STI: Is There A Way To Get Better MPG?
#16
Registered User
iTrader: (2)
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: petaluma, ca
Posts: 492
Car Info: 2006 AW STi
Make sure tire pressure is correct, air filter is clean, combine trips/errands (walk it if errand is close to another), kick your heavy passengers to the curb, get rid of heavy junk in your car, fill up in coldest part of day, fill up when your closest to a gas station (don't drive for a few cents cheaper gas station if your not close), shift under 3k - 2.5k, cruise control anytime you can, moderate acceleration, no a/c, windows up, don't listen to initial d type music .
Just drive it how you like, and just don't look at gas prices. You can shift under 3k and all but we all bought an STI to drive it like an STI not a Geo Metro.
FYI - For every 15 degrees +/- it gets your gaining or losing 1% more or less mpg
cold weather and filling up tank
Don't know about this correct me if wrong:
Turbocharged cars often get better mileage with ethanol blends. This is because the higher (over 100!) octane of ethanol permits more boost, which means more efficient fuel usage.?
Just drive it how you like, and just don't look at gas prices. You can shift under 3k and all but we all bought an STI to drive it like an STI not a Geo Metro.
FYI - For every 15 degrees +/- it gets your gaining or losing 1% more or less mpg
cold weather and filling up tank
Don't know about this correct me if wrong:
Turbocharged cars often get better mileage with ethanol blends. This is because the higher (over 100!) octane of ethanol permits more boost, which means more efficient fuel usage.?
Last edited by ciRe_oNe; 06-11-2008 at 07:14 PM.
#18
+1
Doing all your maintenance on time is key.
Making sure your tires are always properly inflated at the right psi.
A dirty air filter can rob up to 10% of your gas mileage.
Changing your oil on time everytime.
Changing your oxygen sensors every 50K miles.
Putting good name brand gasoline in your tank that has a premium
additive in the gasoline like Chevron/Texaco.
Doing all your maintenance on time is key.
Making sure your tires are always properly inflated at the right psi.
A dirty air filter can rob up to 10% of your gas mileage.
Changing your oil on time everytime.
Changing your oxygen sensors every 50K miles.
Putting good name brand gasoline in your tank that has a premium
additive in the gasoline like Chevron/Texaco.
#19
Resurrecting a good old thread here, just because I was curious what others had to say. Plenty of good stuff! Except one thing- whatever you do, DO NOT coast downhill with the car in neutral.
1- Safety: This is not a safe choice to make. A friend of mine in Austin TX crashed a manual car doing this. Yes, you can control the car's direction and velocity with just brakes and steering, but not having any engine braking while going downhill severely screws up the balance of the car and puts a ton of extra stress on the brake pads and brake fluid. You want to be putting power down to the ground to keep the car stable and help the rear end squat and grip when going downhill. If you're not already, get good at rev-match downshifting and ideally you would downshift to a gear that putts you around 3000-4500 rpms and coast while IN GEAR. This will give you a smooth decent, smooth braking, and will also give you...
2- Better Fuel Economy! As long as you are not at crazy high RPM's otherwise, coasting in neutral does not improve fuel economy. The respected YouTube channel "Engineering Explained" did a video proving this. It actually burns LESS gas for the most part to let the downhill motion of the car turn the engine at a reasonable medium RPM then it does to idle in neutral and be hammering on the brakes! When I start engine braking downhill in my 2021 STI, the fuel economy gauge goes full green, letting me know that it's burning less gas than when at idle.
In my personal car, it's the heaviest version of the STI yet, plus heavy OEM 19 inch wheels...and I rarely get anymore than 250 miles to a tank. Average 16-17 MPG. I do mixed highway and city driving with some rush-hour traffic here and there...can't wait to move out to the countryside whenever I am able to and also switch out the 19 inch stock wheels for some lighter 18 inch ones.
1- Safety: This is not a safe choice to make. A friend of mine in Austin TX crashed a manual car doing this. Yes, you can control the car's direction and velocity with just brakes and steering, but not having any engine braking while going downhill severely screws up the balance of the car and puts a ton of extra stress on the brake pads and brake fluid. You want to be putting power down to the ground to keep the car stable and help the rear end squat and grip when going downhill. If you're not already, get good at rev-match downshifting and ideally you would downshift to a gear that putts you around 3000-4500 rpms and coast while IN GEAR. This will give you a smooth decent, smooth braking, and will also give you...
2- Better Fuel Economy! As long as you are not at crazy high RPM's otherwise, coasting in neutral does not improve fuel economy. The respected YouTube channel "Engineering Explained" did a video proving this. It actually burns LESS gas for the most part to let the downhill motion of the car turn the engine at a reasonable medium RPM then it does to idle in neutral and be hammering on the brakes! When I start engine braking downhill in my 2021 STI, the fuel economy gauge goes full green, letting me know that it's burning less gas than when at idle.
In my personal car, it's the heaviest version of the STI yet, plus heavy OEM 19 inch wheels...and I rarely get anymore than 250 miles to a tank. Average 16-17 MPG. I do mixed highway and city driving with some rush-hour traffic here and there...can't wait to move out to the countryside whenever I am able to and also switch out the 19 inch stock wheels for some lighter 18 inch ones.
Last edited by Landitty; 10-06-2021 at 02:25 PM. Reason: Add more useful data, fix spelling errors.
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