First long trip for the Mazda

[PimTac]

The wife and I made a trip from outside of Tacoma down to Portland and back on Friday. This was the first time to really get this car up to good speed. Speed limit is 60 in the metro area but south of Olympia it becomes 70mph. The vehicle was a dream to drive. This was my first experience as well with the radar cruise control. It performed as expected, slowing down when distance became less than ideal. I engaged it only on the 70 mph stretch. Weather was foggy in the metro but clear elsewhere with temperatures of 28F when we departed to 39F in Portland with a cold wind coming off the Columbia River. Traffic was generally good except for one semi accident that backed us up a few miles. On the way back rush hour traffic bunched up about 50-55 miles from home and it was stop and go for the last 30 miles. Typical traffic here so it was expected. Fuel economy averaged 30.9 mpg for the entire trip. The computer was showing just over 33 mpg during the 60 mph sector, obviously going faster reduced the numbers but all in all I am satisfied. The vehicle is just now approaching 1000 miles so the initial break in is done but several thousand more are needed to really loosen her up. I have read comments on other social media that fuel economy goes up substantially after several thousand miles with these SkyActiv engines. This old dog is still learning about all these electronic nannies and systems but so far they are helpful instead of hindering. I did turn off audio alerts for the LDW. Now I just get visible warnings on the HUD display which I really like. Finally, noise levels are fantastic inside the car. At 70mph, we could still converse in soft conversations. Mazda did it’s homework on the noise reduction. With a iPhone app, I recorded 54-55 decibels at 35-40mph or so and at 70 mph it recorded a average of 62 decibels. Not too shabby in my opinion for a vehicle in this class. Also, since this is BITOG, there has been no oil usage or change in the crankcase level since purchase.

 

[LotI]

My 6GT has been very consistent with fuel economy after about 500 miles. Bought new in July it’s averaging 38.5mpg over 13k miles. I don’t think you’ll see that due to aerodynamics and driving conditions. I’m ~95% highway. I use the radar cruise all the time. The steering wheel cruise controls make it easy to vary the speed and radar slowing and speeding as needed. I get in other cars and wonder why the car isn’t slowing with traffic! I change my mind on the LDW going between active steering or the rumble feedback. When active steering is on it has the bad habit of tugging in the direction when a turn lane opens. I may report it to see if there’s a software fix. Active headlights are fantastic but I turned off auto high-beams since there are many idiots who drive with their high beams on so I need to blind them as a reminder I ran M1 0w-30 with no effect on fuel economy...back to 0w-20 for winter

 

[PimTac]

Originally Posted By: LotI

My 6GT has been very consistent with fuel economy after about 500 miles. Bought new in July it’s averaging 38.5mpg over 13k miles. I don’t think you’ll see that due to aerodynamics and driving conditions. I’m ~95% highway. I use the radar cruise all the time. The steering wheel cruise controls make it easy to vary the speed and radar slowing and speeding as needed. I get in other cars and wonder why the car isn’t slowing with traffic! I change my mind on the LDW going between active steering or the rumble feedback. When active steering is on it has the bad habit of tugging in the direction when a turn lane opens. I may report it to see if there’s a software fix. Active headlights are fantastic but I turned off auto high-beams since there are many idiots who drive with their high beams on so I need to blind them as a reminder I ran M1 0w-30 with no effect on fuel economy...back to 0w-20 for winter

Great car you have there. The 6’s are vastly underrated. I believe you have the E-loop system as well as some other fuel economy measures for that car. On the headlights, I also went manual. I found out that the fog lights won’t turn on when in auto mode. I like the idea of extra visibility to others in foggy or rainy situations and at night as well. The LDW has some sensitivity settings. I did turn mine down a bit as the rumble was annoying me as well. If you are not using the turn signals the LDW will work against you in the situation you describe. Do you have auto engine stop/start on your 6?

 

[LotI]

Originally Posted By: PimTac

Originally Posted By: LotI

My 6GT has been very consistent with fuel economy after about 500 miles. Bought new in July it’s averaging 38.5mpg over 13k miles. I don’t think you’ll see that due to aerodynamics and driving conditions. I’m ~95% highway. I use the radar cruise all the time. The steering wheel cruise controls make it easy to vary the speed and radar slowing and speeding as needed. I get in other cars and wonder why the car isn’t slowing with traffic! I change my mind on the LDW going between active steering or the rumble feedback. When active steering is on it has the bad habit of tugging in the direction when a turn lane opens. I may report it to see if there’s a software fix. Active headlights are fantastic but I turned off auto high-beams since there are many idiots who drive with their high beams on so I need to blind them as a reminder I ran M1 0w-30 with no effect on fuel economy...back to 0w-20 for winter

Great car you have there. The 6’s are vastly underrated. I believe you have the E-loop system as well as some other fuel economy measures for that car. On the headlights, I also went manual. I found out that the fog lights won’t turn on when in auto mode. I like the idea of extra visibility to others in foggy or rainy situations and at night as well. The LDW has some sensitivity settings. I did turn mine down a bit as the rumble was annoying me as well. If you are not using the turn signals the LDW will work against you in the situation you describe. Do you have auto engine stop/start on your 6?

I don’t have the premium package with I-Eloop, nappa leather, heated rear seats, etc...I didn’t see the value. No stop/start but the ‘18 is adding cylinder deactivation. My fogs are useless.

 

[jaj]

Originally Posted By: PimTac

The wife and I made a trip from outside of Tacoma down to Portland and back on Friday. This was the first time to really get this car up to good speed. Speed limit is 60 in the metro area but south of Olympia it becomes 70mph...

What? You didn't get stuck at JBLM? It's a miracle.

 

[PimTac]

Originally Posted By: jaj

Originally Posted By: PimTac

The wife and I made a trip from outside of Tacoma down to Portland and back on Friday. This was the first time to really get this car up to good speed. Speed limit is 60 in the metro area but south of Olympia it becomes 70mph...

What? You didn't get stuck at JBLM? It's a miracle.

Going down was good. Coming back the stop and go started at Nisqually. I’m sure JBLM played a part. That section is notorious. Actually for a Friday rush it could be much worse. Last year we had stop and go from Chehalis all the way up to 56th where I got off. That was a tiring drive

 

[jaj]

Originally Posted By: PimTac

Going down was good. Coming back the stop and go started at Nisqually. I’m sure JBLM played a part. That section is notorious. Actually for a Friday rush it could be much worse. Last year we had stop and go from Chehalis all the way up to 56th where I got off. That was a tiring drive

I go down from Vancouver BC to the Ridge Motorsports Park in Shelton six or seven times every summer and the JBLM crawl is miserable. Southbound, don't show up before 7:00PM and northbound, you have to get through there before 1:30PM or it's just a mess. The 80 miles from JBLM to Everett is the "gauntlet" on the drive either way.