R56 500 Mile Club
#251
#252
#253
#254
#255
#256
6th Gear
iTrader: (4)
Taking the semi-annual trip from SoCal to NorCal and back in early July. I will try 70-75 cruise, A/C on, of course, Sport mode off, and we will have a full load of traveling necessities for a one week trip. Last time we took this trip, the rear suspension was almost bottomed out due to all the stuff we have (the wife has) to bring. I expect the same this time as well. I have a few more mods installed since the last trip, and the wife has been working on enlarging her bladder. LOL. I still expect many stops for restroom breaks. Just gotta be more gentle on the acceleration ramps....
I will say this....after my most recent mods, a Forge BOV and an AFE cold air intake, my regular twisty-turny mountain commutes have netted an increase of .3 to .5 MPG. But, I do need to stay out of the turbo on my trip, which is NO FUN since the Forge BOV went on. I did get 501 miles out of a tank ONCE on my trip from SoCal to Utah and back last year. Wish me luck!
I will say this....after my most recent mods, a Forge BOV and an AFE cold air intake, my regular twisty-turny mountain commutes have netted an increase of .3 to .5 MPG. But, I do need to stay out of the turbo on my trip, which is NO FUN since the Forge BOV went on. I did get 501 miles out of a tank ONCE on my trip from SoCal to Utah and back last year. Wish me luck!
Last edited by renchjeep; 05-16-2016 at 08:46 PM.
#259
I went on vacation last weekend from St. Louis to Branson, Mo (200 mile trip one way) and when i got down there I only used a 1/4 tank. I was running about 83-86 mph very impressed I left there and I filled up when there was 3/10s of a tank left (because I'm ocd about having low gas). So all in all when I got back I was able to drive some more and when there were 7/10s of a tank I had driven 540 miles. I might not be a true member of the 500 mile club but hey I think that was very impressive
#263
Yes I sometimes get >500 miles per tank from my 2010 R56 Justa.
I built a spreadsheet soon after I bought the car - so I've got stats on every tank I ever bought. Looks like 5 out of 131 total refills gave me over 500 miles.
Cumulative MPG over a total of 51,194 miles is 35.8. Best tank was 45 mpg, and 13 tanks out of 131 total gave me 40 MPG or better.
Worst tank was 29 MPG, and only 7 out of 131 refills gave me less than 32 MPG.
Those numbers are spreadsheet calculations, BTW - not as reported by the MINIs OBC, which is, shall we say, 'optimistic'.
I built a spreadsheet soon after I bought the car - so I've got stats on every tank I ever bought. Looks like 5 out of 131 total refills gave me over 500 miles.
Cumulative MPG over a total of 51,194 miles is 35.8. Best tank was 45 mpg, and 13 tanks out of 131 total gave me 40 MPG or better.
Worst tank was 29 MPG, and only 7 out of 131 refills gave me less than 32 MPG.
Those numbers are spreadsheet calculations, BTW - not as reported by the MINIs OBC, which is, shall we say, 'optimistic'.
#264
#265
I set up the spread sheet, back when the car was new, because I wanted to see if premium gave me better mileage than regular, and ethanol vs no-ethanol. Can't say my data really proved anything.
600 miles and 50 MPG is awesome! Prius owners cringe with envy!
It's interesting that some of the highest numbers are coming form up around the Great Lakes. When I was on the North Shore, I noticed a sticker on some of the gas pumps that I didn't really understand - but as I recall it said something about high octane, no ethanol gas for snow machines?
Here in SW Missouri it's very rare to find to gas with octane higher than 91. I have been mostly buying premium gas which I'm told has no ethanol, but it's hard to be sure.
#267
I don't think I've never not been in the 500mi club. Have a non-S which probably helps but I'm always getting around 550mi. I think the lowest I've ever seen my average MPG (which isn't much of an average since I'm pretty sure it only averages out the last 15 min of driving instead of the entire tank) is like 37mpg. I love the MPGs these things get
#268
I don't think I've never not been in the 500mi club. Have a non-S which probably helps but I'm always getting around 550mi. I think the lowest I've ever seen my average MPG (which isn't much of an average since I'm pretty sure it only averages out the last 15 min of driving instead of the entire tank) is like 37mpg. I love the MPGs these things get
The other one is my average MPG since the last time I reset that counter. That number changes slowly, and the longer it's been since the last reset, the slower it changes. I reset mine just before a 2 week road trip last October, and when I got back from that trip it was showing about 38. After 9 months of city commuting it has slowly dropped by tenths down to a bit under 36. Time for another road trip!
If you are seeing 37 MPG, and that number doesn't jump around a lot, I would guess that that number is not 'from the last 15 min' - but since the last time you reset it.
Unless you have a different model which may do something completely different than mine.
I used to reset my MPG every time I filled the tank, to see what kind of mileage I was getting per tank. But when I did the math for the same tank with a calculator, I discovered the MINI was reporting 1-2 MPG higher than my calculated result.
#270
500 miles per tank - meh
OK, I understand why this thread exists - because in most motorist's experience, it is remarkable to go 500 miles (or more) on one tank of gas.
But why is that - and how significant is it?
Realistically, any auto manufacturer could easily make it possible for all persons buying their cars to go 500 miles on one tank of gas by simply making their gas tanks bigger. Nothing special about that - it would require almost no engineering expertise for most models, and the cost would be trivial.
And part of the reason MINI owners have a 500 mile club is because MINI has done just that. In my 48 years of driving I have owned less than 10 cars, so my experience is limited - but for each of the cars I've owned, a tank of gas would take me about 350-400 miles. That is, if my experience is any indication, according to accepted design norms, the MINI should have a 10 gallon (US) gas tank, but in fact, mine is spec'ed at 13.2 US gallons.
So yes, MINI deserves some credit for managing to fit a relatively large gas tank into a very small car, but that's not exactly a gold medal winner in the engineering Olympics, is it?
A second part of the equation might be called candy corn limbo - that is, how low are you willing to go? Two drivers could get the same exact MPG in the same model car, but driver A gets bragging rights to the 500 club because he is willing to drive until only one quart of gasoline remains in his tank, while driver B will never see 500 miles because he is sensible enough to never let his tank get below one-quarter full. Which driver do you want your daughter to go out with?
The final part of the equation is much more significant to me, and that is: MPG (LPK for European owners). Here, MINI deserves much kudos, and, to my way of thinking, a 40 MPG club would be *much* more significant than a 500 mile per tank club.
But why is that - and how significant is it?
Realistically, any auto manufacturer could easily make it possible for all persons buying their cars to go 500 miles on one tank of gas by simply making their gas tanks bigger. Nothing special about that - it would require almost no engineering expertise for most models, and the cost would be trivial.
And part of the reason MINI owners have a 500 mile club is because MINI has done just that. In my 48 years of driving I have owned less than 10 cars, so my experience is limited - but for each of the cars I've owned, a tank of gas would take me about 350-400 miles. That is, if my experience is any indication, according to accepted design norms, the MINI should have a 10 gallon (US) gas tank, but in fact, mine is spec'ed at 13.2 US gallons.
So yes, MINI deserves some credit for managing to fit a relatively large gas tank into a very small car, but that's not exactly a gold medal winner in the engineering Olympics, is it?
A second part of the equation might be called candy corn limbo - that is, how low are you willing to go? Two drivers could get the same exact MPG in the same model car, but driver A gets bragging rights to the 500 club because he is willing to drive until only one quart of gasoline remains in his tank, while driver B will never see 500 miles because he is sensible enough to never let his tank get below one-quarter full. Which driver do you want your daughter to go out with?
The final part of the equation is much more significant to me, and that is: MPG (LPK for European owners). Here, MINI deserves much kudos, and, to my way of thinking, a 40 MPG club would be *much* more significant than a 500 mile per tank club.
#271
I understand the 40 mpg club, but anybody (in a Mini) can do that...500 Mile Club requires planning and keeping your mpg over 40 for the whole tank. I've never run out of gas in my life, so I'm not worried about that. If I'm driving in an area I'm not familiar with, I don't play the game. It's just another thing to make all of the driving I do interesting (to me).
#274
I love this thread! Yes, been over 500.. I never experienced an empty tank, but I misjudged the other day and I ended up on the highway while the "miles til empty" ticked down to zero, and then past, and luckily I made it to the station before the fumes ran out. My best record here in New England was 44mpg for a full tank driving from NYC to Boston, and 47mpg on a tank driving up to Vermont and back. I've got a bug lately though, and so the mpg thrill has dried up a little.
Hey in Michigan: when do you all need to put the snow tires on?????? It's always a crap-shoot over here.
Hey in Michigan: when do you all need to put the snow tires on?????? It's always a crap-shoot over here.
#275
Crap shoot here too kinkoopah. Last year was a pretty easy year, so I feel like they went on too early. I have four days off over Thanksgiving...that might be my goal this year. I'll keep my eye on the forecast. They're in my garage and it only takes a half an hour of my time. Once I switch them I give my summer wheels a good cleaning and that takes a little longer. The winter wheels are all clean and ready (but not willing) to go.