...because I get about 16mpg in my '09 JCW.

I'm a somewhat aggressive driver, but that's considerably worse gas mileage than my last car, which was an E91 BMW 3 series. And it's worse than the V10 S8 I owned before that.

Is this normal? What are you guys seeing for driving around town?

 

That's pretty bad. I have a 2010 JCW Clubby, am lead-footed, and am always in the 20s. I've seen as low as 22, and as high as 35 (highway). I'm running the Alta stage 1 tune, so I believe that's a bit leaner than stock.

Usual suspects = filters, plugs, any codes?

 

2013 JCW here, 9000 miles on it. I average around 30 on my daily commute (5 mi, 70% highway but traffic speeds ~ 45 mph). Even driving around town I'll still get around 30 because the engine is so efficient at cruising speeds.

 

Routinely in the upper 20's/lower 30's for me. And I'm not afraid to give it the spurs...


Frankly, I get better gas mileage in my '89 Firebird Formula with a V8 engine than you're getting in your JCW MINI with a four-banger. There's got to be a problem somewhere with yours; it's hard to imagine a JCW could get that kind of poor mileage except on a track somewhere...

 

Yeah, I thought that was pretty bad. Like I mentioned, I got better gas mileage in my V10 S8.

I'm not blowing any engine codes, but maybe I'll take a look at the air filter and plugs.

One thing that bears mentioning is that I'm in a pretty dense urban environment. There's a stop sign/stop light on almost every block, and I rarely get past 2nd gear during my daily routine.

 

That will definitely adversely effect your MPG.

 

If it's the same commute as your V10 S8, I'd still say something is amiss...

 

Same commute as I've had for the past 9 years. I've driven loads of cars, mostly luxo-barges (BMW 740i, Audi A8L, Audi S8) exotics (Porsche and Ferrari) and a few station wagons (Mercedes and BMW).

The Mini is 2nd only to the Ferrari (a whopping 6mpg) in worst gas mileage. For the life of me I can't imagine what would cause such poor performance from such a small engine. The car doesn't run poorly at all, and it's quite fast.

Watching the real time fuel consumption reading on the RPM gauge, I consistently see 9-10mpg at acceleration from stand still. Then the MPG rises to 25-40mpg at cruising speed, which typically lasts until the next block.

 

This forces me to ask how your measuring the fuel consumption. The live gauge (and even the avg) on the tach is not reliable. Best way is to always fill fuel to full, and measure of the distance you drove to that tank.

 

Hmm. Well, that could average out to your overall poor reading... But "schreiber117" is correct that the best way to obtain your true mileage is to monitor the odometer between fill-ups.

 

The computer reading is consistent with driving conditions and accurate if reset is done every time you fill up. It is what I have experienced on my part.

It has been as low as 18 mpg city driving when new but is now about 24-26. Freeway is about 32 mpg if not heavy footed.

 

My weekly routine is fuel up on Sat or Monday; I usually do about $25 of 93 octane. This gets me about 4/5ths of a tank. I don't pay attention to how many miles I drive, but this typically lasts me about a week. Driving is 100% urban, lots of stops and starts. No freeway at all.

When I use the active mpg monitor, it dips down to 8-10mpg on takeoff and typically stabilizes around 28-30 during cruise.

With my previous cars I spent the same amount of $$ each week and drove about the same distance as I currently do now--on average I spend about $25/wk on gas and have done so with pretty much every car I've owned for the last 9 years.

It surprises me that my Mini doesn't really do much better than big V8 and V10's around town. I'm sure highway is a different story.

 

I live in the most densely populated with the worst roads (check the surveys) in the US. Rhode Island. I drive a 2013 highly modded JCW that is also lowered (hey, it"s RI) You will NOT beat me from ANY traffic light or pass me on the hiway. I have a sprint booster & a JB set @ 100% and drive in SPORT most of the time. I hammer that badboy as much as I can and the car sprints to 100 mph EVERY day. Yes, I am THE A55HOLE and I get 29 mpg around the urban glut and can pull down 36 mpg @ a steady 90mph. Nuff said.

ISAMIN

 

I'm not familiar with the mods you've listed but that sounds like fun.

It also sounds like there's something wrong with my car.

 

First question I always ask is how many miles do you get out of a set of brakes....
Lead foots usuLlt also brake hard....so they tend to match...
But if they don't....there is sometimes another factor....

 

On average I keep my cars for about 2 years, and typically I put about 10,000 miles on them. Sometimes I have to replace brakes when I first purchase the car (I never buy new cars), but I've never worn through a set because of my driving.

 

So you drive about 5000 miles in a year.... so one factor is the car doesn't get into "closed loop" , ska fully warmed up....that in it self if a hit mpg wise...
Kinda a shame....I hope you find an excuse to take a few trips to enjoy the car!!
Sounds more like the kind of driving for a "station car" as they are called....a beater that is used for a short commute, often to a train-station....with the nice car left at home!
The worst/lowest of the mpg of 25,000 miles or so...the better tend to get 90,000 to give you an idea....usually brake life and mpg are strongly correlated .

 

That's what I was thinking Zip.

09 JCW pre-owned purchase I am guessing ? Wonder if it has ever had the DME tweaked with a performance tune. Most of the the R56 performance tunes adjust thermostat settings making it run colder than stock. Typical operational water temps for R56S is above 220*

The Prince Engine was designed to warm up rather quickly. It's why you don't get heat as quick as earlier models since its making every effort to warm up the engine first for better emissions....If you have performance tuning by prior owner, that would effect mpg on short trips.

 

It's possible, certainly.

It would be a bit of a bummer, though...this car is pretty dang quick, and I was hoping I could tweak the ECU and increase performance, LOL.

As far as I have been able to ascertain there are no physical mods to the car.

 

Diz

Something is not right with your milage.

Its just to low my r58 jcw flogged around does better.

I am at sea level and stock.

Ian

 

I drove 119 miles last week and used 7.7 gallons of gas. That's about 15.45mpg. That's worse than my wife's Range Rover Sport, which has a 5 liter V8.

I'm really not sure what to think here...something is wrong. I've searched through several threads complaining about poor gas milage in the Mini, but so far I haven't found a thread with gas milage as bad as mine.

 

Simple...... you need a tune-up. This is a 2009 that may have quite some mileage on the clock and may have been neglected before.

You also have the N14 engine that has been reported with many reliability issues quite expensive to fix.

Good luck.

 

47k miles on the car; I've put about 400 miles on it since purchase. Always dealer serviced, and I have the records.

Yeah, thanks for that.

 

I get about 26-27mpg in town, and I have a 5 mile commute to work, avg speed like 27 mph. If you only get 15 and that's using the odometer at fill up there's something out of whack. You shouldn't need a tuneup yet either. It's almost like some gas is disappearing from the tank.

 

Mine is at the standard at 26/32. City driving now is about 24 mpg in the last few weeks, driving uphill/downhill.

I still believe he needs a tune-up at 47K. After all, there is a reason why plugs are changed at every oil change on a JCW Mini when you go to OEM service.

It may be some kind of "dirty" engine design that grab off breathing properly.

My best bet................ carbon build up