How to get best MPG on my new Mirage 5 speed? Can I get 50 mpg?

[MachineDesignPro]

Just picked up a new 2014 Mirage ES five speed this weekend. Got about 41 mpg at 70 mph on my first long commute today.

What kind of options are there for improving mpg? I've read suggestions about tire pressure, removing mirrors, even replacing the 5th gear.

I had been driving an accord V6 6 speed coupe that got about 32 mpg. Got the Mirage because I've got a 150 mile commute every day. The Mirage runs around 3500 rpm at 70 mpg. I find myself looking for that 6th gear!

Thanks!

[91cavgt]

The easiest thing you can do is to slow down. Not drastically like 45 mph, but if you slow to 60 mph and stay in the slow lane you'll be fine. I have driven in most major traffic areas in this country and have never been run over, as long as you stay in the slow lane. When I lived in Dallas/Fort Worth Texas, my daily commute was 51 miles one way and quite often I would drive 10 mph under the limit. I never had a problem, but I did see a big gain in fuel economy.

[MetroMPG]

Welcome to the forum!

You can get to 50 mpg US by (A) slowing down, (B) reducing aerodynamic drag, or (C) gearing up the transmission. Or some combination of the three. Higher tire pressure will help a little bit too.

A) This is free and takes the least effort. Do the calcs on how much more time you'll spend driving if you drop 5 mph from your cruising speed.

Effect of speed on MPG in the Mirage...



See Thread: Speed vs. mpg/mileage/fuel economy chart - Mirage 1.2L 5-spd and CVT

B) Requires DIY capabilities (your username suggest you have some) and the willingness to significantly alter the car's "stock" appearance. I made a number of aero changes to the Mirage I borrowed that improved MPG by ~5% (~2 mpg) at 90 km/h / 56 mph:

- replaced the passenger mirror with a much smaller one
- folded back the driver's mirror and added a smaller convex mirror to the "aft" edge
- smoothed over the fog light "blank" area
- increased the size of the grille block
- removed the passenger wiper arm
- added a 3 inch front air dam
- lengthened/extended the stock rear "Kammback" style spoiler

I'm going to post a detailed thread about these mods later this week. I'm running a bit behind!

And there's much more you can do than those items. Lowering, smooth wheel covers, rear fender skirts, completely smooth undertray, a full boat tail or box cavity, etc...

C) The only option here we currently know about is the slightly taller geared final drive in the Euro Mirage/Space Stars. It'd probably cost more money than it would save you. I geared up my 1998 Chevy Metro/Firefly with a *much* taller final drive (bigger change than the Euro Mirage f.d.), and the savings was in the 5-7% range cruising at 90 km/h.

[Daox]

Welcome to the site. I agree with the others. Slowing down is the easiest thing to do, and air up the tires.

[GrnBn]

Last week or so, I drove a roughly five hour highway drive at about 60mph the whole time, and averaged 52.5 mpg doing so. I routinely average 45-50 in town just by staying in as low rpm's as possible. Try shifting by 3k rpm's at the highest, you'll recognize the sound of it eventually, and skip-shifting to the highest numerical gear possible for the given situation.

[Basic]

I agree with all the tips so far, but I still agree that the car just flat needs a 6th gear. Absolutely no ifs ands or buts... I NEEDED to drive 80-85 this weekend, and there's just no excuse for the car to be pushing 4k RPM.

[Yttrium]

Just picked up a new 2014 Mirage ES five speed this weekend. Got about 41 mpg at 70 mph on my first long commute today. What kind of options are there for improving mpg? I've read suggestions about tire pressure, removing mirrors, even replacing the 5th gear. I had been driving an accord V6 6 speed coupe that got about 32 mpg. Got the Mirage because I've got a 150 mile commute every day. The Mirage runs around 3500 rpm at 70 mpg. I find myself looking for that 6th gear! Thanks!

I also have a manual, and I usually stay about 100 feet behind a tractor trailer doing 60-65 MPH on my hour long interstate commute (I65 Northwest Indiana). If the wind is helping me I'll get in the high 50s MPG (today actually topped 60 MPG!). If the wind is working against me that number can drop down in high 40s. If the wind is working against me AND it's bloody cold (-10F) the MPGs drop to the low 40s.

[Minihaha]

I agree with all the tips so far, but I still agree that the car just flat needs a 6th gear. Absolutely no ifs ands or buts... I NEEDED to drive 80-85 this weekend, and there's just no excuse for the car to be pushing 4k RPM.

I am so not gonna do the calcs, but my suspicion is there wouldn't be enough power in 6th. The RPM for the speed (e.g., 75+) wouldn't be "high" enough to generate the power needed to "move" the car along at 75+. I speculate that 5th is esssentially as tall as you can get and still sustain acceptable highway drive. If the engine power output was higher a 6th gear might be feasible.
(my two cents)

[91cavgt]

I am so not gonna do the calcs, but my suspicion is there wouldn't be enough power in 6th. The RPM for the speed (e.g., 75+) wouldn't be "high" enough to generate the power needed to "move" the car along at 75+. I speculate that 5th is esssentially as tall as you can get and still sustain acceptable highway drive. If the engine power output was higher a 6th gear might be feasible.
(my two cents)

The CVT does just fine at 75 mph while running at 2500-3000 rpm. It easily maintains speed, and can easily accelerate if need be by just giving it more gas and the CVT does the rest.

[GrnBn]

The amount of time it would take to reach the top of sixth gear would be brutal. I think five is probably the highest useable number of gears, but that the current final drive and/or 5th gear aren't suited to super economy. They could shift all the gearings up a bit, IMO, and the car would have a useable first gear as well as lower highway RPM's.