gcjin2007

goin up to pa. wonderin wat speed i should go on the highway to achieve the best mpg. and wat #mpg should i be achieving. o ya, and how many mils SHOULD i be gettin out of a tank


p.s. i have a 02 tl-s

jpadilla

keep it at 3000 RPM ... in 5th that should be around 77mph

EDIT: actually that might be more like 83-85 mph.

bkzjimmy

65mph gives the best mpg , but who goes that slow

jpadilla

I dont think MPH should be value to look for ... more RPM's equal more fuel ... the key is that more RPM is not proportional to higher MPH.

edgalang

In theory it would be the slowest speed you can go in 5th gear with the torque converter locked.

Basically you want to keep the revs as low as possible on the highest gear.

The problem with going fast is that wind resistance is exponential...meaning that resistance @ 100mph is not necessarily twice that of when you are going 50mph. There's more than twice the energy involved for an object going 100mph than 50mph...and DEFINITELY more than 3 times the energy involved going 150mph than 50mph.


P.S.
Dont forget to inflate those tires.

KevTL-S

You're exactly correct. I used to have an Oldsmobile Toronado that has an instant MGP display. When going at 55MPH, I got a much higher number than going at 75. But, now aday, I go at the speed I am comfortable with regardless of the MPG. If I want more MGP, I wouldn't have bought the TL...a Honda Civic is made for that.

gcjin2007

so... what speed should i be goin?? lol, is ~2000 rpm 5th gear ~60mph good? or 3000 at 70 mph??

Chet03TL-S

Drive in 5th between 50-60mph and you would get some great mileage. Just not sure how long it would take to drive you nuts and make you drive faster.

fsttyms1

im only at 2500 at 80-85

I get my best mileage between 75-80.

Location, weather, traffic ALL will determine what kind of mileage you get

fla-tls

You get 5th gear at 45 mph, and that would probably be the best speed for mileage.

Do a search on the internet and you'll find that most vehicles top out their mileage at 45-50 mph. I also saw a government study that showed about a 12% fuel economy loss going from 55 to 65, and another 9% loss going from 65 to 70.

At 55 a TL should do well over 30 mpg. (Who wants to drive that slow though?!?)

fsttyms1

I can get over 30 doing 75-80

fla-tls

my best was 27 mpg at a constant 80 mph...

fsttyms1

snowman81

I made it from Corpus Christi, Texas to Atlanta, Georgia in 14 hrs...don't care what my mileage was.
Honestly...the best I've ever calculated for a long distance trip was 29 mpg. That was at about 78 mph. Normal city driving for me puts me around 22.

steadydaddy

ditto.

edgalang's hypothesis will arrive at the answer in a lab. must put into account uphill grades(more gas), conversely, downhill (less gas). but what's the point of this exercise? when i drive my car, i get a grin everytime i feel it perform. mostly, when i step on the gas.

FuzzyNutz

I know that this is being picky (and kindof off subject), but that comment is not necessarily true. I understand why you are saying that, and the thory is sound, but the problem is that implies that low RPM's always use less fuel. Remember that RPM's are not directly proportional to fuel consumption. In other words, depending on the situation, you put a little or a lot of gas into the cylinders and still get the same RPM.

Just my

crazym0nkey

I just made a roughly 500 mile trip. I was going constant 90-95 mph @ little under 3000 RPM. I love the TL-S cause it's low RPM at those speeds

But going that fast really cut down my MPG. I got about 25 MPG, but thats cause sometimes I would do my little 120 mph burst just to keep me awake. I make this trip few times a year and its possible to get 30 mpg on this car easily. I usually go 80-85 and get around 29-30 MPG. But this is all from my own experiences. Like hte ohters said, theres also other factors to consider.

tterb83

who cares, haul ass!

aaronnn

you guys are like to have a fifth gear. I have a 99TL.. so if i go over 65 im already alittle over 3000RPM.

so if im cruising at 80, i can hear my exhausts droning, my headers resonating.. since im pretty high up there in the revs. but at least if i want to accelerate to pass someone i just give a slight push and im already passed 100..

aaronnn

oyeah and on a 99 if im cruising 80, i only get around 22-24mpg..

but if i was cruising about 65 the whole way, i can top at around 30mpg, sometimes even more.

Inspire

from my experience it is at 75.

edgalang

By the way....I believe the "official" cruising speed for the TLS is 70MPH. I can't bring up any references right now...but if you notice @ 70MPH the RPM needle is EXACTLY @ 2k rpms.

Who ever designed the transmission made it so that the optimal cruising speed matches the highest freeway speed limit.

gcjin2007

cool, so the mpg wll start icreasin 55-60, be optimium at 70, and from 75 up the mpg will start goin down exponetially. that right? so crusie control at about 65 will be the best(dont wanna piss of any cops tryin to get best fuel effiency.... anyone see a flaw in that????).?

fsttyms1

Yes i see a flaw. It all depends on location, every ones car is different. I get better mileage at 75-80 than i do at 55-60.

MikeekiM

The other tip is to always coast when possible...

If you are looking up ahead and see a red stoplight, layoff on the gas and coast... Too many people gas it all they way up to the light and then hit the brakes...

You need to get as much distance out of the gas "investment" you put into the acceleration...

That said, it's no fun to drive the car with gas mileage constantly on your mind...

edgalang

70MPH is the best "balance". The above statement is still correct...

"In theory it would be the slowest speed you can go in 5th gear with the torque converter locked.

Basically you want to keep the revs as low as possible on the highest gear."

The problem of going TOO low in the revs is that you'll start to unlock the torque converter. If you can maintain a 55mph cruise without unlocking the TC in fifth, you'll be golden.

03CoupeV6

This isn't related to the TL but I swapped cars for a day with a friend who has a 98 Camry 5S-FE.. I drove that little car (at 122,000 miles) 202 miles on just 1/4 of a tank. I started at full with the trip odometer at 0. I filled it back up to full after I went 202 miles and it had just moved down to the 3/4 mark. I thought "hrm, well maybe something is wrong with the needle." It held 5.8 gallons for 35mpg and I wasn't even trying. I was going 80mph on the highway and driving about half of those miles in the city.

Then he took it on a trip the following day. Starting with the full tank after I handed it back, he went the 350 miles on 1/2 tank. It's pretty amazing. Yeah yeah it's a Camry but I actually found myself liking the car.. especially the remote start.

As for my TL, to keep this on topic, I just filled up and I'd went 368 miles on 15.6 gallons for a 23.5mpg average.

jay02tls

My 02 TL-S with Megan headers and an AEM cold air intake got just over 31 mpg on two separate 1200 mile trips this past summer. Close to 100 degrees out and A/C at 70. Not sure what optimum is but sure seems to run well at about 75-80 on the highway. Wasn't really trying, just get it up to highway speed, set cruise and go.