Vacation Hypermiling in the wife's Miata

Road tripping this week in my wife's 2015 Miata with 6 speed auto. Couldn't resist a little mild mpg play along the way! I set tires to 35 before we left.

I think the most she's seen in this car is low 30's on short trips across FL. Her typical DD mpg is 21-24. Daily drive is a 3-mile trip. The car never even gets warmed up, and spends much of the time waiting at traffic lights.

Her previous 2007 Miata, I maxed out at 34 mpg once, but never really tried that hard.

Day One:
Clearwater, FL to Jekyll Island, GA. About 6 hours. Mostly 55-60 mph, mostly back roads, not a lot of traffic. No real Hypermiling, just driving with a light foot, extending coasts, and keeping speed below 55 as much as possible.

Dash display got as far as 35.6, and the day ended at 34.9 or so. Fill up was inaccurate because the was about 1/8 tank of City driving before I started. I reset the mpg meter when we left for this trip.

Day 2:
Inspired by day 1... I really wanted to see 38 mpg. Want optimistic after the first half of the day barely got me to 36. But, it was windy. (Every which way... But definitely some cross winds and head winds) And coming inland from the coast, it was predominantly uphill.

As things got a little hilly, and the wind settled down, the mpg started slowly climbing. Just a tenth every 10 minutes or so... But it was there. Peaked at 37.6.

Then we started getting into some small towns and traffic that messed it all up. Ended the day with the display reading 36.6. 345.9 miles and 9.586 gallons. Actual 36.08 mpg.

Now we're in the mountains, and I'm having fun! Averaging closer to 27 mpg.

May try for 38 again on my way home. I know I could easily do it with some neutral coasting. Not sure if my wife would like it. She doesn't complain about me manual shifting it...

I'm just curious if you are running the AC or are you hard-core with the top down the whole way? ;)

I daily drove a Triumph Spitfire with the top down for 3/4 of the year for a couple years. And then my first Miata was a 96 that I owned for about 7 years... I parked in a garage at home and at work and lived in FL. I was hardcore top down 98% of the time. I was that guy, and taunted anyone who drove a convertible with the top up!

Then I got into another Spitfire, and another beater Miata... And when I wanted something reliable... I bought a Yaris.

That's when I learned what it was like to not be sunburned all the time! Couple that with chronic tinnitus and the fact that I don't have enough hair to blow in the breeze, anyway... And I really don't miss the top down life.

My current Miata (a 99) has a hard top permanently installed, I think of it as a Miata Coupe.

My wife's Miata has a power hard top, and SHE drives with the top down all the time! But, I don't.

So, yeah... Top up, AC on, listening to some tunes. Not getting beat by the sun or the heat or the wind noise.

Hypermiling is performance driving you can do on public roads! And no one else necessarily even knows you're doing it.

I ecomodded my 1990 Miata beater (eg: aero mods, PS delete, AC delete, some weight reduction, taller gearing (rear tire dia), higher tire pressure, etc., etc.).

I drive it mostly on the scenic highways around here at conservative cruising speeds. 90% top down (with tonneau) & windows down (have ear plugs!). I short shift, skip shift & do lots of neutral coasting (where appropriate) and some engine-off coasting. 4 out of 5 fill-ups this sunny season were 50+ mpg US. I'm just about to park it for the winter again.

Attachment 15740

Thread: "MPGiata" modding thread: aiming for 50 MPG with a 1990 Miata

Yet I also get to enjoy tackling the twisties with high momentum... to save fuel, of course!

And there's a Mirage connection: front tires are Enasaves! :D

50+ mpg out of a Miata - that's what I like about this forum.

It's the Ensaves! :D

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Loren

Road tripping this week in my wife's 2015 Miata with 6 speed auto. Couldn't resist a little mild mpg play along the way! I set tires to 35 before we left.

I think the most she's seen in this car is low 30's on short trips across FL. Her typical DD mpg is 21-24. Daily drive is a 3-mile trip. The car never even gets warmed up, and spends much of the time waiting at traffic lights.

Her previous 2007 Miata, I maxed out at 34 mpg once, but never really tried that hard.

Day One:
Clearwater, FL to Jekyll Island, GA. About 6 hours. Mostly 55-60 mph, mostly back roads, not a lot of traffic. No real Hypermiling, just driving with a light foot, extending coasts, and keeping speed below 55 as much as possible.

Dash display got as far as 35.6, and the day ended at 34.9 or so. Fill up was inaccurate because the was about 1/8 tank of City driving before I started. I reset the mpg meter when we left for this trip.

Day 2:
Inspired by day 1... I really wanted to see 38 mpg. Want optimistic after the first half of the day barely got me to 36. But, it was windy. (Every which way... But definitely some cross winds and head winds) And coming inland from the coast, it was predominantly uphill.

As things got a little hilly, and the wind settled down, the mpg started slowly climbing. Just a tenth every 10 minutes or so... But it was there. Peaked at 37.6.

Then we started getting into some small towns and traffic that messed it all up. Ended the day with the display reading 36.6. 345.9 miles and 9.586 gallons. Actual 36.08 mpg.

Now we're in the mountains, and I'm having fun! Averaging closer to 27 mpg.

May try for 38 again on my way home. I know I could easily do it with some neutral coasting. Not sure if my wife would like it. She doesn't complain about me manual shifting it...

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You live in Clear Water? Are you a scientologist?

It's the driver.

Back from vacation!

Played a little on the way home, but the priority was GETTING HOME, so didn't play too much. The first leg of the trip... about 4 hours, I wasn't trying at all. Just getting us out of the mountains on a tank that I'd started the day before. Lots of "brisk" mountain road driving, much of it in the rain, and with some traffic. I was actually surprised that I got that tank up to 31.2.

I didn't want to drive ALL day (best case, it was going to be a 10-hour drive), and my wife hates driving at night, so I let her drive after lunch and challenged her to beat my 31.2. I didn't figure it would be much of a challenge, but it gave her something to think about, and she was pleased to return 34.0 over the course of about 4 hours.

I took the last leg of 2.5 hours or so. Found right away that the car CAN do 40 mpg. Would take some work to keep it, and I held onto 39 mpg until we stopped for dinner. The restart quickly bumped it down to 38, and it never really recovered. I got home at 36.9. But, that was with cruising speeds in the 55-65 range, no P&G or anything. Not a lot of extended coast stopping... and a handful of momentum-killing unexpected traffic lights and other stops. The last 45 minutes was in a fair bit of traffic, so it wasn't bad. I think the 38 mpg that I wanted would be quite achievable given time and motivation.

Gotta say, I had a lot more fun netting in the 24-27 mpg range up in the mountains, though!

Congratulations on the success you had with the Miata. I've never driven one, they look like a ton of fun.