50 mpg Matrix/Vibe?

[Daox]

Quote, originally posted by Kamikaze »Daox,My last tank of gas (8 gallons) I got 21mpg.. my worse so far.I have an 06 base, auto, no engine mods (or air intake) It was all intown driving, about 14 miles per day is hwy 50-60mph. I don't floor the car and very rarely do the RPM's go over 3k.I'm thinking it has to do with the difference in temperature (colder weather) and possibly a switch over to the winter blend of gas that we get with additional additives that give us worse gas milage.Usually my milage is in the 27-28mpg range, I just switched over to Mobile 1 Syn. oil too. There are a few things that lead to worse mileage as winter sets in. The colder temperature causes most of this.1) Your car takes longer to warm up, and is less effecient until it is warmed up.2) As stated by Tubaryan12 tire pressure plays a pretty big role in mileage. The colder it gets, the lower the pressure in your tires will be. Check them as often as you need to to keep them in specs.2) Also as stated, winter fuel blends are different from summer blends. These lower mileage.Switching to a synthetic would probably help somewhat, but not a ton. The real benefit here is lessening the engine wear on startup and during running.Quote, originally posted by quicksilver »Also Daox, how do you get that good of mileage?I mainly just use a few driving techniques to increase mileage. I've been experimenting with a lot of new things lately, so I can't attribute it to any one specifically though. As soon as I nail it down I'll be sure to share it with everyone. I would recommend reading through this article and trying out a few things. Some of them you'll probably not be comfortable with, and some you may not be able to do (with an automatic trans). But, try a few and see how it works out. That is what I'm doing with my other car (1997 Toyota Paseo) and I'm currently getting 48ish mpg (up from the high 30s, see pic below). I've been trying things with the Matrix too, but my wife mainly drives it so its hard to tell what works and what doesn't. If you are intrigued with that article, check out cleanmpg.com. There are a bunch of guys/gals there trying things out daily. Sign up on the board and they'll help you increase your mileage.Here is my Matrix mileage log. As you can see it jumps up and down a LOT.

[Kamikaze]

Thank you Doax.I work PT at a gas station, and have a compressor at home, so I check the tire pressure pretty regularly to keep it consistent.I think as a Xmas gift to myself I will pick up the scanguage, I think that will be my single most important improvement that I can do.. I just hate so see the price, b/c for the amount of $ it will cost, that's alot of MPG I will loose. (although it will be beneficial in the long run since I will be able to see & clear codes for my car and others.

[ab2cmiller]

Daox,It looks like you almost made it to 50 mpg on your last tank. Any new mod's or techniques you are implementing or are you simply perfecting exisiting techniques?

[Daox]

Well, it wasn't that close, but as close as I have gotten so far. The actual milage was 46.2. It was this high mainly because that tank was mostly me driving it. My wife doesn't drive for mileage to the extent that I do, and since we carpool almost every day she drags my numbers down. I just mapped out a different route on a common trip we make to upper WI to see our parents. The new route chops off about 20 miles and you travel at 55 instead of 65. It takes 10 minutes more which is not bad considering its almost a 4 hr trip. This makes for some pretty amazing mileage and thats how I got the 59.1 mpg in the Paseo. My goal for it is 60 mpg, but its doesn't really have anything done to it for mileage. Next time I go up I'll probably take the Matrix just to see what I can do with it. I definitly know 50 is not out of the realm of possibility.

[jerryn]

50MPG? Hmm.. If I am light on the accelerator I get 32mpg with my GT. If I drive it like I usually do I get 29mpg. I wouldn't want to go with skinnier tires but if your are trying to go for high mpg go for skinny tires and inflate the tires to max psi, go with low traction hard rubber stuff.. won't be good in the rain/ice/snow/sand/or heat but you will get better mpg. I'd rather leave my tires the way they are. Go with a hotter spark plug than stock, side gap your spark plugs. If you don't know what I'm talking about you can google it. I checked there's a lot of posting about side gapping.

[tx_wrx]

speaking of plugs, has anyone tried the pulse star plugs? Think that is the name of the ones that contain a capacitor internally so they charge and release a more powerful spark in a shorter period of time. Supposed to increase mileage but i cant find any real good tests of the product.As for going with harder tires that are narrower... no thanks i value my life too much. Now i might put 195s with sticky rubber on my car but not prios style tires. I prefer to stop fast when i need to. I have heard that tread pattern can have an impact that that long ridges running the length of the tire can be beneficial for mileage. Would be nice if someone out there tested this stuff

[Mattsky]

I have no idea about the upgrades you are trying to get better mileage. Does any of what you are doing effect the cars warranty? This is my experience in my very short time owning a Vibe.I have a 2009 Vibe with 2.4 liter engine and automatic transmission. I have had it a little over a week and took it on a trip to Cape Cod for the 4th of July weekend. It was in the 90s so I had the AC cranked up for the whole trip. I was a 269 mile trip between gas stations. Traffic slowed my trip by about 45 minutes. I kept the speed at about 61 - 62 mph. sometimes it was slower due to congestion on I95. I got 31.7 mpg.On the return trip I had a heavier foot and drove around 70 mph most of the trip and I got 29.2 mpg. I wonder how much the AC hurts the MPG. Anybody know?

[Daox]

Read through my build thread. I actually haven't done a ton of mods yet. Time is always a problem. None of the mods effect warranty AFIK. Most of the gains have been through improving my driving technique.http://forums.genvibe.com/zerothread?id=28781

[keithvibe]

On the hyway not much at all. If you drove with the windows open you would have been creating more of a drag. On the hyways your better with the windows up and the air on.I wouldn't worry too much about your MPG yet.. give it a few thousand miles. I didn't start seeing better MPG till i hit about 5000miles on the engine.I will see what i get going to TN in two weeks but i hope to hit close to 40mpg with my awd.

[Mattsky]

Keith thanks for the response. I did know that having the windows open was worse then using the AC. I didn't know about the mileage improving after about 5,000 miles. I haven't hit a 1000 miles yet. My car is rated at 29mpg on the highway. I was pleased to beat that and it is good to know it will improve down the road.

[ned23]

Drive down hill from the top of the rocky mountains. You might even beat 50 mpg.

[Old Tele man]

...some "things" that can drastically or subtley affect your gas milage:1) Temperature (winter-vs-summer; morning-vs-afternoon, etc.)2) Wind (velocity and direction--with/against)3) Vehicle loading (empty vs. full gas tank, ~6 lbs/US-gallon)4) Traffic (light, moderate, congested; idling = 0.0 MPG)5) Driving methodology (drafting a semi at 75 mph, etc.)6) Tire pressure (low (less MPG)-vs-high (more MPG) pressures)7) Gasoline ("winter" vs "summer" blends, alcohol has LESS energy than gasoline!)8) etc.

[MarkM04]

I guess it never happened.As they say, "aint no fu@king way."

[keithvibe]

the highest i got was 57mpg with my awd... but I was drafting a buddy of mine for close to 200miles, doing 75mph at a distance of about 15feet. But i have never seen that again. lol I was nascar'ing it baby lol

[Old Tele man]

...uh, what was your buddy's milage for that trip? About half of what he expected?

[MarkM04]

Probably either the same, or better.

[keithvibe]

Quote, originally posted by Old Tele man »...uh, what was your buddy's milage for that trip? About half of what he expected?32 mpg and he's supercharged as well.

[Harsh]

I dont think so. Heck, they can not even make the stupid smart car get decent mileage in my opinion and that thing is a tin can. Someday we will all have efficient diesel's with more power, better economy and longer life. We can thank GM for screwing up the american view on Diesel in the early 80's with their 350 turned into diesel which was not even close to being heavy duty enough to handle diesel compression. Oh well, rant off. I wish you luck and we will see how close you can get!

[hotbug1776]

When idle stop start systems become aftermarket add on systems, then we'll get closer to that 50 mpg average. Not until then though.

[KITT222]

Quote, originally posted by hotbug1776 »When idle stop start systems become aftermarket add on systems, then we'll get closer to that 50 mpg average. Not until then though. I predict it will be 2013 when a rough system comes out, and 2015 before a good system comes out. Then, 2020 when it becomes standard on all cars, mandated or not. 2030, and you'll need a special title to run a car without start-stop.

[hotbug1776]

Quote, originally posted by KITT222 »I predict it will be 2013 when a rough system comes out, and 2015 before a good system comes out. Then, 2020 when it becomes standard on all cars, mandated or not. 2030, and you'll need a special title to run a car without start-stop. I've been studying it recently, believe me. When the prospect of more usable fuel per tank comes in and the cost of said fuel is going up, there is no argument, saving fuel is the only option. The second a reliable system is brought to market, I'm jumping on it.