Shattered 30 mpg... In the Buick!!!

[Will]

2003 Buick Century 723 miles on 22.54 gals. = 32.08 mpg.

Things have been pretty hectic around here recently, as most of you know, so we decided that we needed to get out. We went to the Cumberland Mountains of East Tennessee. It was a soul cleansing trip, and we really needed it.

Before we left I convinced my wife to let me "play" with her car. I raised the tires to 44psi, and duct taped her upper grill. I only wanted to hit 30 mpg, so I was glad to smash the goal. She made me take the tape off when we got back home, but I don't normally drive this car much, anyway.

All told, it was a great FE performance from a fully loaded Buick!!!!

[ankit]

Yes, that is amazing fuel economy for the monster (the car is pretty large IMO), especially for mountains. Hope everything is going alright, again we are here for you.

[rmay635703]

My 98 buick lesabre consistantly got 27-33mpg until its motor blew out at 93k (no mods or hypermiling either) Put in a 2001 buick motor and now its hard to hit 30mpg.

Average was around 29.8mpg but I drove almost all highway on the original 98motor. Too bad there isn't a good way of getting a manual tranny in one of these

Buicks get better mileage natively than most seem to believe, not sure what was done but the cars get good mileage for their size.

[cfg83]

Will -

I shake your virtual hand!

CarloSW2

[Who]

Buicks get better mileage natively than most seem to believe, not sure what was done but the cars get good mileage for their size.

I'm inclined to think that the overall gearing is quite tall and very well suited to the powerband of the 3.8L V6. I used to frequently rent Park Aves to run around Northern Ontario and I was always impressed that the highway mileage wasn't much off what my carb'd manual Civic got.

[bhazard]

That car has that big of a gas tank? Its a midsize, I wouldnt expect much bigger than 18 gals out of it.

[rmay635703]

Originally Posted by bhazard

That car has that big of a gas tank? Its a midsize, I wouldnt expect much bigger than 18 gals out of it.

It technically has a 17 gallon tank but i've squeezed around 19 topping off, I would guess he averaged two tanks.

[IndyIan]

Originally Posted by Who

I'm inclined to think that the overall gearing is quite tall and very well suited to the powerband of the 3.8L V6. I used to frequently rent Park Aves to run around Northern Ontario and I was always impressed that the highway mileage wasn't much off what my carb'd manual Civic got.

I've read in a couple places that the 2 valves per cylinder helps alot for low rpm air/fuel mixing, also they heat the intake mainifold with engine coolant which help for full mixing of the fuel. Tall gearing and I think a relatively aero shape help for sure too.

I had an 81 olds omega with the 2.8L V6 that would get high 20's mpg on highway trips all the time with a carb and a 3 spd auto with no torque converter if I kept the speed down around 55mph. That engine is the basis of the 3.1 used in the century.

[RH77]

Congrats! I hope you had a good trip

I used to love to rent the Century when I had to pay for the gas.

That car is a brilliant package. I once squeezed 6 family members in a rental with the bench seat. It was a tight squeeze, but I couldn't believe the FE and the ride was still decent. Over ~200 miles, I think it was in the high 20's MPG, avg. speed of 40-ish. It virtually idles in OD/TC!

I had the 3100 V-6 in another vehicle and loved it. Long live the GM 60-degree V-6!

RH77

[Will]

Thanks, I had a great trip that was long overdue.

The engine is a 3.1L 3100 series V6. I agree about the gearing. I do not have a tach in it, but there is a very noticable drop when it goes into OD. I must admit the Buick is one of my favorite cars there is. All the comforts you can imagine with the FE of most smaller cars.