Higher MPG than manf. rated?

SteveD2 · Aug 5, 2004

My 1.8L 92 Eclipse has 200K miles now. Just finished 2 doses of Auto-Rx 2K miles ago. Also used Seafoam for cleaning combustion chamber 500 miles ago. Bought this from eBay. The fuel master from the auction was just the bonus I thought I'll try. I was mainly buying the magnetic wrap. Anybody has any idea if this fuel master is any good? My car gets 29-30 MPG highway before ARX and all of the above. After ARX I got around 34 MPG. Now, it gets 35.52 MPG highway in 100 degree summer noon. The manufacturer's rate is 34 MPG. How is that possible? Especially on 87 Octane? Can cars "exceed" whatever MPG manufacturers stated? Just wondering. Not that I'm complaining. [Big Grin]

Car History So far, all the oils I've used are Maxlife HM, Regular Mobil Drive Clean, cheap SuperTech, Pennzoil, whatever is on sale and cheap. Whatever the oil is I always do 2.5-3K OCI (with filter) myself. Never over 3.5K. Also oil is never let low. Gas is always 87 Octane at any gas station and my engine never pings nor knock with 87.

Tree Hugger · Aug 5, 2004

Snake Oil. No ifs ands or buts.

huffmuds9320 · Aug 5, 2004

Well its possible to exceed the EPA estimates by a little. I don't think its possible to get a +5 or +10 mpg difference. Since you mentioned that your car is rated at 34mpg(highway?). The label would say something like most car will achieve between 30-39mpg, so the 34 is the average. As for gasoline type, premium will not make a huge difference if your car is designed to run regular 87. The fuel master thing you got may or may not help a whole lot, it will probably make that small difference. But since you did the auto rx thing and put in that fuel master, thats probably what gave you the 35mpg. The short answer to your question, is yes you can exceed the car's EPA rating but not much. Also since is warm weather, car probably warms up faster.

T-Keith · Aug 5, 2004

EPA fuel economy tests are tested by running a car on a dyno with a sensor in the exhaust to detect the amount of fuel used. Standardized runs are used on all cars. This often is the car's most ideal circtumstances, so it's very possible to exceed them or get much worse. More info here. In addition the values are an average, and it says on the sticker that it will get mileage in a range specified, which is often more than 5 or 10 mpg. My Dad has a 98 Lesabre which is rated at 29mpg. He often reports 30+ and even once got 37 with a tailwind at 70mph. -T

brianl703 · Aug 5, 2004

"To make the numbers in the Fuel Economy Guide more useful for consumers, EPA adjusts these laboratory test results to account for the difference between controlled laboratory conditions and actual driving on the road. The laboratory fuel economy results are adjusted downward to arrive at the estimates in the Fuel Economy Guide and on the labels seen on new cars, light trucks, and vans. The city estimate is lowered by 10% and the highway estimate by 22% from the laboratory test results. Experience has proven that these adjustments make the mileage estimates in the Fuel Economy Guide correspond more closely to the actual fuel economy realized by the average driver." http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/info.shtml#estimates

Kestas · Aug 5, 2004

I've said this before, and I'll say it again... "If the product works so well in saving fuel, why aren't all the manufacturers installing it in their new vehicles?" We know what the answer is... because it doesn't work. The automotive industry goes through Herculean efforts to gain a 1% increase in fuel economy. I doubt they would pass over this device if it actually performed as claimed.

sjlee · Aug 5, 2004

quote:
Originally posted by lpcmidst128: Well its possible to exceed the EPA estimates by a little. I don't think its possible to get a +5 or +10 mpg difference. Since you mentioned that your car is rated at 34mpg(highway?). The label would say something like most car will achieve between 30-39mpg, so the 34 is the average. As for gasoline type, premium will not make a huge difference if your car is designed to run regular 87. The fuel master thing you got may or may not help a whole lot, it will probably make that small difference. But since you did the auto rx thing and put in that fuel master, thats probably what gave you the 35mpg. The short answer to your question, is yes you can exceed the car's EPA rating but not much. Also since is warm weather, car probably warms up faster.

Exactly. The key is that the MPG estimates are provided by the EPA, not the manufacturer... and they are just an average.

wulimaster · Aug 5, 2004

I had a 90 honda accord lx that was rated at 29 highway but got 38mpg without air at 65mph and 35.5 mpg with the air on. The worst I ever got was 31mpg highway and that was from 80-90+mph up and down hills between Las Vegas and Phoenix.

rpn453 · Aug 5, 2004

quote:
Originally posted by wulimaster: The worst I ever got was 31mpg highway and that was from 80-90+mph up and down hills between Las Vegas and Phoenix.

That was an amazing car then. A Civic with a 1.6L would need a good tailwind to get 31mpg at that speed!

pezzy669 · Aug 5, 2004

Like said above it is completely possible to exceed EPA estimates. We had a '03 Passat 1.8T Tiptronic rated at 21/30. With mostly around town driving it would return a completely unremarkable 20-22MPG and that was driving gently. When it was driven from California to Florida it averaged right around 34-35 MPG the entire way, so 13-16% higher then EPA estimates. We were thoroughly impressed mostly because the car had about 500-600lbs of stuff in the back and my other half was doing about 75-80 MPH the entire way.

ToyotaNSaturn · Aug 5, 2004

Entirely possible as the EPA's rating is just a best-guess scenario of emissions coming from the specific tailpipe at 20mph. 1991 Saturn base SL got 44MPG one 70 degree day on a flat-land trip. It was rated at 37hwy. Couldn't believe it! It had 4 people and luggage! Achieved that there and on the way back from vacation. Current ride: 96 SL2, rated at 35hwy. Always see 34MPG. Highest post auto-rx treatment was 38MPG. [Cheers!]

JohnnyG · Aug 5, 2004

quote:
Snake Oil. No ifs ands or buts.

If you want to see some "snake oil" check out the EPA driving cycle for a hybrid car. Most "Tree Huggers" don't know that the gas engine of a hybrid shuts off during a stop, and uses regenerative braking to recharge the batteries. Guess what? The EPA driving cycle is specifically designed to make the hybrid look good, with lots of stop and go traffic and plenty of sitting time (with the engine off) this is how you get EPA ratings of 80 mpg. I doubt that a handful of people will ever drive their hybrids like the driving cycle suggests they should. Especially not in Texas. End result..lots of dissapointed hybrid owners. I'd say the owner of this car is doing very well and being very responsible by getting 35+ mpg with his car. Whatever he has done, or is doing, it is working very well for him. Very good.

kevz · Aug 5, 2004

My integra is rated for 28mpg highway...but i can get 35mpg and i got a lead foot. Only thing i have on it is a k&n filter and aftermarket muffler. Upgrading to NGK iridium plugs made an extra 1-2 mpg on average.

PandaBear · Aug 8, 2004

Same here, my integra get 31-33mpg 20% city 80% hwy with 3 passangers and lots of hill climbing in San Francisco, and 85-100mph on hwy bone stock. From what I know these milage are pretty typical too. It seems like it is more accurate to ask people on the internet about their experience than relying on the EPA rating. BTW, when I rented a Prius in Oregon for a roadtrip that is constant on hwy 75mph, I only got 40mph no matter how. To me it doesn't justify the extra cost and design overhead (i.e. ugliness) for the fuel economy, since corolla can easily get 38mpg (rated 40mpg by EPA).

Ugly3 · Aug 8, 2004

I have a '98 Chrysler T&C with a 3800 V6 in it. The Van has 150,000 miles on it and I watch the MPG pretty close. At 60 MPH and little wind I can generally get 28 MPG (no A/C). If I get real serious and shut off the cruise control I can get up to 30 MPG by accelerating downhill and slowing down uphill. Running 70 MPH and no A/C I can get 23 to 24 MPG. Recently made a 3000 trip to Canada (fishing was great) and got an overall MPG of 26.

ekpolk · Aug 8, 2004

I used to occasionally top 30 mpg on 100% highway runs in my V-6 Camry which is EPA rated 28 hwy. Not commonly though.

brianl703 · Aug 8, 2004

The ScanGuage said that my 1996 Ford Contour 2.5L is getting 31MPG on a 50-mile trip done at speeds no higher than 60MPH. It's also said that I get 31MPG on my drive home from work, and 29MPG on my drive to work (if I leave later so as to miss the traffic).

Tree Hugger · Aug 9, 2004

quote:
Originally posted by JohnnyG:
quote:
Snake Oil. No ifs ands or buts.
If you want to see some "snake oil" check out the EPA driving cycle for a hybrid car. Most "Tree Huggers" don't know that the gas engine of a hybrid shuts off during a stop, and uses regenerative braking to recharge the batteries. Guess what? The EPA driving cycle is specifically designed to make the hybrid look good, with lots of stop and go traffic and plenty of sitting time (with the engine off) this is how you get EPA ratings of 80 mpg. I doubt that a handful of people will ever drive their hybrids like the driving cycle suggests they should. Especially not in Texas. End result..lots of dissapointed hybrid owners. I'd say the owner of this car is doing very well and being very responsible by getting 35+ mpg with his car. Whatever he has done, or is doing, it is working very well for him. Very good.

So you think the 'fuel magnet' is working well for him, huh? Brainless **** !

Bror Jace · Aug 9, 2004

I have a co-worker who claims he never sees the full EPA-estimated mileage in his use ... and he travels mostly alone in mixed driving. His cars are automatics and he's a bit heavy ... but not that heavy. [Eek!]

Me? I think I never fail to get better-than average for all of my recent cars. I think my '95 Civic DX had a highway rating of ~39mpg but I used to get 45+ mpg, especially in really warm weather. And that was mixed driving, not strictly highway. My '03 Nissan SpecV is a Sentra with an Altima 2.5L 4cyl engine. The EPA rates the two cars identically (24/29) which is absurd because the Altima is 500 lb. heavier. [Roll Eyes]

This past April, I changed the air filter element and dumped the Red Line 5W-30 in favor of Schaeffer 5W-30. My average fuel economy went from 28.3 mpg to 31.0 mpg. [Big Grin]

Lots of factors account for this: tire pressures, climate, quality of fluids you put in your car, condition of vehicle, driving style, minimizing idling, etc ... --- Bror Jace

Patman · Aug 9, 2004

quote:
Originally posted by Bror Jace: Lots of factors account for this: tire pressures, climate, quality of fluids you put in your car, condition of vehicle, driving style, minimizing idling, etc ...

Driving style is a HUGE factor! My wife was getting a consistent 24 MPG in her car all summer, then she got a speeding ticket a few weeks ago. Since then, she's been getting 27 MPG every time!

Higher MPG than manf. rated?

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