So I hand calculated my MPGs for the first time...

"K-Roll-PorscheTamer" (k-roll390)
01/31/2016 at 17:57 • Filed to: MPGs

For the last two weeks, short shifting like mad under 2500rpm and not going over 3000 once. Doing mostly city with a short stint on the freeway. And With a distance of 253 miles and filling 11.007 gallons of the 12.4 gallon tank after work today, I averaged 22.9 MPG. Ford’s city mileage for the ST is 23 MPG.

Not sure how I feel about this.

DISCUSSION (44)

yitznewton > K-Roll-PorscheTamer
01/31/2016 at 18:14

Are you in a cold region? That would make a difference...

The S2000 is rated 20/26

Real-world, I’ve gotten 32 on roadtrips, 23 in mixed driving, 19.5 with some spirited driving thrown in, and 18.5 on my one cold-weather tank.

Kailand09 > K-Roll-PorscheTamer
01/31/2016 at 18:17

My st gets up to 34 often in just highway driving.

City driving is down at around 25-26. Lowest I've had is 24 during the winter.

e36Jeff now drives a ZHP > K-Roll-PorscheTamer
01/31/2016 at 18:19

Short shifting is not as important as throttle control and anticipation of traffic flow. When I’m really trying squeeze every of MPG out of my car I am looked quite a few cars ahead so I can coast down to the speed of traffic if it slows down rather than braking. When you are going for max MPG your brakes are your enemy. Whenever possible you want to be coasting (in neutral or in gear). When coasting in neutral, your engine is at idle and only at around 7% fuel load, when coasting in gear it drops to 1-2% fuel load.

Note I am not stating you should engine breaking, that’s downshifting causing the engine to rev, I’m talking about foot off the gas with the car in the highest available gear.

If you can maximize your coasting, that will go a long way to maximizing your mpg’s.

Just by maximizing my coasting and keeping my speed under control I’ve managed to push my car up to 30 mpg for full tank of gas in my e46, and I’m only rated at 27.

For longer, highway trips, it also helps if you keep your speed down for the first 15-20 minutes or so, until all the moving surfaces in your car get up to operating temps(not just your engine, but things like your transmission, diff, and wheel bearings). There is a notable efficiency increase in my car after the first 15-20 minutes, to the point that I can pull the same MPG at 75 that I was getting at 65 shortly after I started the car.

jdrgoat - Ponticrack? > K-Roll-PorscheTamer
01/31/2016 at 18:20

I’m not sure how that could happen. You made sure to stay out of boost? RPM is only part of the picture, throttle position (which the computer has more control of than you think, I’ve found out) and staying out of boost help complete the picture.

Make sure to see if you can repeat the results over multiple tanks. There can be variances in when different pumps stop filling. An average over time is really the only way to come to a conclusive answer. (Fuelly is awesome, btw.)

Matching the city rating isn’t all bad, though, considering you spent (almost) all your time in the city.

DarrenMR > K-Roll-PorscheTamer
01/31/2016 at 18:25

Thats a bunch worse than my MINI Cooper S, and I flog it non-stop.

Cherry_man1 > K-Roll-PorscheTamer
01/31/2016 at 18:26

2011 Mustang GT just got 28 on the hwy from Kansas City to Springfield, MO

djgreenlava > K-Roll-PorscheTamer
01/31/2016 at 18:31

Could have staying out of boost killed the mileage when accelerating?

K-Roll-PorscheTamer > jdrgoat - Ponticrack?
01/31/2016 at 18:36

I stayed out of boost the whole damn time. That boost gauge didn’t lift a finger. I’m trying again with this tank. I’ve been working on throttle position as well. Still, I thought I’d do better than that.

K-Roll-PorscheTamer > djgreenlava
01/31/2016 at 18:37

I’ve been staying out of boost the whole time. Making for boring driving.

K-Roll-PorscheTamer > Kailand09
01/31/2016 at 18:39

If I could get 25 city driving, that would be cool.

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > K-Roll-PorscheTamer
01/31/2016 at 18:58

You don’t buy the Perfomace version of a car when you want good MPG.

K-Roll-PorscheTamer > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles
01/31/2016 at 19:04

Don’t I know it. But I can’t be boosting all day every day. :p

jdrgoat - Ponticrack? > K-Roll-PorscheTamer
01/31/2016 at 19:05

Where are you located? Winter blend gas will snub you of some economy, too.

K-Roll-PorscheTamer > jdrgoat - Ponticrack?
01/31/2016 at 19:14

I’m in Michigan.

BREADwagon > K-Roll-PorscheTamer
01/31/2016 at 19:45

Kinja'd!!!

My average over the first 25k miles was 19mpg. Now that my commute has changed, I average about 25mpg a tank. If you try to stay off boost, I can hit 28mpg....but that’s boring! 23mpg city is pretty damn spot on IMHO.

I think I got 8mpg after using 2/3rds of the tank on track.

K-Roll-PorscheTamer > BREADwagon
01/31/2016 at 19:52

HOLY GEEZ, I’ve never even got that kinda low MPG before!

jdrgoat - Ponticrack? > K-Roll-PorscheTamer
01/31/2016 at 19:54

Winter blend is doing you no favors. You’d probably see +1, maybe 2 or 3 mpg if it were summer, all else being equal. There’s also the colder, more dense air which uses more fuel.

BREADwagon > K-Roll-PorscheTamer
01/31/2016 at 20:00

You can do it!!! This was the first tank after I felt everything was nice and broken in, and the weather was perfect. I was just WOT all over the place. This was stock everything too!

K-Roll-PorscheTamer > jdrgoat - Ponticrack?
01/31/2016 at 20:49

I guess I’ll have to wait with baited breath for warmer weather.

yamahog > K-Roll-PorscheTamer
01/31/2016 at 21:46

Just rub it in!

I get 12 in the Blazer, 17-18 in the Camaro :P

K-Roll-PorscheTamer > yamahog
01/31/2016 at 22:13

Yes but you DRIVE yours, 22.9 is me babying the ST.... -_-

nafsucof > K-Roll-PorscheTamer
01/31/2016 at 22:30

I have a short commute in my car never get over 25-35mph and most times just around town etc I average around 19. Even lower when it’s cold because it’s not getting warm and out of open loop. You can smell how rich these run just at idle after start up. I just ordered a new tuner with a low boost tune, I’m anxious to see what I can get for mileage. Also even with an LSD, my st is not great in snow...too much torque I suppose. The low boost tune should help with snow and highway mileage. It’s crazy setting cruise control and watching the boost gauge creep to keep speed sometimes.

nafsucof > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles
01/31/2016 at 22:35

We don’t want good mpg, we want better than miserable mpg! I don't know how this hyper mileage st guys get good gas mileage but I get maybe 27.5ish mpg highway, 18-20 around town. There is some spoiling but I'm not in it everywhere as my mpg would suggest. Lol I try to get even what’s on my window sticker to no luck.

K-Roll-PorscheTamer > nafsucof
01/31/2016 at 22:35

You have an LSD? I haven’t had trouble with snow unless it’s more than 1/2 foot of snow on the ground. Oh god yes I can stand behind the car and smell that rich exhaust on a cold morning for sure.

Sometimes when I’m bored on the highway I turn cruise control on and off to watch the boost gauge teeter back and forth, just not this time. :p

nafsucof > K-Roll-PorscheTamer
01/31/2016 at 22:39

Yes, I installed the m factory Torsen diff. I do mainly Autocross and it really helped, also stopped my brake dust and the car launches real hard. It pulls the nose into corners, feels like mechanical torque vectoring on the front axle, also prevents single wheel lock up. Pretty rad.

gergey - Wishes vette was Datsun > K-Roll-PorscheTamer
02/01/2016 at 01:58

Your fuel tank is only 12.4 gallons? I’m not sure how I feel about that!

Also, my car is saying it’s at 5.9 MPG right now :o

Algimantas > K-Roll-PorscheTamer
02/01/2016 at 03:21

This is what my 15 year old Volvo T5 gets, and there’s no way I’m short shifting that thing. I’m not quite exactly racing it (I spend enough money on gas and don’t have extra for fines), but I really love those 2nd gear pulls. On the highway it does ~30MPG, more if I’m careful.

However what I raelly think helps is engine braking, and trying not to stop at lights if you can. I mean, just slow down a little bit and you won’t have to come to a halt. Of course, this won’t work if you’re in bumper to bumper traffic.

Algimantas > jdrgoat - Ponticrack?
02/01/2016 at 03:23

The engine does not enrich the fuel mixture for cold weather, except for when the car is cold. You just can get more air in if you want.

Main loss of energy is due to lack of traction on slippery surface.

yamahog > K-Roll-PorscheTamer
02/01/2016 at 05:51

Those are my daily driving numbers, and I have a short commute with zero traffic. V8 life comes with a cost!

jdrgoat - Ponticrack? > Algimantas
02/01/2016 at 09:56

Colder air is more dense, so there’s more air mass in a given volume. To maintain stoichometry, more fuel is required. The same mass of fuel with an increased mass of oxygen is a lean condition, which is best avoided. It’s not an enriched mixture, it’s just more fuel to go with the more air.

Algimantas > jdrgoat - Ponticrack?
02/01/2016 at 10:02

Yes, you’re correct in that sense, but you need less air volume to achieve the same performance. Which means keep lighter pressure on the throttle.

jdrgoat - Ponticrack? > Algimantas
02/01/2016 at 10:38

Some things work better in theory than in practice. I do agree with you, but I also have history showing me that economy always goes down with the cold weather. And I’m not one of the people that idles my engine before taking off gingerly. Far more time is spent feathering the throttle since there is so little traction compared to throttle in summer.

Algimantas > jdrgoat - Ponticrack?
02/01/2016 at 10:42

I think it mostly goes down to increased fuel consumption when the engine is in open cycle, firstly because it spends more time warming up, and, second, because it needs to dump more fuel when it’s warming up. This becomes especially pronounced if you make very short trips. And then you lose quite a bit of energy trying to get moving when it’s slippery. I’m not denying the fact that cars consume more fuel in winter, but when it’s dry and cold, I really love how my turbo Volvo moves.

uofime-2 > K-Roll-PorscheTamer
02/01/2016 at 10:51

Looks about right, keep in mind that you are on winter blend gas, which for me meant about a 10% decrease.

How does your calculated number correlate with your computer’s estimate? Mine is pretty much always 10% optimistic.

K-Roll-PorscheTamer > uofime-2
02/01/2016 at 11:12

The computer said 20.7 MPG. Definitely off.

jdrgoat - Ponticrack? > Algimantas
02/01/2016 at 11:22

The cold dry air is quite awesome for power, agreed.

I know my highway FE gots down in the cold, too. It may be more pronounced with the car I’ve got the most history with, being that it has a 5.7L V8 that uses more fuel than most at idle (typically about 0.9 gal/hr once warmed up... that’s almost 0.1gal/hr higher than in the summer, too).

uofime-2 > K-Roll-PorscheTamer
02/01/2016 at 11:35

Whoa, your computer thought you did worse? That’s crazy!

Eh, gas is cheap so as nice as economy is turbo noises are better anyway!

Algimantas > jdrgoat - Ponticrack?
02/01/2016 at 11:50

Once I manage to move to the States, I’m totally rocking something with a big V8.

jdrgoat - Ponticrack? > Algimantas
02/01/2016 at 12:17

I guess sometimes I get a little oblivious to how spoiled we can be. LS1 is hard to beat, when there is no tax imposed based on displacement!

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > K-Roll-PorscheTamer
02/01/2016 at 16:18

How long since your last oil change? I noticed with the 1.6 ecoboost, it loses 2-5mpg as I near 5000 miles. I did an oil change and went from averaging 26.5 back up to 30 mpg for more city oriented driving.

K-Roll-PorscheTamer > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles
02/01/2016 at 17:17

I had my oil changed in the last month or two at least. Hasn't even been 2000 miles.

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > K-Roll-PorscheTamer
02/01/2016 at 19:46

Hmmmmmm.....well as the tree said to the lumberjack I’m stumped

Roadster Man > K-Roll-PorscheTamer
02/01/2016 at 20:39

You realize that the injectors DUMP fuel when you short shift like that, right?

High load + low RPM = lots of fuel wasted

K-Roll-PorscheTamer > Roadster Man
02/01/2016 at 20:56

But I'm following th shift light... :-/