I must protest my innocence ;-)

Most of the time, I'm like everyone else, doing about 10 over the limit and wondering where the cops are hiding today. But I got a hair up my !@$ and wanted to see what this car is really capable of. So this is a huge experiment.

The post above shows 416 on the tank. The last tank was 421. I'm hoping for more on this tank. Then, I can relax and be the terror of I5 once again!

 

Something about how this car runs .... it's really unpredictable...

One tank of gas: 9 days elapsed, 15 commute segments ranging from 10 to 50 miles each (average 35+). Maximum mpg calculated on "From Start" screen was 32.6, tank total mpg was 30.3. Total of 480 miles on the tank.

This is the C-300 folks. I guess that's good, especially when it's not just gas station to gas station, it's winter blend gas, and there has to be some evaporation in the garage ...

Speeds ranged from dead stopped on the freeway to max of 63, with a lot of travel at 60 on the cruise control. I even set the cruise for 35 on city streets. Plenty of city streets, at least 1/5th of the distance driven. Very gentle acceleration.

The car now has 75xx miles on it. I've read on the forum that the car will get better mileage after 10K ? This tank was mixed city/hwy, and that's supposed to be about 24 mpg. What can it do? I have great confidence of getting 520+ miles on a tank, and maybe more on a trip. Later.

Elevations ranged from sea level to about 300 ft, with some major hills sprinkled in throughout the commute.

Ironically, I decided that after running that tank in the MPG Lane (aka slow lane!), I'd try keeping up with traffic after I filled the tank. So, my speeds were up to 70, averaging about 63+ in somewhat heavy traffic. No cruise. Still no hard acceleration, but moderate, yes. The end mileage was 31 mpg and I saw 33.1 just before the last big hill.

So, I'm going to try this tank at higher speeds to see if the car actually runs better closer to 70. But, and a big BUT, keeping to 60 has kept me out of the fast lane and the current "Emphasis Patrol" that the state patrol is engaged in. Plenty of folks who zoomed by me have been pulled over lately. Hmm.


As to the comment about "I'd be satisfied with a 4", since '71, I've had a 4 cyl car (minor exception of 1.5 years when I only had one car - a V8). So, I'm very familiar with 4s, and I've gotten good mileage from them. But this car is showing itself to be a very capable vehicle that can (doesn't always) get good mileage, and can be fun to drive. (Of course, what could ever be more fun than a late 70s Fiat Brava [DOHC] on mountain roads?)

 

jstaneff - I don't know how you get those numbers!!! Highest I ever got was 29, and I had to go 70-80 miles to get that.

I wonder if California gasoline gets worst mileage, since we supposedly have extra additives and stuff?

 

At about 6000 miles I did the reset so the computer could re-learn my driving habits. Since then I've driven more for mileage than for speed. I may regret that when I actually want fast take-offs, but it's working for mileage.

When I had a screw in my tires, I made sure that the tire pressure was right in all the tires, and reset the TPMS system to the correct settings. I also carry an air compressor now.

One thing you might try is to never push the accelerator hard. Always push it forward (not down) gently. Once the car is up to 20+, use the cruise stalk to go faster. Cruise will hold at 20 (school zones). Pushing up/down gently gives a 1 mph change, pushing further will give a 5 mph change. Holding it up/down longer will rapidly change the speed setting. Then let the cruise do the acceleration. Notice how smoothly it does that? That's what you're shooting for when you push the accelerator yourself.

Other things:

- an on-ramp will reduce your accumulated mileage. It can take up to 3 miles at 60 to get it back. You need more miles to bring the mph higher.
- a hill (say about 250 ft in 1 mile) will reduce mileage too. Same rules as to getting it back.
- about 8 miles at 60-63 will bring the accumulated mpg up to about 27 or 28. It takes more miles to get to 30.
- passing wastes gas.
- stop and go on city streets wastes a lot of gas. Try to avoid streets as much as possible (I can't and so I know I'm losing mileage as a result).

Watch both the accumulated mpg on the "From Start" display, and your gas gauge. The most frustrating thing about this process is when gas is getting low and you are watching the 'miles left' display, when it gets down to about 1 gallon, the gas pump display shows and you can't clear it. Oh well, time to get gas, I guess.

As to gasoline, our winter blend is probably on a par with your gas. I don't think that's the issue.

 

I just fill up $4.05 a gallon

 

Thanks. I do follow pretty much all you say. I actually find the cruise control accelerates faster than I do, but glad to hear you use it sometimes too, cause I really like using the cruise stalk too. I feel silly using cruise in residential, but I do! ha-ha.

Are you driving in C or S?

You're doing great work! Keep it up. Saving $$$ and some oil!

 

<<Are you driving in C or S? >>

C300 Sport model. Driving in S, always. I didn't read the manual about the "drive in C for 1K miles" part, so didn't do that. It's only been in C for maybe 100 miles throughout. I used it when there was ice on the streets because it skips 1st gear, which is very good for snow.

 

I have also gotten up to 32 MPG

Very easy if you set your cruise control to the highway speed limit and cruise for about 30 minutes

everybody can get 32 mpg, no excuses

 

I can't. I've went 60-70 miles at 65 MPH, and at the very end topped out at 29 MPG, middle of nowhere interstate, so never had to brake or anything. Maybe I could now though. That was when the car was younger.

 

Try cruising at 55mph instead and I'm sure your consumption will improve by 10%.

 

Also, run high-octane gas without any ethanol, if you can.