Fuel Economy

[ntrenn]

Oct 23, 2012 7:28:19 GMT -6 aloha1286 said:

Thank you for that detail report. I always wonder what my actual fuel mileage was for my Aurora.

You are welcome.

I keep pretty meticulous records, almost to the point of knowing which gas pumps give more gas out than they actually measure.

Remember these are all representative of 300 mile +/- runs with traffic, stops, weather, and the like. I have seen 30 mpg once on one 100+ mile run with a nice tailwind. I have also seen 21 on an all highway run into a cold, stiff headwind. Cross winds are almost as bad.

[robaurora01]

I just did a 2200km run not including the two days of city driving where i was at my avg mpg was 31ish or for us canadians 8L per 100km

[aldrichd]

I've been driving to Atlanta Georgia from Montgomery Alabama for business this past month and I get anywhere from 24.5 to 26.1 MPG.

The traffic can be really heavy at times and slows down and then speeds up a lot. Also the speed I'm driving is between 75 and 85 MPH. So I think that's pretty good for a car built in 1999 with 108, 650 miles on it.

[mjwalcott]

one time i got an average of 30+ mpg it was at 70mph with cruise control on the interstate, with traffic...i took a picture of it. idk if it glitched but i saw it go above 27 and i was in shock.

[shelbyracing]

No glitch that happens frequently depending on about 10,000 variables lol. I've been there for probably 50 miles or better running 70 flat highway. I like to go about 82 though so it takes it down to about 27.5-25 flat highway no stopping for several hundred miles with no real traffic. I have nothing consistent to say about 70, when I'm on the highway I'm usually going 400+ miles and like to get there quicker.
However I have definitely noticed the great affects of a good draft lol. It is 'unsafe' so I don't recommend it, will probably really make someone mad too. Though behind a Semi with cruise on for 5-15 miles I noticed about 15 feet out I was averaging like 40+ mpg.

Before anyone points out the low co-drag efficient aerodynamics of this car, I'd like to point out that there is a low pressure zone behind the truck that I'm sure plays a large role. Low pressure = less air, less drag, and less fuel needed to keep the rpms consistent because of the fuel air ratio. I have no idea what degree any of the terms have on it, but I do know they will have an effect.

[ca92260]

has anyone tried a performance chip? the results?

[robaurora01]

You mean the ebay stuff? That doesnt work at all

[human]

That is consistent with what I experienced with my '98 Aurora and my '97 Cadillac. In the Aurora, Autobahn w/California emissions, I would get about 18 around town and 27 or 28 on the highway when I ran premium, mid-grade, or regular with a bottle of octane boost. When I ran regular without the octane boost, I got about 15 or maybe 16 around town and about 23 or 24 on the highway.

With the Cadillac (a '97 Deville Concours with a 300hp Northstar) I got about 16 or 17 in town and about 23 on the highway with premium, mid-grade, or octane-boosted regular. With regular gas, that dropped to 12 or 13 in town and maybe 19 or 20 on the highway.

I've had my '95 Aurora (Autobahn) for about a month now and I've been doing a bit of work on it to improve mpg--replaced coils and wires with those from a '99 STS and have been using Lucas Oil to clean the injectors. It's been consistently improving from when I first picked it up and was getting about 13 in town and 22 on the highway with premium. On my last tank, I was up to 17.4 on mostly in-town driving. I filled up today and left off the Lucas Oil. So far, I'm seeing mileage more nearly consistent with what I got with my previous Aurora.

Oct 21, 2012 11:35:36 GMT -6 shelbyracing said:

From an article I was reading. A little food for thought research
From Smart USA's how-to on increasing the ForTwo's gas mileage: "The engine in your Smart ForTwo requires premium fuel for maximum fuel economy and performance." "Fuel economy using premium is approx. 3 mpg better than regular fuel."
Has compression ratio of 10.1-1

[snotick]

We took the "new" Aurora on our 500 mile round trip over the past 24 hours. I'm not sure if the previous owner was filling up with premium, but I topped off with 12 gallons of BP Premium before we left. All interstate and a slight tail wind, I was able to squeak out 27 mpg. I was using cruise control 95% of the time and stayed around 71-72 mph.

On the return trip, we had some heavy rain and a bit of a head wind. My average mph's was slower since it was raining. MPG's dropped to 25. Not bad for the head wind.