35.97 mpg...

... was my calculated[1] fuel consumption rate for an ~84 mile drive from Fredericksburg, Virginia, to Reston, Virginia on Sunday. I intentionally drove as conciously of fuel consumption as possible, without causing a dangerous situation. Average speeds were in the

55-63 mph range, with just a few stoplights and runs through the gears. Mostly 4-lane state and county highways, with speed limits of either 55mph or 60mph, but with most traffic running at 65-75 mph; I stayed in the right lane and lost count of the number of vehicles that passed me. I passed *maybe* 10-12 trucks during the entire run.

1997 Miata 1.8l "M" edition, dead stock, 60k miles on it, with top down, and two passengers; normal (mostly around town) MPG is ~28; normal highway mpg is ~30-32.

I was pleased with the results, but it was difficult to drive the Miata that way, even for just 84 miles! I probably won't do it again, just to save a couple of tenths of a gallon of gas. ;-)

Tim

[1] topped off before and after, to the top of the filler neck; 'burped' to elminate the dreaded air bubble(s).
Reply to
Tim M.
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Reply to
Chuck

Good point, that's quite possible. This is a brutal exercise though isn't it!? You do it once and you don't want to do it again!

Chris

99BBB
Reply to
Chris D'Agnolo

Roger that. I did a gas mileage rally once, and came in second with 37.4 mpg. It was horrible, staying under 2500 rpm and using as little throttle or brakes as possible. Never again.

BTW, the winner had a 1.6 and got FORTY-TWO! I think he overinflated his tires beforehand, whereas I did nothing whatsoever for preparation.

Reply to
Lanny Chambers

It's mostly flat. Actually, my starting point was about 100 feet above sea level and my ending point was a little under 400 feet above sea level.

Anyway, not what the Miata was made for. Just an interesting observation, and really an exercise that I don't care to repeat!

Reply to
BK

That's amazing, I can't seem to get over 27 but then I can't seem to cruise on the freeway at anything below 70. Not sure if my mileage is 'normal' or below.

Later, cd

99BBB
Reply to
Chris D'Agnolo

Have a look at this thread:

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Reply to
Donwill

The entire point of a car like a Miata is being able to rip through the gears without being a menace to society and while still returning reasonable mileage.

I have a geek buddy who has a Prius and thinks hypermiling is the best possible thing you can do with a car. We agreed to disagree.

Reply to
Carbon

part of his 40 mpg is imperial gallons...a larger than ours, sorry guys the brit are bigger than we are on this one

One imperial gallon is approximately equal to 1.201 U.S. gallons. One imperial gallon is exactly 4.54609 litres, whereas one U.S. gallon is exactly 3.7854118 liters.

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peter

Thanks Peter, that makes allot of sense. When he's quoting Imperial gallons, he should be quoting kilometers so we clue in quicker ;-)

Chris

99BBB
Reply to
Chris D'Agnolo

With my 99LE, which is a bit heavy (+100 lbs. or so above stock), and a SBB turbo-- Highway cruise mileage is about the same as it was before the turbo, with a very slight improvement if I use a stock thermostat. The mileage goes from about 31-32 to about 28-29 with a 180 Deg. thermostat and "detuning" to "safely" use 90 octane instead of 93. Detuning also reduces the max HP from ~220 to ~180 at full throttle.

Red Miatas go faster than white ones, since they don't have as much "photon pressure" to fight. More photons get converted to heat. (Let's see if Leon is still around!) (>G

Reply to
Chuck

My wife's car is an Escape Hybrid. I drive that car totally different than I drive the Miata. We were in San Francisco yesterday and I could drive with traffic continuously right below 30MPH and run the battery out. Our average with that car is around 30MPG.

The Miata gets driven like a Miata should. I have no idea what the gas mileage is and don't really care. No complaints, of course; quite the opposite.

Ken

Reply to
KWS

The mpg for my '93 has been declining since I bought it new. I attribute to my only driving it for pleasure for the last 13 years combined with the desire to keep the revs high when driving curves.

Jim

Reply to
Jim

E10 reduces mileage by about 10%. It's just inert filler, sold at gasoline prices; there's no benefit, yet we're forced to buy it because ConAgra's lobbyists bought our legislators. Worse, the carbon footprint of the ethanol manufacturing process is larger than the gasoline it replaces. It's all about money, as usual: the enrichment of a few at the expense of many.

Reply to
Lanny Chambers

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