But it's worth it!!

 

how many miles are on your car currently? you may still be in the break in period. Once you get a few thousand miles on it you should see improvements. I currently avarage 21-22 mpg with about 75% city driving and I get on it every once in a while. I have done some testing with using 89 octane and it doesnt seem to affect my mileage if I use it every other fill up. When I first got my car I was getting about 18mpg so dont feel bad yet. Also what kind of oil are you putting in it? I had put crap oil in my car and it was awful on my gas. Since then Ive switched to semi-synthetic and it has helped quite a bit. Im not using synthetic because I have read that our engines done like it and it burns about 1-1.5 quarts between changes. May be something to check out.

 

I still haven`t got 20mpg yet! I`m sure it`s not my driving, because I am old! And I rarely exceed 85 MPH! Must be W`s fault! Everything else is!

 

blame it all on the pres.

maybe i got lucky with my car...on a 200 mile road trip a couple months back I averaged 29mpg...although there were no hills and little traffic.

 

Average just over 20mpg with at least half city driving (4 miles to work). Past the breakin period, with over 30K on the car. Generally use 87 octane, 91 doesn't seem to change the gas mileage.

 

I'm amazed that people use 87... I would never put anything but 93... unless I can get some 100 at a good price

 

Well since I first posted this thread, my mileage has gone DOWN to 18.5, though I've been doing more city driving. What exactly happens during the break in period that hurts your fuel economy so bad? Why exactly does it improve.

I've only got 350 miles on the car so I'm not panicking yet. However, I really expected that with a mix of highway, city, and backroads driving I should get somewhere in the low to mid twenties. I know the EPA estimates are always 1-2 (sometimes 3) mpg's high. But that should still put me in the mid 20's.

As for the kind of oil I'm using, I don't know. Whatever the factory put in is what I have.

Another thing, I can't seem to keep the gas mileage meter above 22 for very long even when I'm cruising on the highway in sixth gear. I don't have a heavy foot, I'm actually TRYING to keep the gas mileage above 22 and I can't sustain it for any length of time. However, when I'm going on the same road, the same speed, with the cruise control on, it ALWAYS stays above 22 and approaches 30 at times. THat's the kind of mileage I should be getting, I just don't understand why I can't reproduce that effect with my foot.

 

You don't have enough miles on the car to fairly assess fuel economy of the car yet. The only accurate way is to actually is do a fill and calculate, not with the gauge or computer.

The break in actually "wears in" the engine which reduces friction from internal moving parts. That friction reduction makes the engine a bit more efficient with fuel consumption.

Hopefully fuel economy wasn't a high priority with you when purchasing this vehicle as it's not the most fuel efficient vehicle in it's class.

 

Luckily, Fuel Economy wasn't a high priority when I bought the car. It is disappointing though to think that my actual gas mileage will be so drastically different from what I was expecting.

Though it is strange to read the replies here. For every post that says 18 - 20 is normal, there is another that says that 23-26 is normal. They can't both be right. I know it depends on the driver, but if I am driving very easy on the car, I should be on the high end right?

It is encouraging though to hear that it gets better over time.

Like I said, fuel economy and cost of gas were not huge selling points for me. I'm just a little surprised by the drastic difference between the actual mileage and the EPA estimates. My main goal here is to assess whether or not there is something wrong with the car. I'm trying to decide if it's worth taking it in to get looked at. WIth only 350 miles on the car, it's probably too early to be sure. But what is a good milestone for re-evaluating my gas mileage. 1000 miles? 1500 miles? 5000 miles?

 

For my 03.5 sedan w/ 42,5XX miles, I've been getting roughly b/w 20-22 mpg, and that's for mostly around-the-town and city driving, and some highway. Compared to my previous car (Lexus ES300), I burn gas not as often on the G35 but I guess that's because it's a bigger fuel tank (20.0 gal vs. 18.5 gal on the Lexus). I use factory 10W-30 engine oil, and I have not put in any fuel cleaner or injector treatment (except at times when I fill the car up w/ Chevron gas).

 

I have an 03.5 5AT with 76,000 miles now. On my latest 3300 mile roadtrip, I kept an accurate (manual) journal regarding my gas/mileage on the trip. My results were an average 22.51 MPG with a high of 26.75 MPG. This is with an average speed of 85-90 mph at 3-4 hour intervals.
My day to day average is around 20-21.
Dave

 

On my 04 six speed I got 26.36 on my last drive fron TX to SC and my car has 14,400 miles on it. That was 10 months ago, and she's in storage. Can't wait to get back to the U.S. in November so I can enjoy her again and buy her some presents (HKS + RIMS)

 

Ghaleon: I just got my '06 6MT about 5 months ago...


I noticed relatively low mileage for the first 3k (17-20 combined) and wasn't too happy.

After my first oil change, the numbers instantly jumped 3-4 mpg across the board (!!!).

I just clicked over 8k and went on a trip up north through the mountains with my gf. We had our beagle and luggage with us and a full tank of gas. Even at high elevation, 85mph average speed, and plenty of road-rallying, I managed about 26mpg. We had the headlights and radio on the whole time and just had the vents open (no A/C). All of our windows were closed, too.

There is hope, just get that first oil change out of the way. Also, check your mileage by filling up, resetting your trip meter, then the next time you fill up, take your trip mileage and divide it by the gallons of gas it takes to fill up. This method is far more accurate.


Hope this helps...I was in your shoes once .

 

I have a 2006 6MT with 8500 miles. I get 22-23 MPG mixed highway and city using 93 octane..Normal driving habits..not too bad in my book

 

I wish 93 were available in CA.