low mpg?

[xtremecro]

im averaging like 15.8 city. does that seem low? any causes?

[HokieZHP]

I'm averaging 16-17.5 mpg in town here at college. Speed limits are 25-35mph and lots of stops and starts. Yours doesnt seem too low. Mine creeps to the 15's sometimes


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[pleasecorrupt]

+1 stop and go city driving is never good for mpg esp if you almost exclusively drive city

[llll1l1ll]

Yeah all that idling and whatnot wreaks havoc on your engine, too. Also, if you drive short distances in stop and go traffic, your gas mileage will plummet. If I need to take my car somewhere that's less than a mile away, I'll drive around for 20 minutes before arriving at my destination. Helps get the car warmed up a little bit and the engine running at optimal temp and efficiency.

My MPG is pretty lame around town. On the highway, though, I've managed to squeeze 430 miles out of a full tank before the light came on.

[xtremecro]

Guess its normal then. Got my record still at 487 until light came on. 63 cruise control!

[S85FTW]

IDK guys, I get around 18 when I spend time exclusively in Manhattan. My best was 540 on a full tank. (driving to Michigan from CT)

[llll1l1ll]

Not bad! I must have a vacuum leak somewhere and I know my VANOS needs to be updated soon.

[johnrando]

I used to get 16+ for my city driving, and I was usually among the lowest I've heard. So, 15.8 is not out of the question, but that is kind of low. (Now I get 19+ city after my AA tune).

[webster]

15.8 is pretty low, i believe our cars are rated at 19/29 mpg. i drive 80% city street driving and my lowest reading that i've seen is around ~20mpg

OP, are you manual or auto?

[billschusteriv]

That is pretty low. I was around 20 mpg in stop and go rush hour traffic and am up to 23.5 mpg.

There are two vacuum lines that branch off your airbox connection to your intake. Should be about 1/16" - 1/8" vacuum line. Check to make sure these are tight and have a good seal.

I also changed out my fuel filter. How long has it been since you did this?

After I saw a jump in the fuel economy, I also changed out the crankcase breather (has another name). This has helped with oil consumption and fuel economy as well.


OP, are you manual or auto?

This?

[wsmeyer]

I'm in the 14's. Stop and go absolutely kills it. Out of curiosity I just Google mapped from my house to the grocery store; 1.6mi round trip and 22 stop signs. UGH. No wonder the wife gets 10 in the X5.

I just took the ZHP to San Francisco last week. That's 375 mi and I got just under 28mpg on the freeway.

William.

[llll1l1ll]

Maybe the convertible factor has something to do with your gas mileage?

[Marcus-SanDiego]

Out of curiosity I just Google mapped from my house to the grocery store; 1.6mi round trip and 22 stop signs.

William.

Dayum. That's a lot of stop signs!

[Marcus-SanDiego]

Maybe the convertible factor has something to do with your gas mileage?

On surface streets? Doing about 35mph? Probably not. Likely the constant stop and go. A Prius probably wouldn't be much better. :biggrin

[wsmeyer]

Dayum. That's a lot of stop signs!

We call it "Lollipop Lane"

johnrando has a vert as well and he's in the 16's. He lives pretty close to me but his area isn't quite as bad. I never really noticed it until the wife got the X5, at 10mpg I really did wonder if something was wrong but after resetting the comp a bunch of times and driving in different areas I realized how much the frequent stops kills it.

William.

[johnrando]

We call it "Lollipop Lane"

johnrando has a vert as well and he's in the 16's. He lives pretty close to me but his area isn't quite as bad. I never really noticed it until the wife got the X5, at 10mpg I really did wonder if something was wrong but after resetting the comp a bunch of times and driving in different areas I realized how much the frequent stops kills it.

William.

19s now with my AA tune. :)

[aurelius]

My MPG rose after replacing the idler & belt tensioner pulleys. Which is counter-intuitive in that the new pulleys are harder to spin than the old units with their worn bearings. But others have reported same.

[billschusteriv]

1.6mi round trip and 22 stop signs.

:jawdrop

[S85FTW]

Heres something I neglected to ask.... Automatic transmissions in both? Mine is 6 speed so it is easier to manipulate mpg's driving stick.

[aurelius]

If I need to take my car somewhere that's less than a mile away, I'll drive around for 20 minutes before arriving at my destination.

I have an ingenious solution to this problem. Can you guess what it is...? :ducking

[llll1l1ll]

I have an ingenious solution to this problem. Can you guess what it is...? :ducking

Hahahaha yes yes I could most easily walk. But if I'm already out doing stuff or hauling a lot of crap around, then it's somewhat cumbersome to walk a mile and a half with a bunch of sopping wet towels to the laundromat.

Ninja edit: I walk more frequently than you guys think! I typically walk to the grocery store. However, every day I walk up and down a 300 something foot escalator and then about 3/4 mile to my office. Not to mention the 1/3 mile from my house to the Metro!

[xtremecro]

It's an auto. I changed lower Intake boot because of vacuum leak car was runnin lean but now at idle it's rough and vibrates

[Hermes]

I was just talking about this. My car gets garbage average but I don't drive much long distance at speed. I think OBC was reset about 2k ago, 18.8. I drive hard and with my windows down a lot. When I close everything and drive light on the pedal I can average over 20 city but it still sucks. A lot of stop and go will kill your average no matter what.

Side note, would some track rats post an avg mpg from a track day to show how bad it could be if you run all out...

[aurelius]

More informative if everyone also posts Avg MPH. Mine:

23.7 mpg
28.7 mph

[danewilson77]

It's an auto. I changed lower Intake boot because of vacuum leak car was runnin lean but now at idle it's rough and vibrates

Did you clean icv?

HTC Thunderbolt+TT

[billschusteriv]

It's an auto. I changed lower Intake boot because of vacuum leak car was runnin lean but now at idle it's rough and vibrates

I was also throwing codes and idling rough/vibrating. After a while, the car would stall out in park. Or would stop running when pulling out from stop signs. Fixing the vacuum line on top of the intake fixed this for me. I'm sure the fuel filter replacement wouldn't hurt.

Since you just replaced the intake boot, it's possible the connection on the vacuum line from the intake boot to the fuel filter is the issue. I'll try to get a pic up after work.

You can do a "smoke" test to see if you're suckin anything into the tube when attached. You could also remove the line from the fuel filter vent end, start it, and see if it sucks smoke or if it is clogged.

[danewilson77]

We need someone to post up, a failsafe ingeniously designed method to perform Smoke test, with common household items. How to build it, what material to burn to produce good smike, etc.....

I started to do this.....but got pissed when I couldn't get the smoke to "billow"....then....getting it into the intake, etc....I just gave up.

[wsmeyer]

We need someone to post up, a failsafe ingeniously designed method to perform Smoke test, with common household items. How to build it, what material to burn to produce good smike, etc.....

I started to do this.....but got pissed when I couldn't get the smoke to "billow"....then....getting it into the intake, etc....I just gave up.

I can think of the perfect substance to burn. You might not find the vacuum leak but you likely won't care by then.

William.

[danewilson77]

I can think of the perfect substance to burn. You might not find the vacuum leak but you likely won't care by then.

William.

:rofl

I swear...I can never....

[wsmeyer]

In all seriousness a bit of dry ice in a Styrofoam coffee cup with the lid on and a straw would probably work perfectly.

William.

[johnrando]

I can think of the perfect substance to burn. You might not find the vacuum leak but you likely won't care by then.

William.

:rofl

[danewilson77]

Common household items. Problem here is....your at home, troubleshooting, car is dead......most aren't about to go buy a chunk of dry ice....

Ima start a new thread on this.......

http://www.zhpmafia.com/forums/showthread.php?5305-Idea-s-and-links-for-a-DIY-smoke-test-kit&p=119356#post119356

[billschusteriv]

Assuming some people don't smoke DW. If you did, a pack of Red Apples would work just fine.

I remember using a nifty little contraption looking for leaks on the main condenser. Tiny little bottle that generated smoke when air was sucked through it. Just moved it by all the packing glands until we found leaks. I can't find it.... yet. IIRC, it works on similar principles to an e-cigarette sans batteries.

Speaking of, an e-cig would be another option.

Carb Cleaner? Check out page 2 of what Popular Mechanics has to say:
http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars...-vacuum-leak-2


Not sure I could think of smoke generated by household items that would be entirely safe for us or our cars to breathe.

[L0veZHP]

I drive in the city everyday!!! I live in the city and have an automatic i get around 14~16 but i do drive aggressive most of the time.

[S85FTW]

I drive in the city everyday!!! I live in the city and have an automatic i get around 14~16 but i do drive aggressive most of the time.
Where in the bronx do you live? I grew up near pelham parkway.

[L0veZHP]

I live in Pelham Parkway too!

[Gordo_GT]

Here is my gas mileage log dating back to April 2010. My car has an automatic transmission and is stock except for the Dinan CAI.

[xtremecro]

Error in pic bro

[zhpnsnv]

I'm at an indicated 25.5 mpg at over 45 average mph. Don't remember last time I reset it.

[aurelius]

I'm at an indicated 25.5 mpg at over 45 average mph. Don't remember last time I reset it.

I'm envisioning your ZHP starring in the original version of Gone in 60 Seconds.

[zhpnsnv]

haha no, I just have an all NJTP/Parkway commute. Flow of traffic on the pike hardly gets below 75.

[L0veZHP]

correction: i get horrible mpg! 10~13 on avg in city. and on highway when there is no traffic i get normal zhp mpg. but in the CITY ITS HORRIBLE! especially when im just at a stand still for a long time. -_-

[M0nk3y]

correction: i get horrible mpg! 10~13 on avg in city. and on highway when there is no traffic i get normal zhp mpg. but in the CITY ITS HORRIBLE! especially when im just at a stand still for a long time. -_-

Something isn't right.

I get 17-18 City stop and go on my car.

[Johal E32]

According to my obc I get 25 mpg, a mix of mostly city and some freeway. And my thermostat is kinda wonky, it never full heats up..

On a side note, I got my 1983 MK6 Lincoln continental running for the first time 10 years, it gave around 5.5 mpg on it's way home, a good 30 mile trip from the shop to my house ... I hope it gets a LOT better.

[llll1l1ll]

correction: i get horrible mpg! 10~13 on avg in city. and on highway when there is no traffic i get normal zhp mpg. but in the CITY ITS HORRIBLE! especially when im just at a stand still for a long time. -_-

Excessive idling is bad for an engine. Idling is basically running it at its most inefficient time (or so I've read/heard). If I know I'm just gonna be idling for more than five minutes, I'll probably just turn my car off.

[Gordo_GT]

Excessive idling is bad for an engine. Idling is basically running it at its most inefficient time (or so I've read/heard). If I know I'm just gonna be idling for more than five minutes, I'll probably just turn my car off.

I do this every time I go to In N Out

[L0veZHP]

I don't know what can be wrong. I only drive about 3 times a week tho so I don't get the full effect of horrible mpg. And I don't really know what good mpg feels like or is because this is my first car, so I can't say its bad or good.. but then I look at the MPG of a GTR and I wonder if i can keep up with gas payments for that. Just because I get similar mpg.

[S85FTW]

I just figured I would post an update to this thread for your comparison. I decided to reset the mpg for my trip to 1 penn plaza in manhattan yesterday (meeting with Cisco). It is 69.9 miles each way, 50 miles highway, 19.9 miles actual city driving. For the highway portion I got 30.3mpg @ 70.1mph. After I parked in a structure my mpg readings were 26mpg @ 55mph. When I got back home the total trip of driving to the city and back was 26.5mpg @ 55mph average. So with the blend of city and highway driving I was right around the normal range for our supposed averages for the zhp (20-30mpg). Hope this helps.

[johnrando]

I just figured I would post an update to this thread for your comparison. I decided to reset the mpg for my trip to 1 penn plaza in manhattan yesterday (meeting with Cisco). It is 69.9 miles each way, 50 miles highway, 19.9 miles actual city driving. For the highway portion I got 30.3mpg @ 70.1mph. After I parked in a structure my mpg readings were 26mpg @ 55mph. When I got back home the total trip of driving to the city and back was 26.5mpg @ 55mph average. So with the blend of city and highway driving I was right around the normal range for our supposed averages for the zhp (20-30mpg). Hope this helps.

That's really good mileage. On a side note, I hope the meeting went well, I work for Cisco.

[S85FTW]

It did, thanks for the wishes, I am there several times a year because I work for a system integrator/MS provider that sells a lot of their gear.

[GreenFrog]

I drive in Boston with terrible, terrible stop and go traffic. I understand a lot of you do live in 'cities,' but the stop and go traffic in Boston is like no other.

With 95% city driving in Boston, I get around 12-14 MPG.

On the highway, at 70 MPH with cruise control on a flat surface, the MPG meter says I get 35-40 MPG.

[S85FTW]

haha I think New York City is a little worse

[az3579]

haha I think New York City is a little worse

Los Angeles beats ALL in the traffic department...

[Hermes]

Los Angeles beats ALL in the traffic department...

I remember one time a few years ago my buddy and I were driving to a friend of ours in LA, it was the first day of rain for the year. Once the rain started it took us 4 hours to go 10 miles on the freeway.

[S85FTW]

I heard some companies tell you to work from home on days that it rains in Cali.

[xtremecro]

Highway trip. Solid 65 whole way 140 miles round trip 23.9 mpg and reset it Before departing

[jsfbmw]

Yeah, seems something is not right with your car, unless you were going uphill all the way. On a recent highway trip with cruise set at 70 (actual probably a little less) I got about 32mpg. Car is a manual. How many miles do you have on the car? Is it time to replace some parts?