'04 8.600 MILES JCW.....19 MPG.....NEVER SEEN HIGHER THAN THAT!!!!

 

First tank on our new '05 MCS, mostly highway driving:
29.5 mpg calculated (computer said 28.0). Steady driving at 70 mph, flat road: computer reads 30.5-32.5 approx (6th gear, 55 deg F, light winds and some rain). 530 miles total right now.

 

I have just over 3500 miles on my 05 MCS. I romp on it and lead-foot quite a bit. At 2728 miles I had the JCW kit installed. I calculate my mileage from actual gallons filled and actual miles driven. The trip computer is not as precise. I observed my 1250 mile break-in period, never revving above 4500 rpm (in fact, I stayed below 4K for a margin of safety).
Here are my figures, imported from Automotive Wolf software which is an excellent, must-have program you can download for free trial before buying. (NAYYY). Find it using any search engine...

DATE..MILES..GALLONS..MILEAGE
12/09...0008....11.25.....n/a
12/12...0257....11.00....22.64
12/19...0505....11.75....21.11
12/24...0765....11.57....22.47
12/31...1016....11.72....21.42
01/07...1565....12.09....21.92
01/16...1803....11.51....20.68
01/27...2048....11.67....20.99
02/01...2264....10.55....20.47
02/09...2502....10.70....22.24
02/17...2728....10.97....20.60 JCW Installation
02/24...2990....11.98....23.88
03/18...3223....10.40....22.40
03/23...3486....13.39....19.64

Since buying the car new, with 8 miles on the odometer, I've driven 3486 miles, put in 160.55 gallons of gas, and gotten an average of 21.71 miles per gallon.

I fill up when the low fuel indicator lamp comes on, and add an average of 11.47 gallons per fill up.

As recommended, I always use the highest grade available, which to date has been 93 octane at every fill-up.

 

With 8900 miles on our Cabrio now, we are averaging 25 mpg. This is a mix of highway/city driving. When I've had it on a couple road trips to Vegas, I got in the mid 30's.

Donna
02' CR/W MCS (gone to MINI heaven)
05' Cool Blue MCSC

 

Same as above except I happened to reset my on board computer today and was going to take it easy to see how good of a number I could get :smile: but that lasted about two and a half blocks . Now my computer says 22.3 mpg.

If you want better mileage quit having so much fun like the signature says.

Earl

 

I average about 30 - 31 mpg if I use my computer, but being very **** about writing down every drop that goes in, I do the math and find that the computer is ALWAYS off by 1 - 2 1/2 mpg a tank.
I've written down this for the last 25 years or so, and we use to use my wife's in car computer also. But I read on this forum about the discreption of the numbers, so I started checking her numbers also. She drives a 2001 Sebring. They are off about the same. I guess it's the way the car computes your driving. I know if I watch the computer to watch the numbers, if I cost with the clutch in, the numbers should change but they don't (in the Mini). In my wife's Sebring, if I coast (she has an automatic) I can get it up to 99 mpg. I think if keep the Mini in gear the numbers change so I'm not sure about what happens to the numbers with the clutch in/out. Seem that the numbers should go up if you have the car ideling, and traveling a distance since its a a calculation of gas vs distance.

Just some thoughts.....



I went back the other day and made a conscience effort to w2atch the guage adn saw that the mpg did change when it was in gear or not in gear, I did reach the 99 mpg while coasting.

 

...is if you are going by the computer (not accurate) or math (accurate). I get a consistent 27mpg in my S by my math. 30.1 by my computer. I have 75 k on it (02). I drive about 25% hwy, rest on country roads.

 

My "03" MC with 22,500 miles on it will get on average, intown and some hiway driving 33 MPG. I will keep in around 3 rpm.

I can get close to 500 miles or better per tank. Even at that, it is still so fun to drive. Going slow or fast, I love it.

Exposed

 

i havnt got a trip on my s but all i know is that i did 275 miles on a tank of petrol ! and thats "delicate" driving...changing up at 2k rpm


...but then the next tank i end up driving like ive stole it and gettiong 170 miles out of it

 

2003 MCS averages about 21 mpg. Lower when I race, slightly more on fwy, using CA 91 octane.
(Freeway is 85 - 90 mph usually, to keep from getting run over.)

 

I have a 2003 JCW MCS and my mileage is around 27 MPG if most of the miles are commute miles, and around 21 if most of my miles are around town.

 

Just as an FYI...

I calculated the cost (based on $2.25/USG for 93 AKI) of driving 280 miles (my typical miles per tank) at different consumption rates and came up with the following table:My 04 MCS/JCW 210 averages about 25 mpg (calculated) while driving at and average speed of 25 mph (OBC). But even if I fall to 22 mpg or rise to 28 mpg, my difference in cost per tankfull won't vary more than $3.44 on the downside and $2.70 on the upside.

So, for me, spending $3.44 to have fun with my MCS driving well beyond its "transportation mode" is worth the extra cost!

YMMV!

Theo

 

Just crossed 1000 miles on the MCSC and the computer has been saying 22 mpg for all fill ups. Been getting around 240 miles per fill up. By the math I am getting around 20mpg in mixed driving. This is surprisingly low, compared to some, and normal to others. I don't understand how there could be such a discrepancy. Of course the dealer will say it is normal or it is my driving habit, eventhough they advertise the cars for better. Heck my VR6 Jetta gets better mileage and that is a thirsty engine.

I will check the tires. My wife is starting to drive the car on a daily basis now so we will see if it goes up.

 

I now have about 450 miles on my MCSc. I have been doing a mix of town, highway, and flogging it up and down really twisty hills mostly in 2nd and 3rd gear but trying not to run over the 4500 rpm break-in limit (though it did slip past a few times during a few furious fits of fun). The OBC has been slowly rising from around 21 mpg after the first trip home down the freeway up to its current 23.7 mpg.

I have yet to try and find the actual mileage using the standard method.

 

weekday traffic driving - I average 24
weekend "mellow" driving - 29 - 32
driving to Las Vegas - 20

 

Two things that often cloud mpg comparison efforts are:

1) the method of mpg calculation;
2) each individual's style of driving.

To help to achieve parity in comparison techniques, I suggest that:

You DO NOT use the OBC for determining your mpg

Instead, at your next fill-up:

a. fill-up the tank until the pump shuts off by it's own pressure sensing mechanism...do not add any more fuel.
b. Reset the trip odometer to zero.
c. Reset the average speed to zero.

Then, each time you fill-up:

a. fill-up the tank until the pump shuts off by it's own pressure sensing mechanism...do not add any more fuel. Ideally, you should use the same pump/nozzle each time to minimize differences in the pressure sensing mechanisms.
b. Record the number of miles on the trip odometer.
c. Reset the trip odometer to zero.
d. Record your average speed.
e. Reset the average speed to zero.
f. calculate the fill-up's mpg by dividing the number of miles recorded from the trip odometer by the number of gallons of fuel used for the fill-up.

This process will yield a more accurate mpg calculation.

But remember, average speed will also be a factor; make sure you note this too. Eventually you can build a table of this data and sort your mpg data by average speed to get a better profile of your car's efficiency.

For the last six months, my MCS was driven at an average speed of 25 mph which I calculated by averaging all my entries for average speed. In a similar fashion, I calculated my average mpg for the same time period by averaging all my entries for each fill-up's mpg and wound up with a smidge over 25 mpg.

I consider these figures to be a more realistic appraisal of the "general efficiency" of my MINI since the numbers are derived from mathematical processes and adjusted (somewhat) for the style (average speed) of driving. However, there are other real-world factors that are not accounted for like rate of acceleration, amount of downshifting, ambient temperature, etc. But this method is still better than relying on the OBC data.

I can also easily use my tables to determine my average city mpg and highway mpg. I have arbitrarily defined city mpg as the average mpg from all data reported for average speeds less than 45 mpg; highway mpg was defined as the average mpg from all data reported for average speeds greater than or equal to 45 mpg.

According to the above definitions, I get 22.7 mpg city and 28.4 mpg highway. Understand that within these categories, there is a degree of variance due to the unreported factors mentioned above. For instance, my best city mpg figure was 26.1 and my best highway figure was 31.8. Also understand that I had the JCW 210 kit installed at the mid-point in the six months of data.

OK. Too much coffee this afternoon!

FWIW,

Theo

 

Koopah, it is nice to bump into someone as analytical as I am about cars.

But, I don't see how average speed has any bearings on the actual mileage a person gets.

In order to calculate MILES per GALLON, you simply need those two variables. You can safely determine "GALLONS" by recording the number of gallons of gas cycled through your engine over a certain span of miles.

You can realistically establish how many MILES you have travelled by your odometer or trip meter. The trip meter is the most useful since it can be zeroed out when you want to begin counting miles.

The most accurate method of determining how many GALLONS your car consumed is to calculate how many gallons it takes to refill a previously full tank. You can get that number off the gas pump. (If you have to put IN 11.0 gallons of gas to fill a previously full tank, it is because you used OUT 11.0 gallons).

Regardless whether you drive out the entire tank of gas on an oval track going 45 mph (really good miles per gallon), or run out an entire tank of gas just letting the car idle (zero miles per gallon), you still only need MILES and GALLONS to determine MILES per GALLON.

Your Average Speed variable could be useful in telling if your car is yielding more or less miles than its norm at that average speed, and is therefore useful as a diagnostic about your car's performance.

 

It has a bearing when comparing mpg between/among two or more cars. Let me try to explain using a very silly example:

Jamie and Chris have identical MCSs and are of similar weight. They decide to fill up their cars, zero their trip odometers, zero their average speed readouts and drive to their favorite restaurant in East Racoonville, which is approximately 200 miles from their common starting point at the entrance to Toebite State Park.

However, each drives the same route in a different way. They both take the freeway directly to East Racoonville knowing that there is little traffic which will allow a smooth criuse for 200 miles in 6th gear. Jamie cruises to the restaurant without stopping at a steady 70 mph. However, Chris wants to do some photography along the way and decides to stop at the four freeway turn-outs overlooking the scenery between Toebite and East Racoonville. Note that when Chris in travelling on the freeway, he too travels at 70 mph.

When they get to their favorite restaurant, they gas-up at the station next door and compare data. Both Jamie and Chris have travelled 200 miles as indicated by their trip odometers but they notice that their average speed readouts are different. Jamie's average speed reads 67 mph but Chris' reads 56 mph. Obviously Chris' stopping and starting at the freeway turnouts have affected his average speed.

When they divide their miles travelled by the number of gallons needed to fill-up at the East Racoonville gas station, they notice that their mpg figures are also different. Jamie got 31 mpg but Chris got 27 mpg. What caused this difference? Obviously, Chris used more fuel accelerating from a stop to 70 mph when leaving the four turn-outs. This difference in the way they drove the 200 miles was conveniently indicated by their differing average speed readouts.

Thus, the average speed readout can be used to further quantify gas mileage reports. Ideally, when someone reports mileage figures, they might want to also report the average speed for that tank. And, when you compare your MCS's mileage to the mileage reported by others, you will want to know at what average speed they drove before you jump to any erroneous conclusions about your mpg.

Sorry for the stupid example, but I didn't know how else to explain what I was getting at.

FWIW,

Theo

 

That's all well and good, but the flaw in the logic is that it presumes that faster average speed equals fuel economy.

In reality, average speed will be the same regardless if someone drives 50mph average speed in 2nd gear or 50mph average speed in 6th gear.

Both scenarios will register identical average speed, yet one will consume more gas.

How do you know this? By mpg. That's the one constant, and I don't see average speed being all that useful for comparing fuel economy.

Where it can be useful is determining the average time it takes you to get places. For example, if you zero out your average speed every day on your way to work, then convert your speed into minutes, you can chart how long it takes you to get to work each day. A more useful tool, though, would be your clock/watch.

If you drive the same route over and over, shifting at the same points, and driving in the same style, driving the same speed, and you use average speed to ascertain this, then you can compare mpg on each trip and use it to diagnose the car's performance if your mpg increases or declines.

 

I'm getting identical results, with about 90% city driving.

 

You make a good point, Tarzan. But your case may be a little extreme and probably would not be found in the "real" world. And, if that case should be discovered, that 2nd gear person would probably be a statistical "outlier"...and a candidate for an extended warranty program .

Understand that I am not trying to ascribe any "pinpoint" scientific import to the use of average speed, I just think that it is one more additional data element that might be empirically considered as a way to determine some level of equivalence to all the reported discrepancies in gas mileage reported.

As we all know, there are many things that can affect mileage. These factors run the gamut from fuel formulation to the tolerance stacking of the individual engine components. But, unfortunately, these factors are not displayed to us each time we fill up. We are pretty much limited to the general knowledge of weight (a fully loaded MINI will probably get fewer mpg that one with a single person in it), aerodynamics (windows/sunroof open or closed), the speed we are driving, the ambient temperature, gas consumed at fill-up, etc. I am merely advocating acknowledging somewhat more than just a mathematical calculation to be used when framing comparative mpg discussions. Hopefully, by doing this, some of the large discrepancies in reported mileage might be explained to some degree.

So, if you read separate posts by Jamie and Chris about their journey and noticed the 4 mpg discrepancy in their reported mileage over the same route at the same speed, would you assume that there is a real mechanical difference in their MCSs inherent fuel efficiency capability? Would you assume there might be other factors? Would their average speed difference give you reason to believe one way or the other?

I certainly see your point Tarzan. And from a strictly scientific point of view, I agree that average speed cannot be used to absolutely compare the "driving style" of two vehicles; I certainly did not mean to convey that impression. But, most people do not drive long distances in 2nd gear at 50 miles per hour, so there is a "real world" influence here that would lend some creedence to average speed being one of the factors to consider when doing a comparison.

Or not...to each his/her own, yes?

Theo

 

Agreed. I used 2nd and 50 as an extreme example only. Substitute 3rd gear, slower speed, or any other variant there you like. There are many ways to get identical average speeds with incongruous gas mileages.

You too bring up a good point. I watched an episode of Mythbusters that tested if fuel economy was better running the air conditioner versus shutting off the air conditioner and rolling down all the windows.

They used a controlled environment (same cars, precisely metered gas, yada-yada-yada...) If I remember correctly, the car with the windows open ran out of gas WAY, WAY, before the air conditioning car because of the extra drag.

 

my first tank lasted 300miles before the little light turned on.
On my second tank, car has 550miles with 70miles more to go according to the computer.. (more like 50 more miles.)
I was shocked to pay $30 for my first fill up. I never paid more than $20 at a gas station with my miata..

 

Then you never put in a full tank or you have fuel prices far below the national average. a 12 gallon fillup would need <$1.70 fuel prices to keep it under $20 a tank.

 

3 rpm? You might want to get your idle checked. . .I've seen tractors turning more revs than that! LOL!!