Official: What are your real world MPG Numbers

[ChicksHateMe]

I got that long power-train warranty, so I'll probably still play. It's just too fun to drive like that

I am glad you mentioned you saw it jump from around 1,000 to 5,500 RPM's. I'll watch it but I never really looked cause I didn't feel it, in any way.

You really think it could cause problems though? It's so dang smooth...

 

[Blue hedgehog]

When it happened I felt it. It wasn't smooth at all. If it was 1 gear lower I'm sure I would have floated the valves. I have the extended warrantee also, I just don't feel like having major repairs done that could have been prevented. It was probably a fluke thing, but I'll play it safe.

 

[Ever Victorious]

After 21 tanks, 6 months, and 6695 miles, my hand-calc mileage is 31.23.

Though going into summer, that looks like it will go up a fair amount. I've noticed a big gain with warmer weather (also an alternate commute route I can take that skips a big hill). My last tank was 33.20. That will also probably go up once the kids are out of school and I don't have to make a 6 mile round trip stop-and-go run first thing in the morning.

1.4T, Automatic sedan.

 

[ChicksHateMe]

When it happened I felt it. It wasn't smooth at all. If it was 1 gear lower I'm sure I would have floated the valves. I have the extended warrantee also, I just don't feel like having major repairs done that could have been prevented. It was probably a fluke thing, but I'll play it safe.

If it happened to me, I'd play it safe too. Do you have a tune?, and do you think that would have an effect?

I'm going to keep trying it for a while. hope I don't mess it up. If do, I'll be back to mention it....

 

[ChicksHateMe]

I use fuelly site to track and hand calculate. I've had 6 tank fills and about 1,400 miles now. My MPG per tank has been between 24.6 to 28.6 and I do the same basic driving each time. With what I am reading from others, my numbers seem too low.

There's so many variables, but I wonder if some of these numbers people share are really averages over a tank, or over certain trips.

I did reset the display and did one all highway run, and got around 40 MPG.

I also noticed a 2 mpg increase in last tank, but it could be from weather vs me trying 93 Octane. I think more than likely it was the weather playing a bigger part. But that only got me to 28.6.

Seeing as I drive very little city, I'd just like to see it average above 30 MPG consistently. Without me having to do any extra's like coasting in neutral down hills.

I am thinking about things like;

• Belly Pan
• Basic Tune
• Lighten the load (I carry a lot of toys)
• Check Plug gaps (Though it runs so smooth not sure I should touch it)
• Better tires. (Looking at Continental PureContact with EcoPlus Technology)
• Synthetic Oil on next (first) change.

Not sure which will really help the most and what else I can really do, if anything.

 

[mitdr774]

The biggest way to increase economy is to just slow down. Just because you are driving mostly highway does not mean you are doing it very economicly.

Even with pure city fill ups I only have a handful in the upper 20's, everything else is in the 30's to mid 40's.

 

[ChicksHateMe]

The biggest way to increase economy is to just slow down. Just because you are driving mostly highway does not mean you are doing it very economicly.

Even with pure city fill ups I only have a handful in the upper 20's, everything else is in the 30's to mid 40's.

I looked over your fuelly, and notes. A lot of history there .

I saw you used premium at some points. Do you usually use premium? Did you feel it was worth it, for MPG's, engine care or both?

I also saw notes on different tunes. Seems your numbers went up after a while with the tune. I noticed a few tunes noted too. Basic and Performance. Was it that noticeable to you? And which ones?

Looked like a consistent 5 MPG increase starting mid December 2013. That's wicked good, considering the winter we had. Any Idea's why? Tune? Tires? Different travel route?

Seems you get great numbers considering how much City driving you noted you do. Congrats!

 

[mitdr774]

I use premium for a couple reasons. The least important is the mild bump in economy that my car sees. The main reason is the compression ratio of this engine.

I have played with Trifecta tunes in the car with less than stellar results for performance and no gain in economy. Lately I have been playing with HPT and modifying my stock program to see what I can do

I work construction and there is a big area for where I can be sent to work. For a good chunk of the time I have had the car I was working fairly close to home. In December I was switched to a couple different jobs that involved highway use. That would explain the jump in economy. The current job is 90 miles round trip with about 70 of that being highway. The commute home can sometimes end up with about half of it being stop and go though.

I dont really do anything all that special for economy. The biggest thing is probably my highway speed. I go 60 on the highway. Sure it adds about 5 minutes to my commute to work in the morning, but my car tends to run about 6-8 MPG lower at 70 compared to 60. for me the extra time spent is worth it.

 

[Blue hedgehog]

If it happened to me, I'd play it safe too. Do you have a tune?, and do you think that would have an effect?

I'm going to keep trying it for a while. hope I don't mess it up. If do, I'll be back to mention it....

No tune yet. My extensive mod list is in my sig. :sadbanana: I'm not sure if a tune would help or not.

 

[taketwoaspirin]

I use fuelly site to track and hand calculate. I've had 6 tank fills and about 1,400 miles now. My MPG per tank has been between 24.6 to 28.6 and I do the same basic driving each time. With what I am reading from others, my numbers seem too low.

There's so many variables, but I wonder if some of these numbers people share are really averages over a tank, or over certain trips.

I did reset the display and did one all highway run, and got around 40 MPG.

I also noticed a 2 mpg increase in last tank, but it could be from weather vs me trying 93 Octane. I think more than likely it was the weather playing a bigger part. But that only got me to 28.6.

Seeing as I drive very little city, I'd just like to see it average above 30 MPG consistently. Without me having to do any extra's like coasting in neutral down hills.

I am thinking about things like;

• Belly Pan
• Basic Tune
• Lighten the load (I carry a lot of toys)
• Check Plug gaps (Though it runs so smooth not sure I should touch it)
• Better tires. (Looking at Continental PureContact with EcoPlus Technology)
• Synthetic Oil on next (first) change.

Not sure which will really help the most and what else I can really do, if anything.

I don't know about others, but my averages are all full-tank numbers.

I've tried a couple of those changes and am thinking about a couple of the others; all of them are reasonable to try. You might want to add checking your tire pressure regularly on there as well; my Sonic came from the factory recommending 38psi and I try to keep them at 40-ish, though with the warmer weather I'm at 45 (though still below the 50 the tires are supposedly good for).

I've noticed a larger weather swing than most, I think; my best summer tank was 53mpg, the worst winter tank was 42 driving the same route with the same driving style. Now that the temperature is rising, so is my mileage. I also put 93 octane in every time, but I suppose the change from summer blend to winter blend may affect it as well; there was certainly a large jump in mid-April.

I put full synthetic oil in every time, but since GM specifies at least a blend with synthetic, that didn't seem to make much difference; at least it isn't hurting, and since I'm in this car for a long time, it's worth being overly careful with this (to me). I've also been running LRR snow tires all winter; I noticed a small improvement when I first put them on, but the weather effects are sufficiently large that it is pretty much impossible to analyze that without doing an A-B-A test in a short time. I have a set of those Continentals on my other car, but as I'm not the primary driver of it, my lack of complaints about them isn't a very good review

Others have had good results with the spark plug gaps, but I'm afraid to mess with mine because it's running so well as it is; it seems like I can only make it worse Same thing goes for the tune, though I may give that a try at some point; my biggest hangup is that I don't feel like jeopardizing my warranty just yet.

I'm hoping to get a belly pan and make a grill block for next winter, as driving 20 miles out of a 21 mile commute before the car warms up isn't much fun (yes that did happen a couple of times last winter). So far, the biggest non-weather improvements I got came from getting the engine mostly broken in and changing my route to a shorter but slower road, so that the entire commute is between 30-40 mph (Smit is right, slow down! I should note that I only have the option of the faster road for a couple of miles, so I'm not really giving up much time going the slower way). I also shift by 1500 rpm unless I'm climbing a hill and need the extra power to get up it. I've bought Torque and a bluetooth adapter because having the real-time instrumentation helps me stay focused.

 

[mitdr774]

Just got home from a trip to Chicago are and had some positive results from the trip. Had to run the A/C on the way out so my numbers did suffer a bit headed there, but the return trip was much better.

With A/C use and having to fuel up in Mi, due to not leaving on a full tank and expecting to see insane fuel prices in Illinois, 41.8 for the first stretch (309.5 miles) and the remainder plus most of my around town driving (144.2 miles) came out to 37.0. Not overly impressed with the last stretch but the 20% that was city was very inefficient driving.

The trip home on the other hand was far better. No A/C use, no 1 hour in stop and go to cover a whole 2 miles, and 95-96% highway. I only managed to pull off 51.92 MPG.

 

[sx sonic]

Mitdr- should have hit me up, you probably passed by me.


Oh and mpg wise ive been bouncing around mid 30s all winter.

 

[mitdr774]

I was in Bolingbrook for the Petersen bowling tournament. This was my 6th year to participate with a buddy and his family.


I was very surprised by the results of my return trip. I was really just hoping to beat last years number at a minimum, not beat it by almost 6 MPG.

 

[SuperFudd]

Yesterday I drove 50 miles round trip to a job interview in Livermore, CA and got 35 mpg in the DIC. I live in Union City at ~30 foot altitude. Livermore is at ~500 feet. The route via State 84 (Niles Canyon and Pigeon Pass) is 40 to 50 mph with many twists and turns. The summit at the pass is ~ 1000 feet. Traffic was very light even though the return trip was 5pm - 5:40pm. I hit a couple of lights each way in Livermore and the usual 5 or so thru Union City. The temperature was 95 - 99 F. This was my first Sonic drive on a hot day and the A/C worked fine at fan speed 2. I wish I could have seen the engine temperature. The Sonic (see below) worked perfectly.
:banana:

 

[ChicksHateMe]

Just finished this tanks Fuelly entry. I Finally broke 30 mpg average, but it was a lot of work. Fuelly says 30.9 mpg and dash average said 33.8 mpg. A lot of factors went into just breaking 30 though;

1. I get up to 10 over speed limit, then usually coast to 10 under before I ramp back up. This is on any type decline from near flat to some that allow me to really pick up speed, then coast up incline before I have to go back in gear.

2. Weather has been somewhat warmer.

3. Went back to 87 Octane, and still picked up mpg's. Temps seem same as last tank so I am thinking the Octane didn't do much for me at all.

4. About 70% highway driving overall.

5. I do drive slower overall. Less fun on take-off's, but....

Most trips are always about 24 miles one way, 90% highway. 1,280 feet down to 387 feet, and then back.

I still don't understand why I have to fight so hard to get just over 30 MPG when everyone else seems to do that easily with mostly highway driving. I think if I monitored JUST one trip, I'd get closer to 40, but it seems people get that on average, not just on isolated trips....

I am thinking, with this new tank. I may just drive consistently at the speed limit or only 5 mph over at most. Also no coasting because I read that coasting may still feed engine, where if you let off pedal in gear it cuts off fuel injectors completely, until needed.

I can see that on flat driving, but when I put the car in Neutral, I can feel the drag of the tranny disappear. I coast farther with less noticeable slowing and I can pick up speed on declines faster. So, it's hard for me to believe, with the terrain I drive on, that I save money leaving it in gear. But I will try this tank and see if I notice anything.

 

[SuperFudd]

Try this.
While driving a steady 45mph, reset the DIC mpg. Continue at 45mph for 5+ miles on level road with little or no wind and observe the mpg reading. I get 45mpg at 45mph. See my Sonic below.

 

[Dogz]

Just spent the last 15 minutes working this out.
I'm averaging 32.69 miles per gallon.

In Australia we measure litres per 100 kilometres.
I'm averaging 7.2 litres per 100 kilometres.
There are 3.785 litres in 1 gallon & 1.609 Km's in 1 mile.
Anyone want to check my math.
The fuel I'm using is BP Ultimate which is 98 octane. I'm pretty sure the octane ratings over here are different to your ratings. I think our 98 is the same as your 95.
I think I'm getting pretty good mileage seeing as I don't drive it nicely. I still drive like I'm 18 & just stole the car.

 

[Blue hedgehog]

Here in the US our octane is determined by the (R+M)/2 method. I'm not sure if yours is the same or not.

Understand Octane Rating for Better Do-It-Yourself Auto Maintenance | Cool Rides Online®

 

[Hemplacrosse4]

I almost always average 38-41mpg now a lot of my driving is highway and I do coast to stop lights but I drive the speed limit. One time I did 55mph for 140 miles and got 44mpg. It really just comes down to how ya drive. By the way I have the 1.4

 

[SuperFudd]

I guess my 1.8L engine is starting to break in. I now get 45mpg at 60mph.