Improve Gas Mileage

[shanongw]

Ok, I realize this may not be the best of questions considering I am driving a sports car, but it would help if anyone had any advice. My parents recently purchased me a camaro and I was wondering what is the best way to improve my gas mileage? As of this day, I have had the car 2 weeks and I have filled up my gas tank 3 times.

[Michael_Js]

Hi! Welcome to the forum and the club!
Must be nice!
Watch the right foot...that'll save ya some gas!
6M or 6A? Manual or automatic?

[MikeL]

Drive a bit slower between lights. Dont take off really fast from dead stops. In general drive a little slower (dont know if thats possible in this car). Also if your engine isnt "Broken in" yet I heard they get way better gas mileage after a few miles are put on.

[blkngldbabe]

My mileage significantly improved after a long trip on the highway (200 miles). Once i had 1500km it went from 15.6L/100km to 12.9.

[shanongw]

Its an automatic. And I guess that does make sense that when it's broken in it will have a little bit better gas mileage.

[sprtplt]

I think taking off slow from stops gets WORSE mileage. You want to get the mass rolling in a higher gear as soon as possible. My unscientific checking bears this out. It does seem to be true that you have to drive like there is an egg under the gas pedal otherwise, for the best hyper-miling. Can't make myself do this in the Camaro but often do in the Silverado.

[jtzako]

If I try to go soft on the pedal to accelerate the car reacts badly. It feels overly sluggish and sometimes bucks a bit in addition to what feels like the AFM kicking on/off.

For most driving I accelerate at a reasonable pace, but I try to keep my distance from other cars so I do not have to Brake as much. That saves me some gas at least.

[EMB135Driver]

Avoid drive-thru food..idling in the drive-thru costs money

Keep tires properly inflated--soft tires=more friction and less fuel economy

Plan 1 trip to run several errands (which allows engine to thermal-cycle 1 time) instead of multiple short trips which take more gas and see you retracing your steps

Avoid traffic---Rush hour sucks down gas

Drive sensibly...as others have said...rapid acceleration drinks down a lot of gas.

[topgun1]

Welcome to the site and congrats on the car!

First rule of Camaro5.com --- the Camaro is not a sports car

As far as MPG, either you go slower off the line up to your desired speed or go faster off the line quicker to your desired speed, it's really awash.

It's like driving a truck with the tailgate down or up, either way with it up it creates a vortex in the bed which produces drag or if you put it down, the air then is sucked under the truck creating a vacuum under the truck. the difference in mpg is neglible.

There are studies out there showing the mpg difference is neglible for both accelerating quickly to highway speed or getting to highway speed slower. If take longer, you are still using gas, you'll theoretically use the same amount of gas as you would if you went faster to that speed in less time. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but seems logical.

[trudawg660]

Originally Posted by shanongw

Ok, I realize this may not be the best of questions considering I am driving a sports car, but it would help if anyone had any advice. My parents recently purchased me a camaro and I was wondering what is the best way to improve my gas mileage? As of this day, I have had the car 2 weeks and I have filled up my gas tank 3 times.

wish i had the mpg of the v6. the price we pay for a bigger engine

[SS4PK]

Ours gets well over 100mpg when it's in the garage, although it seldom sits in the garage, I've learned you just drive what you want and put gas in it, It is "the cost of doing business". Welcome to the site.

[rolnslo]

On average you should be seeing a combined MPG of about 21-23mpg in the V6 auto.

How many miles are you getting per tank of gas?
What are your driving conditions like (stop/go, freeway, city, idling, etc...)?

I know people say that mileage improves as everything breaks in but I'm not so sure that's the case with the V6. I've got 14k+ miles worth of MPG tracking for mine and it's held pretty steady at just over 21mpg combined since day 1.

[jagan323]

Driving speed under 35mph open your windows if its hot out, 35mph+ turn on AC. Don't use AC if you don't need to. I tend to find driving in Sports mode while on the Highway helps... and driving in Drive helps when there are lots of red lights.

[DayDreamer]

The best way to get great gas mileage and still show off your car would be to push it...

When I really want to save gas I avoid the break like the plague, do my best to time lights where they are green, get up 30 min earlier for work so I beat traffic, normal acceleration as opposed to open throttle. That was all the legal stuff. Then there is neutral coasting if you have long stretches of down hill road, or even shutting off the engine if you have down hill roads for a mile or more, but that is extreme... Just drive like you are 70 and you will notice an increase.