Not only do I stay in the right lane and out of the way, I drive at the speed limit, or above, never below. That's right, I'm a speeder, please don't hate me for it. If traffic in the right lane is moving faster than the speed limit, I speed up to flow with it. And if I do come up on some gutless econobox, or any vehicle going slow, I will blow past it in a second. Which reminds me of another pet peeve. I despise it when people pass me going about 1 mile per hour faster than I am going. Passing should take 5 seconds, not 5 minutes. If somebody hangs out on my left I like to lay on the horn continuously until they go away and just act nonchalant and pretend like nothing is going on. Also, when I watch some dumb *** taking 5 miles to pass a big rig I pray that the rig will blow a tire and send flying chunks of truck rubber and wheel rim bits all over them. I know, it's evil, but tell me you don't feel the same way.

 

Yea, I definitely would never turn the ignition off while in motion, that's asking for trouble and is 100% illegal in Arizona at least. As for me, I seem to be averaging between 22-23 mpg at 75-85mph average 60% of the time and about 50-55 on the city for the rest. '05 6MT coupe, only mods is lowered, nismo body kit, and an intake. Also, the only acceleration for me is "behind a prius punching the steering wheel the entire time" or WOT. Though I usually shift at about 4k, anything more than that on the street is just asking to be pulled over (on-ramps excluded, redline only) Also, I only use 91 oct (all we really get in az) from QT (mostly), Shell, or Cheveron.

 

Nice write-up. I also use moderate acceleration and cruise control. I can usually get around 27 MPG in my G on the highway and mid teens in the city. Owning this car is not a license to drive like a bandit all the time.

You're right, it's nice to have a fast, powerful car, but I don't need to prove that to the general public at every stop light. In fact, I now drive slower than I did with my Integra GS-R. Now I don't have to prove I have a fast car, I KNOW I do.

 

^^^ driving like you have a purpose doesn’t mean your proving anything to anyone... most people have places to be - I don’t think anyone in this thread said anything remotely close to making a point about a fast car... some of us referenced daily drivers that aren’t fast (like the F-150 I drive daily).

Move like you have a purpose (other than saving fuel) – that’s all.

 

i try to drive slower but goddammmnit those other drivers always give me the look at the light and i just have too when someone stares or revs their engine...i think if i just looked straight ahead it would save me a ton of money in gas but then again what is the point of having a car that can go fast and not using it....i hate when vettes or other high end cars drive slower then the normal flow of traffic...its like get on with it already

 

A little off topic, but is there a way to reset the "average speed" meter on the 08s? I keep trying to get that 31.1mph raised but it's not working. I mean, I was going 110 for like 15 miles and nothin! (Except my MPG went from 18.8 to 18.5).

We came up with a theory on why rush hour traffic happens. There's a secret underground organization that lives to create traffic. They wake up at 6:15 in the morning, call each other on the phone, then organize a line of breaking (sometimes refferred to as a "Mexican Road Block"). Because of this split second wall of breaking they effectively destroy the rest of the Houston traffic for the next 4 hours.

I completely agree with the "passing people going 1mph" faster - that's so annoying. Not quite as annoying as the people who choose to stay in the right lane when they are going straight and there is nobody in either of the other lanes that go straight. Then the jackass going straight has 12 cars with their blinkers on behind him.

 

PURPOSE: Get from Point A to Point B.

I think that is sufficient reason to drive a car.

 

Good point tegraphile. When I got my G I felt compelled to put the pedal down, hear the throaty exhaust note and feel the G forces. I still like doing those things, but with gas at $4.50gal (+/-) it's getting to be an expensive thrill. And all it does is get me to the next stop light or stop sign faster. I KNOW I have a fast car and I still use that speed when I need to, but proving it at every stop light is a good way to get a ticket for drag racing which can get you a night in jail, a hefty fine and a suspended license, even if you aren't really racing. All it takes is a cop who thinks you are racing. But now I have a new purpose, saving money on gas, as long as I'm not slowing down traffic to do it. I have always been able to get 30+mpg on the highway if I cruise at 69mph, but was getting 13-14mpg in the city. Since most of my driving is city I would usually average 16mpg per tank. By tempering my city driving style a bit I can get 21-22 city. So I am getting 33-40% better city mileage, without driving like a dick. I live in the city and have a one car garage and pay over 2 grand for insurance, so getting a second car isn't an option. I've got to get them most out of my G as I can, or ride our Vespa every day, but I'm not that desperate yet.

 

Hahaha. LOL. I love the "Mexican Road Block" conspiracy theory. Actually, that's not too far off. I saw some show that studied the causes of traffic jams scientifically. One thing they demonstrated was that if a car brakes in traffic, it has an accordian effect on the cars behind. Cars bunch up behind the braker faster than they pull away. So all it takes is one person that thinks they need to slow down every time the highway bends the slightest bit and traffic starts to back up. Ever hit a patch of traffic on the highway that suddenly vanishes and seemed to have no cause? Pay attention and see if there is curvature to the road in the area. If there is, that is probably the cause. Now that I have heard of this phenomenon, I notice it all the time.

Getting 30+mpg requires a 6MT and going at a steady pace between 65-70 mph. I think the average speed indicator resets itself slowly over time. Same with the average mpg and distance to empty indicators. When I fill up, it usually indicates under 300 miles till empty because that's what I got on my last tank of gas. If I get on the highway and drive at 69 mph that number starts to climb until it is actually representative of the distance till empty, based on the past few hours of driving. The other indicators seem to work the same way. It usually takes a while to see a big change. I am not positive that is how it's programmed, but I have observed slowly changing calculations over time as I drove on the highway.

 

Simply press and hold the lower righthand switch on the panel (with the full disc icon) for longer than 1 second while average speed is being displayed. It's on page 2-25 of the G35 08 manual.

 

i started to try to drive more economically, but with most of my commute made up of city and highway merges, i was still burning more than nesc. so i take the bus now. makes it harder to not enjoy the car on weekends though...

there seems to be fewer people driving excessively slow on the highway, but i think it may be more that the average speed has dropped considerably, so the difference isn't as drastic...
there have also been reports of a dramatic drop in the number of speeding tickets issued.

so maybe gas prices are just what the safety advocates needed...

i'm just annoyed i filled up with 91 at 1.46/l, thinking it was cheap, next day i top up the loaner with 91 at a 1.30/l. doh!

 

OK guys, here's a new discovery. Viagra for your car. Read the second testimonial, I hope it's not someone from these forums. This is realy a BS product and it doesn't look like it's cheap. Can't believe that some people are stupid enough to pay money for it.
http://www.jcwhitney.com/DYNO-TAB-FU...2066_10101.jcw

 

I have done a very minimalist type of pulse and glide going between 70-80 on my drives from Columbus to Cleveland and I have averaged ~29-29.5 mpg which is good enough for me an' my 300hp sports coupe, it'd be silly to expect much more IMO. A certain instance where I took it a bit father, I got around 30.5mpg, but it was too obnoxious to drive that way and not really worth the extra 1 mpg.

In the city I just accelerate moderately keeping the revs below 2500 and sometimes 2000 if no one is around, with minimal pressure on the gas to control throttle position.
Yes, I get left at the light by Honda Odysseys and Toyota Corollas but it hardly bothers me because I know if I got antsy...well we all know that.

Again, fuel consumption is all about throttle position, obviously if you can maximize coasting you are going to get better gas mileage. Changing your driving style, even without going overboard can definitely help and in this market I'll do it.

 

THANK GOD FOR THE NAVI AND THE MPG SYSTEM

I just use that when I want to. Or if I really wanna save MPG, I wont drive my G.

I saw that special when I was home in Philly or a similar here in Atlanta.
Some of the stuff that dude was doing was dumb. Some was dangerous. We all know that you lose your power steering when you cut you car off. Dude was taking corners with just the ignition on.

What happens if you accidentally turn the ignition all the way off and your wheel locks up? LOL <------------- not really funny though.

But some of that extra stuff isnt that healthy for your car. Dont forget, STARTERS HAVE LIFE EXPECTENCIES!!! lol. Do you really wanna start your car a bunch of extra times just to save MPG? Ok. But Ill see you at the mechanic shop replacing your starter a lot sooner than me.

For all of that, you can just put regular in your car and save a few dollars from the gate.

 

I agree!!!