Since the new engine, my car is burning a LOT of fuel. With the previous engine my car, even with going WOT a few times a day, would go 50-60 miles on the first 1/4 tank. I'd average about 17mpg. With the last tank, and the current I'm looking at about 14-15mpg - have burned thru the first 1/4 of my second tank with only about FORTY miles showing. I'd like to hook up a can-scan to see just how much fuel I'm going thru/how rich it's running.

 

Hey, that's the fuel economy I get and everyone just yells at me and tells me I'm a whiner for buying a sports car and expecting more than 14 MPG.

In any case, I have a Harrison CanScan that you're welcome to borrow, but I'm up just North of Seattle.

 

for 14mpg I could have an S4...lol

After the holidays, and things wind down, I'll drive up!

-darin

 

I've noticed that whenever ECU is reset gas mileage drops for the first tank afterward .......

 

You know I have them both...but I'm even farther north

 

The top 1/4 tank is notoriously unreliable for estimating mileage. I used to get 40 miles for the first quarter tank and then end up with 280 miles using about 14 gallons. I would reserve judgement until you hit the low fuel light. And remember that we're on winter blend so you'll see a couple mpg lower than summertime.

But then again, YMMV.

 

My car was almost-locked in to the top 1/4 - it's the bottom 1/4 where my car's mileage would vary.

word.

 

I would base your true mileage on how many gallons it take to refill the tank and how many miles on your trip-o-meter. The gauge isn't really a good indicator.

 

It is a good indicator when compared with itself. If car 'a' typically gets, say, 100 miles per 1/4 tank, then, immediately after a change gets 50 miles per 1/4, I'd say it's a GOOD inidcation something is amiss.

 

nu uh!

 

Silly. :D

 

I agree with dmp on the gauge being a good indicator compared with itself, although I was recently told it wasn't. My first quarter generally was 75-85. At 1/2 was at a very minimum of 150 and was usually at least 165. By the next 1/4 of a tank I would get at least 100 more miles out of it, and light coming on at least at mid 280s.

I don't have that happening now. My mileage seems to have crapped out at 19ish instead of 22-23. Of course, on our drive Sunday I got gas up there beforehand, and drove it around constantly in the 6000-7000 rpm range and redlining a lot. I ended up getting 22.41 out of that tank. I'm beginning to wonder if Oregon has much shittier winter gas blend compared to Washington. I know when I had that gas up there my car felt much more powerful that it has been here and the mileage was much better. I got gas down here on the way back home and could nearly immediately notice a drop in performance and mileage.

So, based on that, I can't blame my gas problems on the ECU programming with the recall, although it is tempting. Apparently our gas just sucks right now, as my mom also has the same significant mileage drop as I do. I'm going to try a different brand of gas (to Shell) this time (like I got in Washington) to see if that improves over my currently shitty Chevron.

 

If you're getting 22 mpg then you're doing better than the rest of us.

 

fwiw, my car's never seen more than 20.9mpg - only one - maybe two? trips. Generally, it's 17 in town, 19 on the hwy.

 

I get about 20-21 mpg reliably in mixed driving (probably 40/60 city/hwy). Then again I use 87 octane and never rev much above 5k heh heh When I went on a day trip with a bunch of 350Z's that mileage dropped considerably...probably 16-17 but then again I switched to premium that week and we pushed pretty hard.

 

My driving is the same approximate percentage as you, but for some reason my car will only very begrudgingly give me 19-20 right now, and I don't like it.

It's got to be the gas, because the first two tanks after my recall, and before they switched to winter gas I got 22ish. After the switch I got 19ish. Then I got my oil changed and acquired a loose spark plug and watched my mileage drop to 16 and still lower until I found out what exactly was wrong with my car and causing all its "issues" at that time. It has now gone back up to 19-20.

I wish I could get it back up again. The best mileage I have gotten was just over 27 driving up to Seattle and back somewhere around October.

 

My 8 runs like a champ, still haven't gotten the recall done and I've been getting 12-15 MPG driving her the way it's meant to be driven.

I get about 200 miles per tank, doesn't seem to matter what I am doing. You have to wind a rotary to get anywhere, so I keep it wound.

 

There are a lot of crazy 8 drivers in the area, but Rev, I hafta say that you're in the top 2% of those I know . Heck, I learned most of the what know about driving my 8 from you!!

 

I've noticed that running 50% above 6000 revs and 50% between 3 and 6 K seems to give me the best mileage. Of course, it may be the 50% below 6 grand being such a rare occurrence that makes those drive seem better. Honestly though, 60% throttle up to about 7500 RPM on each shift until you reach cruising speed has netted me my best tanks of just over 20 mpg. Taking it too easy seems to have just as bad an effect of mileage as being too aggressive (as if that's possible).

 

Mine does the best shifting under 3500, although high revving a lot only has a minimal effect on my mpg (maybe up to 2 mpg less over the course of a tank). Maybe it depends on how it was broken in originally?

I know I seem to get better mileage than the majority. I also have an 06, so I don't know if that has anything to do with it or not. I guy at one of my jobs has an 06 also (same exact features as mine except in red) and he averages 1 mpg less than me, with similar driving habits and traffic type, so he had been averaging mid 21-22 range (me 22-23) in the warmer weather and off "winter" gas, and now is getting 17-18 and barely up to 19 (if lucky) with winter. I am getting 19-20, although with the really cold temperatures (generally anything less than probably 35, and definitely when it's in the 20s) Bella drinks a lot more and I get low to mid 18s.

 

fwiw, final mpg on the last tank - the tank which prompted this thread: 16.2 Down about a full MPG over the last engine. I HATE to think how bad the mpg will be when I start going WOT.

Course, I'm about 75% sure I'll sell the car in a few months, anyway.

Any takers? Cheap!

 

What?? BLASPHEMY! *picks up a stone* lol

 

Please let us know what the dyno says when you get a chance to put it on. I'd like to hear the dealer's response if there is a significant drop in power. That should of course be fixed under warranty. If they say that's just variation from engine to engine throw the BS flag and tell them you paid for a car with a certain HP and they haven't delivered. They should find you an engine that produces the HP advertised.

 

fwiw, I got my car loan approved today - assuming I can find a car within 45 days (or I'll have to re-apply).

 

... What car did you decide on?