Your Driving and gas Prices

[TheEdgeofSanity]

since gas has topped 4 dollars a gallon and since I totally took over my gas and insurance bill from my parents, I've really changed my driving habits. I thought people were crazy when they said that they would get 28+ mpg from their 3400's but I realize that its all in how you drive. I've decided that i needed to change and for the past 3 fillups, i've gotten 28.2 mpg, 27.9 mpg, and 28.7 mpg which is awesome. I do a mix of highway and city driving and if I were to do 100% highway driving, I am convinced that I could break 30 mpg. Before I changed and when school was in, I drove like a psycho to get home, i was usually getting 21 to 22 mpg and one time I managed to get 16 mpg. Its really making my life easier when i only have to fill up once a week.

has anybody else been changing their driving habits because of the gas crunch?

[Vtolds]

Yep I go slower on the interstate thats about it.

[[ion] C2]

no lol, if i do i could get 40+ MPG

[Valley olds]

I havent really changed my driving habits much. Then again, I was used to my gas guzzler, and really as bad as gas prices are right now, I can't complain with my ecotec.

[surreal_awakening]

No, I still guzzle gas like a college kid hitting a beer bong.

[01silveralero]

when i go back to college is the only time i start to feel it. i can go all week without filling up

[Alerosaint]

I just changed my oxygen sensors so hopefully that will get my mpg back up...they have never been change so 150,000 mile on them might have been a lil much

[Midgear]

I've limited myself to how much I drive overall.. To work and back home lol- a quarter tank lasts me about a week

work being only 2.2 miles away is nice-

[01silveralero]

^u should walk there then

[Midgear]

I like the alero to much-

[Daytona]

Hypermiling (coasting, slow acceleration, etc.)

[misslindseysue]

I bought a car that got better fuel economy. The car payment hurts, but I fill up less often. Also got a better paying job that was closer to home. Altogether I'm on the + side.
But really... I still drive like I like to drive. I go fast on the highway, but in the city I don't floor it off the line and I coast when I see a light. If I saw a huge difference I would modify my habits, but the damn car is just so good on gas no matter how I drive. It's not worth the extra 2mpg to slow down that much.
In the Alero it did make a lot of difference to set the cruise closer to 70 and watch how much pedal you give it off the line. A lot of that is the difference between an auto an manual, too.

[CactusWill]

Originally Posted by Alerosaint

I just changed my oxygen sensors so hopefully that will get my mpg back up

Me too. Didn't notice much difference but oh well.


Over on gassavers.org, theres a couple V6 aleros getting 36-37 mpg, and theres an ecotec cavalier in the top ten vehicles on the website, getting over 70mpg

Recently I got almost 35 out of my ecotec on a trip driving at a constant 50mph or so. If I go a constant 70-75mph, it drops down to about 30mpg.


Theres a mathmatical formula somewhere on gassavers.org that helps you determine exactly what rpms your engine burns fuel most efficiently based on the stroke of the engine. I had a hard time getting an exact result, but basically for the alero 4 and 6 cyl engines, they are most efficient when you do not exceed 2k rpms. Just something to keep in mind when monitoring your driving habits.

Also the A/C does consume alot of energy during city driving, keep it off whenever possible. It has less of an effect at constant speeds when you're not accelerating, since road horsepower required to maintain constant speed is relatively low.

[troyertrain]

ok, i don't know how you all do it. i have the 2.4 and i am hovering around 17mpg, which is absolutely disgusting hearing that you all w/ the 3400 are getting 28-30+mpg... i drive no faster than the speed limit, and i do not romp it, but i still get horrible mileage...

[Midgear]

^^^ sounds like you need a tune up.. 17 MPG out of an N/A 4 cylinder is unheard of

[CactusWill]

Originally Posted by Midgear

^^^ sounds like you need a tune up.. 17 MPG out of an N/A 4 cylinder is unheard of

I have gotten as little as 17mpg out of my ecotec, but thats strictly city mileage and running A/C nonstop... If you're getting only 17 while not running your ac, do the tuneup first of course, and if its still bad then you might be suffering from poor compression or something.

[Frostbite545]

Ive gotten 30mpg out of my 3400 before, back when all I had was the intake. Now, I can hit around 32mpg, but thats pretty much only if i drive a near constant 55 - 65 mph on the highway. Ive tried to slow down a little, and right now im averaging 22mpg, partially cuz i dont do much highway driving at all.

[rustyballs_69]

I have been getting around 25 mpg all city. I still go 5 over the speed limit, it just takes me a little longer to get up to speed. I try to keep it under 3k rpms but it doesn't always work.