2015 Mazda 6, easy 40mpg
 

We bought a new 2015 mazda 6 sport with the manual shift a few months ago and just got done with our second road trip.

The car is as delivered with the tires at the max of 50 psi instead of the recommended 45psi, and all I did otherwise is use the cruise control set right at the 70 mph limit, and the car again got just over 40 mpg for the trip.

Most of the time the econ gauge is hovering in the low 40's, slight uphills drop it into the low thirties, bigger hills into lower 20's, but on the backside of the hills mileage will often jump into the sixties or even 70's. It makes you really notice hills.

Around town my wife is averaging about 30mpg most of the time which is pretty good for her 5 mile all city commute.

According to mazda the car has a low Cd of 0.26, and the gearing is pretty tall in 6th, about 2200 rpm at 60 mph. The result is an effortless 40 mpg hwy, and I suspect you could do much better yet by hypermiling it.

Dean

Great numbers from a newer vehicle, especially at 70 mph. That Cd is remarkably low, on par with the Prius and Insight. 50 mpg would not be too difficult with your vehicle IMO.

This being my first vehicle with a fuel econ readout, I have noticed some counter-intuitive things.

If I don't use the cruise control, and instead just hold the throttle very steady, fuel economy doesn't climb and fall up and down hills barely at all. even though the cars speed is varying. I can maintain 50 plus mpg for long distances if there are no cars backing up behind me doing this.

The other is that very gentle acceleration from stops is not the best plan. Taking off slow keeps econ readout steady in the low teens until I finally reach speed and get it into 6th where the high numbers appear.
I get better average fuel econ by taking off at fairly heavy throttle and let it rev to get up to speed quickly, getting only 8mpg, and then skip most gears right into 6th as soon as I'm going fast enough to do so.

As far as the low Cd and the low rolling resistance tires coupled with the very tall top gear, leaving hwy travel requires me to get off the gas way earlier than my previous cars as the 6 just wants to coast forever without slowing much. I actually need to downshift to increase engine braking while still on the hwy if I want to avoid significant brake use at the stop sign at the end of the off ramps.

The other thing I'm liking is the cars hwy range. 40 mpg and a 16.4 gallon tank means a safe range of 600 plus miles. Its almost as good as owning a diesel. :)

Dean

We've got to bring you into the Mazda fold. Get signed up for team Mazda! We need to give the Honda guys a little competition (secretly also a fan though). Sounds like yours is behaving just like mine. Are you running the 2.5 liter four or the V6?
Wheel covers:thumbup: I was surprised at how comfortable the ride was even at 20% over max sidewall. Partial grill block, scangauge and careful use of AC and I bet you could be doing 50mpg at 55 mph and still be fairly ecostealth if thats your thing.

Throw it in neutral and coast down those hills and watch the fuel mileage go over 200.
Downshift to slow down, or even let off the gas in 6th and your instantaneous mileage goes to infinite. Anticipate having to slow down down shifting instead of braking.

regards
mech

The 2015's only come with the 2.5 4 cylinder, no 6 is available. It does get up and go if you want though, 184 hp and 3100 lbs is quite decent.

The econ gauge maxes at 99 mpg, but it does that every time the throttle is shut at any speed over 10 mph.

As is, setting the cruise at 60 or so causes the econ gauge to sit in the 46-48 range, again so long as there are no hills or significant headwinds.

The only mod I may do would be a partial grill block, but I would have to make it invisible so the Missus won't mind.

Took another short hwy trip, caught a traffic jam but this was balanced by most of the trip being 65 mph instead of the 70 mph of the other two trips. I'm pretty pleased with doing 41.3 mpg again by just setting the cruise control and driving.

I wonder if the car could still be breaking in at the 3k mile mark?

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...8&d=1435595402

Yes, it is still breaking in, and you should see a modest improvement by 9-10k miles.

You may be able to see a slight improvement compared to my first fuel logs(I'm at 20k miles now). There are all of the mods since then to consider as well.

Nice numbers what low rolling tires does it come with? I'm looking at upgrading my car from cheap tires to Goodyear Assurance Fuel Max tires.

These are the stock tires: Yokohama Advan A83A

They seem to have very low rolling resistance, yet grip well when pushed.

It's amazing how efficient these cars are without really trying.

I just got a 2015 Mazda3 2.0 liter sedan with the six-speed automatic tranny. It is probably two or three hundred pounds lighter than the Mazda6. I've got 1700 miles on it now, and my average so far is about 43 mpg as reported in my Fuelly account.

I live in the South, so it's 100% air conditioning. I do drive conservatively, but don't use the more advanced hypermiling techniques of P&G, etc.

I'm happy.

40mpg with a full-size, passenger car doing 70mph?! And, you're only turning 2,200rpm at 70mph, too? (jaw dropped) DANG!

First of all, congratulations to the Mazda engineering team.

Even though my Mazda is averaging 5 mpg higher than I'd hoped for I'm also impressed, but not surprised, that you're doing that well with an automatic. I'm fond of the SV hatch backish base version with a manual transmission. I was seeing high forties peaks on my test drive without much effort. For comparison, I was able to get high 30s and low 40s in my wifes auto CX-5 with no mods and applying much of what I use on mine. She would get 31 mpg with regularity. Kudos indeed!

The Mazda 6 and Cx5s are nice vehicles ... I test drove a few CX5s and almost bought one.

It was , perfect. Loved the gearing. Loved the shift feel. Chassis was awesome. Interior was perfect.

Can't remember where I read it, but a journalist wrote that Mazda, while being a "boutique" car maker compared to Toyota, is positioning their badge to be on the upper end of the quality scale. For me, judging the fit, finish, and materials used in their interiors makes, that's easy to believe.

So far very pleased with the 6. Looks great in the metallic red, like a more expensive car than it is, and drives very well, both sporty and quiet.

So far its averaging 34 mpg overall with my wives daily use, mostly short trips and perhaps 50/50 hwy to city ratio. This is better than I was expecting when I bought it, was expecting at best high 20's overall.

Sounds pretty nice. Any chance you'll start a fuel log here for it?

Sure is. Maybe only 1/2 way broken in. It takes at least 5k miles (or more) for the Compression rings to expand outwards towards the cylinder walls. This results in increased compression which equals more power. More power at the lower RPMs means the engine doesn't work as hard and actually decreases fuel consumption.

BTW, do NOT baby your new engine. That is absolutely the worst thing you can do to a brand new engine. Drive it as you normally would with frequent WOT events (highway on ramps are perfect for this). :thumbup:

They are the poor man's BMW. Very similar engineering.

My next car will be a Mazda 6. Hopefully. :cool:

Incidentally, while waiting outside to get a haircut, a Mazda 6 parked in front of me. Based on my buying a 14 y/o, Miata, I told him I was a big Mazda fan. He echoed the same. Without using any hypermiling techniques, he's getting 39mpg. Think he mentioned his wife drives a Mazda, too.

He mentioned that Ford is a Mazda investor. Because of that association, he discovered some Ford and Mazda part SKUs are interchangeable. What I like about that relationship is that Mazda has a "big brother", so to speak, with greater resources. And, of the domestics, the Blue Oval has my respect.

Mazda has always been a progressive car company. They introduced the Wankel rotary engine. When sports cars were a dying breed, they introduced the Miata, which, after winning every automobile award possible, became the best selling sports car in automotive history. In 2011, Mazda adopted a new design philosophy (skyactiv), where literally every part of the car was redesigned from a blank sheet and is now returning impressive MPG without performance sacrifices.

Sorry for the commercial, everyone. (shrug)

Hey, I like commercials... but the Blue Oval and Silver M have started to split ways. Ford divested much of their shares in Mazda in the last couple years.. IIRC the 2011 series Mazda2/Ford Festiva was one of the last vehicles they co-designed... and even those two cars share very few parts.

I recently picked up the 2011 Mazda2 (Late May/Early June) and while the mileage doesn't match what you'd get with their skyactiv rigs, It's still fairly good while still being a very fun car to drive... (I'm taking corners with minimal body roll and no tsc activation at speeds that would have flipped my '96 blazer)

Since I'm still not a very good ecodriver (like to play in traffic FAR too much...) my mileage isn't the greatest, even though every tank of gas I've put through this car has been above epa rating.. First mod I'm planing to make to this car is a belly pan, bottom of this car is wide open... I've already got an idea of how to work the pan to allow easy access to the oil filter without having the access panel break the lines of the pan...

Check this out about the Sky-Activ..... (off Wikipedia).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SkyActiv

HOLY SMOKES! How many '96 Blazers have you flipped? :eek:

Bummer no 6.

What model 6 do you have ?

I noticed this off Mazda's website concerning the 6. Appears the Grand Touring model is rated 2 MPGs HIGHER with the "Technology Package".

What is the GT's Technology Package. Can't find any info on Mazda's website. :rolleyes:

GT Technology Package
- Mazda Radar Cruise Control
- Forward Obstruction Warning System
- i-ELOOP regenerative engine braking
- Lane Departure Warning
- Active Grille Shutters
- Sport Mode Button
- High Beam Control

Check this out about i-ELOOP. Pretty damn cool !:thumbup:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJHAr4wA2fc

None, I back it down when the rear inside tire lifts.. I figure there's not much more I can risk in a vehicle that top heavy...

I wonder how hard that would be to reverse engineer into our existing rigs... And how would they keep the battery topped up for starting.. Do they use the cap for that as well?

I don't think it would be rocket science.

I'm sure someone here can come up with something! :thumbup:

Update: Took a nearly all hwy trip this weekend and got a new record on fuel economy. As for driving techniques, all I did was set the cruise at the speed limit and set the tires at 50 psi. The air was on at all times. I'm guessing the cars officially broken in now, :D

Dean, cruise controls are known to be bad on fuel economy when the road elevates, because the control will press the gas pedal more to maintain the programmed speed.

When approaching a grade, turn off the cruise control, and. despite the car slowing down, maintain the same amount of gas pedal pressing up the hill.

Oh. Forgot to add. You'll find a LOT of value in this MPG research done by Cummins Diesel:

http://cumminsengines.com/uploads/do...whitepaper.pdf

That was a very nice write up. Thanks!!

SURE! Cummins Diesel musta spend quite a bit on that research. All we need to do is JUST read! Sorta like someone else cooking a fabulous meal. All we need to do is just eat! :)

I can imagine some wags looking at that tire pressure chart, screaming... 120 PSI? ARE YOU INSANE? :D

(But honestly, truck tires are not car tires... please don't put 120 psi in your car tires...)

For car tires, I recall Capri Racer's shared DOT paper identified gains as levelling off around 40-50 psi but still increasing beyond that... be nice if someone did one for modern LRR tires.

Awesome read, thanks for posting that. I always wondered about the effect of road surfaces on rolling resistance, and now i know! :) I'll try to use that to my advantage when possible. :thumbup:

I wish more papers were like that, instead of being crammed with graphs of some BS no one understands and being 100+ pages long. This one was easy to read. Thanks Cummins!

We got a new mazda 3. It has the skyactive system and it's all true. We routinely break 40 mpg, and my wife does 70% of her driving back and forth to work, 7 miles each way. Not a recipe for high fuel economy.

Peppy to drive, fit and finish are nice (steering wheel feels a little cheap).

We love it.

6 sp manual.