El Zilcho, here are my observations on getting to 500 miles on one tank:

1. Flat terrain, steady speed under 75 mph.
2. Not using the cruise control (don't know why, but it did better if cc was not on)
3. Minimal use of a/c
4. Left hubby at home. (he's not a small guy!)
5. Hundreds of miles of highway, with minimal stops.
6. Small sized drink in cup holder (see #5)

You might want to check out Fuelly.com, even if you don't decide to track your mileage there, they have a LOT of tips on saving mileage... many of which, when you read them, explain some of the most annoying drivers and their mindsets. However, some are pretty useful.

 

This is actually right. My brother is a pro tuner of german cars and he told me the same thing. It has something to do with not optimal shift points, like computer will hold the car in higher gear and keeping the car in suboptimal zone instead of downshifting and using less fuel ( I might be totally off with explanation, he explained me it some time ago).

 

If you free up the air restriction with an intake and exhaust this will help.

 

In general, higher gears mean better MPGs. There can be exceptions, such as when you are going up hill or trying to accelerate.

The more likely reason for better economy when driving with your foot rather than letting the cruise control do it is that the cruise tries to keep to a very very narrow range of speed, so it varies the throttle setting quite a bit over time. So a very slight uphill (so slight you wouldn't even notice it!) will cause the CC to open up the throttle a little more, then decrease it again after the uphill is passed. You can see those variations on a ScanGauge or similar instrument.

A person is perfectly capable of keeping their foot in one position, and not bothering about the half-of-a-mile-per-hour that their car slows down or speeds up. Varying the load like the CC does is less efficient than setting the load and keeping your foot very steady.

 

The other part that I noticed is that the CC used the brakes to slow the car on downhills, instead of letting it go a bit faster, knowing that an uphill was coming and there was no reason to stay in that narrow band of speed. Putting the tach reading on continuous mileage feedout, it was amazing to see the changes when the CC was on and there were variations in the terrain. Where a person adapts to conditions, the Cruise Control simply does what it is programmed to do. :-)

 

This is all rather impressive. I've never seen more than about 350 miles in any of my previous cars. Miata, mustang, fiero, rx8... But I just bought my mcs. I wanted to try for the 500 miles. I now have 95 miles on this tank. The miles to empty said 405. I just wonder if my sanity can survive staying out of the boost! Also if you've ever been on rt 50 in Maryland, going the speed limit is like a death wish! I always try to go faster than the crazy people to stay out of their way and my attempt at getting the 500 club is putting me right in their midst! I'm not sure my max mileage attempt will hold much longer before I snap...

 

On my 09 S, my last tank I got just a little over 515 and still had 30 miles left according to the computer. This is with driving in to and from work with about a 1000 ft elevation difference between the two. Climate control was on auto with auto recirc. Moderate shifting, no drafting and a fair amount of stop and go. Also no sport use. I was using 91 octane pump gas.

I am thoroughly impressed with this car. For all of the performance I should be getting way less gas mileage, but I'm not. Such a great car.

 

I recently got 500 out of my coupe S. I normally run AC...hot over here in SoCal lately...sport button must always be on!

 

It is hot here. I'm from San Diego. When I drive to and from work on i5 from la jolla to Oceancide there are a lot of hills. Mabe this affects my mileage. Plus my speed is 75-80 indicated.

 

AC will affect your mileage to some extent.

Speed will very definitely affect it. If you want higher MPGs, lower your maximum speed.

And if you're OK with your current MPG, then keep on haulin'!

 

Dunno if there's something wrong with my car or maybe it's me.

09 S, manual, upshift at 3k maybe 50% highway @75mph, on mostly 10mi trips. I occasionally take the shorter, stop n go route for some spirited driving. Rarely use the AC, I drive soon after starting, I usually stay on a higher gear at low rpms.

Thing is, for the first time, I reached 402 miles w/ OBC indicated 11 mi left! Put in 13.7 gal of the usual 93 octane to fill up.

Does everybody here have to really strive to get 500mi+ or just regular driving?

 

On 10 mi or less trips the car is probably barely hitting full temp...which is where its most efficient.

 

I don't think it's that good to go all the way to 11 miles left of the board. In the owners manual it clearly states that you shouldn't go below 30 miles left because you can cause harm to your engine. I've gotten to 28 one time to reach 500 but since then I said forget, it's not worth it.

 

With an S, I'd say yes, you have to do a little work to get to 500 miles.

In your case, the short trips are what is killing your mpg. You might squeeze a little more out by shifting just a tad sooner - maybe closer to 2600 rpm.

 

A little? LOL...

No way in hell I'm going to get 38+ on the highway and live to tell about it...lol

Try doing 55 or 60 here and you will get shot, or run over. Besides, I don't really care how far I can go, my Mini gets 50+% better mileage than the 2001 Audi A6 wagon it replaced... Not nearly as nice a place to be, but way more fun... Man the Audi interior was really nice.

 

You guys are right, I used my gauge to monitor my short trip home & it took 21 mins & .26 gal to travel 8.3 mi. That's only ~31mpg. Part highway yields better mpgs, 34-36, and is quicker but uses up more gas coz its a longer way.

In short: short trips, my longest is maybe 30mi @ 30 mins, kills mileage. Spirited driving, it's a MINI, does it too.

Ill just keep enjoying motoring & stop worrying about my mpgs, still doing much better than my other car without even trying.

Believe me, besides this time, I gas up soon after 2 carrots become 1. I was just trying to see 400 mi on a tank, it's always been ~350.

Wish 6th gear was taller, maybe we can cruise at 75-80 @ say 2k rpm. Think the torque & power is enough.

 

I may be falling out of the 500 mile club with this tank. I decided to drive "more normally" for now. I'm guessing I'll get to about 450 miles when the carrots come on. I probably could make it to 500 if I were to ignore them, but I don't like doing that.

Yeah, it does take a little work to get to 500 miles.

 

I almost made it!

485 miles, with the trip computer telling me 16 miles left in the tank!

A few mistakes:

1. Started the tank in Canada - anything less than 70 mph on the 400 series and you get run off the road.
2. Car loaded for a 12 day road trip.
3. Rain, fog, air conditioning, seat heat...
4. Lead foot in USA - 65-75 mph cruise speeds.
5. ...and most important... Wife nagging for last 100 miles as we drive past gas station after station. I have to admit it would have sucked to start the trip by running out of gas!

So I KNOW Summons can do it if required... Just not this tank!
Congrats all who make it!
E

 

Just got back from a weeks vaca in Cape Cod. No traffic this season and flat crusing 50 - 60 mph. Three tanks over 1000 mi. 38.2, 44.0, 38.5 all calculated, not obc. 2010 Cooper auto with 29,000. Actually flirted with 600 mi club

 

As I suspected, 440 miles and now I've got the red carrots. So no 500 mile club for me this tank.

 

I don't get how you guys are seeing 500 miles let alone 400. I have a 07 MCS auto with <40k miles on it. I drive it like a granny (which is dangerous here in so-cal) and I MIGHT see 360 on a tank. That's with a fresh oil change, good distance driving (45 miles each trip) and easy accelerating and a top speed of 72.

I bought this car at 31k and mileage has been consistently around 27-28 mpg, which seems a bit low seeing how I can do that in my Honda CRV which weighs about 600 lbs more.

Could it be the carbon build up?

 

Check you tire pressure. Also your auto is hurting your mileage. The MINI auto revs up too fast and shifts way too late.

 

I agree that an MCS can break 500 miles, but I have a hard time with 600. I tried to make it from MD to GA on one tank (557 miles) and chickened out after 500 because there was only downside in running out of gas and no upside but the bragging rights!

I saw 37 mpg most of the way, but that went down 35-36 when I went over 70.

 

I haven't tried to do this yet but I am going to try with this tank. Most of my driving is under 15 miles highway and some city so I don't expect to make it but we will see
I also like to enjoy having a mini and drive pretty spiritedly, you won't catch me doing under 70 on the highway
That said I'm usually pretty happy when my obc is at 30 mpg

 

So, out of curiosity's sake, does anyone have an S, that is also an automatic, and can get over 500 on a tank? I have an auto but not an S and I can do it. (she's also only a year old)

It seems as though s/c or turbo manuals can do it, or Justa autos can do it, but maybe the combination is sort of a double negative that is too hard to overcome?