MPG: The Secret to my Success.

[Minimazda]

Few weeks ago on my trip to Daytona I averaged 40mpg there and back. I have Cs exhaust, intake, tuned, and header. My little auto shocked me with that. I stayed a steady 70mph for the entire 300 mile drive and it really paid off.

 

[Rdrcr]

^^^^
Good to know. Thanks for sharing.

For the moment, I'm down to 37 MPG averaged combined with the addition of the Hot Pipes Header, but, I've just received my Dynotronics Tuning package and expect to be Tuned very soon. I hope that the Tune will get me back to 40 MPG, or perhaps a small improvement.
Regardless though, I'm looking forward to better throttle response and a wee bit more power.

Mike

 

[xdphctv]

Great tips. Just bought my first Mazda 2 so I will try some of these things to see how I can keep in my pocket instead of my gas tank.

 

[gregstudeny]

The problem of driving range is easily solved by adding a fuel cell in the trunk area.

 

[Rdrcr]

^^^^
Thought about that...
But, I have absolutely no idea how to accomplish that goal safely.

I solved my range issue by buying another car with a larger tank for my long road trips.

Mike

 

[BigBlueDart]

Glad this topic popped back up. I did end up getting and installing the DDMWorks SRI back in December. So far I am seeing no appreciable increase in my MPG's. I'm maybe gaining 1-2, if that. Am I doing something wrong? Is gas in California magic? Or perhaps it's the air there?

 

[Rdrcr]

^^^^
Have your driving habits changed with the addition of the intake?
At the time of the intake addition, I was running 87 octane and 40+psi in the tires and disciplined throttle use.
For me, that was the magic ticket.

However, my gas mileage has been reduced with the addition of the header and tune.
Now, I'm pretty much back to stock MPG.

Mike

 

[BigBlueDart]

I've actually been a lot more conservative in my driving, trying to go easy on the gas pedal and minimize braking. I do need to check my tire pressure, but I've never had it hire than like 34 psi.

 

[deadlydave]

I just checked in a whole bunch of backlogged fill-ups on my Fuelly account, so figured I'd contribute. The below includes my track weekend and a whole season of autocross. I also coach a sport part time so there are frequent short trips, and my car is filled with an extra 50-100lbs of equipment, plus my 245lb ass.

Tracked Miles: 11,406
Average MPG: 32.6
Best MPG: 37.6
Average Price per mile: $0.087

My mods that may affect gas mileage: CS Catback, CS Shock/Spring Package, Stock sized snow tires in front for the winter, 205-50-15 summer tires on lighter 15x8 wheels. This is the only car I've ever owned that every mod as made me enjoy the car more.

 

[BigBlueDart]

I don't think I've ever gotten better than 35 mpg, and that rarely. I've got to be doing something wrong.

 

[Rdrcr]

^^^^
What are your mods? Just the intake? Wheels/Tires?

My new wheel/tire combo also negatively affected my MPG.
I'm guessing the the wider tires have more rolling resistance thus affecting the MPG.

The best MPG combo was completely stock with the CS Intake.

Mike

 

[BigBlueDart]

Yeah, just wheels, tires, and the intake. And I did notice a drop when I added the new wheels. But even before the wheel/tire change (and before the intake) I wasn't getting much better than the low to mid 30's. I guess I ultimately probably just need to admit that it doesn't matter all that much to me. The car is still better than an RX-8 by a strong margin, so not really too much to complain about. I guess it just irked me that so many people were getting so much better results than me.

 

[Traum]

As a data point, I want to share that my "best" gas mileage in the 2 to date is 14.12L / 100km (or 16.66 mpg) when I took the car out to the local race track. And there is really no secret to how you can achieve this -- just get on the throttle as early as you can, and keep it planted against the firewall until the 2nd last cone in the braking zone. Then rinse and repeat.

(drive)