I think shifting to neutral is a bad idea.

 

I have been getting anywhere from 13mpg to 27mpg on my car. Here is how I got it:

the 13mpg: Got gas, started running it almost non-stop, getting 0-60s, 1/4 miles, etc... and the only part that helped getting 13 and not liek 8-9 was the slowing down part.

The 27mpg: Pure, complete highway, 65mph, cruise, a tad downhill for about 45 min.

 

Yes, I can attest to the kissing 30 mpg scenario. Guess that claim of FE of a 6 with the power of a small V8 rings true. My lifetime mpg with the 335 is 21.3, which is 75% suburban stop/go, and 25% highway. But it is always north of 27 on the highway if I reset it and stick on cruise, even at 80 mph. maybe it's direct injection that's efficient. downfall is of course the fuel pump but that seems to be a small % of all 335.....

 

Chicago to Detroit

avg. 70-75mph
A/C set to 68
I use ACC ALOT

MPG: 22.5
4K+ on my odometer.

22.5 MPG still a little low, isn't it?

 

For anyone that says the G35 gets good gas mileage considering its hp or weight, I would have to disagree on both accounts.

The BMW 335i is a competitor, and makes 300hp. It also gets 20 city 29 highway mpg. A family member of mine owns one, and contrary to what was stated by one of the posters in this thread, 36 mpg on the highway is possible and I've seen it.

The Lexus IS350 is another G35 competitor. It has similar body weight and horsepower, but gets 21/28 mpg.

The Mercedes C350 makes only 268 hp, but it gets 20/29 mpg. After owning one, I can assure you that mileage in the 30's on the highway is possible as well.

For comparison, the Pontiac GTO with 350 to 400 horses, depending on the year, produces similar mpg numbers in town, and higher ones on the highway than what most drivers are reporting in this thread.

Simply put, the G35's gas mileage numbers are abysmal and unwarranted. Nice car inside, but something is sadly wrong when you arrive at the gas pumps.

 

nice write up

 

I tend to agree with you.. The G35 automatic needs another gear.. an overdrive gear. Put 75 mph at 2100 rpms.. If you need to pass it can downshift.. Then it will get good mpg
Same for the 6-spd.. 6th gear should have a higher ratio.

I get descent mpg in town.. Mine is mostly city and I get 21 - 22 mpg.
The engine seems burn all it takes in.. It does not run rich. One look in the rear tailpipe and you can see its nice and clean.. not black from a rich condition.

 

According to http://www.standardshift.com/faq/ind...endedFAQ#toc18, coasting in neutral actually wasts more gas.
=========================
Coasting should always be done in gear. Do not coast to a red light in neutral. In contrary to beliefs, it does not save you gas but rather eats up more gas then coasting in gear. This is because when you are coasting in gear the wheels are running the engines and the fuel injectors are shut off. On the other hand, when you are coasting in neutral, your engine is using gas to keep the engine idling. Coasting in neutral is also dangerous because you do not have any control of your car because your drivetrain is disconnected. So for safety and economy sake, please coast in a high gear like 4th, 5th, or 6th when appropriate.

 

I only have around 200 miles on my G at the moment and my mileage, like everyone else's, is terrible! Does it get any better as the car gets broken in??

 

no, not for me.

 

I will have to disagree with you here. Just take a look at at many of the posts by IS350 owners on the Edmunds forum . Many people are getting around 20 sometimes less and almost never more than 24 on mostly highway.

For the other side here are some quotes of new BMW owners;

"My 2007 328 has 890 mi so far. 15mpg city, 20.1 highway. Very disappointing"

"All in good time. tank to tank, I get 22 mpg, about 75% Hwy. My 330xi has 19K miles now"

"Well, I've had my 328i for just over 2 months and drove about 2100 miles. My ave mpg went from 14.7mpg to 15.1 mpg"

There are many more and this is completely contrary to your above data.

Can these cars get higher MPG, I'm sure they can but you cannot just put down the expected MPG ratings and say that's what people are getting on average for each vehicle.

 

i think those guys are leadfoots.
the 328 is underpowered, so they step on it.

 

Isolated mileage reports from random people on internet messageboards is fairly useless. Consumer Reports is probably the best source for comparing mileage data between cars because unlike the EPA estimates they are averages from real world driving under similar circumstances. Consumer Reports gave the G35 auto 13 city / 26 hwy. They get 19 mixed. Pretty bad, but it could be worse I suppose. What frustrates me is that they also got 19 mpg mixed from the Z06! (which makes 505 bhp!). So clearly the G35 could be much better.

They don't have data for the IS350 or 330i, but they rate the ES350 at 23 mpg overall, which is substantially better.

 

Most of the quotes I see on Edmunds, on any subject, seem to be far less informed or believable than one might hope. I tend to go to enthusiast sites to look for information.

That said, it's entirely possible to find single quotes supporting one opinion or the other. If you're looking for the real story, look at what the general concensus is, not what one person says. I drew my conclusions about G35 gas mileage after reviewing this whole thread, as well as others. Two of the cars I listed in my original post I have personal experience, and I can tell you they meet or exceed their EPA numbers.

For "average" data on BMW's, take a look at these two threads, and notice that even the guy that likes to drive 90 and use tiptronic often is making reasonable gas mileage.

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum...ht=Gas+Mileage

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum...ht=Gas+Mileage

Edited to add this; I still say that the G35 is a nice car. It's well appointed and well priced, but issues like poor gas mileage can make or break a person's buying decision.

 

Consumer Reports did not report 13 city, this is way off. I am not sure where you are getting these numbers from but I just looked it up...

"The rear-wheel-drive version achieved 19 mpg overall on premium fuel in CR's fuel economy tests"

http://www.automotive.com/features/9...436/index.html