exxon.
Keeping it under 3300rpms won't do anything really you could be at 3500 and I be at 2500 with it to the floor and use the same amount of gas. If you want good gas milage drive like a grandma and keep it tuned up make sure tires are inflated properly and make sure its aligned. Every cars milage will vary due to different engine wear driving habits etc. If you want better than what your getting well there's a prius old honda crx(50+mpg) or a scooter
not really, it has more to do with throttle position then RPM, granted the engine is rotating faster, theres a reason in 5th at 55mph your at like 3.5k rpm (i dont remember how much it is exactly since i have gtx revised gears) but its because it puts you at your peak torque, at peak torque is when your car is most efficient, because it is doing the least amount of work to keep you at whatever speed your at ie. you have to push the pedal down less to keep it at said speed.
He is right... plus the higher your speed the worse your milage is.that's another factor I thought you was talking about accelerating but its the same concept either way. The more throttle you give it the more air goes in and the more fuel it has to give it resualting in bad mpgs. While maintaing a constant speed even above 3300 rpms if you don't have the throttle opened very much it won't allow as much air in resulting in less fuel and better mpgs
I have read on here about the milennia (supercharged) pcv valve reducing the smoking and oil consumption, has anyone else heard of this? The head gasket was done about 30k ago.
Hi. I had the same problem and believe me when I tell you I changed EVERYTHING under the sun to get my mileage up to no avail. Until my mechanic kept telling me my calipers were frozen and would replace them OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN! I said, "It's NOT possible! Are you sure you're installing them correctly?" He kept trying to squeeze the caliper piston back with those special pliers...but that's NOT how it's done on some Mazda's! I even found and printed the section in the Mazda reference guide that explains EXACTLY how to install calipers. He didn't listen. Basically, have them put your car on a lift and spin the rear wheels. They must spin FREELY. If they don't, you're driving with your brakes partially engaged. I can't tell you how many problems I've had because of this! Don't let them tell you otherwise! My thick-headed mechanic STILL doesn't believe me, even though it's written in the F$%K'N MAZDA MANUAL!! I had him loosen a screw that pulls the piston away from the rotor and my mileage shot up! TRY IT AND LET US KNOW! GOOD LUCK!
I have read on here about the milennia (supercharged) pcv valve reducing the smoking and oil consumption, has anyone else heard of this? The head gasket was done about 30k ago.
Its a better option for a Protege with turbo engine. I use the Purolator PV 1047 versus the oem millenia pcv but never had a problem with smoking or consumption. Just noticed some traces of oil on the hoses and haven't had the problem since switching years ago.
i shift between 2500 and 3000. no leaks, no smoke, all stock, new clutch. penzoil platinum oil, millenia pcv, 626 filter, ngk plugs, 90k miles. from what ive read consistently online, official numbers are like 24-25 city, 30ish highway, and 26-27ish mixed. so im in the proper zone and why i call BS on so many 30+mpgs
Do bolt ons really improve gas mileage? I've heard so many different stories about it and wether they do or not I figured this would be a good place to ask. I've heard a lot about intakes doing it but the "cold" air intakes lower the temp of air going into the motor causing more fuel to be needed like the effect of winter correct?
There are some nice graphs here showing the effect of speed vs. MPG for various cars. Bottom line is that one person's "highway" at 80 mph is a lot different from another's at 60mph, in otherwise identical cars.
