New Cobalt XFE and new to hypermiling

[Burnt]

Hey guys, I just bought a barely used 2009 cobalt sedan LT XFE (3k miles on it for $13k OTD), i'm brand new to hypermiling, but I'm really enjoying the challenge of learning the driving skillset


Currently, I'm 20% highway, 80% city (ouch).I've been averaging 30-32mpg on this tank - I think I can do much better though, as I get the hang of driving efficiently.

In a couple months I will be switching to 60-80% highway (I'm a grad student studying anesthesia, I'll be switching to a new hospital), and I'm looking forward to seeing what I can do with the XFE

I just taught my wife how to drive stick, so hopefully she'll get into it too....she's very 'eco-concious', and I think she's happy with my new obsession with fuel efficiency.

[Daox]

Welcome to the site Burnt. It'll be interesting to see what you can do with the Cobalt.

[MetroMPG]

Hi Burnt. (Hope you don't mind I copied your post into a new "Intro" thread.)

Nice to see another XFE owner on board. I have a feeling these cars are going to be sought after by a certain segment of the budget-minded ecomodding / hypermiling community once they start appearing on the used car market.

Does it have a resettable MPG gauge on board?

[mcrews]

Not sure where your mileage is at today, but I personally would change the oil and filter asap.
I have seen several reports that show the majority of all engine wear over the life of an engine, is in the first 5k miles.
mainly beacause the trace metal that is wearing off during the breakin are still in the oil.
Others here my be able to validate or un-validate this.

[cfg83]

Burnt -

Welcome to EM! The Cobalt XFE is a nice machine. Looking forward to your progress.

CarloSW2

[Burnt]

Thanks guys!

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

Does it have a resettable MPG gauge on board?

Yes it does, both instant and mpg average (I think all cobalts come standard with them).....it also has a tire pressure readout for each tire...right now I'm at 30 psi, which from my understanding is low....the low resistance tires that the XFEs' come with can go up to 44 PSI, I think.

Originally Posted by mcrews

Not sure where your mileage is at today, but I personally would change the oil and filter asap.

thanks for the advice, will do!

[MetroMPG]

And the gauge is resettable? That's great.

Oh yeah - definitely get the tire pressure up. You'll notice a difference.