I've achieved the latest goal that I set myself.
With my latest fill-up, I've used less than 5.5 L/100km for the last three fills in a row.
While I haven't been brave enough to use the whole theoretical 1000km range of the 55 litre tank, all three have been over 900km, with the highest being 960km.
This is from a Mazda Astina that was advertised in Australia as doing 6.6 L/100km
, highway, while the closest equivalent US Mazda was rated at 8.1 L/100km, highway.
I credit four factors with reaching this milestone:
1- Working afternoon shift for the last few months gives me light traffic most of the time.
2- Summer … enough said.
3- Taller tyres. From 195/50/15 to 195/60/15 = 5.7% taller gears, essential for a marque whose whole marketing strategy was based on Zoom Zoom.
4- Ecomodder. Without the positive reinforcement of the folk on this site, I don't believe I'd have kept pushing beyond 6.0 L/100km.
No one on the Astina site that I visit is rude enough to call BS on the fuel consumption figures I've posted previously, but my figures are so far beyond the norm, I get the impression that I'm considered "eccentric".
So here's a big thanks to all who post on this site ... where we can all be eccentric together.
Pete.