4.6mpg gain from only changing my habits in 1997 V6 (old faithful)

[Sonny Cash]

woot! getting closer to my 1st goal of 25mpg! i know not alot for most of you but 251,700 miles and a v6 sedan. ill take it
for so long ive been only getting 19mpg tops and for the last week i lurked VERY HARD on this forum and realized i was wasting alot of fuel idling and having a iron plated foot. and guess what i just got 23.6 MPG 189 miles 8 gallons. that was soley by changing my habits like going the speed limit 65 on the highway and on country roads im at 48-50. okay now i filled up a quick 5 gallons and just started to figure out how my cars torque converter and AT gearing works (sorta) for instance in the city good flowing traffic with a 35 mph speed limit. my rev limit is around 2 or 2300rpm till i reach 36mph and shift again after that i let off the gas a wee bit and can hold 1100rpm all day at 35 mph or so whereas if i dont manipulate the tranyy ill be revving 15-1600rpm. i know little things like this help alot. also she likes 49mph alot better than 50 just pumped the fronts up to 38psi and rears to 42 when i got the 23.6mpg my tires where only at 31. i cant wait to see what i get next this is fun

[MetroMPG]

Congrats! Fun, isn't it?

And 19 to 24 mpg is a significant amount of $ savings, if you drive a lot.

Originally Posted by Sonny Cash

i let off the gas a wee bit and can hold 1100rpm all day at 35 mph or so whereas if i dont manipulate the tranyy ill be revving 15-1600rpm. i know little things like this help alot.

They sure do if that makes up a good portion of your drive.

also she likes 49mph alot better than 50

What's that one about?

Welcome to the forum!

[usmclowrider]

I don't know about the 49 versus 50 difference, but I did notice in my 2002 Wrx when I used to do several trips a year between NC and VA 3,000 rpm seemed to be the magic number for fuel mileage. With the speed limit at 70 I would do 75 (this is before I new anything about hypermiling). At 75, I was above 3,000 rpms I would get about 2 mpgs less than if I stayed at 70. Of course, now I realize this also had a lot to do with the difference in wind speed, but 3,000rpms definitely qualified as screaming down the highway.

[elhigh]

It's pretty cool, isn't it?

Anybody can go fast. All it takes is a wallet to buy a big engine, and a big foot to hold the accelerator down.

Going far, that's a different challenge. It takes a lot more brain power. And of course you could crack open the wallet and buy a Prius and let the machine do the work...but then you'd have to see how much more can you make it do?

Enjoy the long ride between fills.

[Sonny Cash]

drove to work going 50 instead of the posted 55 its a 2 lane so i didnt disrupt traffic at all. i take back the 49 vs 50mph thing. 50 is more calm than 55. right now im at 1/4 tank with 70 miles on the odo (only filled 5gal my tanks 18.5) and quite honestly i got carried away floored it and let her redline. only once though but if you floor this thing the gauge goes down fast!. im hoping it didnt affect my mpg that much hopefully i get to 115-120. thanks guys really impressive numbers in your sig! i see myself getting 26-28mpg when i get an alignment (she pulls to the right)

[Miller88]

Originally Posted by Sonny Cash

woot! getting closer to my 1st goal of 25mpg! i know not alot for most of you but 251,700 miles and a v6 sedan. ill take it
for so long ive been only getting 19mpg tops and for the last week i lurked VERY HARD on this forum and realized i was wasting alot of fuel idling and having a iron plated foot. and guess what i just got 23.6 MPG 189 miles 8 gallons. that was soley by changing my habits like going the speed limit 65 on the highway and on country roads im at 48-50. okay now i filled up a quick 5 gallons and just started to figure out how my cars torque converter and AT gearing works (sorta) for instance in the city good flowing traffic with a 35 mph speed limit. my rev limit is around 2 or 2300rpm till i reach 36mph and shift again after that i let off the gas a wee bit and can hold 1100rpm all day at 35 mph or so whereas if i dont manipulate the tranyy ill be revving 15-1600rpm. i know little things like this help alot. also she likes 49mph alot better than 50 just pumped the fronts up to 38psi and rears to 42 when i got the 23.6mpg my tires where only at 31. i cant wait to see what i get next this is fun

You're right up 481 from me! (Syracuse)

[Sonny Cash]

nice i grew up in the cuse! lived on all sides. i go there about 3-4 times a week. funny think is most have no choice but to hypermile there (kinda) the potholes are so bad you dont wanna go over 25 on most roads lol

[Miller88]

Originally Posted by Sonny Cash

nice i grew up in the cuse! lived on all sides. i go there about 3-4 times a week. funny think is most have no choice but to hypermile there (kinda) the potholes are so bad you dont wanna go over 25 on most roads lol

The potholes are horrible this year. I don't live on a main road and besides not being plowed for 2-3 days after every storm, the potholes are unbearable. It looks like I'm drunk whoever I drive because I have to be all over the road to avoid tearing something up.

[Sonny Cash]

popped 3 tires last summer in 1 month! (kept pluging the holes). worst thing about it was they're super low-pros for my 20's so they're expensive which explains why theyre in my garage. interesting thing i got 27 mpg with the big wheels on the highway (which ill contribute to larger wheels and lower RPM's but in the city i got worse than OEM wheels cause of they're weight.