hi
ok, i searched first, but really found nothing about this
of course economy may suffer as you are driving harder, but has anybody driven the same since the pulley and did fuel economy suffer?
i think as long as you drive the same, fuel economy should be about the same as the extra torque means not having to rev as much for the same torque levels?

thanks in advance
dan

this is my "other car" as my summer car is a 1987 buick grand national, about 500+ bhp, and no i dont care what fuel economy it gets! but the mini i do.

 

I'm running a 19%, and so far, the only things my fuel economy suffers from seem to be:

1) my right foot;
2) "oxygenated" gasoline.

I informally tracked my fuel consumption shortly before and immediately after the pulley install. Fuel economy declined and engine performance was spotty immediately after the install, much to my dismay. At the suggestion of Eric at Helix, I ran the tank down, then switched fuel brand at the next fillup, and things were way different. Yowza! Even though the car was perfectly happy on the original fuel brand in stock trim, I suspect that after the pulley upgrade, the increased boost was causing the DME to retard timing occasionally under heavy load. So, I didn't get to feel the full benefit of the pulley until I switched fuel. Once that was sorted, I resumed clocking fuel usage.

Since I was only interested in the relative change in fuel usage, and not absolute consumption rate measurements, my observations are based the OBC readout, rather than hand calculations of miles driven/ fuel burned.

I found that driving conservatively yielded fuel consumption rates that were very close to stock. However, I also discovered that adding the pulley made me disinclined to drive conservatively.

When the local gas stations switched over to winter blend fuel last fall, I noticed another decline in fuel economy, which persists regardless of driving style. I expect that to improve once we switch back to "summer" fuel (assuming we do, rather than staying on the oxygenated stuff year-round...)

As a side note, I'm kinda bummed that Sunoco no longer sells 94 at their street gas pumps. Oh well. At least it's not "Cali Gas!"

In short, the impact on fuel consumption I experienced from the 19% pulley is minimal. I would expect even less from a 15%. In the end, it all depends on how much self-restraint you have. I personally would rather have fun now, and save my self restraint 'til the day I need Depends.

 

For me, the extra fun gas pedal is balence by the fact that I can stay in higher gears and turn less revs in more situations. I've beaten the snot out of my car since I got it in 02, and through stock trim, going to nice tires, MTH, Hot Air Intake, Ryephix II, tuned bypass valve, One-ball exhast and 15% pully, I'm still getting withing a few MPG of when I first got the car (around 24 MPG now.....) I think I do 310-320 miles per tank......

Hope this helps....

Matt

 

I gained 2mpg's after MTH, 15%, ignition coil kit: hwy miles as above. can't really tell on the lead foot in teh city

 

My gas milage tanked with the pulley. I can squeeze only @230 miles out of a tank around town. The problem seems to be related to my right foot!


Cheers,

 

I too think I actually get better milage with the 15%. Im on winter gas so can't tell exactly, but pretty sure.

 

Like people have stated, it depends on how much you throttle the right foot. I get about 320 plus/minus 15 on a tank of gas. I don't have an ECU upgrade, still stock, I don't see myself using more fuel then I used too.

 

If you can just learn not to be hopping on the pedal all the time you will be fine. I just can't help myself and need to here that whineeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

BahamaBart

 

Both my best and worst fuel economy for an entire tank of street driving came the weekend after getting the 15% (averaged high 70's for the first tank, but a snow storm dropped it to average high 40's for the second tank). Needless to say, going slower got me better fuel economy. Compared to stock, mileage wasn't measurably changed overall with the 15%.

 

My gas milage actually improved slightly when I first did my 15%. It has suffered considerably but it is my own fault (mods) Randy told me early on that the Mini is more sensitive to "right foot" inputs than any other car he's driven. My gas milage suffers when I use a heavy right foot...... which is how I tend to drive .

 

with 19% and larger injectors my fuel economy is not quite like stock, then again neither is the horsepower.

 

I just filled up from a Solo 2 last Sunday. The drive to the event was about 100 miles, back 100 miles, the odo read 328.1, took 11.419 gallons = 28.73 mpg. That's speeds of about 60 mph, on 2 lane winding roads, 4 runs at the course, plus some around town and stop and go traffic to top off the week.

I have a 19% pulley and the HAI. My car also has the sunroof and a Moss skidplate (extra weight), and 16 inch stock runflats.

Over time, gas mileage has improved since the 19%, which was about 24-25 when first installed. I continue to drive briskly when possible, but not excessively, usually cruising about 70mph. I am satisfied that gas milage is there if not using WOT.

 

WOW! I've never gotten 328 miles on a tank! Maybe it's the low cruising speeds (60, 70 mph) that I never follow...

 

I bought some Sunoco 94 yesterday here in Michigan. I was curious where it's available so I checked their web site and it says it's available "thorughout its 21-state marketing territory".

Mark

 

One of my last tanks on the much maligned Cali gas (91 octane) got me 360 and some change. I was quite proud but I drained the tank to get it that high. Not something I want to do often. I figure if I had done more highway driving I could have crept near to 400.

 

After adding a 15% pulley and Alta intake 15 months ago, my MPG suffered by about 2.5 MPG on freeway trips and about 3-4 when driving around town.

 

The problem is that once you get a performance upgrade of any kind, the devil in you drives the car harder.