EPA to Lower Fuel Economy Ratings for 2008

[gksspot]

About F'n time, I hate how cars say that they get this certain gas mileage then dont come close. I heard the Toyota Prius claims something like 56 mpg fwy but real world driving people get upper 30s/lower 40s.

Ive experienced it many times before. Recently I drove from So Cal to SLC. Cruise Control 95% of the time at 80 mph. I got 26.7 mpg, not close to 31 like Mazda says we can get. I just got ALL my services done on my car, tires inflated correctly, no AC on trip, no crosswind, very little hills, used GPS not the odometer.

Somewhere in the report I watched on TV tonite, said that when the EPA made the testing guidelines 30 yrs ago they had a 55 mph freeway speedlimit so this is what manufacturers did and still do when testing cars today for mileage! If I drove 55 mph Id be dead right now from semi'upmy'ass'us disease!

Anyways, heres the article, I look forward to more accurate mileage readings in the future

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060111/ap_on_bi_ge/fuel_economy

Oh yeah... I guess I will preface this thread by saying, "Flame On"... I know 20 of you are going to tell me that one time you got 35 MPG on a tank.... sure... if you coasted down Mt. Everest ;-)

[uclap5]

i get around 31-34 mpg driving at 75 on a long drive. no complaints here about mazda's milage ratings.

[Vampyre]

hmm i get 30mpg in my miata rompin on it hehe

[gksspot]

i get around 31-34 mpg driving at 75 on a long drive. no complaints here about mazda's milage ratings.

Looks like you have non OEM tire/wheel size ratio... do you know how that affects the actual odometer recordings? Your calculations might be off from that, you might try recording your mileage with a GPS to avoid possible errors with your calculations.

[anarchistchiken]

Ive experienced it many times before. Recently I drove from So Cal to SLC. Cruise Control 95% of the time at 80 mph. I got 26.7 mpg, not close to 31 like Mazda says we can get. I just got ALL my services done on my car, tires inflated correctly, no AC on trip, no crosswind, very little hills, used GPS not the odometer.

Umm, yeah that's probably because you were driving over a mountain range... Plus 80 mph is a bad speed for fuel economy. If you drove at 70 or 75 you would see a good jump in mileage.

[anarchistchiken]

Looks like you have non OEM tire/wheel size ratio... do you know how that affects the actual odometer recordings? Your calculations might be off from that, you might try recording your mileage with a GPS to avoid possible errors with your calculations.

If it's a 205-40-17, the difference is like .8% from 195/50/16. It's not worth calculating unless it's a big change. For example, 185/50/14 to 215/45/17 would throw it off a lot.

[nealric]

I never get below 30 in non-mountain freeway driving in my p5.

I go by the odo, but mile markers pretty much confirm the milage.

[uclap5]

Looks like you have non OEM tire/wheel size ratio... do you know how that affects the actual odometer recordings? Your calculations might be off from that, you might try recording your mileage with a GPS to avoid possible errors with your calculations.


actually those are my track/ twisties rims. I ride on the stockers for highway trips. :p

[ForceFed]

I get 30 MPG in my Speed that runs hella rich on road trips through the Mountains on my way to TN. Thats cruising at 75 and hitting 110+ through the mountains...I am sure that using some good fuel there....BUT...I will say I am hard pressed to hit 20 MPG in the city under normal conditions....More like 18MPG on a regualr basis....And 8-10 MPG if I am cruising around work all day...just tooling along with a lot of idle time.

[toucci]

the worst I have gotten is around 15 mpg when racing around :)

~30 on the highway, can't complain.

here are some tricks to improve mileage:
-raise air pressure in tires and switch to skinnier (like stock) tires to decrease rolling resistance
-keep radio and other devices that consume electricity off to reduce alternator losses
-keep a/c off by using the vent instead
-drive more slowly. our cars waste extra fuel as the RPMs climb because they run richer. I think below 3500 rpm is fine.
-reset the ECU and let it relearn for a few hundred miles
-use 87 octane to ensure complete burn (higher octanes are more resistant to combustion, but that's all! we don't need or benefit from anything higher)

[gksspot]

actually those are my track/ twisties rims. I ride on the stockers for highway trips. :p

Man you got a lot of time on your hand if every time you go on a trip or drive toward a twistie, you switch tires! J/k

I will say that I think the trick might be keeping the RPMs down, the tank Im on right now looks to be quite a bit better (Im at 1/2 tank with 190 miles driven so far, on that trip I was at 160 at the same point)

I dont know what is wrong with me, Ive always found it fun to track mileage. Weird eh? (boom07)

[DiS]

hmmmm thats weird. I get 31.5 mpg at 85 mph all highway. Which puts me to (by calculations) at about 456.75 miles on full tank of gas (14.5 gallons). I came back from North Carolina yesterday night and had 410 miles on the odometer and went straight to the gas station. Filled up 13 gallons, which means I had 1.5 gallons in the car. Sux that I dont get this kinda milage in the city driving, heh

[AbsoluteSwed]

just put it in neutral or even turn off the car during a red light or stop sign and you will see a huge increase in MPG.

[gksspot]

just put it in neutral or even turn off the car during a red light or stop sign and you will see a huge increase in MPG.

(first) That was hilarious! I will definitely try the "turn off the car at a stop sign suggestion" (yes)

[gksspot]

hmmmm thats weird. I get 31.5 mpg at 85 mph all highway. Which puts me to (by calculations) at about 456.75 miles on full tank of gas (14.5 gallons). I came back from North Carolina yesterday night and had 410 miles on the odometer and went straight to the gas station. Filled up 13 gallons, which means I had 1.5 gallons in the car. Sux that I dont get this kinda milage in the city driving, heh

Yeah thats odd, we have the same engine and your P5 is heavier by at least 100 lbs.

[DiS]

Yeah thats odd, we have the same engine and your P5 is heavier by at least 100 lbs.

I hope you dont mean that I have a P5, lol, because I dont (wink)