MPG Experience so far (CVT)

[wizkid057]

Greetings,

I've had my CR-Z for almost three months now and I've hit 3,800 miles. This included a 1,100 mile round trip down to central NC and back (from NJ) along with a couple of trips to the shore (~80 miles), trips to and from work (~30-90 miles depending on the job site), and other various trips.

When I drive very conservatively in ECON mode, without the A/C on, I get mid to upper 40s, sometimes if I'm lucky 50-51 mpg (US). This is combination city/city hwy/interstate driving.

As soon as I turn the A/C on though, it becomes almost impossible to stay even in the very low 40s, upper 30s mpg. The A/C seems to really really munch down the engine power.

I almost never drive in Sport or Normal mode.

A trick I've found that seems to work well with the CVT for coasting is to let off the gas completely, then push it down a hair immediately after. MPG instant gauge shows 100+, but the engine is still getting gas and the IMA battery is still charging at 1 bar. The coast seems to have very little resistance at this point though. Not as little as dropping into neutral, but close.

I've used that technique to try pulse and glide a bit... but, it doesn't seem to improve my mpg enough to make it worth it. (Maybe 1-2 mpg driving down the hwy)

Cruise control does pretty well at higher speed interstate driving. Not as well as if I really focus on MPGs, but well enough. If I set the cruise at 65 mph and drive to a job site that's roughly 40 miles away, I get about 42mpg. A tiny bit more if I drop the speed slightly, but not much.

I.ve found that finding a sweet spot in the throttle in highway driving to hold the MPG instant gauge right around the 50 mark is usually possible (no A/C). Little hills and such will vary my speed a bit, but the MPG gauge can be held right around 50 most of the time at around 51-62 MPH.

I don't use Fuely, but I use an android app called aCar to track my stats. My life average for the car is 38.1 mpg, my minimum was 33.514, and my max on a tank was 43 mpg. Total gallons 92.84. (All US numbers)

My best long trip was a 160 mile trip to the shore and back on the Atlantic City Expressway and Garden State Parkway (interstate type driving) taking it very easy at around 63MPH and I was able to get 49.1 MPG on the way there and ~45MPG on the way back. (I went a little faster on the way back, though) So, 46.7 MPG for the 160 mile trip.



I've held mid 50s for very short periods (2-4 miles) but that's difficult.

After all of this, I'm curious as to other's experiences with trying to get some high MPGs out of the CVT CR-Z. I've read a few things on the forum and such, but I'm curious as to how other's experiences compare with mine, if there's room for improvement, etc.

Any thoughts?

-wk

[lldsandsll]

White CVT here. I live in South Florida and run my a/c constantly. I was getting about 40-42mpg. I recently added the P2R catback exhaust and now I always get over 43mpg.

[ammocj]

My Blue CVT model with 6,000 miles on it has been averaging 42-43 MPG in economy mode.
I drive on cruise control whenever possible.
14 miles open highway, 8 miles through town.
In town the computer shows me getting 50 to 60 MPG between 30 and 40 MPH.
I found my car's computer to be accurate within 1 MPG on every tank full.
On the last tank I decided to run it in Normal mode.
I GAINED 2 MPG!
I'm getting right at 45 MPG in normal mode now. Plus it maintains set speed on hills in normal mode, economy would lose 3 or 4 MPH on hills.

I dunno why but I'll take it.
Al

[twelvebeer]

I also have 3800 miles on my CVT. I usually drive in normal mode and my lifetime avg is 39. The AC really does kill your MPG though.

[Colin]

Personally, I'd love to the trip computer average miles per HOUR added to everybody's posts. IMO, it really helps show the average speed that the stated miles were achieved. We filled last night, did 40 mpg with a (tank average) of 29 mph.

[wizkid057]

Originally Posted by ammocj

My Blue CVT model with 6,000 miles on it has been averaging 42-43 MPG in economy mode.
I drive on cruise control whenever possible.
14 miles open highway, 8 miles through town.
In town the computer shows me getting 50 to 60 MPG between 30 and 40 MPH.
I found my car's computer to be accurate within 1 MPG on every tank full.
On the last tank I decided to run it in Normal mode.
I GAINED 2 MPG!
I'm getting right at 45 MPG in normal mode now. Plus it maintains set speed on hills in normal mode, economy would lose 3 or 4 MPH on hills.

I dunno why but I'll take it.
Al

I saw this post while I was at work today right before I had to get on the road and drive 40 miles north. I tried cruise in Normal and....... it did seem to do better than cruise in Econ! I was actually pretty shocked. It held the instant-read MPG meter higher than cruise in econ. So, from now on my cruising will be in Normal mode so I can test further.

Thanks for the tip!

[LeeMoon]

I'm at close to 18,000 miles on my CR-Z w/CVT (bought it on August 24th, 2010). I use the A/C a huge percentage of the time (live in south Georgia.) My average fuel economy is 42.55 mpg. The lowest I recorded is 36.70 mpg and the highest is 52.50 mpg. I had been using Econ mode a lot, but now mostly use Normal. I've also seen great results when dipping in to Sport mode during highway trips and around town (going over bridges, getting up to the speed limit with vigor, etc.) Oh, and I also use cruise control a lot when possible. Unless I want to have some fun.
Lee

[Talk2meGOOSE]

I agree, whenever you have A/C on- in the CVT (mine), it KILLS your gas mileage!

Living in Florida in the summer, mid day-3 or 4, it is IMPOSSIBLE (for me) to drive around without A/C. So I stay at 38mpg (avg.). This is with me hitting sport mode, turning the A/C off at times, other tricks, etc.

I WAS getting 42 usually back in Feb. when I bought the car and it was considerably cooler outside.

It is good to know that seems to be a similar # with a fellow CVT though.
(so IT'S NOT my driving habits after all)

[wizkid057]

I can usually do without the A/C in the mornings (I tend to leave around 6AM) because it's not generally too hot yet, if at all.

But in the afternoons I tend to use it unless I've already been in the heat all day and I'm in an 'it wont matter for 30 more minutes' type mood. Then I'd just roll the windows down.

Think I am going to use Normal mode more often though and see how that goes.

[starDBA]

I've averaged around 46mpg over 3,500 miles so far. Mostly highway driving with little A/C (usually not needed in Michigan). I drive in Econ mode most of the time, but have noticed recently that if I drive short distances in sport/normal mode occasionly and then put it back in econ, my mpg will go up for a while then seems to settle back down to where it normally is. Seems odd but that's my observation.