I read here that the R53's gear ratios were changed in the July 2004 facelift:



This change seems to correlate with a drop in MPG (according to EPA fuel economy numbers) from 2004 to 2005 model year:


If anyone's owned a pre-facelift R53 and a post-facelift R53, is the post-facelift car more thirsty for fuel?

(And, even if you haven't owned pre- and post-facelift R53s, I'm curious to hear what you think!)

 

Please remember that the EPA's MPG numbers and testing methods are a moving target...changes occur, cars get retested...numbers change,,,
the model year 2005+ cars do make a couple more hp...
but with the testing methodology...I doubt that would ever come up...
Gearing was changed to improve drivability...1st gear is a bit too tall for the TQ the older gen1 cars make...makes driving in traffic harder than it needs to be IMO...
And since a 2005 is now 10 years old....the EPA numbers are pretty useless IMO...so many cars have been used, abused, modded, etc....best option is to find a car that runs well, and has been matained well.....and get it!!
Some folks NEVER match the EPA numbers, getting mid teens....
Some of us DO BETTER making MORE HP....
comes down to the driver largely...how often a driver buns up brake pads tends to correlate to MPG....

 

As someone who owns a 2005 r53 and having driven my buddy's 03 r53 for thousands of miles, yes the facelifts are a little more thirsty. Not enough to let it be a deciding factor though, the facelift is superior regardless. The facelift will still get 28mpg average with a fair amount of spirited driving.

 

With the above gear ratios a facelift MCS will require 125 more rpm to maintain a speed of 65 mph in 6th gear.

 

I can see why the old (longer) ratios would get better mpg at highway speed, but wouldn't the facelifts closer gear ratios get better mpg in the process of getting up to speed? Lower gear ratios would provide a greater mechanical advantage, so in theory at least, a facelift would get better mpg in city and stop and go situations?

 

I'd expect similar city mpg and maybe 1-2 less highway mpg with the shorter gears.