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Lowering the F equals MUCH better gas mileage???!?!
When I first bought my '12 F, I drove it back 12 hrs from Michigan to NC. Of course I played with it a bit, some wide open throttles, etc etc. But I also did do a full tank on cruise control, testing the gas mileage too. I was somewhat surprised when I got 25.1 mpg for an entire tank!!! Of course all highway driving, no wide open throttles, etc. On my 3rd tank/fill up, I tested it again (same road trip) and I got 25.2 mpg!!! Again, very happy this performance car could turn those minds of numbers for a full tank average!
Fast forward about 2 months later (Feb '16), I took a little 5 hr trip from NC to Baltimore, MD in the F. Pretty much same cool weather (30 to 50 degs the whole trip, no dramatic change in elevation nor humidity from the MI trio) and I turned in an impressive 26.2 mpg for that tank!! I was like "wow, can't get any better than that"!!! Lol. Babied it as much as one possibly can, etc.
Ok, fast forward to this past weekend, I took a trip to ATL from NC for the F meet (6 hrs) Didn't test mpgs on the drive down since I was having a lil fun with F, etc. But I did notice I pulled 24 mpgs with A BUNCH of wide open throttles, sport mode the entire way, etc etc. I was like darn, that's pretty high, what's going on, lol. **The ONLY 2 things that have changed on my car since the Baltimore trip 2 months ago is that I lowered the F 2 weeks ago on Swift Springs all the way around*** I have also had my buddy 2URGSE to wash/foam/wax/claybar my car since as well.
But in my drive back home yesterday, I pulled a crazy 29.5 mpgs for a half tank average!!! I couldn't believe it! I filled up with half a tank left to reset the tank average, and for a full tank, when I pulled into the garage last night, I had an unbelievable 30.3mpg for a full tank!!!!
I swear to you guys, the wash/wax/clay bar and lowering was the ONLY thing that has changed between the Baltimore trip and the ATL trip! Haven't even had an oil change between the 2 trips (due for one now). Always fill up with 93 octane so no difference in the type of gas used or anything. Has to be the lowering of the car....what do you guys think?!
And just a few weeks ago I was reading the mpg thread and a few guys were talking about 27/28 mpg tank average and I was thinking (and a few guys replied) "he took the picture right after hoping on the highway after a fillup... No way that's a full tank average"!!! Lol
Can anyone explain/justify this?! It was also about 80 degress the whole trip yesterday as well.
And def not complaining, but just trying to figure where an entire 4 mpg came from, which is a helluva lot! My overall mpg for the car went from 19.6 before I left to 20.4 when I got back last night, further showing the dramatic difference in the gas mileage!
Please chime in!
What was your average speed on those trips? It does make sense lowering improves MPG; just like NASCAR, the idea is to remove airflow underneath the car. This reduces air drag because when you think about it, every aspect of the upper body of your car is designed to be smooth and reduce drag. Then consider the underside of the car; Very non-aerodynamic with exhaust pipes, drivetrain, suspension, etc., so when air passes underneath it encounters a lot of turbulence.
I used to be into 4WD vehicles and those guys who lift their SUVs and trucks with big lift kits see the opposite effect; they're essentially lifting a big wind block higher into the air stream and regardless of tires or other factors, the lift alone degrades their gas mileage.
On a side comment, i don't know how some of you guys lower your cars: I have just a moderate slope on my driveway and if I lowered much at all I doubt I could pull into it without scraping, same issue for a lot of parking entrances... I guess you just get used to avoiding certain driveways...
What's up Vit! Had a great weekend hanging with you and your buddy.
Gotta be the clay bar! Less drag.
Seriously though, those are pretty impressive numbers!
Perhaps it's the summer blend fuel that's likely making its way to gas stations right now.
Did you hand calculate the average MPG or go by the on-board computer?
Hasn't made it to gas stations yet in many cases and depending on his location he may not be subjected to changes in the blends. RTP and the Triad area are not subjected to changes in the blends (unless that's changed since 2014).
Edited:
It looks like California actually has earlier requirments than most of the country regarding summer blends. It comes out there as much as a month earlier.
What's up Vit! Had a great weekend hanging with you and your buddy.
Gotta be the clay bar! Less drag.
Seriously though, those are pretty impressive numbers!
Blckbrd!! What's up man?! Man we had a great time Sat at the meet, lol! Def can't wait for the next one! You guys are all cool, smooth criminals, lol!
But no, I haven't calculated any mileage by hand but FOR SURE I'm getting more miles to the tank, noticeably more. And no sure how the higher tank average isn't representative of that....pretty sure it's a direct representation of the claims.
And the elevation hasn't been dramitcally different anywhere I've driven on the east coast so I know that's not where the spike in mpgs is coming from. I'm totally convinced it came from lowering the car. Just surprised the minor lowering of it increased mpgs by 4 miles per gallon...large increase for around an inch of lowering, lol. And surprised no one else has noticed it with a ton of you guys lowered.
But oh well, I won't see those numbers anymore anytime soon....throwing the Joe Z on today hopefully and it'll be pedal to the medal 99% of the time then :-)!!
Winds out of the west can do amazing things. It's great you got a really sweet number on the way home, but the only way to be sure you have made a permanent change is to continue to monitor it. Your all time AVG should rise too. But there could be MANY reasons for this, and getting 26 mpg is pretty common, maybe even a little low. I typically see 27 mpg on long trips to Texas or Florida, and coming home from Texas is always a little better than heading out there from a fuel economy perspective.
04-25-16, 05:21 AM
Lowering the F equals MUCH better gas mileage???!?!
for long distance trip . But locally or stop and go not so much .
