I've had my 04 MC for a week tomorrow. If I'm going 65-70, I'm running 3K on the tach! How am I supoosed to get 30'ish MPG on the highway, if the RPMs are this high? I'm sure it's a newb question, but that's awfully high compared to what I'm used to driving... Just curious if this is normal?

 

That is absolutely normal. Trust your car, on a level surface running ~3k RPM in 6th gear you should register 30-32 MPG on the instantaneous readout.

If you drove automatics before this, I've noticed that autos run lower RPM, I suppose due to different gear ratios + having a torque converter.

MPG depends on a lot of variables, only one of which is your engine RPM. Lower RPM doesn't necessarily equate to better MPG if your engine is struggling.

 

I don't have a 6th gear... It also says on the avg mpg's, that's i'm getting like 20-21??? Although, after I fill up, it says range is 415 +/-That just doesn't sound right to me? My V8 truck gets better than that...

 

3k+ rpm on the highway is nothing for a small engine. If you have a lead foot, sit in traffic, or do a lot of city driving, there is a good chance you'll be getting lower 20's. On the highway, a Cooper should have no problem getting 35+ mpg. I can get only a few less than that in my S.

 

Agree, I have an 04 MCS and get about 35 MPG at 75 MPH. A little over 3K RPM.

 

For car engines in the 1600 cc range, 3k rpm is very typical at highway speeds in top gear. If you are use to lower rpm at that speed, you have been driving a 6 or 8 cylinder vehicle. Keep in mind, that a V8 fires just as many cylinders at 1500 rpm as a 4 banger does at 3000, and since the displacement for each cylinder on a V8 is greater, it is consuming more fuel.

 

OK, thanks guys, like I said, I'm not used to the Mini yet.

 

Same. When the thing was sitting at 3300rpm on the highway i was thinking "how the heck am i supposed to get 30mpg like this'. But i guess i would think that given that i was coming from a '94 suburban that started to to approach redline at around 4000.

 

speeds generated at different RPM's for different gears. These are the ratios for an '06 MCS.


1 12.789
2 7.793
3 5.651
4 4.615
5 3.828
6 3.126


2000 3000
11.3 16.9
18.5 27.8
25.6 38.3
31.3 46.9
37.7 56.6
46.2 69.3

4000 5000
22.6 28.2
37.1 46.3
51.1 63.9
62.6 78.2
75.4 94.3
92.4 115.5

6000 6750
33.9 38.1
55.6 62.5
76.7 86.2
93.9 105.6
113.2 127.3
138.6 138

 

I feel like an idiot.... Until this morning, I did not know that you could reset the avg mpg's thingy on the tach. I did and know it says my average mpg's are around 28.3

 

Also, when you're just cruising without much load on the engine, the ECU dictates a leaner AFR, which really conserves fuel. Log your car if you're able to, and you'll see how all that fun stuff works

 

Hi: I guess I'm not used to the high reving engine of the mini S automatic. I have a 2005 Mini. When I'm just cruising around the neighborhood around 30mph, my tach usually hovers around 2500rpm especially if there's an incline. I always find myself shifting it to the next gear via the paddle shifters to bring down the rpms. I hope this is normal and nothing wrong with the tranny.