WOW!!! 37.4 mpg in our Touring 5sp!!

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bulwnkl

:
'15 6, '06 5
I'm happy as a clam (which I hear are very happy creatures, though they don't necessarily look it). I should note that this was a single, 400+ mile trip where I filled up at the same pump at the same station in the morning before the trip and in the evening after the trip (it was 85 octane from the Flying-J, if you're curious). It should also note that this was a trip to and through Yellowstone and Teton, so 1/2 or maybe 2/3 of the miles were driven at 35-50 mph above 7000 feet. There was a VERY steep climb up and over Teton pass as well (flat out in 4th and even 3rd, only able to go 40 mph or less), and without that I guarantee we'd have been over 40 mpg.

So, we don't think for a minute we'll ever see this mileage again, but it's fun to think about. :) Normally we get 26-27 driving around town and 28 or better on the highway depending upon whether it's 80 mph interstate or more like 70 somewhere.
--E
 
The only way I'd get mileage like that is if I was being pulled by a tow-truck.

Are you sure your math is right?
 
Wow!

It would be interesting to know if your next tank gives particularly low mileage. If so, perhaps the pump shut off before the tank was really full. But I suspect at 35-50 mph highway speeds, 40 mpg is possible? However, without the national park scenery, I can't imagine being patient enough to drive that slowly.
 
Can you imagine the gas mileage on a completely flat road (think Kansas), with say a 20mph tailwind, and setting cruise control at about 50mph?

I think you'd get like Eleventy Billion MPG!!!!!!1
 
You use 85 octane? Manual calls for at least 87. Regardless, that's pretty impressive on 85 octane.
 
I'll report our next tank as well. I think the very high altitude has a lot to do with it. We had essentially no wind on the trip up, and a light (~5-15 mph) head wind on the last leg of the trip back. The trip up was ~100 miles at 70 mph, then we drove somewhere around 200-250 miles at the low speed (including the flat-out section up the extraordinarily steep pass), and the final leg back was very roughly 75 miles at 60-70 mph. One crosses the Continental Divide several times on this trip, and that's over 8,000 feet, sometimes over 8500.

Of note is the fact that the fuel gauge was still comfortably above the 1/4-tank mark when we filled up. Normally we don't see 400 miles on the odometer before we fill up somewhere well south of 1/4-tank. I REALLY wanted to go for 500, but I also wanted to see the mpg so we re-fueled.

dommo_g: 85 octane is the 'regular' grade at higher altitude. Higher altitude lowers cylinder pressures so you don't need as high an octane rating. Grades are normally 85, 87, and 91 at higher altitude. The 'high-altitude' grades seem to start at around 4000 feet, give or take.

PS: The car presently has ~5,300 miles on it.
 
Here's the mileage from the following tank, as promised: 22.8 mpg. A little low, but not unreasonable considering ~20 minutes of idling and then the rest of the tank used at 80 mph in the rain. All the above while using the A/C. Still, 37 mpg could have been something about that same pump working differrently in the morning than the evening. Nevertheless, even 'equalizing' things between the two tanks still nets us over 35 mpg on the high tank. The present tank is running back near average or even better.
 
bulwnkl said:
Here's the mileage from the following tank, as promised: 22.8 mpg. A little low, but not unreasonable considering ~20 minutes of idling and then the rest of the tank used at 80 mph in the rain. All the above while using the A/C. Still, 37 mpg could have been something about that same pump working differrently in the morning than the evening. Nevertheless, even 'equalizing' things between the two tanks still nets us over 35 mpg on the high tank. The present tank is running back near average or even better.
Click to expand...


Thanks for the update!!
 
We must be doing something wrong. We took the 5 to Gettysburg, PA this past weekend, and actually drove around 70 - 75 mph on the highway. Still, it was 27 mpg.
 
Stargazer said:
We must be doing something wrong. We took the 5 to Gettysburg, PA this past weekend, and actually drove around 70 - 75 mph on the highway. Still, it was 27 mpg.
Click to expand...

The hot temps this past weekend may have contributed. I was in Gettysburg on Monday (usa)
 
Has anyone run what we would call Super Octane gas which is rated at 91?

Did your mileage improve because of it?
 
Zoom5Zoom said:
Has anyone run what we would call Super Octane gas which is rated at 91?

Did your mileage improve because of it?
Click to expand...

My wife accidentally put in Chevron 94 octane (long story) and for that tank we got nearly 29mpg.

Tank after that tank we were right back at the bottom of the barrel around 20mpg.

Not that I want to be paying for 94 octane all the time and what that would do to the engine over the long haul - but it sure was nice to be on the cusp of 30mpg.

I'm not sure how all the others are getting such good mileage, and my service department assures me the car is running fine... I'm at a loss.(huh)
 
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