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Comments
-Frank
Tires: You changed to tires with a higher rolling resistance, or don't inflate them to as high as pressure as before. But you may want tires that can handle rough roads and will have to compromise on rolling resistance. Are you still using the OE tire size?
Oil: You are using an oil with a higher viscosity than needed. With modern oils, changing oil at 3 kmi is an unnecessarily short interval, unless you are frequently in very dusty conditions. Use synthetic of the right viscosity (check the manual) and change at 7.5 kmi at the shortest.
Fuel: Ethanol in gasoline up to 10% could cause a 3% lower mpg which is 0.8 mpg less starting at 28 mpg.
I don't drive in dusty conditions usually so I think I will extend my oil changes a little and try the synthetic oils next time.
I never thought about ethanol but most of the gas I use does have 10% ethanol. That probably has something to do with it.
I also change the air filter every 10K as recommended.
Thanks again for the suggestions. Hank
Even tires that are the same size can reduce your mpg. Especially if they're are more performance oriented.
I wil try dropping the pressure by a few pounds and see if that helps
That will make your mpg worse! Increasing the air pressure in your tires will improve your mpg. However, if you increase it too much, you'll compromise the vehicle's handling. On my aftermarket tires, I keep the pressure about halfway between what the manufacturer recommends for the OE tires and the max psi listed on the sidewall.
-Frank
The thing is, I get 17 - 18 mpg highway with the Avalanche no matter how loaded down it is. And I figure, if I added dual exhaust, a cold air intake and an E-Con programmer, I could probably improve that by a couple mpg and improve performance.
So, from what I'm reading here, I'll pay quite a fuel mileage penalty stepping down from the Beetle TDI and won't gain that much by parking the Avalanche. I was just hoping I could routinely return 25 mpg+.
Thanks for the input.
As I've said before, this still beats the city mileage I get out of the F150, or what I got out of the cursed Dodge Intrepid :lemon: (whose untimely demise led directly to my purchasing the Forester :shades: a month ago).
My city driving is not heavy here in Fairbanks, Alaska, but last summer in my '07 Outback (manual tranny), I averaged 26-27 around town.
This last winter in my 08 Outback (auto), I got right at 20 through the coldest months of the year (-10 to -45 F); my old '96 Outback would drop to as low as 15-16 during that period, and my minivan even hit 13.5 on one tank last winter. I think your driving conditions would be harsh, indeed, if you averaged less than 20.
Good luck.
My wife drove up, and got 30.0mpg. She hit 33 mpg for a short while, but the full trip was 30.
Then I drove back, the same route but with less traffic, so my speeds were higher. I got 27.0mpg.
She won, but I was impressed with the highway fuel efficiency. :shades:
Overall I drive pretty conservatively without holding up traffic & have been averaging about 23 -26 on daily driving (70% urban 30% freeway). High way averages about 28-30 with best has been just over 32 mpg.
Overall I am very satisfied. It sounds like the mpg are better on the 09s & I hope to get one about 2010. At that point I will probably get an AT & would hope SOA implant a good CVT in the Forster. I have had a civic & A4 with CVT & love em!
We're past 1000 miles so now it's officially broken in.
The MPG read-out is indicating about 26.4 MPG at 70MPH with the A/C on. At 55 MPH on level roads it reads as high as 32 MPG. Average around town it seems to be ~22 MPG so far.
I am impressed with the performance considering only 170HP compared to my previous Ford Ranger 4WD with the 4.0L V6. On this same trip it would average about 20 MPG in the summer with the A/C on. Around town the best would be 15 MPG and in the winter as low as 11-12 MPG
My 2008 NA automatic routinely betters that in the summer:
http://aatherton06.home.insightbb.com/Forester/For_MPG.htm
And it has big mirrors, roof rack, bubble deflector, and tires set to the door sticker pressure. Such mileage requires economical driving habits.
By the way, that is a very complete chart you're keeping. I keep ODO, trip, fuel used, mpg and brand of fuel, but that's about it. And I haven't been very religious about it lately.
I put the Corsa cat-back exhaust, AEM cold air intake and Hypertech Max Energy E-Con programmer on the Avalanche and actually lost 1 mpg for this particular trip. I'm still trying to figure that one out. I had anticipated about a 2 mpg gain.
My commute sounds like a previous post. 2 or 3 miles of slow suburban driving, then 25 miles of freeway at 65 - 75 (mostly 75) followed by 5 miles of suburban traffic with numerous stop lights (40 - 45 when you're moving). It usually takes me about 40 minutes.
Did you mean 3.0L? That was the V6 in the Escape.
Today I went 170 miles on freeway and got 31 mpg. I am very pleasantly surprised.
CR got 2mpg better with a manual. We're happy with our auto so I can only imagine the mileage you could get with a 5MT.
Another question about chains or cables. If you really needed them, would you put them on the front or back (or would all tires need to have them)?
Even with FWD you would not want the rear end slipping and getting in front of you.
I really don't recommend it.
Think of it this way - you save $5 a month on gas (whoopee), but lose the functionality of a $1750 option.
Why would you want to go to FWD with a flat tire?
Inserting the fuse in the AWD slot permanently energizes the solenoid that uncouples the power to the rear wheels. The rear drive train still turns, being dragged by the rear wheels. The solenoid is not designed for a continuous duty and will soon burn up.
On page 9-3 the 2008 Owners Manual says the spare only goes on the rear:
"The temporary spare tire must be used only on a rear wheel. If a front wheel tire gets punctured, replace the wheel with a rear wheel and install the temporary spare tire in place of the removed rear wheel."
As for disabling the AWD, the manual says that only applies to the 4EAT. On page 9-3 the manual says:
"All AWD AT non-turbo models without Vehicle Dynamics Control system: Before driving your vehicle with the temporary spare tire, put a spare fuse inside the FWD connector in the main fuse box located in the engine compartment and confirm that the Front Wheel Drive warning light "AWD" in the combination meter comes on. The all wheel drive capability of the vehicle has now deactivated. After re-installing the conventional tire, remove the spare fuse from the FWD connector in order to reactivate all wheel drive."
So, the steps called for by the Owners Manual are:
FLAT ON FRONT
1. Remove a rear tire.
2. Install the temporary spare in its place.
3. Remove the flat front tire.
4. Install the rear tire in its place.
5. Remove the storage tray and its contents from the spare tire well.
6. Put the flat tire in the well.
-- And for the 4EAT automatic transmission:
7. In the fusebox, install the spare fuse in the FWD slot to disable AWD.
8. A sticker on the temporary spare warns not to exceed 50 mph.
9. Don't drive too far in FWD or damage to drive train may occur.
10. After the flat tire is fixed, put all 3 tires back in their original places.
11. Remove the fuse to restore AWD.
FLAT ON REAR
1. Remove flat tire.
2. Install the temporary spare in its place.
3. Remove the storage tray and its contents from the spare tire well.
4. Put the flat tire in the well.
-- And for the 4EAT automatic transmission:
5. In the fusebox, install the spare fuse in the FWD slot to disable AWD.
6. A sticker on the temporary spare warns not to exceed 50 mph.
7. Don't drive too far in FWD or damage to drive train may occur.
8. After the flat tire is fixed, put the 2 tires back in their original places.
9. Remove the fuse to restore AWD.
You can avoid all this trouble if you just replace the compact spare with a full size spare. Take out the storage tray and the compact spare, and put in a full size spare with the storage bucket to support the floor panel. I did, and it only cost about $200. Got an almost new steel wheel and Geolandar off eBay, and ordered the bucket from the dealer.
That's what I said.
The donut, i.e. the temp spare, goes on the rear axle.
The manual agrees with me.
The best I've seen was 29.2 -- that was probably coasting down from the Sierras.
Our '09 is also improving, though that trend stopped once the bitter cold arrived. We're still mid-high 20s, though.
I know the vehicle new and a little disappointed, but hoping for better mpg when broken in. I filled up back at the Mass border and have driven another 160 miles and trip computer says 28.8, so I am guessing actual mpg per consumption perhaps in the 27 range.
I find trip computers in every car I have owned past several years always optomistic. Plus on the six mile long hill down west of Westfield, MA will always inflate the mpg on a trip. Let everyone know next time I fill up.
Anyway, congrats. Squeezing every last drop may result in consistency later on, but I suspect you are probably right on that first tank and put in more fuel than was originally there. I keep a log of fill ups on my vehicles and have it set up such that it keeps a great running average, monthly average, and cost of fuel per mile, etc.
I have kept accurate mileage records on every vehicle I have owned for at least the last 30 years. I don't know why I do it. Get to the gas station record date, mileage, gas put in, temperature, mpg per computer, and actual mpg. Sop when I post mpg on any board, it is accurate!
Mileage will improve, since the engine is still very green.
I didn't hit peak MPG in my 1998 Forester until 15k miles, and I tracked mileage the same way you do, using an Excel chart.
In NY State in particular, if you are caught talking on a hand-held phone, I believe the fine is $200. I haven't been caught yet but with the bluetooth in new car, I should be ok.
My fuel filler door has a sticker that says do not overfill after the pump clicks off, and some people say that overfilling can put liquid into the vapor recovery system (charcoal cannister) and cause an error code. But other people overfill in the belief that the more gas they can put into the tank, the better mileage they will get.
Well, there are some pretty dumb people out there! How can you get better mpg by filling the tank to the brim? We agree that me improve the range a bit, but doesn't have a damn thing to do with mpg.
I am always very careful when I fill the tank not to let if overflow. Right or wrong, I have been doing this for years & never had a problems with the vapor recovery system. I am very careful not to overfill, so I don't think I am causing any harm. Just hard to change old ways.
I am well into my second tank now, gone around 230 miles and trip computer says 26.7 I believe. 80 miles ago when I came back from long highway trip computer read 29.1, I believe but during the last 80 miles has dropped to where it is now.
Keeping my fingers crossed once this vehicle is broken in I will average around 24 or so "around town, etc." but when I go on long trip hoping for 27 - 28. Time will tell...
I do think it could be coaxed a bit for higher mpgs. I used to have a Mini Cooper S, which was supercharged, EPA was 28hwy, and i consistently got 32 mpg AVERAGE with a 6 speed.
What are you guys seeing?
I got great gas mileage on regular before with the MiniS.
I guess its just a personal preference.