Why am I getting such good gas mileage compared to 95% of the people on this site?

I do not baby my car, redlining it at least twice a day. I do take good care of it.

My mileage, at the 30,000 mile mark has actually improved.

I am posting this now because I was thinking about MAYBE buying the new Volkswagen TDI Bluetec Diesel Jetta as a possible 2nd car, but that would be financial suicide, and is just a result of me obsessing over rumors that it will attain 50mpg on the highway/38mpg in the city, with the same heft of the normal Jetta, albeit with a 8 gallon barrel of urea (a byproduct of ****) strapped underneath (to control soot and particulate emissions, I believe).

[Spoiler - Acura is planning on unveiling a no-urea needed diesel that is PZEV compliant next year]


So, I'm getting between 280 and 300 miles per 13.5 gallon refill, which works out to between 20.74 to 22.22 miles to the gallon, and this is probably 60% city, on average.

I have a 2005 6MT.

If I purchased a car like the Jetta TDI Bluetec, it would cost 27k+, and I'd have to drive a lot of miles to break even over the replacement cost of my car, which has been mechanically and otherwise perfect in every way (I have not been to a dealership in 3 years as of this September 30th).

I've read tons of posts of people buying Mazda3s, Corollas, Civics, complaining that they're not breaking 25mpg in the city or 30mpg on the highway.

Why would I want to sacrifice so much driving fun to gain ?maybe 7-9mpg??? And at what cost?

I must have gotten one of the most fuel efficient 8s ever produced.

 

I get about the same... I avg about 18-19MPG city and 22-24MPG highway (depending how fast I go).

This is with an exhaust and underdrive pulley. I guess some people just love to drive it really hard. I only push it when I'm on an open road, not at every stop light.

 

You are lucky indeed.

On 95% highway mileage I get some 240 miles to my tank.

When I do any more mixed city driving such as 50/50.. its suicide for my mpg and I can barely hit 200.

 

Not relevant to my original post, but I fully expect gas prices (and oil prices) to come way down pretty much coinciding with the end of the '08 Olympic Games (for a wide variety of reasons).

If my thesis is correct, anyone stealing a new pickup now will feel brilliant, and anyone overpaying for a Prius or other hyper-mileage car will feel burned, soon.

 

a LOT of it has to do with where you are located. What altitude you are at, temperature, hills etc... When I drove in Colorado for instance I would get better gas mileage than at sea level California..

I wonder if i can strap my cat to my car and pass smog?

 

Mate, I could not agree more, I too have been saying for 18 months that the world is in for a shock after the games, gas will drop dramatically and the China economy will slow, taking the rest of the world with it.

 

i get 20mpg in the city and 25-26mpg on the highway.

2005 mt.

but then again, i also have an accessport. :P

 

I kept asking my self the same question as the OP. I don't baby mine, it doesn't matter if i do 40% highway / 60% city or 60% highway / 40% city. I always get the same gas mileage. I live in Tallahassee, Fl. Humid as hell, and stays in the summer around 90-95 degrees, it has quite a few hills though. I get on average 21.5 mpg.

 

'09 Mazda RX-8 window sticker will likely not help sales. It says 16 city and 22 hwy. No mention of "Fun to Drive" factor.

 

I typically get 22+ and I don't baby mine either. When they started 10% ethanol it dropped, but lately I've been keeping my speed down to 55 when just driving back and forth to school, with fun driving on the weekends. Last tank I got 22.5 mpg, the speed, especially on two lane roads where you're on and off the throttle really impacts the fuel economy.

 

Glad that 10% **** isn't here.

 

Yeha I agree I think that soon(not sure exactly when) the prices are goin to drop significantly i mean maybe not down to under a dollar like we have seen before but down in the 2 dollar range which woud b nice so everying that wasted all that money selling cars to get 50mpg now are just driving a stupid non fun car and still getting the same mileage

 

I always use Speedway gas. I have no idea if this has anything to do with my mileage. I doubt it.

FWIW, Speedway gas is actually one of the few that is NOT cross-hauled - meaning you get the same grade and detergent package with every gallon.

 

Here's some data I collected recently on my 2004 4AT GT Sport w/ 13,000 miles.

All data is pure highway (1 to 3 stops - pee/coffee/food breaks) 70-80mph.



My city mpg is in the dumps... about 2/3 of what I get on the highway. I'm happy to get 200 miles to a tankful.

I'd love to see a drop in gas prices but a correlation to the olympics in China escapes me. I recognize China sucks down a ton of oil, but wuz the connection to the games?

 

I was going to sell my 8 and buy a Nissan Xterra because of the crazy incentives they have now (26.7k Xterra for 16.7k) but changed my mind.

Anyways, I just got the best mileage ever on 89 octane, with 50/50 city highway, and the A/C on almost constantly - 318 miles on 13.5 gallons.

That's just about 24mpg, and I didn't exactly baby it (I didn't drive crazily, either).

I must have gotten the hybrid 8 and not known it. I'll try and find the electric motor sometime tonight.




...

 

The Chinese governmnt subsidizes their domestc gas prrices rather heavily to help drive their industrialization in general. Word is they will stop this once the Olympics are over. Supposedly they don't want to incite any domestic unrest prior to the games. But they've already started to phase down their subsidization over the past year or so and it may still be a gradual process and half of their oil supply is domestic anyway so, hope I'm wrong, but I don't expect a gas price miracle.

 

It's an interesting thesis that's for sure and I have to admit you're working from information / knowledge that is a bit beyond me.

I like the lower gas price part... a slower global economy doesn't excite me much considering we rely on it just as much as China or any of the other big players.

 

Even doing 90% highway driving (80mph, CC on most of the time), I can't break 260 miles per tank. Even with premium. I do about 230 miles per tank in the city.

05 6MT 23k miles

 

put in a tank of 87 oct. pull the room fuse.. keep it below 75mph on the hi way..

get back to me.. i break the 340 mark..

and i live near your town.

beers

 

swoope, forgive my ignorance, but is the room fuse? I'm getting good mileage, but not 340 per tank.

 

Interesting thoughts guys, I agree that I feel the price will keep going down for a little while, but I think this has more to do with the upcoming election and more strick policies about commodities trading surfacing.

 

The pollution over in China is worse than LA on a bad day, hence their population. China's industry is shut down temporarily until the Olympics ends, which may be four to six weeks (something to do with air quality harming the games). So, within that time frame, expect the price of the barrel to drop below $100, which I am sure it will.

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au...014197,00.html

 

China has been stockpiling gas for months because of the games, in case there is a gas shortage while the games are on.
I think the price of oil will drop after the games.

 

whoa rotoRocket, do you premix with some sort of friction less lubercant? or use a magical motor oil other than 5w20s? or is it the secret mods that are out there which claims the government is keeping from us?

I guess the guys at the factory built yours with alot of love...

I get 17mpg every time with 30%city /70% highway 91 shell v-power, and I dont granny nor beat it up(I do redline it entering the highway), and I try novice hypermiling techniques where I possibly can.
Must be the 106 degrees we get down here...

 

remove the fuse panel cover. it is listed. it is the one on the bottom if i recall..

it will reset you fuel trims. it is easier than pulling the battery..

give 87 a shot for a tank. pull the fuse after you fill up. it will also erase you trip mileage #s.

beers