Max mpg?

PaulZooms said:
I keep a spreadsheet with gas consumption and mileage.

In 36 months, I*ve used 1397.160 gallons, driven 38619 miles, yielding 27.64 mph.

16.5 GT, 2.5 L NA engine. I have a lead foot on launch, but use the cruise once I reach the speed limit.
60% highway, 40% city estimated.
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I've commented that I do the same thing. I also capture the computer's MPG and after 4,000 miles have confirmed its accuracy. Manual calcs are off because of the imperfections in Fully Full Start/Fully Full End, but it evens out over time.
 
There's too many hills here in SoCal, best I ever got was 31 mpg on one tank when I was driving to Vegas lol Otherwise I'm getting 27-29 mpg on average. OP getting good mpg on that turbo. Are there any hills on your drive?
 
lowincash said:
There's too many hills here in SoCal, best I ever got was 31 mpg on one tank when I was driving to Vegas lol Otherwise I'm getting 27-29 mpg on average. OP getting good mpg on that turbo. Are there any hills on your drive?
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Lots. My driveway is a 27% grade, 100 meters long. Many more from there...
 
Avoidin Deer said:
My best tank in my Reserve has been 24.8

I don't think I want to read any more of your posts ;)
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Maybe you need to try some of the fancy juice like Unob was, if you can get it.

Unobtanium said:
This is just my daily commute. I drive the speed limit +-5 or so on it. I suspect it will settle in to 32ish by the end of the tank, as the return from work is much better than the trip to work, mpg wise.
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Are you still burning 93 ethanol free?
 
shadonoz said:
Maybe you need to try some of the fancy juice like Unob was, if you can get it.
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I forgot about that.

There is one place on the opposite side of my county that carries ethanol-free. I have heard that it is "more expensive" than other gas, and that folks mainly buy it for their small engines. But I have no idea how much it really costs. I keep forgetting to go check it out...it's just not a convenient location for getting gas. I should at least try a couple of tanks...
 
My experience with both my 2016 GT and 2019 GTR is that you can get great mileage if your *highway speed* is 50-60 mph, but at a 70-75 mph, it quite a but lower. Just completed a 1000 mile drive in my 2019, all highway, mostly completely flat terrain, an max real mileage was a little over 27mpg. With my 2016 GT FWD, I got maybe 1 mpg more, but never 30 mpg, not at *real* highway speeds. I also use cruise control most of the time.
 
Those are the worst graphs for conveying visual information. I hope those weren't designed by engineering :(
 
dwill said:
My experience with both my 2016 GT and 2019 GTR is that you can get great mileage if your *highway speed* is 50-60 mph, but at a 70-75 mph, it quite a but lower.
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It's interesting that for years and years and years, 55 MPH seems to be the Fuel Efficiency Sweet Spot. It was like that back in the 70s when the nationwide speed limit was reduced to 55 MPH because of the gas shortage, and it seems to still be true today.

Modern automotive technology has not budged that sweet spot.
 
murky said:
Those are the worst graphs for conveying visual information. I hope those weren't designed by engineering :(
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I've brought mine up a couple of times, but without going through the manual or a tutorial, I have no idea what it's telling me. It is not intuitive.
 
Avoidin Deer said:
It's interesting that for years and years and years, 55 MPH seems to be the Fuel Efficiency Sweet Spot. It was like that back in the 70s when the nationwide speed limit was reduced to 55 MPH because of the gas shortage, and it seems to still be true today.

Modern automotive technology has not budged that sweet spot.
Click to expand...

Drag is going to go up with speed, especially for taller vehicles like SUVs compared to a sedan. Also, it doesn*t help that the CX-5s 4-banger runs at about 2400 rpm at 75 mph. Probably get better mileage if it was down to about 2000 rpm with different gearing.
 
I have not been on a trip yet so all local driving. I am getting 26 mpg consistently with my 2016 GT (no roof rack). I check it each time I fill up and the display is pretty accurate.
 
Avoidin Deer said:
It's interesting that for years and years and years, 55 MPH seems to be the Fuel Efficiency Sweet Spot. It was like that back in the 70s when the nationwide speed limit was reduced to 55 MPH because of the gas shortage, and it seems to still be true today.

Modern automotive technology has not budged that sweet spot.
Click to expand...

Partially due to air resistance being ^ instead of linear.
Also, as noted, engine rpm of the CX5 is annoyingly high, but honestly it's NOT bad for a 4-cylinder. Also...my G20 would hum along at 3200ish doing 80mph, and returned better than EPA rating at around 32ish mpg on road-trips doing that. Really, I am just very non-plussed with how my 2015 performed, and super happy with how my 2019 turbo does!

Also of note, I terminated this test for this tank of fuel, because I got new tires mid-way through, and I also stopped to talk to my neighbor and let the car idle for 30 minutes, etc. so the test kindof got torpedo'ed. I've been DRIVING these tires and LOVE them. Cornering speeds are up 10% with less drama, and the stability is unreal. This is just dry weather, no wet/ice/snow yet.
 
Unobtanium said:
Partially due to air resistance being ^ instead of linear.
Also, as noted, engine rpm of the CX5 is annoyingly high, but honestly it's NOT bad for a 4-cylinder. Also...my G20 would hum along at 3200ish doing 80mph, and returned better than EPA rating at around 32ish mpg on road-trips doing that. Really, I am just very non-plussed with how my 2015 performed, and super happy with how my 2019 turbo does!

Also of note, I terminated this test for this tank of fuel, because I got new tires mid-way through, and I also stopped to talk to my neighbor and let the car idle for 30 minutes, etc. so the test kindof got torpedo'ed. I've been DRIVING these tires and LOVE them. Cornering speeds are up 10% with less drama, and the stability is unreal. This is just dry weather, no wet/ice/snow yet.
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Before I forget to ask (although you probably stated it elsewhere), what tires did you get? Glad you're happy with them.

Regarding the "optimal mileage speed," this conversation inspired me to go do some reading (as many of these conversations do.) The extra energy required for each incremental MPH increases exponentially as speeds get higher. In a nutshell, this article deduced that the optimum speed for smaller cars (having lesser drag) is faster than larger vehicles with more mass and more drag.

One would think in these days of increasing CAFE standards that gearing for highway speeds would get more aggressive.

I completely understand how you love your turbo. Me too. I have these winding hilly country roads where I put the thing in manual and wind it out in 3rd gear coming up a hill and shooting out of a corner...in a friggin' SUV!
 
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