I wasn't sure which section to post this in, but I drove about 500 miles last week down to FL and was a little disapointed with my MPG. The car average around 32-33MPG running at 75mph which is pretty much the traffic flow rate. I was hoping to get the EPA rating of around 35. Sure it would have been better if I was driving slower. I do have the Racing beat exhaust and K&N filter. I thought that would help a little bit. How does that compare with your MPG?
Mpg
- Thread starter DanR
- Start date
Lowering the car helps a ton, since we have no underbody panels at all you want to push as much air over the car, instead of under, as possible.
my commute is 30 miles each way and i am averaging 45mpg @65-70mph.
mods: lowered about 2", mobil1 ow-20 advanced fuel economy oil, yokohama avid ascend low rolling resistance tires 185/55/15(mounted on steelies) inflated to 51psi cold all around
my commute is 30 miles each way and i am averaging 45mpg @65-70mph.
mods: lowered about 2", mobil1 ow-20 advanced fuel economy oil, yokohama avid ascend low rolling resistance tires 185/55/15(mounted on steelies) inflated to 51psi cold all around
Zach@DDMWorks
Member
- :
- 2011 Mazda2
The speed is the biggest thing. I recently was limited to about 65 for a couple of days due to a wheel out of balance. While cruising at 65 I was getting 40-42. Normally I would be 75-80 which would get me in the 32-33 range you have seen.
Remember the drag force is dependent on speed squared so even a small change in speed will make a large difference in drag force. That is why MPG drops so quickly at a certain speed for each car.
Remember the drag force is dependent on speed squared so even a small change in speed will make a large difference in drag force. That is why MPG drops so quickly at a certain speed for each car.
Absolutely. Speed and hills have the biggest effect. Whenever I can get on straight and level highway or state road and run between 55 and 65 mph, I regularly see between 38 and 45 mpg. If I hit moderate hills, it dips as low as 25-28, and it will easily go as low as 20 if I'm trying to maintain speed on really steep, big hills like we have all over in the NW. Keeping the speed down is key. Being a bit lower in ride height helps as well.
With my car so heavily modded I go down to 26mpg when I go about 75mph and it goes lower from that point. But when I remain at 60-70mph I'm at a good 32mpg. If I am in a city area I can get 38+mpg going around 45mph. I've found I get better mpg in the city than long distance driving.
As mentioned above, air drag has a huge effect on fuel consumption.
I picked up a copy of the Craig Vetter DVD on the subject several years ago -- very enlightening. It looks like you can download it for free now, too:
http://craigvetter.com/pages/470MPG/470MPG Main.html
Just scroll to the bottom of the page.
Don
Edit: I guess you can only download Apple QuickTime for free, not the DVD.
I picked up a copy of the Craig Vetter DVD on the subject several years ago -- very enlightening. It looks like you can download it for free now, too:
http://craigvetter.com/pages/470MPG/470MPG Main.html
Just scroll to the bottom of the page.
Don
Edit: I guess you can only download Apple QuickTime for free, not the DVD.
Last edited:
Spinitsidewayz
Member
- :
- 2012 Mazda2 Sport
I wish corksport still had their skidplate for the 2. 
Maybe you were driving into a headwind that particular trip?
Gearing is also another contributing factor for our cars at freeway speeds.
I get about 35 highway on autocross rubber. (65mphish)
Maybe you were driving into a headwind that particular trip?
Gearing is also another contributing factor for our cars at freeway speeds.
I get about 35 highway on autocross rubber. (65mphish)
- :
- 2011 Mazda 2 GS
Best I've ever managed to get on a tank was 41 MPG. I believe I average somewhere around 34 though.
Bimaleksono
Member
- :
- 2013 Mazda2 RZ
I dont see why these people can get 40+ mpg. I drove about 300km last week with average speed about 120kmh. But can only get to as low as 32mpg or 7.3l/100km even after i feed it with full-tank of V Power. Is there anything wrong about my car or it's just my driving style?
your signature says automatic, that won't help fuel economy, especially since the mazda2 only comes with a 4speed automatic.
- :
- 2011 Mazda 2 GS
Also, doing 120km/h is probably a bit too fast. I got my best results going ~105.
GrasshopperCO
Member
- :
- 2015 Mazda 3 iSport 6-M/T
I concur with the above statement - I do best in terms of fuel economy on long highway trips (obviously) where I average about 65 mph (~104 kph). On most tanks, I average between 33 and 39 MPG, depending on how aggressively I drive. The old-style automatic that's used in the 2 doesn't help fuel economy, as molex said, because it's a four speed and it's also heavier than the manual.
if you really want to get better results get an ultra gauge. Seriously the best $65 i have ever spent for fuel economy, it will pay for itself down the road. Its a small lcd screen that plugs into your obd-2 port and can display 6 gauges at once based on ecu data feeds to the obd-2 port. It can track all number of things but my current setup is instant MPG, RPM, engine temperature, Short trip MPG, Trip MPG, throttle position #1.
gauge breakdown:
Instant MPG: What your car is getting at this very second
RPM: engine revolutions per minute, tachometer(redundant, but i like to have my rpms here)
engine temperature: self explanatory but very nice since we don't have a real temperature gauge for our cars
short trip MPG: MPG average from you start the car until you turn it off, resets every time. For my work commute my average is about 46mpg over 30 miles, with my lowest being 37mpg(i was late and driving 75mph) and my highest trip being 53.7mpg(i was trying very hard and safe-drafting a semi truck for about 15 miles).
Trip MPG:Average MPG from when you set it, to when you erase it, will not reset on its own. I've had mine going for 34k miles(life of the car) and am currently at 40.5, it's steadily going up now that i commute. This number includes everything, city driving, highway driving, autocrossing, late to work fast inefficient driving, sitting at the drive thru, everything.
throttle position #1: I honestly don't know what the difference between position 1 and 2 are, but i've always used throttle pos #1 to track how much gas i am giving the car exactly. foot off the pedal reads 32% if i remember correctly, with flooring it reading at around 76%, also if i remember correctly, generally only floor it when autocrossing. The perfect sweet spot for maintaining speed on the highway/most efficient seems to be 35.7% from my testing. Originally 35.3 seemed to show better numbers but you would very slowly lose your highway speed, or any road irregularities/even the slightest incline would drop you too far down and you would have to correct with harder acceleration. 35.7% can usually handle minor road irregularities and very slight inclines without correction, and constant throttle is always the most efficient method.
gauge breakdown:
Instant MPG: What your car is getting at this very second
RPM: engine revolutions per minute, tachometer(redundant, but i like to have my rpms here)
engine temperature: self explanatory but very nice since we don't have a real temperature gauge for our cars
short trip MPG: MPG average from you start the car until you turn it off, resets every time. For my work commute my average is about 46mpg over 30 miles, with my lowest being 37mpg(i was late and driving 75mph) and my highest trip being 53.7mpg(i was trying very hard and safe-drafting a semi truck for about 15 miles).
Trip MPG:Average MPG from when you set it, to when you erase it, will not reset on its own. I've had mine going for 34k miles(life of the car) and am currently at 40.5, it's steadily going up now that i commute. This number includes everything, city driving, highway driving, autocrossing, late to work fast inefficient driving, sitting at the drive thru, everything.
throttle position #1: I honestly don't know what the difference between position 1 and 2 are, but i've always used throttle pos #1 to track how much gas i am giving the car exactly. foot off the pedal reads 32% if i remember correctly, with flooring it reading at around 76%, also if i remember correctly, generally only floor it when autocrossing. The perfect sweet spot for maintaining speed on the highway/most efficient seems to be 35.7% from my testing. Originally 35.3 seemed to show better numbers but you would very slowly lose your highway speed, or any road irregularities/even the slightest incline would drop you too far down and you would have to correct with harder acceleration. 35.7% can usually handle minor road irregularities and very slight inclines without correction, and constant throttle is always the most efficient method.
flatlander937
Member
- :
- '11 Mazda2 Sport
I seem to get 29-30mpg no matter how I drive... mostly city driving and somewhat short trips, when on the highway it's 70+.
I drove to Columbus and back(180mi round trip) loaded down with 4 adults and my 2yo son, going about 75-80mph the whole time, finished off the tank with primarily city driving like normal... still 30mpg.
FWIW I drive like an idiot most of the time, I love that I can beat the car shitless and still get ridiculous MPG.
I drove to Columbus and back(180mi round trip) loaded down with 4 adults and my 2yo son, going about 75-80mph the whole time, finished off the tank with primarily city driving like normal... still 30mpg.
FWIW I drive like an idiot most of the time, I love that I can beat the car shitless and still get ridiculous MPG.
I just averaged about 41 mpg over this weekend with a little bit of city driving, a lot of highway and some rolling hills. I was pretty happy since I was keeping it at a steady 65-70 mph on the highway portion of it!
314.6 miles, 7.7 gallons of gas.
My Protege would have done around 10 MPG less!
314.6 miles, 7.7 gallons of gas.
My Protege would have done around 10 MPG less!
