miles per gallon thread

[rapoM]

hope im not out of line, but i searched and have not found one. i do not own a tracker/sidekick yet but im looking for one feverishly! but one question i can not have answered is MPG.. fuel econ.gov i dont believe is right... im looking to get a 96 tracker or sidekick with 4wd and 5speed. 2door. just wondering can you guys that do own these, post up? please be specific on year, any mods rather than just engine, or lift kit and big O tires., or even if you have just one size bigger tire, say if you have 2wd or auto trans, so on so fourth , city or hwy, what speeds do you find to be the sweet spot on the hwy., just everything MPG! thank you!!

[rootuser]

All mentioned in my signature.

I get between 27 and 28 MPG on the highway keeping less than 65 MPH. Anything more and the mpg goes to heck.

In the city I get more like 24. My last fill up was 24.32 per gallon. Almost completely city driving.

My rig is almost completely stock. The trick to get better gas mileage on these things other than keeping it in tune is to eliminate weight. I don't carry a spare tire (why pay AAA each year and have to change my own flat?) as this is a daily commuter and I don't have to go far. I took out the jack and all the associated stuff under the seats. That made the biggest difference. Some guys take out the backseat as well. I think I squeek out an extra MPG or two by eliminating all the weight. It's definately noticable.

[NICHOCLI]

I check my mpg regularly and get a consistent 28mpg driving 45-60mph. my mods are lt235/75-15 tires. spedo correction for tires, custom intake and k-n style air filter. I have removed my back seat.

[Bex]

Best mpg is when you keep the car at about 2500rpm. Weight is also an issue - I got rid of the rear seat too (auto tranny, a/c, etc. make the cars heavier). Larger tires drop the mpg as well. Of course, if mpg is really the issue, diesel will always be better.....

[Scudo]

*In a perfect world* weight/mass doesn't matter much, frontal area, rolling resistance and aerodynamics are the big killers. Unless you are going up hill, but then to return to your original altitude then less power is needed for half the trip (assuming the roads going up and down are identical). Higher tire pressures can help offset rolling resistance which is what the weight tends to affect the most. The only way to reduce frontal area is to get a vehicle with smaller frontal area. Aerodynamics is a little more easy but not as easy as tire pressure.

Though we don't live in a perfect world and even cruise control has a hard time keeping bang on 55 mph with changes in wind and hill grade. Throttle is constantly changing.

I get 20mpg (imperial) but that is considered pretty good in these parts of steep 2nd gear grades and having to stop in the middle of one of the few straight roads so you can crawl through a series of potholes without popping a tire or damaging something else. Average speed about 23 km/h. The reason I get as much as I do is because I keep as much momentum in corners as I safely can. Everyone else is in their early teens or less when it comes to MPG.

[GumbyCT]

Originally Posted by rapoM

hope im not out of line, but i searched and have not found one. i do not own a tracker/sidekick yet but im looking for one feverishly! but one question i can not have answered is MPG.. fuel econ.gov i dont believe is right... im looking to get a 96 tracker or sidekick with 4wd and 5speed. 2door. just wondering can you guys that do own these, post up? please be specific on year, any mods rather than just engine, or lift kit and big O tires., or even if you have just one size bigger tire, say if you have 2wd or auto trans, so on so fourth , city or hwy, what speeds do you find to be the sweet spot on the hwy., just everything MPG! thank you!!

I tend to think the .gov is close. Keep in mind they are using the manf. info and not testing themselves. They also do NOT remove seats or tires but are stock. I thought that is what you were looking for? So YMMV.

Speaking of aerodynamics, the best mileage I get is with the 1L 3cyl 96 Geo Metro in my sig. I have had motorcycles with larger engines. When she drives it = 45mpg when I do it's 38mpg and I AM happy with that.

You can keep your foot right in it and not worry (too much) about a speeding ticket. Next best is the Geo Prizm or a Toyota Corolla.

The Metro takes a lot of getting used to but when gas gets to $4/gal like it is today I fall in love with it esp. when I pull up to the pump. Tho it has neither AC nor 4WD it is great this time of year. fwiw - there are Metro's that come in a convertible model.

My 1st car was 67 GTO now I am older I drive a G-e-o
My the times - they are a changin.

[deeznutts77]

i get 20 on both mine, but one has a dragging caliper and the other has headers so i drive it like i stole it cause it sounds good...lol

[Dayton86]

94 soft top 1.6 8v with 5speed factory gear 196,000 miles.
1 inch coil spacer with 235/75r15 M/T, manual hubs. 4x4.
Maintenance is tip top with a 2 inch cat back and head rebuilt 30,000 miles ago.
A/C and power steering.

I average about 23.5 mixed driving with no tire correction and all fuel out here is 10% ethanol. I have seen as high as 27 on the highway when I am not in a hurry but just cruising. It drives my wife crazy that I can get the same mileage or better in my 18 year old 4 wheel drive truck than she can get in her 09 Cobalt. It's all in how you drive and take care of your truck.

[curlcd]

I just rid of my tracker for a similar sidekick in much better (maybe) shape.

up until I got rid of it a month ago I commuted 100 miles per day every day during the week.

I keep careful track of my mileage. I keep the tires inflated to 36 psi and usually drive around 70 MPH.

In the winter I get about 26 MPG and in summer 29 or 30.

My car was all stock except tires, and I got the worst gas mileage when my EGR was giving me grief. I practically live outta my cars so they are always filled with stuff.... did not seem to matter.

Hard top and soft top get about the same... mileage actually seems best with top all the way down

[GumbyCT]

Originally Posted by GumbyCT

The Metro takes a lot of getting used to but when gas gets to $4/gal like it is today I fall in love with it esp. when I pull up to the pump. Tho it has neither AC nor 4WD it is great this time of year. fwiw - there are Metro's that come in a convertible model.

My 1st car was 67 GTO now I am older I drive a G-e-o
My the times - they are a changin.

What I wanted to say before was this Metro is shaped kinda like a wedge, it is light, and is fuel injected.

I think all of those feature helped it to get better mileage than most of the early hybrids at a 1/4 of the cost. On a trip to NC last yr. I got 43mpg on the hiway and the thing was loaded down with luggage and stuff.

Also my 95 Tracker got 3-4 mpg better when I removed the AC belt during the OFF season. fwiw at $4/gal that does add up.