[CuKoup]

I drive my car to my girlfriends house pretty often. Its about 13 miles from my house to hers and I noticed when I drive my car granny like shifting at about 2k(I have a SX with the 6 speed manual) I will use about a 1/16 to a 1/8 of a tank. I have a CAI on the car btw. I was driving down the other day and felt a little spirited and was going average of 60 to 65 mph and shifting at 3k and noticed a huge difference in my gas mileage. My needle barely moved at all while driving like this. Anyone else notice this?

 

[wingzero_]

If you are loading the engine (trying to accelerate in too high of a gear) then yes it would be hard on gas.

 

[CuKoup]

Well I know it would be, but what gets me is I'm not doing that. It's also weird because I look at my average mpgs and when i shifted at 2k usually it wold read about 29 to 30 but when i shift at 3k it says I'm only getting 27 or so but my needles is definitely moving less.

 

[SubtleStyle]

I was just talking to a co-worker about this yesterday. I was saying when I try and drive "easier" to save on gas I actually get worse gas mileage than when I drive it hard. Usually a 1 to 2 MPG difference.

 

[CuKoup]

Thats what I was doing. Then one day I didn't care about my mpg and actually ending up doing better on my trip.

 

[Rainyraven]

I see changes all the time, I've even noticed a a big change when going from a steady diet of low octane to a tank of higher octane but Lol I think I lost mpg when i did that and I tried that two times same result a loss of about 20 miles per tank.

 

[corytate]

sludging the oil (shifting at low rpm) is bad for the car and for your gas mileage
should be shifting about 2500 or 3000 forsure

 

[CuKoup]

^ Good to know. between those to have became my new shift points for sure. After what I have found out.

 

[Rainyraven]

I normally shift about 3,000 these days.. seems to shift easier there.

 

[corytate]

pretty sure our car owner manuals have recommended shift points, because it does vary a bit from car to car, but from what I understand, relying only on torque only to accelerate will worsen fuel mileage. Looking at the dyno graphs turbokits has with the stock run, you can learn a lot about our powerband and where the torque and power lies in our rev ranges.
An example of this to make it easy to understand, and also to illustrate the fact that there are exceptions and extinuating circumstances, is if you are driving up a steep hill. You could either drive in 5th gear and have the pedal all the way down to maintain a speed of about 45mph, or you could drive in 3rd gear and have the pedal barely applied to maintain the same speed. same goes for driving through a city. I generally drive 35mph in 4th gear, which I think sits about 2000rpm. thats maintaining 35mph with little effort from the pedal. Using as little throttle application as possible limits the amount of air getting in, thus limiting the amount of fuel being mixed in.

I hope what I've said makes sense, I know what I'm saying, but it's hard for me to remember all that I want to say when I'm actually typing it in lol. As I think of better examples I'll add them, and when I get a chance to look at my manual I'll post it up here too.

Anyone has anything to add to this or correct please do so! The best way for everyone to learn is by open debate and information from people more in the know than they themselves are..

 

[ForteLX+]

I agree just over 3000 is silk.
Looked through the "Driving Your Vehicle" section in the manual, couldn't find shift point suggestions.

 

[corytate]

I agree just over 3000 is silk.
Looked through the "Driving Your Vehicle" section in the manual, couldn't find shift point suggestions.

oh alright thank ya. most cars have them but apparently not all.

 

[displacement4me]

There's granny shifting, and granny shifting with lugging. Engines burning more fuel working harder out of its power band.

If I am aiming for a mileage-conscious tank, I try to shift by 2500rpm, and if I manage to gently drive the car that way for a whole tank (which can be hard : ) ), I can add 60-80km's to a tank.

 

[CuKoup]

pretty sure our car owner manuals have recommended shift points, because it does vary a bit from car to car, but from what I understand, relying only on torque only to accelerate will worsen fuel mileage. Looking at the dyno graphs turbokits has with the stock run, you can learn a lot about our powerband and where the torque and power lies in our rev ranges.
An example of this to make it easy to understand, and also to illustrate the fact that there are exceptions and extinuating circumstances, is if you are driving up a steep hill. You could either drive in 5th gear and have the pedal all the way down to maintain a speed of about 45mph, or you could drive in 3rd gear and have the pedal barely applied to maintain the same speed. same goes for driving through a city. I generally drive 35mph in 4th gear, which I think sits about 2000rpm. thats maintaining 35mph with little effort from the pedal. Using as little throttle application as possible limits the amount of air getting in, thus limiting the amount of fuel being mixed in.

I hope what I've said makes sense, I know what I'm saying, but it's hard for me to remember all that I want to say when I'm actually typing it in lol. As I think of better examples I'll add them, and when I get a chance to look at my manual I'll post it up here too.

Anyone has anything to add to this or correct please do so! The best way for everyone to learn is by open debate and information from people more in the know than they themselves are..

I understand what your saying. Less engine effort better mileage.