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Originally Posted by UltArc
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Bigger capacity engine wastes more fuel idling, and moving slowly. Also, reving up. from personal experience, that is.
My engine is smaller, but my mileage sucks until I get going. I can get 40 mpg because I can roll in 6th gear from 25 mph and up, but if I stop, my mileage just plummits. Accelerating, though, I get terrible fuel economy. In the city I can get 30+ from shifting at 1200 rpms, to 650 rpms, and never stopping.
If I just accelerate, then the fuel consumption is terrible. Hence why one can get a hybrid and get great mileage without altering driving style. Electric motor does start up, and then fuel motor does higher speeds, recharging, so on. And a smaller engine pulling is more efficient in down time.
If you do NOT want to change your driving style, then instrumentation showing true rpm and real life mpg/fuel use will help as much as you let it (instead of the factory stuff which doesn't compare), aero mods will help- visible or not, and although there is no well tested info here, I continue to see claims of mpg gains by cold air induction. Now that is very subjective, but the Mustang forum I have been visiting has a lot of people who strictly want performance. An after thought was increased mpg, per tank. Most people say 2mpg, a couple said only one. So, now this isn't very technical, if you don't want to change your driving style, that might also give you a boost, and then you have the performance option, too.
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Thanks. Your reply makes sense.
I've only had this new vehicle about two weeks now. And I've just started asking questions and searching for answers. I'm only on my second gas tank, and mileage has improved to 13.5 mpg according to the on-board computer. It seems to be pretty accurate overall. I do keep track of my fuel usage on all but my motorcycle, and keep a running log every time I fuel up. That's only been once so far for this vehicle.
I actually drive pretty conservatively already, and mileage still sucks. Its not my goal to get 100 mpg out of a vehicle. My goal is (to the extent I can) undue all the mandates the government puts on the manufacturers that adversely affects the vehicle's efficiency.
Back in the '60's, I had '55 Lincoln that had an enormous V8 engine (368 cu in (6.0 L) displacement) -- back in an era where gasoline was cheap and efficiency wasn't a big concern for manufacturers. And I would punch it sometimes. That old Lincoln (and it was ten years old when I got it), still got as good or better better gas mileage than this 2012 Nissan (4.0 L).
I already mentioned the '92 Nissan of twenty years ago. And I have the 2001 Mazda Tribute that I keep a meticulous log on. So I have some relatively reliable points along the last 50 years that tells me something is drastically wrong with this current mileage picture. Yes there are differences in engine size that account for some of it, but not all of it. An awful lot of technical improvements have been made that allow vehicle engines to be much more efficient than they were decades ago.
I appreciate all this advice on making the best of it. And I will be looking at all your efficiency tips and trying them out. But I want to do more than just go with the flow -- I want to go back to pure efficiency and undue some of these EPA mandates.
That's why I have asked questions on things that I have read, such as ethanol removal, acetone, diesel in the fuel. They weren't presented by me as answers. I just heard about them, and was seeking some more information.
What did i get on this site from some of the members? Derision for asking the questions.
Anyway, I appreciate getting a straight answer from you. Thanks.