ls430lover

hi thought i would share some info with a 2800 mile drive of observations..
i have an 02 ls430 loaded with about 300 pounds of stuff in trunk and back seat,
going from west coast to east coast with
Regular unleaded got around 25.6 miles to gallon
i switched to premium to see if there would be a difference and sure enough got another mile and half around 27.1 with premium..
another interesting think in texas where the speed limit is 80 and have to say the car loaded up performed amazing on the highway even with 100k on odometer
with flat land in texas doing 77 to 80 miles an hour for almost two hours got nearly 26.3 miles to a gallon.. i thought the mileage would decrease signicantly from 65 to 80 but it was only about 1mpg
just thought this info would be interesting to read and below is important stats on why i can get that mileage

changed spark plugs at 90 and air filter every 12-15k
use cruise control as much as possible the slightest movement with foot on gas decrease mpg
cheers safe travels to all

mortey

Good to know! I too found that interesting.

AlexusAnja

I too have found my LS more efficient travelling at 75mph than 55~65mph and i think that just happens to be.the "sweet spot" of.mpg given the LS' lower coeff. of drag and engine. I went down to Orlando doing about 75~80 the whole trip and ran 27 mpg. Have not observed 65 mph giving better numbers.

Slvr surfr

iTrader: (1)

I beleive that once the car reaches those speeds, its more of momentum(inertia) carrying the car more than the engine imo. Therefore the less gas is consumed.

Wiley9

thanks for the info! this is really helpful since i'm planning a 10,000 mile road trip up to Alaska and back this summer!

Bocatrip

It's funny how we are amazed how our boats are able to get over 20MPG on a highway run. During my early years, I had a number of Lincoln Towncars (Real Aircraft Carriers) and they too would get in the 20s on the highway. There is something to say about momentum rather than real engine efficiency. Regardless, it is a great car and certainly a comfortable ride for a long trip.

MDSC

iTrader: (3)

Thanks for sharing would love to see something like this for 04-06 the extra gear has to do a little better on the highway . Our 06 gets 21-23 mixed driving I've gotten 470 out of a full tank myself mixed driving. on the highway it looks like cruise set to 70mph on flat road it gets 28mpg with also 100k on the clock . Best I got out of Gs is 23 mixed and 25 highway trip to pa from md and back on cruise all the way 70mph. Gs weights over 1k lbs less

toyo

I am in the middle of a cross country trip in my 06 from Georgia to Colorado. I'm heading back on Friday morning.
There are 3 of us so to say the trunk is loaded down is an understatement. The best mileage I have gotten so far was leaving Georgia. I squeezed 27.3 out of it. I use my calculations instead of the computer, although the car's trip computer was pretty darn close. I do notice a 1 to 3 mileage increase with premium.
This last tank it has dropped to around 23 so far. I have been driving in 8K plus elevations plus the octane only goes to 91 versus 93. Coming across I-70 in kansas the speed limit jumps to 80. I set the cruise on 89 for the entire leg, it was luscious!

This is my 1st trip over 200 miles in this car. Very nice to say the least.

I will report back after I get home.

ls430lover

one other note, there is alot of talk on the forum of ls owners with gas mileage i guess it says alot of the type of consumer the car attracts, but one of the largest take aways is just what a marvel of engineering this vehicle was from 01 to 06
the car was designed in the late nineties for an late2000 intro, with a drag coefficient of .26 absolutely amazing,
dont know if many people researched this but they actually used the tunnels used for the bullet train for wind testing on the vehicle... i am just amazed of the powertrain perfection and the thought to detail,
that being said other cars are catching up and ergonomically getting better but for a car ten years old it speaks volume of engineering prowess for toyota, kudos
cheers

ls430lover

i guess not one last note but another
i am pretty particular with the performance of the car and although our cars can run on 87 with no pinging, the car is made to run on 91 or more octane and runs alot better with alot more performance with the higher octane,
so...... if you get at least one or one and half miles to gallon more per gallon at $4/gallon its almost a break even to get the higher octane, that being said the car runs better with more performance and by using regular unleaded with the decrease in mileage you lose the offset on cost per gallon,
i will be using strictly premium or doing a mix of half the tank with chevron gas .
cheers

warminwisc

I do little strictly city driving so always average above 23.5 mpg. Hard for me to buy into a camry or such to get 30 ish and loose the smooth ride, safety and just big car feel I get out of my LS 194 k so i just bought another one. ya 95 percent of my miles are premium.

midwest2

I have been amazed at the mpg these cars can achieve on the highway. And you don't have to baby them to get it. I have had 5 people and luggage in my 430 and gotten over 26 at 75 mph. Even my 96Ls400 will get 25on the interstate while being thrashed the whole way...I love traveling in the "pack" that does 90-100.

On a side note, my old Acura 3.5 RL was lucky to 22mpg under ideal conditions.

Jabberwock

Agree my 1999 RL was a great car but had less power and way worse mpg. Amazing testimony of just how good the LS430 was designed and built. The super low .26 cod along with excellent wheel bearings provides smooth quiet ride and great mpg that no conventional cars its size can provide. The LS will significantly accelerate on downhills on the freeway just from gravity of the downhill. There is some downside to super slick car and great drive train - that effect was good for getting me a 72mph speeding ticket in a 65mph zone just outside of New Orleans (famous for speed traps). Had the cruise set at 70 and had just come off a small hill crest - car ran up to 72 and was going higher before I spotted the stealthy pork laying in wait ahead of me....alas it was too late. Only good thing I can say about that is that it was fast, 10 min later I was on my way again, only $160 lighter.

jayclapp

I notice that the car's Cd of 0.26 is mentioned. Has everyone forgotten that the UL hunkers down an inch at curise and that decreases the Cd to 0.25. That's a decrease of 3.85%. That means the drag on the UL is 3.85% less. That should affect the gas mileage by the same amount, meaning that a 22 mpg average for a non-UL, the UL will have 22.84 mpg. There's been a lot of discussion about gas mileage, but I don't remember anyone considering that the UL is in a different category. Just saying.

ls430lover

thats great info didnt know that about ul,
cheers