Summer Gas Mileage WOW, is this real?

[mr.Hand]

The needle on my 95' metro's fuel gauge barely moved driving 40 miles today.

I filled up and it is not broken.

Do the metro's get really great fuel economy in hot weather?

In Maryland today it reached about 98 degrees outside.

So why is it that cars get better fuel mileage in the summer?

[Woodie83]

Mine often goes 70 - 80 miles before the needle budges off full, nevermind that it plummets from there until it gets to E, then there's 100 miles left. The gauge only seems to cover the midrange, spends about half the time pegged at one end or the other. Could be that you just got closer to full this time, you can put in another gallon after the pump handle switches off the first time. With a small tank like ours, a gallon is a pretty big difference. Completely empty to completely full is over 11 gallons, most folks don't realize that.

Multiple reasons why you get better mileage in the hot weather. Oil is thinner, tire pressure is higher, and most important, the engine warms up and gets into closed loop, computer controlled mode much faster. Engine wear, emissions, and fuel use are drastically greater when the engine is in cold start mode, that's why it's such a bad idea to let your car warm up by idling in the driveway. It warms up much faster if you drive it.

[DOCTORBILL]

If you surf this Forum, you will find most folks get 45 to 50 mpg from their 3 cyl
Metro's in the hot summer.

Mine, after I did the Head and replaced the Rings gets 49+ mpg in warm weather.

In Winter it is down to a miserable, paltry 44 mpg.....

Now if it would just attract women - it would be perfect!

DoctorBill

[doug7x]

Doc, as far as the mileage goes, yep...it's for real...I get 53-55 all summer, & 45-49 in the (Chicago) winter.(with 190,000 on it) Now as far as the gauge...I've had several Metros & they all worked the same for me. I "top off" completely...yeah, I know i'm not supposed to, but it's the only way I can accuratley calc. my mileage. When the needle FIRST hits the 1/2 tank mark, (at a steady speed on a level road) you have 5 gallons (U.S.) left in the tank. When it FIRST hits the red zone above "E", you have 2 gal's. left. All metros have a capacity of 10.6 U.S. gallons....people think it's only an 8 gal. tank because they fill up around the time the needle hits the red zone.(Still, not a bad idea...doing this, you'll never run dry). Hope this helps...Doug

[mtran2000]

Originally Posted by doug7x

Doc, as far as the mileage goes, yep...it's for real...I get 53-55 all summer, & 45-49 in the (Chicago) winter.(with 190,000 on it) Now as far as the gauge...I've had several Metros & they all worked the same for me. I "top off" completely...yeah, I know i'm not supposed to, but it's the only way I can accuratley calc. my mileage. When the needle FIRST hits the 1/2 tank mark, (at a steady speed on a level road) you have 5 gallons (U.S.) left in the tank. When it FIRST hits the red zone above "E", you have 2 gal's. left. All metros have a capacity of 10.6 U.S. gallons....people think it's only an 8 gal. tank because they fill up around the time the needle hits the red zone.(Still, not a bad idea...doing this, you'll never run dry). Hope this helps...Doug

Doug, 53-55 MPG, you must have an XFI correct?

Mark

[lancekilgore]

The main reason or difference from summer gas milage and winter is they put additives in winter gas so it won't freeze all cars MPG goes down in the winter.
I love pulling up to the pump at 1/2 tank and 3 gals fills it up.

[Johnny Mullet]

I'm getting over 50 MPG on a slighlty "aeromodded" 1998 Metro base 1.0L 5 speed in the summer. Let you know how it goes in winter.

Damn! 6 months till Christmas

[doug7x]

Originally Posted by mtran2000

Doug, 53-55 MPG, you must have an XFI correct?

Mark

No, Mark...it's not an XFI,-'95 2dr HB, but I HAVE been tweaking things for the last 4 yrs. (Last night I filled up & it came out to 55.9 MPG) I DO have a '91 XFI that I'm in the process of repairing after sitting for 8 yrs. With the 13" tires I'm going to use, plus some more tweaking, I'm expecting something like 65-70 MPG highway. (I was getting 56 with it before, with 12's & beating it pretty bad.)

[mtran2000]

Originally Posted by doug7x

No, Mark...it's not an XFI,-'95 2dr HB, but I HAVE been tweaking things for the last 4 yrs. (Last night I filled up & it came out to 55.9 MPG) I DO have a '91 XFI that I'm in the process of repairing after sitting for 8 yrs. With the 13" tires I'm going to use, plus some more tweaking, I'm expecting something like 65-70 MPG highway. (I was getting 56 with it before, with 12's & beating it pretty bad.)

Doug, I have the same thing 95 3 cylinder hatchback. What have you tweaked to achieve such superb MPG? I would like to do the same.

Mark

[doug7x]

Originally Posted by mtran2000

Doug, I have the same thing 95 3 cylinder hatchback. What have you tweaked to achieve such superb MPG? I would like to do the same.

Mark

Mark, I've posted most of my tweaks in different threads...probably be a pain to search for all of them. What I'll do is post a new thread called "Metro mileage tips", & I'll try to get them all in one place...gimmie a day or two to remember them all & to put them in the order I did them...Doug

[lamehonda]

I can drive my WRX 70 miles before the needle moves after fillup and I only get 20 mpg lol

[mtran2000]

Originally Posted by doug7x

Mark, I've posted most of my tweaks in different threads...probably be a pain to search for all of them. What I'll do is post a new thread called "Metro mileage tips", & I'll try to get them all in one place...gimmie a day or two to remember them all & to put them in the order I did them...Doug

Thanks Doug, tips will be much appreciated.
Mark