SVO MPG?

[Holmzy]

I was hoping to get an idea on what seems to be an average MPG for the SVO.

I currently have an 86 and it is used as my daily driver. My job requires quite a bit of driving and 200 miles in a day is an average day. Almost 95% of that being highway.

Even tho I spend most of my time cruising around 70mph, the best MPG I've managed is 24mpg, more often than not I typically see 20mpg. Am I wrong or have I read that some of you average 28??

What happens to be everyone else's experience and what can I do/check to improve this?

[Kendal Coker]

You are about right on your mileage. I bought one new and that is about what I always got. You might be better off getting a MPG type car and just using the svo on the weekends. A 30 year old car for a daily dirver is fun but can be costly in the long run for parts etc. I never got 28mpg even going down hill with a tail wind.

[Laredo]

24-25 is fairly normal for highway mpg. I would get that with my ’86 before Iswitched over to E85. That was with all new ignition parts, 50k on the odo.

Is it capable of 28? Sure, if you’re super easy on the throttle, steady cruise with no boost and no head wind.
Chalky used to get 28+ with “Blacky” on his legendary road trips but he had the later transmission with the 3.45 diff gears (lower highway RPMs).
Any time you get over 3000 rpm (ECM goes into open loop) or are into the boost (more air = more fuel), your mpg will drop significantly.

[MikeFleming]

The "earlier" cars - with hte in-0line intakes and 31 Lb/hr injectors - got beter numbners (lowser consumption). I once got 31.5MPG overall on a tankful from SFO to LAX in the early days of my 84. But that was a four-leaf unicorn as far as I can tell.

Once the 35Lb injectors are installed - with the smallerr turbo housing, on the 85.5+ models. fuel consumption in normal driving went up (MPG down).

There are LOTS of newer cars that will easily get double that MPG value - and do it on regular (87 octane) petrol.

[Kendal Coker]

Just found a 85.5 window sticker and the MPG raiting was 19 city and 26 highway.

[Holmzy]

Thanks for all the info, glad to see I am in the normal range. Luckily for me my work provides a gas card and car stipend, compared to my coworkers SUVs, I've got to be the favorite for the accountants.

[Mike Croke]

I've been daily driving an '85.5 for about 8 years. The car currently has about 286K miles. Mileage calculates to 24-26 MPG consistently with about a 60 mile round trip commute. I suspect it would get slightly better mileage on pure gasoline instead of the blended stuff we have here in Arizona. Even driving from Phoenix to Las Vegas at constant highway speed, the car gets the same range.

[brsvo]

My 86 when stock got just under 27 on a 500 mile freeway trip at 80ish. On the Milwaukee mile road course it got about 7!

[Laredo]

...On the Milwaukee mile road course it got about 7!

Just some quick math, that means running mine on E85 (30% more fuel required, 15.5 gal tank), I could make about 75 laps before needing a refuel!

[grntRUDD13]

Those numbers seem to be about what I get. Although one trip driving to Colorado I managed 29 mpg over the span of the trip. I don't think that will ever happen again. Normally I get 26-27 all highway, and 22 ish for normal mostly city driving.

[MikeFleming]

On the Milwaukee mile road course it got about 7! Most of my on-track excursions consumed in the 4.5-6 MPG range which was about the same as the v-ate GT Mustangs of the same era.

[svono50]

For my 86 back with the stock gears and 245/50R16's I would pull down 28-30 mpg on road trips, car only really had a K&N and 3" DP for mods back then. These days with many more mods, 4:10 gears and 245/45R17's I still pull down 24-26 mpg keeping it below 3000rpm. If I push things up to 3500rpm cruising speed I drop to ~22 mpg. Around town is still holding at ~20 mpg, while track days usually return ~6 mpg.

[MikeFleming]

To put this in perspective, if my current daily ever gets below 50, I start to worry.

[Laredo]

There are LOTS of newer cars that will easily get double that MPG value - and do it on regular (87 octane) petrol.

And...there are newer cars that will get double the SVO horsepower value, and are still capable 26 MPG. Drove the 2015 5.0 Mustang (435 hp) last fall on a 150 mile road trip, got 26.5 MPG.

Direct injection, more efficient airflow, better body aerodynamics, lighter drivetrain components, etc. All good stuff!

[MikeFleming]

^
True, true.

I rode in a McLaren MP4/12c at INDE (road race course) that gets 30+MPG highway. It needs premium fuel (and makes VERY good use of it!). There's a video of that ride somewhere around here.

OTOH it seriously drinks fuel at speed on-track.

[grntRUDD13]

I think my vehicles run the full range of gas mileage. My Jeep gets 14 mpg (it's lifted, winch, 33" tires, body armor, and all the normal off-road requirements), my SVO gets what I said above, and then my motorcycle (it's a cruiser) averages 43 mpg. I keep a running list of the motorcycle gas mileage, partly because I was curious, and the other reason is it gives me a good idea of how far I can go on a tank since it doesn't have a gas gauge. I've thought about expanding it to the other vehicles, but really it would be the SVO. The Jeep would just be depressing how much I'm spending on fuel.

[Under Pressure]

I've been driving highway and getting 25.52 MPG.

[MikeFleming]

I've been driving highway and getting 25.52 MPG. Is that a palindrome??

[Rosamond SVO]

Just got back from a trip from the L.A. area to Northern California an got 29MPG at 70MPH

[SVO4PWR2]

To put this in perspective, if my current daily ever gets below 50, I start to worry.

What make, model and engine?

I kinda like the V W wagon in a TDi

-RICH-

[MikeFleming]

What make, model and engine? 2015 Prius C with N/A 1.5L 4-slug, twin cam atkinson/miller-cycle engine using 13.4:1 CR, electric motor and some batteries.

[Laredo]

...I kinda like the V W wagon in a TDi

-RICH-

I had a Passat TDI as a company car back when I was a field engineer for VW. Avg’d 45-50mpg with LOTS of torque in a midsized car. Of all the cars I ever drove / owned, that was one of my favorites.

My mother-in-law has Ford C-max Energi (gas / hybrid plug-in) that’s getting 80-90. She plugs it in every night, says her electric bill has gone up only $4/mo. Had it 2 months before she bought her first tank of gas. And it’s a pleasure to drive, very torquey, leather seats/trim, panoramic roof, awesome sound system, and ALL the technology toys.