Camaro mpg question
My MPG experience with LS1 fbody cars. My work trip had 40 miles of interstate and 5-10 miles city.
99 TA - stock and as bolt on car, owned since new.
Normal driving 23.5 mpg, highway 30-32mpg, best 32.5 mpg
Then heads, cam, LS6 intake, LT headers & 4.10 gears.
Normal driving 21 mpg, highway 27.5 mpg, best 29 mpg
Then heads, cam, LS6 intake, LT, Headers, Magnum, & 8.8 rear 4.10 gears. Close ratio Magnum with ~.65 6th gear
Normal driving 18 mpg, highway 24 mpg, best 25 mpg
Then 416, Magnum, 8.8 rear, 4.10's
Normal driving 15 mpg, highway 20 mpg, best 21 mpg
The 416 is horrible for mpg
02 Z28 -wife's car, A4, 2.73's stock
Normal driving 23 mpg, highway 27-28 mpg, best 29 mpg
00 FireHawk - friends car M6 bolt on carcar
Normal driving 22 mpg, highway 29 mpg, best 31.5 mpg
02 Z28 my new one w/240,000 miles, stock A4, 2.73's stock
Normal driving 23 mpg, highway 27 mpg, best 27.5 mpg
00 Z28 friends car, A4, 3.23's bolt on car, 104,000 miles
Normal driving 23 mpg, highway 27-28 mpg, best 29 mpg
Needed plugs, wires, air filter etc
99 TA - stock and as bolt on car, owned since new.
Normal driving 23.5 mpg, highway 30-32mpg, best 32.5 mpg
Then heads, cam, LS6 intake, LT headers & 4.10 gears.
Normal driving 21 mpg, highway 27.5 mpg, best 29 mpg
Then heads, cam, LS6 intake, LT, Headers, Magnum, & 8.8 rear 4.10 gears. Close ratio Magnum with ~.65 6th gear
Normal driving 18 mpg, highway 24 mpg, best 25 mpg
Then 416, Magnum, 8.8 rear, 4.10's
Normal driving 15 mpg, highway 20 mpg, best 21 mpg
The 416 is horrible for mpg
02 Z28 -wife's car, A4, 2.73's stock
Normal driving 23 mpg, highway 27-28 mpg, best 29 mpg
00 FireHawk - friends car M6 bolt on carcar
Normal driving 22 mpg, highway 29 mpg, best 31.5 mpg
02 Z28 my new one w/240,000 miles, stock A4, 2.73's stock
Normal driving 23 mpg, highway 27 mpg, best 27.5 mpg
00 Z28 friends car, A4, 3.23's bolt on car, 104,000 miles
Normal driving 23 mpg, highway 27-28 mpg, best 29 mpg
Needed plugs, wires, air filter etc
Last edited by 99 Black Bird T/A; Jun 6, 2018 at 10:11 PM.
Throttle use isn't what kills mileage. It's stop-and-go. Every time we stop, all the kinetic energy of the car is converted into heat, which we radiate out and waste through the brakes. Getting the car up to speed over and over again is what eats the gas. (This is why electric cars with regenerative braking are so efficient in City driving.)
I see your "Chicago" (which, incidentally, is about where my car is from) and I raise you "Los Angeles"--where I live. Traffic? Yeah, that's our greatest natural resource in LA--well that, and starving aspiring actors/actresses on cell phones.
In your previous post you were saying that a highway run at constant speed is the only way to benchmark, so I am not sure what the driving in the city will tell you. Yes, stop-and-go is bad for efficiency because of all the energy converted to heat. Another problem is that with our relatively large engines, running them under almost no load wastes a lot of gas due to friction and pumping losses when the throttle is nearly closed. Still, given the capacity of our cars to suck in great quantities of air when you floor it, this must be balanced by great quantities of fuel. In my experience, the worst economy I've gotten was when blasting around like an idiot and generally having a riot of a good time whenever the opportunity to use the load pedal presented itself.
In your previous post you were saying that a highway run at constant speed is the only way to benchmark, so I am not sure what the driving in the city will tell you. Yes, stop-and-go is bad for efficiency because of all the energy converted to heat. Another problem is that with our relatively large engines, running them under almost no load wastes a lot of gas due to friction and pumping losses when the throttle is nearly closed. Still, given the capacity of our cars to suck in great quantities of air when you floor it, this must be balanced by great quantities of fuel. In my experience, the worst economy I've gotten was when blasting around like an idiot and generally having a riot of a good time whenever the opportunity to use the load pedal presented itself.
When juxtaposed against a pure highway run, it gives a "bottom end" to just how bad things can get on a good car, with City driving. It illustrates why a pure highway run is the only thing one can measure against and why mixed runs are completely unreliable and send us on wild goose chases. (A mixed run of 12 mph City driving with 28 mph Highway driving gives a result of confusing junk.)
I use a ScanGaugeII(OBDII port) to get accurate readings of parameters. It's mounted on top of dash center. It can read many functions of which some are: closed/open loop,intake air temp,coolant temp,engine load,mpg,rpm,tps,volts. For accurate mph I use a GPS.Due to the inaccuracies of the factory gauges,it's typically on intake air temp,coolant temp,mpg,and rpm.
