close to giving up....

[California98Civic]

Originally Posted by Frank Lee

Filling error can giveth, and filling error can taketh away.

Absolutely. I've had one Christmas and one tax day already.

Like everything, don't hold onto specific outcomes too tightly. Take them as they come.

[03NHVW]

You know what sometimes helps your average, a road trip.
Take a one-tank-long road trip with an eco-sympathetic friend or even alone (to save the weight) with a long stretch of flat highway involved, and no city driving. When you get home you'll have had mini-vacation and probably a good mpg tank. of course, this means actually blowing through a tank of gas deliberately which I personally find difficult, but not everyone does.

[Arragonis]

It can be frustrating when your instrumentation makes you think you have a good tank on the way and then it disappoints - kind of like growing carrots with healthy, tall tops only to find the actual edible bit is tiny

Given the bad conditions and tyres and the size of car I would say that figure is not bad. If you look at your fuel log though



you can see that your average won't be affected too much by one bad tank.

Sometimes taking a break helps, maybe do a tank with no hypermiling and see what the effect on FE is - then work out the cost and then start again

[nemo]

Driving in SFL is a challenge in its self, it is not conducive to good mpg. No real hills for coasting, more stop signs than trees, air conditioning running almost constantly and heavy traffic. Under these conditions and the fact that you only had the car for 3 months (fuel log) I think you are being a little hard on yourself. What techniques have you tried, are you using? If you got the car used don't forget the maintenance aspect.

[d0sitmatr]

thanks for the replies and input, its appreciated. Im going to answer everyone

Originally Posted by brucepick

Well hey, at least it has a standard trans. With lotsa air in the tires there's potential.

In FL you're gonna have rain. And probaby run a/c most days, too! Just a fact of life.

Make sure you keep those tires pumped. I'd suggest whatever the sidewall imprint says, for starters. I won't print what pressure I run...

Maybe some modest aero mods to help things along? Windy days hurt you less if the car has better aero. Specifically, I'm thinking flat wheel covers. Low cost, removable, and pretty much no doubt you will get some benefit. Some guys are doing them in plexiglass or lexan (scratches much less than plexiglass) so you still see the pretty wheels underneath. I used perforated sheet aluminum, but it's NOT a quick project that way!

yes, I was surprised the two were so low, but I had been slacking on checking them, until yesterday when I came out and saw one of the rear tires sitting pretty low.
Ive been planning doing some lexan covers but Im waiting until I can replace the rims, as 1 or more on the car now is slightly warped (which Im sure isnt helping my FE)
as far as other aero mods, honestly, Ive gone over the car and it has some good aero stock, it has a front end belly pan, and is quite smooth along the entire underpan, a full belly pan might help, but I doubt Id even see a 1% increase from it. and overall the design is pretty good aero.
I have done a couple of mods already, by adding a lower grill partial block and making foglight covers.

Originally Posted by 03NHVW

My suggestions: map out a new route for your most-travelled drives, jettison some weight, add a pound or two to the tires...and just enjoy the drive. One good windy/rainy/trafficky(?) week will always be waiting around the corner.

I really wish that was possible, but unfortunately where I live there simply is no other routes, plus, Id say 90% of my driving is all 10 miles or less. although I do have it planned to lose some weight from the car, Im having difficulty in that the car already doesnt have much it could lose (no sound dampening, anywhere). as far as AC goes, I never really use it. being born and raised in SWFL Im pretty used to the heat, and personally Im not overly fond of AC, not to mention the fact it makes me want to sleep, not a good idea when driving...

Originally Posted by pletby

Sounds like your SG could use some more calibration? It should be closer to the truth than that.

yea, Im thinking the same thing, guess I will have to figure out how to do that

Originally Posted by cfg83

BHarvey -
Yeah, that's been my impression. True or not, I look at Mazda as tuned for performance, not MPG.

d0sitmatr -

Every drivetrain has it's sweet spot, so keep searching and you will find it.

CarloSW2

I agree, except for the comparison to pontiacs, mazdas are WAY more reliable
I love Mazda's, Ive owned... 6 or 7 of them, and every single one has been more reliable than anything else (except my 99 ranger, which is basically also a Mazda)
I figured with a 2.0L 5 spd, I should be seeing at the very least 30mpg with little effort, and its just frustrating as all **** when I see anything below that.

Originally Posted by Arragonis

It can be frustrating when your instrumentation makes you think you have a good tank on the way and then it disappoints - kind of like growing carrots with healthy, tall tops only to find the actual edible bit is tiny

Given the bad conditions and tyres and the size of car I would say that figure is not bad. If you look at your fuel log though, you can see that your average won't be affected too much by one bad tank.

Sometimes taking a break helps, maybe do a tank with no hypermiling and see what the effect on FE is - then work out the cost and then start again

I might just take you up on that idea, it would be a good way to void some frustrations.

Originally Posted by nemo

Driving in SFL is a challenge in its self, it is not conducive to good mpg. No real hills for coasting, more stop signs than trees, air conditioning running almost constantly and heavy traffic. Under these conditions and the fact that you only had the car for 3 months (fuel log) I think you are being a little hard on yourself. What techniques have you tried, are you using? If you got the car used don't forget the maintenance aspect.

its funny you mention the lack of hills, which, for the most part, your absolutely correct, except where I live there are some small hills/valleys (none more than a 100' elevation change though) the sad thing is that from my house to almost anywhere, is uphill immediately after a leave, granted, its not much of an incline, but still, its an incline. the same goes for most of my destinations, they are at the lower end of an incline, but due to traffic, I cant really coast long without people getting all bent out of shape (most people around this area are either gun toting rednecks, or gun toting gangsta's)
as mentioned above, I hardly ever use the AC, in fact, over the summer, Ive only turned it on 5 times, every time was for my wife or son's benefit, not my own.


the biggest thing I think I can do at this point, is the maintenance as suggested. its been in the plans, but I may just move it to the front. Ive been reading on the mazda forums a couple people claiming to get an average of 400mpt, Im seriously finding that hard to believe. my absolute best to date is 392mpt and that was with a 1/2 tank daytrip to visit my mother, running at a fairly consistent 65mph most of the way, and drafting at least 1/3 of the trip as well.
my biggest plans will involve putting in a different trans, there is a Diesel trans for the FE-DE engine from Europe that will lower my gear ratios noticeably, (current: 3krpm = 64mph, new trans 3krpm = 78mph) which will allow me to drop my RPM significantly at the speeds I travel on a day to day basis. the car may be slower in acceleration, but not so much as to cause any problems. the problem is, finding that trans...
Ive also read of some people on the ford probe forums that have the same engine as me, who are able to use a 626 LS trans (the V6 trans for the 626 has the tallest gears of any of the G-series trans) so I may go that route, I can find one of those for less than $100.0 at a PnP junkyard. and lastly, the 626 intake mani is a straight bolt on and allows the engine to breathe better, thus lowering the amount of fuel for its combustion a tad. again, I can find one of those at a PnP JY for about $20.0 the problem is, I have to wait for the couple of PnP JY's near me to actually have one of those cars in its lot
ah well, back to the waiting game


also, I wanted to apologize to the MOD's, I realized I should have put this in the Lounge section of the forums, right after I hit enter.
if you wish to move it, please do so.

[brucepick]

Originally Posted by d0sitmatr

Id say 90% of my driving is all 10 miles or less.

Aha! A high percentage of your drive is spent warming up the engine. OK, in South FL it has a head start by being maybe 50 deg warmer than mine when stone cold, but you still have to burn the fuel to bring it to operating temp. Consider getting one of these oil pan heaters. Instructions say to plug in 3 hrs. before startup but in your case, 1-2 hours should do it. I have one and definitely found the car reaches "warmed up" status sooner. Medium-small sizes are about $20-40. Some brands come with the high-temp silicone seal that it needs around the edge, keep an eye out for that.

Amazon.com: Kat's 24100 100 Watt 4"x 5" Universal Hot Pad Heater: Automotive

[Fat Charlie]

You're still new at it, still getting good at it. It'll come with time- time not measured on the calendar, but on the odometer. This is actually a Good Thing, because it means you're simply not driving all that much and gas money still in your pocket is its own reward.

You're way ahead of where I was at that many tanks. Great work.

[slowmover]

There aren't enough entries in that fuel log to make any sort of statement, beyond, "hey, I'm doing pretty well". Seriously. One needs at least one year of entries before being able to say much one way or another.

The hottest part of the year and the coldest part of the year aren't going to give the best numbers, and "why" is central to the "problem": None of us feel as well as we do at these calendar points as when the temps are moderate. Doesn't matter what theory may predict. No good thing comes overnight (which is a few months) and immoderate temps only make it more difficult.

Some of us have been driving a decade or more before you were born, I'd guess, and driving for best return on money spent . . this means we've all had to change habits as we've gone along. And it's not as easy to do the laser beam concentration as when we were 26.

Look to some other aspect of ownership: Do you have a garage? (why not?) Have you some other project (stereo, other upgrade) that will take some of this energy? Etc. Let the miles accumulate by taking a step back for awhile.

Reality check: What's the annual average $ difference between 31 and 27 mpg? How much?

Never let feelings box you in that you cannot find another outlet for them. Every aspect of ownership/operation deserves your attention, not just mpg.

.

[nemo]

Originally Posted by d0sitmatr

its funny you mention the lack of hills, which, for the most part, your absolutely correct,

Oh, I forgot Mount Trashmore I'm in SFL also.

[cfg83]

Fat Charlie -

Originally Posted by Fat Charlie

You're still new at it, still getting good at it. It'll come with time- time not measured on the calendar, but on the odometer. This is actually a Good Thing, because it means you're simply not driving all that much and gas money still in your pocket is its own reward.

You're way ahead of where I was at that many tanks. Great work.

I didn't look at the fuel logs until just now.

d0sitmatr -

Fat Charlie is right, the sample size is too small to give up.

CarloSW2