So, the gas mileage things has been beat to death. I am one of those unlucky folks who only is getting 24, mostly around town, with the occassion few exits on the highway. My question is do you think this is based on RPMs? At 70 mph on the highway I am running about 3200 or so RPMs on my 5 speed R50 non s. This seems pretty high (and loud on the highway after awhile).

What RPMs do others run at, at this speed?

 

Yes it has to do with rpms. My computer registers almost 10 less mpg at 70 mph than at 60 in top gear.

 

so is yours a 5 speed as well? I dont have a computer in my Mini so i cant see the mpg difference at various speeds. do you also hit 3200 or so rpms at 70?

 

Auto 6 speed here - 2000 rpm at 60 mph. Nice relaxed cruising and good mpg's.

 

I have a 6-speed CVT. AT 70 MPH I'm tacking 2900 RPM. I get 34MPG on the highway 31.5 around town, and believe me I stomp on it enough to aggravate my wife constantly. The best I ever got was 38MPG using a gas without ethanol in it and cruising at 65 for 100+ miles.

 

In my MCS 6MT on the highway, I am ~3200 RPMs at 70 MPH as well. I just got 420 miles out of a tank of gas setting the cruise at 70 for 90% of the trip with some 40-60 MPH driving through towns that connect interstate highways. Driving the same route at 80-85 my best was about 360 out of a tank.

Ethanol content makes gas mileage go down, but that is all we have available here.

 

I was getting a hair over 25 with city & highway driving. Since I swapped my extremely disgusting air filter it's gone up to about 27. Mine is an '02 MCS manual with about 104k. I generally shift anywhere between 2500 to 3500 depending on the situation. On the highway I usually cruise at 70 @ 3200 when traffic permits. The last time I filled up the computer told me I'm good for 375. I'm guessing that is based on the current MPG?

Edit: Latest full tank mileage reading was 415.

 

so I guess my real question was with my justa getting crappy mileage for a Mini, anywhere from 20-25, does anyone have any suggestions to help figure out what could be the cause? Im sure we dont drive any harder than most of us Mini drivers.

 

Tires?For years i couldn't get over 28mpg in my 03 mc. I had the Dunlop run-flats and when they wore down, I replaced them with the same. Then i switched the next time to Goodyear F-1's and just recently Kuomo's. Since the change to Goodyear's, I started to get up to 33mpg. I'm @ 98k miles and getting better mileage now than ever.

 

i like the idea, but im not on run flats, im on falken 912's which have such great reviews and they barely have any miles on em

ps-like the stripes on the boot, did it come like that?

 

I had an '06 MC 5 speed for 4 years. At 70-75 mph on the highway, my tach reading was 3200-3300 rpm. However, I averaged 36 mpg over the 4 years while commuting 56 miles round trip every day.
If your tires are new and properly inflated, I'd suggest a good quality fuel treatment. You're probably OK to use it every other tank for a month or two, then follow the recommendations on the bottle. If this doesn't help (or help enough), consider changing your plugs. Sorry, but 24 mpg is silly low for a MINI.
Good luck.

 

Sparky, thanks for the suggestion. Any idea on a good quality fuel treatment? as a side note, i changed the plugs and wires thinking it would help, it didnt

 

I am a big believer in Seafoam. You might try it. It cant hurt and also...are you running premium fuel?

 

Driving style has a lot to do with it too. Believe it or not, stomping on the throttle and shifting low will yield better mpgs than feathering the throttle and shifting at higher rpms, to achieve the same (moderate) acceleration.

Using hills to gain and "scrub" momentum also helps, which is why using cruise control on a hilly highway will hurt mpgs, even if the speed is set relatively low.

There are many other little things too, to raise mpgs...it's called "hyper-miling". Your George Jetson, Prius-types like to get a little carried away with it...

 

Have you ever thought of putting a container of Fuel Injection Cleaner in your fuel tank ?

I use the Chevron brand and maybe I am alittle overboard, but I do it once a month to keep everything in that department super clean !

You might just give it a try and see what happens. . . . . . . . .

 

So if I have a 06 JCW, ive only averaged 24-27 mpg. Everything is factory and I have Yoko s-drives. I noticed on the highway back that I got about ~400 on the tank but normal driving I barely get 300miles.

***BTW how big is our gas tank exactly? I thought it was~13gal. but I've been pumping 13.5ish it says.***

 

ive not done seafoam or fuel injector cleaner, will try both and will keep u guys psoted

 

Are you running wider tires than the OEM?
That will result in lower MPG...and if the size is not stock...it will make the calculations useless....many folks with MINI's run an alternate tire size...if it is off by more than 2% or so....MPG will be affected...
Tire brand will also cause about a 3% difference from the best to the worst rolling resistance tires....(as will wider than stock tires).
Lower octane gas than recommended will cause the car to run richer, and retard the timing....Tons on an S, less on JUST-A-COOPER, but still a factor...as is in-town driving, high RPM's, lots of braking, and LOTS of AC use!!
I get about 28-30 MPG highway with my modded, tuned r53, and 18-25 in town depending on how I drive!!
Check your air filter recently?

 

air filter changed, plugs, wires, etc.
running stock size tires, high octane gas,

bought seafoam, will put in and let you guys know results

 

Sorry, but I'm drawing a blank. Since I "upgraded" to a '09 MCS in April, I haven't needed fuel treatment. As I recall, I went to Autozone and tried a few above-average-price brands, based on the (probably foolish) belief that you get what you pay for.

Wish I could be more help. Good luck.

 

went for seafoam in the gas tank as well as thru the pcv, lets see what that does along with changing the OEM air filter to a K&N

Mileage report to follow

 

I drive an 06 MCS 6MT and do a fair mix of city and highway driving (probably around 50/50. I usually got around 25 mpg, but after changing my air filter (which was in awful condition) I now seem to average 26.5 or so. For what it's worth I usually shift around 3500-4000 depending on situation.

 

well, got it up to 29 mpg, not great, but not horrible either, pretty much mixed hwy and city

 

i was once getting around 36 on my 02 justa cooper highwy at 70mph but whn i get back to my town im hitting only 19 mpg =[ i can guess half of it has to do with me still learning stick.

 

I too have an 02 R50 with the 5 spd and i get about 30 mixed. But at 70 for a 4 hour drive i hit about 34 and change for the trip. If i went say 55 or 60 i would perhaps hit the estimated 37 mpg but since i dont like wasting time I will be happy with 34mpg. The only way to improve your city and to shift sooner. I toss it in 5 th when i hit 35mph. And go light on the thottle. Driving habits are what kills your mpg. These Minis are suprisingly efficent for the power they can produce.