MPG question

dj.papazian · #1 10-28-2009, 08:17 AM

I dont know about you guys, but when i get into my 09 JCW, i like to DRIVE. I dont mean im constantly on the gas all the time, but i try to make driving fun...problem is, im getting around 22mpg. Ive seen other people on these forums getting 28mpg and they claim they drive the same way i do. whats the secret? at what RPM do you guys shift at??

thanks

**Doug W** · #2 10-28-2009, 08:50 AM

The computer on my 09 JCW is telling I'm averaging 31.7, though I have yet to do the math myself.
I like to drive a bit spiritedly, myself (though not as much as I did before I received a ticket for 89 in a 55, a little over a month ago).

I think I'll top off the tank today, then compare the real number with the OBC number after my next fill-up.

Jeremy1026 · #3 10-28-2009, 09:02 AM

I don't have the full JCW, but I have the JCW Tuning Kit. Right now I am getting 26.11MPG calculated, 32.7MPG OBC. I drive much like you describe, but in a 70/30 - city to highway split.

COKen · #4 10-28-2009, 09:25 AM

I'm getting right at 34 with my 09 JCW (7k miles) and I don't hold back on the gas at all. Maybe the thin air up here has less resistance

j34 · #5 10-28-2009, 09:28 AM

If you are worried about your mileage, worried that something may be wrong with the car, I suggest you try driving it more normally for a bit and see what you get.

Do you ever do constant speed freeway trips? Inflate your tires to spec, fill up with premium and drive 100 miles on the freeway at 70mph (if that is legal speed where you are). You should average in the low or mid 30s for a trip like that.

A great feature of the JCW is that it can use little gas when driving gently and a lot of gas (making lots of power) when driving hard. So, I don't see wide variation in mileage based on how the car is driven as being a problem.

Cheers.

dj.papazian · #6 10-28-2009, 09:32 AM

I see. I always fill up a tank of gas and say "ok, im just going to try to drive normally and see what happens"...a day later i give in, push the sport button, and drive

at what RPM do you folks usually shift?

throughthedoors · #7 10-28-2009, 09:42 AM

I never drive without the sport button - I like the stiffer steering feel and I get used to the sensitivity of the gas pedal, making driving w/o it difficult - and I average 27ish in moderate city/suburban traffic. I like spirited driving and get on the gas every once in a while to pass, make sure I get ahead of a car at 2-lane-merging-to-one stoplights, etc.

I shift as low as possible when I'm really going for gas mileage - the JCW has enough torque to cruise in 6th at around 40 mph. Accelerating from a stop with fuel efficiency in mind I try to keep the revs below 2k.

**Doug W** · #8 10-28-2009, 09:45 AM

I seldom use the sport button; it brings out the bad boy in me.

Most of the time, I shift around 3.5K-4K.

Jeremy1026 · #9 10-28-2009, 10:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by throughthedoors

I never drive without the sport button - I like the stiffer steering feel and I get used to the sensitivity of the gas pedal, making driving w/o it difficult - and I average 27ish in moderate city/suburban traffic. I like spirited driving and get on the gas every once in a while to pass, make sure I get ahead of a car at 2-lane-merging-to-one stoplights, etc.

I shift as low as possible when I'm really going for gas mileage - the JCW has enough torque to cruise in 6th at around 40 mph. Accelerating from a stop with fuel efficiency in mind I try to keep the revs below 2k.

Let your engine rev up a little. You are killing your mileage keeping the RPM so low. With the RPMs below 2k most of the power of the engine is just beind used to keep itself going. Do a little test. Reset your OBC MPG, cruise at 3000 RPM in 3rd for about 5-10 miles. Note the reading. Reset it again and ride at the same speed in 4th for the same stretch of road. You will find your MPG will be HIGHER with your in 3rd test, then your in 4th test.

mtbscott · #10 10-28-2009, 01:21 PM

I'm with the OP. Most of my driving is innercity commuting and chores on mostly surface streets. I'm not squealing my tires away from every stop but I am using the acceleration I bought the JCW for frequently. I'm getting 22-25 mpg calculated per tankful and I'm okay with that. The only time I've seen higher is on roadtrips with longer highway sections set on cruise.

flatlander_48 · #11 10-28-2009, 04:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeremy1026

Let your engine rev up a little. You are killing your mileage keeping the RPM so low. With the RPMs below 2k most of the power of the engine is just beind used to keep itself going. Do a little test. Reset your OBC MPG, cruise at 3000 RPM in 3rd for about 5-10 miles. Note the reading. Reset it again and ride at the same speed in 4th for the same stretch of road. You will find your MPG will be HIGHER with your in 3rd test, then your in 4th test.

Before I bought the JCW, my 3 previous vehicles were an '84 VW Quantum (2.1L Audi 5-cyl 5-sp), '90 Nissan Maxima SE (3.0L V-6 5-sp) and a '94 Isuzu Trooper (3.2L V-6 5-sp), all bought new. Across these different configurations and states of tune, they were all very comfortable doing boulevard cruising at 2000-2500 rpm. They all either hit their mileage estimates or were within less than 2 mpg's. As it turns out, the JCW is the same regarding engine speed and mileage (currently running a calculated 27-28 versus the combined of 29). For all, shift points were usually 3500 to 4500, depending upon regular driving or wanting to step up the pace. The JCW seems to want to be at the upper end of those shift speeds and perhaps a bit higher. This makes since as it is the smallest of the 4, the only 4-cyl, the only turbo and has the highest red line.

My conclusion is that the engines are all geared for US driving conditions and that is what allows them to be driven in a similar manner, in spite of their dissimilarities.

etalj · #12 10-30-2009, 01:11 AM

I always have the sport button on, blip the throttle on every downshift, rev hard and abruptly, brake like a maniac, and have semi-slick tyres, and I can't get lower than 23mpg, no matter how hard I try. If i go crazy through the mountains, my mpg actually goes up.

Long distance travel, I get 47mpg

flatlander_48 · #13 10-30-2009, 10:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeremy1026

Let your engine rev up a little. You are killing your mileage keeping the RPM so low. With the RPMs below 2k most of the power of the engine is just beind used to keep itself going. Do a little test. Reset your OBC MPG, cruise at 3000 RPM in 3rd for about 5-10 miles. Note the reading. Reset it again and ride at the same speed in 4th for the same stretch of road. You will find your MPG will be HIGHER with your in 3rd test, then your in 4th test.

I did a little experiment last night: cruising at 30mph in 2nd and in 3rd. Marked difference, but not like you think.

30mph, 2nd gear, ~3000rpm = ~31mpg

30mph, 3rd gear, ~2100rpm = ~45mpg

Note that these are instantaneous readings taken off the computer and while driving in town. The readings could be off by +/- a couple of mpg's, but NOT 14.

Rovy · #14 10-30-2009, 11:03 AM

Sport button on and shifting 4k I get about 27 and drive country roads pretty often so I usually travel fairly quickly

minim8o · #15 10-31-2009, 10:35 PM

dj.papazian, I was in your shoes. I was pretty bummed when I was seeng 24-ish mpg tank to tank. But that was also the first 1 or 2 thousand miles before broken in well. How may miles you have on it?

Once broken in, I can still get the mpg to 25 - 26mpg simply with driving style; not getting anywhere any faster, just in what rpms I choose, how quickly I get to speed, and how much I "pulse" the peddle. Rpms along with go-peddle angle is a critically important aspect if milage. Then out of all the gears, getting out of 1st the soonest is one of the best things you can do to help mileage. That does squelch the fun factor for sure if you're upshifting @ 2K. I'm not saying you need to do that, tho when driving around suburbia, I do do that sometimes. But when driving for mileage and some fun I usually keep it under 3.5K - 4K rpm. With the turbo boost of this car you can always get away with 1 gear higher, unless you're really shooting for max acceleration.

To any critics of this idea, let me share an observation I've made over about 7000 miles with the car. I do always measure milage via miles driven and gallons purchaed tank to tank. But let's just use the OBD for this reference. Lets say my OBC starts at 29mpg (the norm for me and my wife combined at this present time). If I drive it around suburbia with minimal hiway stints for a few days it'll tick down down down, into the 28's, then 27's. If I drive like I did when I was younger, it'll get lower still by a mpg or two until it plateaus. My wife drives the car at least once every 3 weeks, sometimes more. It's happened so many times that it can no no longer be considered a fluke or happenstance but rather real cause and effect ... every time she drives it she gets the OBC to read about 1 or 2 mpg higher then how I gave it to her over the course of her 60 or 80 miles driven. ...and what is her driving style? She gets out of 1st early, and while she might use some higher rpms it's always only done in higher gears, and never with a high throttle peddle angle, plus she never pumps the peddle just for the fun of the g-forces ... she drives, unlike myself, like an adult.

I don't care what anyone says. If you don't drive "like an adult" a good majority of the time, you're not seeing the mpgs of high 20's or 30's. And if you're only seeing low 20's, and you're broken in well, you're definitely having a lot more fun than most of the posters/readers. And anyone who says they are driving like you and sees very high mpg doesn't realize just how much fun you are having. <lol>

dj.papazian · #16 11-01-2009, 08:05 AM

very interesting post minim8o...i have roughly around 2200 miles on it as of today so it could possibly be what you are saying. I tend to shift around 3000 rpm at 1st and 2nd which might be the problem. im gonna try upshifting at 2k when i dont need speed and see what happens. thanks for your input!

flatlander_48 · #17 11-01-2009, 10:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dj.papazian

very interesting post minim8o...i have roughly around 2200 miles on it as of today so it could possibly be what you are saying. I tend to shift around 3000 rpm at 1st and 2nd which might be the problem. im gonna try upshifting at 2k when i dont need speed and see what happens. thanks for your input!

That's marginal on the flat, but it can easily put you into lugging territory (too much load on the engine at low revs) with a slight up grade. Remember that all engine knock (aka pinging or predetonation) may go unnoticed, given how quiet these cars tend to be. When you shift at 2000rpm, your engine speed after you shift will be noticeably below 2000. The normally aspirated and turbo MINI engines don't make much power in that range.

minim8o · #18 11-01-2009, 05:54 PM

Knock sensors have been an integral part of the emissions system since the introduction of OBD. If that were to be occurring it would throw a code. I also have a lot of hills here on the NorthShore of LI where I live. I'm forced to spend a lot of time around 30mph in the village I'm forced to drive thru to get to my home that enforces it strictly. That village, which is basically a 3-mile long sand-bar @ sea level, is book-ended by two large hills. As I've done it 100's of times, there's definitely no lugging or knocking going on climbing the hills in 5th or 6th; and if there was knocking, I'd have a code thrown by now. I'm really amazed and happy at how easily the car will accelerate up a hill in 5th when under 2K.

flatlander_48 · #19 11-01-2009, 06:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by minim8o

Knock sensors have been an integral part of the emissions system since the introduction of OBD. If that were to be occurring it would throw a code. I also have a lot of hills here on the NorthShore of LI where I live. I'm forced to spend a lot of time around 30mph in the village I'm forced to drive thru to get to my home that enforces it strictly. That village, which is basically a 3-mile long sand-bar @ sea level, is book-ended by two large hills. As I've done it 100's of times, there's definitely no lugging or knocking going on climbing the hills in 5th or 6th; and if there was knocking, I'd have a code thrown by now. I'm really amazed and happy at how easily the car will accelerate up a hill in 5th when under 2K.

That's one definition of being tractable, but it isn't something that I would want to do on a continuing basis. Small engine, high load and low RPM is still not a good set of circumstances. I live on a fairly steep hill and I could get my previous vehicle to begin to knock if I wasn't careful to keep the rev's up, but there was never an error code. The knock sensor responds to vibrations that are different from what the engine would normally have. I would guess that it may be fairly insensitive to low levels of knock.

**Doug W** · #20 11-12-2009, 01:25 PM

Just finished a tank, and my calculated MPG agrees with my OBC that I averaged 31 MPG on that tank.
I live three miles out of town, so every errand I run involves six miles highway and probably 3-5 miles city.

SmokeM · #21 11-21-2009, 06:38 AM

Since July 08, I have never seen my mpg higher than 31/32. I average 25-27mpg.
Like many of you, at some fill-ups, I always tell myself, "I'll be good, I want to see how high I can get my mpg." Then that goes out the window within 10 miles

. This car is too much fun to drive. If some of you "say" it gets the mpg advertised then I guess I don't have to prove it.

My favorite ride is a cloverleaf onto a highway. I PULL all the way 'round then blast onto the highway. Its funny how I'm passing cars while I'm in a turn. PURE fun. I can't wait to track this thing.

THellURider · #22 11-26-2009, 02:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeremy1026

I don't have the full JCW, but I have the JCW Tuning Kit. Right now I am getting 26.11MPG calculated, 32.7MPG OBC. I drive much like you describe, but in a 70/30 - city to highway split.

I find it shocking that there is such a disparity between the OBC and the "real" MPG.

Do you reset the OBC every tank?

I'm again considering a JCW because now there may be a chance I'm moving to Boston.

Ron Avery · #23 11-26-2009, 11:35 AM

My JCW is a 2010 I am on my 2nd tank ( I refilled @ 1/2 a tank ), about 230 miles on the car. !st tank was high way and city. I got around 23.5 MPG on the 1st tank. I shift @ around 4-4500 rpms. I know it is early days yet. So we will see. i do not use the sport button much.
Ron

mattsenpai · #24 11-26-2009, 01:29 PM

2007 mini cooper S. I used to always shift right when i hit 2k rpm... i averaged 24mpg. (no sport button)
I posted a thread on here asking why it's so low.. everyone said it's because i'm shifting too low, and that it makes the engine lug, requiring it to use more gas.. and that the MINI has a so-called sweet spot rpm that gets the best MPG around the 3k rpm range in which it was "designed like that to achieve good highway mileage at freeway cruising speeds" (aka 70mph in 6th gear?)

So then i tried always shifting at 3k rpm and keep the cruising speed rpm above 2 and below 3. My avg MPG went up to 27mpg... still not even as good as everyone says they get. But i'm satisfied since i was at 24 mpg before.

minim8o · #25 11-26-2009, 06:24 PM

THellURider, I haven't found such terrible disparity, but I always find from 1-2 mpg between measured and OBC.

My update. Last mileage I calculated from tanks of fuel over 1066 miles: Calculated from the number of gallons yielded 29.125mpg. OBC read 30.1 mpg with an average mph about 30.5mph; low, I know. I'm guessing everyone who's shared mpgs in the 30's has a average 10 or 20-ish mph higher.