I just bought an '05 Cobalt SS, it has 49k on it. When I got it, it was at 24.9 mpg, since then I'm down to 24.3, it's just been dropping. Got good oil life, 93 octane in it, ot running heat and definitely don't have the windows down right now. I've heard the best rpms to keep the engine around is like 3,000 - 3,500, so I usually stay as close to 3 as possible. I do mostly highway driving, and even with that, my mpg are dropping. Just wondering if there are any tips to getting better mileage, best rpms, shifting points, things like that. Also, wondering if drivers keep it in 2nd around 90 degree turns or if they drop it all the way down to first (where the rpms would stay around 3,000). I had an '05 Mustang GT a while back and had it at 19 mpg and it's rated for 20 on the highway, so I was good with that, but this car is definitely a little different!

 

That right foot of yours.....

Actually, that seems about normal for a SS/SC. Any mods on the car?

 

reset the dic...

 

Keep your foot outta' it!

 

drive slower. simple solution. i gained 5 MPG by changing my driving style.

 

I'm definitely not heavy on the gas, I've been grannying it since I've had it with the exception of one tiny stretch of road where I obviously had to see what it's capable of lol. But I have no mods on it at the time, I guess I'll just reset the dic and see what happens. If it sounds normal, then I'm not too worried, just assumed taking it easy on the gas pedal and being on the highway 90% of the time would've yielded some better mpg, was shocked to see it go down knowing the guy that had it before me had it up a little higher than me. Figured it had to be my driving (shifting and what not). Thanks for the replies!

 

shift at 2200 RPM that is true grannying it. you will see a vast improvement. you could even shift at 2000 RPM if you want.

 

My shift point is ~3K....he'd lol if he saw my economy display.



It's sittin at 23.9mpg.

 

I'll give that a try, like I said, I'd been hearing around 3200 was good otherwise I'd be bogging out the engine when I shifted. I was skeptical, I was shifting around 2500 in my old Mustang, so it seems to make a little more sense.

 

The clutch will hate him for it though. Milage seems to fall off a lot during the winter. Mine was 29 in the summer, now it's 24...****** snow. Happened last winter too

 

I shift about 2500rpms and i got 34.5mpg on the way back from picking her, (4 hours all highway)

 

Well so far I've been shifting around 3200-3500, so maybe I'll just try around 2700, maybe a little easier on the clutch and less harsh on the tank. At least I know I'm not the only one stuck around 24 lol!

 

x2 i ussually do this every fill up. it also helps if you reset the avg speed and your fuel eco

 

Once awhile i like to rev to like 4k before i shift but it dont seem to effect much

 

I'll definitely give it shot tomorrow and see where my mpg ends up at the end of the week

 

check air filter
or if it has a intake with oiled filter, clean maf (if stock you can still clean but do it right)
check tire pressure
'

 

i reset mine from time to time. now that it's getting cold, i let my car warm up for a while. today there's about a half inch of ice sitting on it. and when the car is sitting idling, you're getting zero mpg which affects the average.

what i would recommend is driving, and try resetting it every now and then to see what gets the best results. is driving at 3k in 3rd better than 2k in fifth? is half throttle better than full throttle? etc. this way you can really see what does what, and take it from there to start working on different ways to improve the mileage.

 

it's the winter blend of gasoline most gas stations are using

 

Yeah mileage always goes down in the winter.

 

I reset it today before hitting the highway to go to work, muuuuch better lol, right now I'm up at 26.5 mpg, and plenty more highway driving to go this week, so I'm curious to see how high it'll go, but I'm just happy it went up, obviously winter does suck for mileage, we'll see how it does in the spring. Thanks for the advise!

 

yea i never used to reset it, and if you dont youre gas mileage will show lower than it is. mine used to sit at about 23, now i reset it after every fill up and im at 32. so if you reset it youll see a difference.

 

I have an 08 completely stock. When I got it in September, I was averaging about 36.5 for the tank. Now that it's 5 below, I'm averaging 32.5. Winter just tightens up the mechanicals and winter blend fuel will give you lest power. Just try keeping it at 60 mph or lower and you will get better mileage.

Bob in wisconsin with 35 inches of snow

Now just to follow up, in summer I'm around 42 mpg!!woo-hoo!

 

try not holding it in the lower gears for too long, even if it's under 3000 rpms, it will run at about 5-14 mpg during acceleration, I have a TC and don't know much about the SC, I put the readout on MPG INST and drive accordingly

 

why don't you get a stage 3 and see where your MPG's are lol

 

Haha if u got money to burn get 10.0:1 pistons after I rebuilt my motor and put them in I get 28.7mtg