This MPG problem is nuts!

[eliminator]

'03 GT 5-speed, stock. Consistantly 21.5, mostly around town, one highway trip @ 23.5. I'm not complaining.

How many of you live in areas that sell reformulated gas? I do (california), and I've noticed in my other cars that milage goes up nearly 2 mpg when I leave the state and fill up with REAL gasoline. Yes, I'm serious, up to 2mpg less fuel economy with california fuel, compared to out-of-state fuel. I suspect that many urban area have the same crappy fuel we're stuck with here.

[Sci-Fi]

Just before your next (long) highway trip, try disconnecting your battery for a few minutes to reset the computer back to default settings. Then use the cruise control extensively or as much as possible. Another possibility is that the gas that you are using or is available in your area/state has a high percentage of ethyl alcohol or ethanol (more than 7%) to meet winter emissions standards. That would lower your gas mileage anywhere from 2-3 mpg.

[8)]

[RallyDRock]

It will give you better mpg with A/C on and windows up on highway, than windows down a/c off. surprising but true, dont beleive me give it a try.

[crazyjoe]

Arthur,

If you think it's the car or the gas, try this experiment that I tried. It might just convince you (As it did me) that the problem is not the vehicle or the gas, but your driving style.

Our freeways are pretty corwded in Michigan, and I try to drive to and from work during the smoother traffic times (ie before 8am or after 9am going to, and either 4pm or 6pm to come home). I tried to stay with the flow of traffic, not punching it a lot, but going between 60 and 70 the whole way there and back.

With our cars, and the auto tranny, this will kill you. With our cars, we have a lockup torque converter that makes the transmission much more efficient at transmitting power during freeway driving. But, if you are constantly on and off the throttle, even just a little bit, it will unlock a good deal of the time, and you are left with a much less efficient delivery of power (through clutches and transmission fluid).

I used to get about 19 - 20mpg on the freeway, and I was PISSED because my brother could get 18mpg in his explorer, and it has more power, more hauling space, and coudl be driven in 4WD. So, I tried the following for one tank of gas:

When I got on the freeway, as long as it wasn't bumper to bumper, I would get inthe middle lane and set my cruise at about 2mph lower than the guy in front of me, but still within the freeway speed range. Typically, this meant about 62mph. For 25 miles each way I would do this as much as possible, braking when I needed to to stay safe, and re-aplying the cruise when possible.

My mpg went up to 26!!! Now, this included one longer trip on completely uncrowded freeways, so I tried it again. I got 24mpg doing my regular freeway commutes. Now, I set the cruise most of the time, and do normal driving other times, so I get between 22 and 23mpg. Not superb, but certainly better than 19! When I first bought the car I rant it out of gas before 300 miles on one tank! I was pissed, because I knew that meant less than 19mpg! Now I know I can consistently go to 320 miles per tank with no worries.

Try it. It might do wonders for your opinion of the car. It will also make your drive more relaxing, since you have to learn to ignore a lot of ****ty drivers instead of getting pissed off and trying to run them down (not that I ran anyone down, but I would get pissed off and box them in or do other crap to annoy them back). So your blood pressure will come down, too

[TaylorMade]

Ill just chime in for mx-5 or whoever else tells us this all the time but... refill your gas tank at the 1/4 tank line. Something about the fuel pump and whatnot. Ive heard that gas mileage peaks at 65 mph, and that keeping the rpms at one place for an extended time helps gas mileage alot. I now keep the cruise at 65 while on the freeway.

[Musicman]

Just my $.02. I have an '03 GT with Stage 1. This summer we took a trip from Wisconsin to Colorado and back. We were pretty well loaded with two weeks worth of travel stuff and then purchases along the way. I even brought back 4 cases of Fat Tire. Kind of like a mini Smokey and the Bandit run! We average just a tic over 25 mpg for the trip. The highest was 32 and the lowest was 23. I even saw 29+ in the mountains. The Stage 1 was done two weeks b4 the trip, but certainly didn't hurt anything. Driving the mountains with the autostick was fantastic. I love it when I get good mileage on a tank, but I also like the power and performance our GT delivers. I know I can get only 16+ rodding around town, but with a careful foot and even 75mph+ you can see good mileage. Happy Holidays.

[amazingarthur]

Y'all ain't gonna believe this.

Someone on this thread mentioned I should try to keep it around 60mph with the cruise.

Just got back from a 224 mile hwy trip, cruise set at about 61-63mph. Just filled up with 7.0 gallons. I hit an unbelievable 32mpg.

Weird, huh? Maybe I am calculating this wrong. That is WAY higher than anything I've done before. This was all hwy, no interstate speeds like 75mph and very little streetlight action.

Thanks for the advice, this would have been more helpful when I was paying $2/gal a few weeks ago.

[robinjoe]

Arthur, how are you calculating you MPG? There are many methods, some more ccurate than others. Some methods can be grossly innaccurate.

[Gary04GT]

quote:Originally posted by AA PT
...because having the windows down screwed up the aerodynamic by creating turbulance and drag within the vehicle...

Keeping the windows closed should help some with the gas mileage. [|)]

For some reason on my 04GT/Autostick I am getting much better fuel economy than I did on my 03GT/5-Speed. It is at the high end of what I've seen posted on the forums.

My "best ever" gas mieleage was obtained a week before STAGE 1 was installed on my car: http://www.ptcruiserlinks.com/forum/...GT,gas,mileage

I'm not sure why [:I] I've obtained such excellent fuel ecomomy at highway speeds but I believe the following factors may have contributed to it:

1. Meticulous break-in of my new turbo engine. I followed "every rule in the book" including keeping the RPMs 4000 or less for the first 1000 miles of operation.

2. Some engines are machined/made to tighter tolerances than others. This was certainly the case with the two GT turbo cars that I have owned.

3. I'm not sure if the brand of gas makes any difference in fuel economy, however, I use exclusively Cheveron Supreme 92 octane gasoline with Techron (engine-cleaning additive).

4. Maybe, I am just plain lucky!???

BTW, I have kept very careful fuel records on my car and fill the tank only until the shut-off value comes on--no more, no less. Thus, I can say without a doubt that my gas mileage figures are accurate/correct. [8]

[taikuchin]

quote:Originally posted by Gary04GT

... I'm not sure if the brand of gas makes any difference in fuel economy, however, I use exclusively Cheveron Supreme 92 octane gasoline with Techron (engine-cleaning additive).


BTW, I have kept very careful fuel records on my car and fill the tank only until the shut-off value comes on--no more, no less. Thus, I can say without a doubt that my gas mileage figures are accurate/correct [8]

Not necessarily...Best way for accurate measurement is to average over several tanks full, the more the better. Not sure the shut off valve is very accurate.

I agree re chevron, it's probably the best for fuel injected cars. Been using it since day one & 54k miles later still getting 27-32 mpg on the highway (turbo upgrades if anything improved mileage a bit).