I have a MY 2002 with only around 4400mi on it. I have been checking the oil at every fill up and have added maybe 1qt total since I purchased the car in November. I have noticed lately that my gas mileage is much worse than in the past...I am only getting about 150-170 miles out of a fill-up whereas before I was getting 220-240, this is about 90% in town driving, very little highway. I always use the same gas, Exxon 93 Octane. I am wondering if anyone else has had similar issues and if so what you did about it.

Thanks,
Bryan

 

I get about the same mileage with very little highway mileage. I rarely ever get over 185 miles out of 11 gallons. How many gallons does it take to fill back up on average?

I got better mileage during break in, since I was not VTECing it, but I have been flogging it ever since.

 

Usually I fill up with 2 bars left, that means usually about 9.5 gallons I guess.

 

I always get a little over 210 miles with 2 bars left. I rarely drive on the freeway.

 

Bryan -

the gas gauge in the S isn't all that accurate. You need to actually take the time to divide mileage by gallonage to get your actual MPG.

Having said that, I wouldn't be surprised if your mileage isn't as good as it used to be.

A couple of things could be at work. One is the weather. People tend to let their cars warm up more in cold weather. That hurts mileage. Another factor, related to the weather, is your gasoline itself. While you may still be using the same brand and octane rating of gas, many states (I don't know about AL) use a different gas blend in the winter than they do in the summer. The two blends of gas don't necessarily offer the same performance (depending on who you ask).

FWIW, I avg. about 19-20 mpg on most tanks of gas (9-10 gallon fills). Thats based on an almost even split of freeway and side street driving. The top is never up (so mileage suffers accordingly). However, last weekend I took my S for a 4 day mini vacation to AZ for Angels Spring Training baseball. I avg's 27mpg during that 1,000+ mile trip and even got 30mpg twice (two separate 150 mile stints with the cruise control set at 85mph).

 

Then I guess we are both getting about the same mileage. Do you spend much time at WOT? If I'm accelerating, I'm at WOT, even if I don't VTEC.

 

Another reason for worse cold weather mileage is due to the cold fuel. Cold intake air and fuel is good for power, but not efficiency.

 

That reminds me, It's been about 5 weeks now... I need to go USE SOME!

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by gernby
[B]Another reason for worse cold weather mileage is due to the cold fuel.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Destiny2002
[B]

Actually, from a pure thermodynamic efficiency standpoint, colder air is more efficient as long as vaporization doesn't suffer and the car is up to operating temperature.

But what kills gas mileage is that long period of time getting up to operating temperature....

Therefore, on a pure highway tankfull, you should see excellent fuel economy from an engine in the cold weather.