Improved gas mileage...

[grishulia]

I am amazed... my mileage went from 28MPG to 31MPG just from switching to synthetic oil!

I did an oil change, Castrol Syntec, on monday and filled up a tank of gas... today, after 250 miles, I went to the gas station again, before the long weekend, and after filling up I've calculated the MPG's... and instead of my usual 28MPG I got an amazing 31MPG!

[cbcbd]

Wow, you usually get 28mpg? You're lucky. I get 27mpg if I drive like gramma, if I drive like I want to I'll get 25mpg.

31? Man,that's good.

Anything can happen :D

[grishulia]

28mpg in 50 city/50 hwy before, 31mpg now
26mpg city
?? hwy, never gotten to pure hwy yet...

[dragonbabe79]

Um...you just now figured out the benifit of sythetic oil?
another on it that it doesnt get as dirty as regular as fast.

However since it is thinner there have been cases where it has leaked from the car.

ive always been a snthetic buyer. Mobil 1 baby!

[grishulia]

Originally posted by dragonbabe79
...However since it is thinner there have been cases where it has leaked from the car...
As soon as it leaks I'll stop using it... although I don't see how that's possible... :confused:

[dragonbabe79]

neither do I but that is what I was told.

[matallama]

Originally posted by cbcbd
Wow, you usually get 28mpg? You're lucky. I get 27mpg if I drive like gramma, if I drive like I want to I'll get 25mpg.


That pretty much sums up my experience too. I'd love to get 31 mpg. We'll be taking the car on it's first long-distance all-highway trip later in Sept, so we'll see how that goes. Still got a little ways to go before the first oil change, so I've still got time to decide on what type of oil to use.

[Protege52003]

I changed to mobile one in july and am very pleased with the results. My milage has gone up between 10 and 15%.

Probably will change the oil at avery 10k instead of 5.

-R

[slenser]

Originally posted by dragonbabe79
Um...you just now figured out the benifit of sythetic oil?
another on it that it doesnt get as dirty as regular as fast.

However since it is thinner there have been cases where it has leaked from the car.

ive always been a snthetic buyer. Mobil 1 baby!

HUH?????

I have been a synthetic user for many years and have been on performance message boards almost as long. This is the FIRST time I have heard either one of those.

1. You want cleaner oil, get a better filter. The oil diesn't matter. This is especially important for those of you who decide to extend the oil change schedule.
2. Any leaking that may occur are not going to be from going to synthetic. Now, I have heard of people using engine cleaners. This is where you pour something into the motor and run it for a minute or two to clean out any sludge. Some people do this before switching to synthetic. This stuff can cause leaking from different gaskets and seals. For those of you looking into doing this, please don't do it. It will only cost you more money.

Now, I love synthetics. As I said, I use it myself and have been for years. Just don't always listen to what you hear from everyone. Me included! :p Folks, just follow a reasonable oil change schedule and use as good a filter as you do oil. It's a shame to see people putting Mobile1 or better into a car with a Fram filter. We all have been told that you get what you pay for and this is no different.

This is not intended as a flame towards you dragonflame, I just want to clear some things up.

I can't say I gained the same mileage as others did. I even have Redline MTL in mine. I only get 32-33 highway if I am not running the a/c and I have a 5 speed. Perhaps I should consider only going 55-60. Maybe that would improve things! :D

[PeaB0dy]

So which oil Filter would you use?

[slenser]

PureOne from Puroil
Mobil1
Motorcraft from Ford
Napa Gold made by Wix or Wik

Each of these are pretty similar in quality. I don't have the link any longer, but there was a very extensive research done on pretty much all of them out there. These were the top ones I remember. I use the PureOne, myself.

[Matthew]

must be nice i get like 20mpg city, no matter whether or not i drive like crazy or baby the car...:wtf:

[CanMP5]

I use K&N's oil filter for our cars....

I like the fact I can use a 1" wrench to get it off. A lot easier for me to reach.

They've got a couple of other features but I don't know if they're relevant.

[privateer]

does anyone know who manufactures the filters for mazda?just curious why they were not recommended? factory are my first choice than napas wix and your other choices.also agree with your oil advice ,best advice regular oil changes quality filters and good quality oil regular or syn. recently went from castrol gtx to castrol syn, blend using 10/30 both times engine has a smoother feel to it found that interesting.so i have decided the next oil change to go to mobil one as a test of curiosity have used it before in other cars no matter what oil i use 5000 miles is about the limit between changes.i have stated in other post that in my honda which had over 230,000 miles on it i use to mix oils and weights syn and regular[5/30, 10/30,10/40] with no ill effects no leaks was going to drive it into the ground for my own curiousity but was starting to have other mechanical repares brakes ect.. that i did not want to put any more money into it.

[ottawaP5]

I prefer to use regular oil and change it more often. Synthetic costs an arm and a leg! But it makes sense it would improve gas milage. Maybe it would pay for itself in fuel savings.

Regarding gas milage...what counts is if you have fun driving the car! Its true we only get 25-30 mpg wheras corollas and civics get more but they are only half as fun to drive.

[Red Baron]

I baby the P5 a lot, and the best mileage I've achieved is 32.1mpg US (that is 7.33l/100km or 38.6mpg Imp.) in very HOT weather. Temps are cooling down now and mpg's are too.

I use Mobil 5W30. (oops! not 15 W30)

[slenser]

15W30? Ouch, I would seriously concider putting a lighter weight in your car. You actually could be voiding your warranty, running that heavy weight oil. Stick to the 5W30 and you may see even better mileage.

[brucelee]

i guess this touches on a diff subject, but is there a "correct" way to drive the car to improve mileage? aside from the obvious, i.e., not redlining or going over 4000rpm and the like. for example if you're driving at 35mph, then is it actually better to have it in 4th gear than 5th or something like that? does higher gear not always equal best gas mileage because it keeps the rpms lower?

[erockp5]

The key to driving for good mileage is driving smoothly.

The other key point is to think about the next 100yards or 1/4mile(freeway).

Don't accelerate if your going to stop at the next intersection or exit, back off the throttle and coast to the desired speed. Downshift to slow, it may not save gas but you don't wear the brakes as much and it won't hurt to be in the right gear if the light changes before you get to the intersection. Stopping and starting eats more gas.

Don't mash it to the floor since someone previously noted our ECUs flood the cylinder(too rich) when flooring it.

Unless you are accelerating don't drive above 3krpm. Upshift to the next gear just keep it over 2krpm.

When accelerating shift at 3500rpm. The torque curve flattens as you get to max at 4k. Unless that big 4x4 is going to cream you of course.

Remember when you are driving for fun and driving to get somewhere. Spinkle some fun driving in because that's half the reason we all bought this car. The rest of the time you can pamper it a little and still enjoy it.

My average for the entire 6k miles so far is 29.5mpg. Best 38.5mpg, highway construction zones 55-65mph. Worst 26mpg, MTBike on roof rack, A/C, stop and go traffic, 7200 verticle ft climb up the Sierras, and 70-80mph.

[slenser]

One thing I have to disagree with.

Don't slowdown with the motor. This will cause the engine to rev, burn more gas and wear out your clutch. Now which would you rather have to do on the weekend, a set of brakes or a new clutch?

[erockp5]

Only from personal experience but my last 2 clutches were replaced after 230k miles and 140k miles. The 140k was actually a blown oil seal, spraying oil on the clutch. As for brakes they lasted 140k miles and 150k miles. This was on 2 different cars.

If you balance the braking and downshift you don't rev the engine very high, maybe the low-mid 3ks. Like I said I get pretty good gas mileage without a lot of wear and tear on the components so it would seem to bear out what I said. Feel free to disagree since this is all opinion on my part.

The big thing is the downshift sets you up in the next gear you'll be using and gives you a good driving feel when slowing.

[grishulia]

Originally posted by erockp5
...my last 2 clutches were replaced after 230k miles and 140k miles.
Wow... in my previous manual Protege, which I bought used and it had 50K miles on it, I've added another 75M miles over 3 years and didn't have to change the clutch nor the brakes using same techniques you've described...

And an update... this past weekend I drove 250 miles 75/25 city/hwy with 5 people in the car 90% of that time and a/c on 75% of that time... and my mileage was 25MPG... from previous such experience I was expecting 21-22MPG...

[slenser]

Perhaps, that is the difference between driving these small engine cars, compared to the Mustangs/Camaros/66 Caprrice w/468 w/850 Holley DP carb :p LOL

This is the first small car I have owned and driven on a daily basis. Those were always the wifes' and were autos (Yuck). Anytime you engine brake with one of the above cars, it would drastically change the mileage. That's where I just learned to throw it in nuetral and coast/brake to a stop.

I certainly can't argue with you based on the results you have gotten. 38 MPG is a very impressive number. Perhaps my car is capable of that, but I don't tend to run it under 65 on the interstate.

[Red Baron]

Like I posted earlier, the warmer the weather the better the gas mileage.

It gets pretty cold up here, and the P5 guzzles gas compared to my wife's Civic in the winter...

I still can't see how you get 38mpg US when Mazda says it is lower than that???

[brucelee]

i got about 37mpg on the first complementary tank..i dont know what they did with it that got me so much...maybe it's just one of those first tank things... :P

[attack02]

The reason why some people heard that synthetic oil may cause leakage, is just because once you change over to synthetic oil, the components of the synthetic oil cause all the seals on your engine to expand and if for any reason you return back to regular motor oil, most of the seals are going to shrink back and in some cases there will get even smaller causing leaks around the oil pan, cam seals, valve covers, etc..

This happens mostly in old vehicles, where seals are old or tosted.

Remember, once you made the change, stick with it.

Synthetic oil is a good choice, both for gas mileage and engine life.

[erockp5]

Don't worry the 38mpg isn't my normal range, but I do check every tank. When I filled that tank I couldn't believe it either. The freeway construction zones and the CHP kept me honest on this stretch of road, fines double and the road condition was awful. 30mpg is the average between city and highway(70-80mph) normally. Mazda says 26city/31highway on the MT so I'm not beating that number by more than 10%. Remember they simulate the driving on a tread mill.

My highschool car was one of the big US V8 automatics, 67' Firebird. I shifted into neutral also. I was buying the gas and even at $0.40 a gallon I didn't want to buy anymore than necessary. Gas is $2.10-2.30 a gallon here at the moment, it makes me think of those old days.

[skyhawk174]

Originally posted by ottawaP5
I prefer to use regular oil and change it more often. Synthetic costs an arm and a leg! But it makes sense it would improve gas milage. Maybe it would pay for itself in fuel savings.

Regarding gas milage...what counts is if you have fun driving the car! Its true we only get 25-30 mpg wheras corollas and civics get more but they are only half as fun to drive.

An added benifit to synthetic oil is the easier starting on those cold winter mornings. Here in Alberta it can drop to -35°C at nights and stay like that for a week. Even with block heaters I still think synthetic is the way to go. At those temperatures you can still pour the silly stuff. Try that with regular oil :).

I like it too since at work I don't have the luxury of being able to plug in the car so it sits in the cold for over 8 bhours. At the end of the day when I leave it starts with no problems.

Just easier on the engine I think.

[Red Baron]

We had a cold spell of -40°C/F last winter that lasted about a week. I plug my car about an hour before I have to leave in the morning and all day at work (yes I'm lucky), but when it's that cold, synt oil is a must.

[Iconoclast]

i was weening to royal purple til i was told how it burns up faster then others, it did give me beter gas mileage but i did alot of refilling of that pricey shit, so i switched to castrol-and i always burn premium even if i get soaked on the gas prices nowadays

[Red Baron]

Originally posted by erockp5
My highschool car was one of the big US V8 automatics, 67' Firebird. I shifted into neutral also. I was buying the gas and even at $0.40 a gallon I didn't want to buy anymore than necessary. Gas is $2.10-2.30 a gallon here at the moment, it makes me think of those old days. [/B]

I filled the gas tank this morning : 84.9 cents per liter, that's $3.21 per US gallon ($3.86 per Imperial gallon)...over 42% of this goes to taxes :mad: :mad: :mad: , and that's for regular.

[PeaB0dy]

I just filled @ 76.3 (should have yesterday @ 72.3).

I so far have managerd to get 9.872 L/100Km - 28.496 MPG since I have had the car.
about 1 mpg worse than my neon (auto too..) but it's getting better..

Mine is also mostly highway, doing 130 kph with cruise on, but it's a new car, so needs some time...

[zoomP5ATL]

I just drove from Atlanta to Chattanooga, interstate all the way, I had 3 people in the car and probably averaged around 70 mph. It's hot too so I had the air on a lot, but I managed to get 32 mpg, which I thought was pretty good considering...

[Reitrof]

Took a long trip with a fully loaded car and pulling a small trailer. Doing 70 mph got 31.2 MPG. I was very happy with that mileage.

[1Canuck2]

How many miles on the clock before you switched to Synthetic. A car expert friend of mine reckons you should wait until 10000km (7000 miles) before doing so. Anyone else heard this?

Robin Smith

[erockp5]

It depends on who you listen to.

Mobile One say that it is good from day one and lists many manufacturers that deliver the cars with it.

Amsoil say not until after the manufacturer's break in period.

CraneCams say the same as Amsoil.

So it would seem the best compromise would be to wait until the first scheduled oil change at 5K miles. I looked it up a month ago because this is my first "new new" car and I've always used synthetic in all my others. They had from 15K-100K miles when I bought them.

[Reitrof]

I switched after 1000 miles. It should not make any difference when you switch, just make sure you switch.

[erockp5]

It only matters on who you can blame if something goes wrong. Use mobil one and if something bad happens read their press release back to them.

Like I said though, all agree that after the manufacturer's break in period (600mi) synthetic is fine.

[1Canuck2]

And which synthetic do you guys recommend. Mobil One or are there other good choices? I am ready to make the switch.

Robin

[slenser]

Mobil 1, Redline, Royal Purple, Amzoil and Valvoline. I personally, won't touch anything else, especially that Castrol stuff. Also, stay away from the blends. Tests have concluded that blends act more like regular oil than synthetic and costs almost the same as full synthetics. It's all advertisement baloney.

[Reitrof]

I use Mobil 1.