How to maximize fuel economy?

Discussion in 'Modifications & DIY how-to' started by GTscoob, Feb 4, 2008.

  1. GTscoob

    GTscoob Black is Beautiful

    How do you guys drive to maximize your fuel economy? I've tried a couple different things, from shifting a 3K to running light throttle all the way up to 3.5-4K before shifting but I cant seem to get more than 200 miles or so per tank.

    I know staying out of boost will help but my fuel economy doesnt seem to get much worse even if I boost a couple psi around town. For the record I do have really short gears which is why I need work harder for good mileage.

    It did seem like I was getting ~25mpg or so on the highway when I drove the car for a couple hours on a road trip. . .
     
  2. Sparta

    Sparta Active Member

    dayum only 2oo to tank? That sucks man. Could you possibly get it tuned to a better mpg?
    Don't you also have a jdm sti swap? I'm on stage 2 and I believe I get almost 300 (If I drive normal)
     
  3. Jake

    Jake Active Member

    the guy who bought my car is now getting better gas mileage on an untuned hybrid (2.5lblock/2.0lheads) motor than i was getting on my tuned stage 2, 2.0l motor. he is averaging over 27mpg. granted it is his commuter car, which involves mostly back and forth to work on the interstate. but the best i EVER got was just under 26mpg on the highway.
     
  4. clemsonscooby

    clemsonscooby Active Member

    Anybody have data for economy mode on Cobb?
     
  5. WJM

    WJM Banned

    its all about the gearing....

    a stock gear'd and turbo'd WRX will usually get 30~32 mpg at 74mph on interstate trips.

    Around town? forget it. I average 8mpg. lol
     
  6. ScoobyMike

    ScoobyMike OG Mod

    In my wagon, running 240whp/330wtq...if I stay out of boost on the highway 75-78mph i average about 26-27mpg, now in the city....just plan sux some where around 14-15mpg....highway tank around 300, city tank 220 maybe.....
     
  7. BKiller

    BKiller Active Member

    Yeah, I am stage2 and I get just at 300 miles per tank right now.
    I usually shift from 2nd to 4th around town.
     
  8. scoobaru

    scoobaru Active Member

    i havent really had any highway mileage...but i average 16-18 around town. :rofl:
     
  9. Superdude

    Superdude Active Member

    i'm getting around 300-340 a tank driving thru town. it's a mix of both highway and city.
    gutted UP, K&N panel filter and a 3" cat-back.
    i just make it a point to get into 5th as much as i can. if i'm traveling 35 mph or faster, 5th has enough push not to bog the engine. seems to work for me anyway.
     
  10. dontcallitarex

    dontcallitarex Active Member

    Keep your tire pressures on the hard side, for one. I usually run abour 36psi in all four tires and I seem to average 1-2mpg more than with the door sill reccomended ones. Also, yeah do your best to stay out of boost and be in the highest gear you can manage without bogging your oh-so-precious-gem of a JDM Ver 7. :) Skip shifting from 2-4th helps as well, since I believe you have the JDM 5 speed? If so, as you know, super close gearing.

    And yeah, isn't really much to be done around town. I get 10 if I'm lucky, since I start building boost at like 500rpm above idle. lol
     
  11. Brian

    Brian Active Member

    I get 17mpg around town, 23 on the highway and 4 at the track. YMMV ;)
     
  12. wrxin8or

    wrxin8or Mullitt Staff Member

    Another thing that may be hurting your mileage right now, is the cold starts. The car uses a lot more fuel on cold starts when it is cold out...
     
  13. Superdude

    Superdude Active Member

    yeah, but doesn't the turbo/intercooler work more efficiently in the cold?
     
  14. AK_Raptor

    AK_Raptor Member

    This weekend I got about 13 mpg in the city usually 17-18 but on the highway i always get 26
     
  15. FACE

    FACE Active Member

    I am getting 16-18 even being good...colder air is denser and we will use more fuel.

    I think the only way to save gas is to drive less! :rofl:
     
  16. Dacula Dean

    Dacula Dean Member

    I'm getting 23-24 regularly with surface street commuting. I always shift at 3K unless I know I want more power (or I'm in a mood). I do go to 5th whenever I can.

    2002 WRX, gutted UP, Helix hi-flo cat DP, STI exhaust, Cobb stage 2.

    Will, you have "30 MPG" as your favorite mod. Are you talking something special here?

    DD
     
  17. FRCFED4

    FRCFED4 Member

    i get about 30 mpg highway out of boost and the road is flat. city is about 12-15.

    shifting at 3-3.5k very light throttle. i also make it into 6th asap which is usually around 50 or so

    im cobb stg 2, w/ cobb intake and exhaust. i've heard a lot of different things ranging from leaving the dccd to full open, to skipping a lot of gears (2-4 and 4-6
     
  18. KA05STi

    KA05STi Member

    as far as skipping gears I am gonna start going from 1-3-5-6..
     
  19. Eco Auto Clean

    Eco Auto Clean Active Member

    If I behave myself I can usually get around 290-310 to the tank/24mpg..The majority of my driving is on the highway. I currently don't have any mods (other than suspension)
     
  20. nsvwrx

    nsvwrx Active Member

    highway over 300
    city~270
     
  21. usu. 22-24 m.p.g.basically stock.have gotten a little over 30 on a long trip. In the cold weather you will prob. use more fuel since the air is denser(?) so more fuel to compensate.
    Prob the best way to maximize your fuel economy is to remove turbo.nah I don't think so.
     
  22. JJang12

    JJang12 Active Member

    when you have tuned set up, your ECU will enter open loop quicker and earlier compare to stock ECU. Even during usual pass in highway, mine enters into open loop and IDC nearly doubles. If you have tuned-car, be extra gentle on throttle input.
     
  23. Scotty B

    Scotty B Member

    i am a bit of a cheat since i'm N/A but i typically see 300-350 miles between fillups (using 3/4 of a tank or so) running 80% highway. my usual indicator is that i should be seeing at least 100 miles by the first quarter of the tank i run through, which by the end of the tank means 28-30 mpg.

    i keep my tire pressure up, coast as early as possible into red lights, accelerate briskly to get into 5th quick and usually keeping revs 2500 to 3000 or lower before upshifting. on the highway i notice that 65-70 is the sweet spot, above that the aero starts killing my milage and below that i'll get rear ended! also above 50, windows up and AC on when it's hot out.
     
  24. WRXCoupe

    WRXCoupe Active Member

    I used to drive big hp V-8's so this is cake. But........I can't seem to keep from getting into boost, so I put extra money aside for gas and cut back a little on food and women, it's a matter of priorities!

    I'm at stage 2 and am about to swap turbos and injectors etc. Economy at this point is like one night stands: if you're not hittin' it hard, you're waisting your time, money and effort, capiche!

    If economy is a big deal, weekend the Suby and by a scooter! It's just as exciting! You're saving big money on gas and most folks just don't care if they kill you, so every mile will take your breath away with excitement!
     
    Last edited: Mar 17, 2008
  25. WJM

    WJM Banned

    Its my Legacy Outback. In bone stock form it was a task to get 28mpg on the interstate. However, with it modded (header/high flow cat/custom center pipe to an STi muffler/cleaner aero package/non-stock ECU) I get 31~32 on the interstate as long as I keep it in the 70~74mph range. Several times I have seen 30mpg with combined city/interstate trips.

    Just around town I see 22~24, if more city than interstate, its still 26~28.

    However, this last trip was either 80~90 mph in traffic, or doing 40~70 treading tropical rainfall...the average was 27.5 for the whole trip. That included the autox on sunday.
     
  26. cannarella

    cannarella Member

    I am stg2 and routinely get 24-25 mpg in day to day driving and about 330 miles per tank. That is with playing around and getting on it. I have gutted UP, TXS stealth back, STi muffler, and SS tune. On the interstate I usually get 27-28 mpg.
     
  27. mattprzy

    mattprzy Active Member

    After reading a CNN report on saving as they recommended driving the speed limit instead of ten over (going 70 in a 70 instead of 80). So I tried it out and on this tank I made 325 before the light came on. I used to only see 240ish going 80 the whole way to work. (26 miles one way).

    So i go 70 for the short stretch of interstate that is 70mph then 65 (speed limit) the rest of the way to work (including 55mph construction zones). I used to leave home 40 minutes before work to get there on time now I leave 10 minutes early drive speed limit and get there 15-10 minutes early.
     
  28. UpSideDownDesi

    UpSideDownDesi Active Member

    lol i am on 2.5/2.0 hybird.....best i ever got was about 18-20mpg....around city i get about 13-14mpg and that's normal driving...staying out of boost. I come down to about 7mpg as soon as i start driving hard lo.
     
    Last edited: Apr 4, 2008
  29. ridinobryan

    ridinobryan Member

    Here's an interesting tid-bit. I have 2 sets of wheels. the stock wrx 05's with Winston Winners 205/55/R16's (came with the car) and some stock 02's with BFG G-Force Sports 225/50/ZR16's. When I got the car I wasn't really paying attention to mpg's, so I don't remember what I was getting then. I've been running the BFG's for about a couple of months and getting anywhere from 240-280 per tank. Switched back to the 05's and got 300. Do about 25 miles of highway and 6 miles city per day driving during the week. guess tire size/tread is the difference on my situation. might have to stick with the 05's if gas prices start getting higher.
     
  30. nsvwrx

    nsvwrx Active Member

    More sticky = harder to get car moving
     
  31. mattprzy

    mattprzy Active Member

    I just filled up my second tank on the speed limit driving (with cruise control on) and hit 370miles. Around 28mpg. :D

    Like I said.... Doing 80 the whole way got me 240 miles on one tank.
     
  32. WRXCoupe

    WRXCoupe Active Member

    Well with the new turbo, SS tune and BFG G-Force tires I make sure to maximize the enjoyment of every mile since I am paying more for gas. I try to stay in boost between 4k and 6k constantly that way I am maximizing every gallon! It is a new way of measuring fuel consumption: no MPH it's EPH (enjoyment per gallon).

    If you are truly concerned about gas prices write your congressman or senator as to why we cannot start drilling for oil domestically and build refineries here,OR start buying gas from Mexico the worlds second largest oil producer, but for some reason we are still dependent on OPEC(our enemies ironically)......otherwise you might as well enjoy the money your spending! Why are you paying full price? Because your government has decided to do business, pander to and benefit other folks & countries other than the American People! Don't you think this is more important than swapping tires! Enjoy your car and do as much research on what the "F" is going on in your country as is going on in your car!
     
    Last edited: Apr 11, 2008
  33. GTscoob

    GTscoob Black is Beautiful

    I dont really want to start a debate regarding oil as we can do that elsewhere in the world on not have to rape our own national resources. My opinion rests as if we have it domestically, lets run everyone else in the world out so we have our own resources as backup. This way if we ever go to war and other countries cant afford to put gas in their own aircraft and navy then we've got the upper hand; either this or invest in converting the navy to biodiesel that we can make off our own domestic crops. This keeps US money in the US which aids our own economy.

    Here's a very interesting oil map of the world that a group in my senior seminar class showed us earlier in the semester:
    [​IMG]
     
  34. crashtke

    crashtke Member Supporting Member

    What ever happened to good old Colonialism? Go in take it over and be done with it...troops are already in position lol! That and drill off the coast. China is already doing it through Cuba.
     
  35. Cool_____

    Cool_____ Banned

    Maximize fuel economy? Go the speed limit or no more the 3mph over. I noticed a HUGE increase vs going 5mph or more over. It's all about the gearing and what load section of the fuel map your car is in.
     

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