Official Subaru Gas Mileage Thread
Registered User
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 130
From: san jose
Car Info: 06 sgm obs
I noticed this thread is missing any mention about reformulated gas. In some states, the gas is reformulated for lowering emmisions. The reformulation may involve using MTBE, ethanol or other additives. These additives don't contribute much power when burned and so the gasoline's power is effectively diluted. I see a 10% improvement in my mpg when changing from CA gas to either oregon or nevada gas.
Here is a map to show where reformulated gas is used:
http://www.eia.doe.gov/oil_gas/petro...lated_map.html
I average 25-26 mpg on my stock OBS for mostly highway commute.
Here is a map to show where reformulated gas is used:
http://www.eia.doe.gov/oil_gas/petro...lated_map.html
I average 25-26 mpg on my stock OBS for mostly highway commute.
Registered User
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 1
From: Las Vegas
Car Info: 2000 2.5RS
Year/Model: 2000 2.5RS
Mods: Custom Intake, Borla Headers, custom (no cat) exhaust, Stromung muffler
Octane used: 91 (seems to run better than 87)
Mostly City or highway driving?: 90% HWY
Calculated fuel economy: 27.263mpg for 333mi
Last paid: $3.32
Mods: Custom Intake, Borla Headers, custom (no cat) exhaust, Stromung muffler
Octane used: 91 (seems to run better than 87)
Mostly City or highway driving?: 90% HWY
Calculated fuel economy: 27.263mpg for 333mi
Last paid: $3.32
Registered User
iTrader: (7)
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 10,029
From: Sacramento CA
Car Info: 02 Impreza WRX sedan
Year/Model: 2002 WRX
Mods: Vishnu catless uppipe, Vishnu underdriven lightweight front pulley, intercooler hose kit, and Stage Zero reflash. 3" catback, factory downpipe and two factory cats. Factory air intake box, unmodified, and OEM paper filter element. Mobil 1 5W-30 motor oil, Red Line Lightweight ShockProof for 5MT and rear diff, tires inflated to 39 lbs. front, 36 lbs. rear. Stock ride height.
Octane used: ~93 Octane (12.4 gallons 76 Unleaded Premium, 3.55 gallons Sunoco 100 Unleaded Race gas).
Mostly City or highway driving?: Highway, less than 20 miles of city driving.
Calculated fuel economy: Round trip Sacramento CA to San Ramon CA. 233.8 miles travelled using 6.952 gallons = 33.631 miles per gallon. The dash gauge pointer had not yet reached the half-empty mark at 233 miles on the trip meter and I estimate I could have hit over 250 miles travelled at the half-tank line.
A new personal best, with 77,000+ miles on the original engine.
How can a WRX with no special fuel economy tuning achieve numbers like this, you ask? I plan my trips to correspond with less traffic on the road. Not so I can go faster, but so I can go slower!. Obviously, I was in no hurry, LOL.
Speed limit on most of I-5 along my route is 70 mph, but on the way to my destination I set my cruise control to 60 mph and stayed in the far right lane. On the return trip, I soon came upon a big rig that was travelling at a consistent 55 mph so I fell in about 3 seconds' distance behind him and set my cruise control to match his speed. Also, air-conditioning was used during the entire return trip. The entire round trip had relatively light traffic this weekend so I was not impeding them much at all in the slow lane. If the traffic had been heavier, I would have increased speed to match the traffic in the slow lane, so as not to create a slow-moving hazard.
Mods: Vishnu catless uppipe, Vishnu underdriven lightweight front pulley, intercooler hose kit, and Stage Zero reflash. 3" catback, factory downpipe and two factory cats. Factory air intake box, unmodified, and OEM paper filter element. Mobil 1 5W-30 motor oil, Red Line Lightweight ShockProof for 5MT and rear diff, tires inflated to 39 lbs. front, 36 lbs. rear. Stock ride height.
Octane used: ~93 Octane (12.4 gallons 76 Unleaded Premium, 3.55 gallons Sunoco 100 Unleaded Race gas).
Mostly City or highway driving?: Highway, less than 20 miles of city driving.
Calculated fuel economy: Round trip Sacramento CA to San Ramon CA. 233.8 miles travelled using 6.952 gallons = 33.631 miles per gallon. The dash gauge pointer had not yet reached the half-empty mark at 233 miles on the trip meter and I estimate I could have hit over 250 miles travelled at the half-tank line.
A new personal best, with 77,000+ miles on the original engine.
How can a WRX with no special fuel economy tuning achieve numbers like this, you ask? I plan my trips to correspond with less traffic on the road. Not so I can go faster, but so I can go slower!. Obviously, I was in no hurry, LOL.
Speed limit on most of I-5 along my route is 70 mph, but on the way to my destination I set my cruise control to 60 mph and stayed in the far right lane. On the return trip, I soon came upon a big rig that was travelling at a consistent 55 mph so I fell in about 3 seconds' distance behind him and set my cruise control to match his speed. Also, air-conditioning was used during the entire return trip. The entire round trip had relatively light traffic this weekend so I was not impeding them much at all in the slow lane. If the traffic had been heavier, I would have increased speed to match the traffic in the slow lane, so as not to create a slow-moving hazard.
Registered User
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 11
From: LI, NY
Car Info: 90 16vT , 97 VR, 07 WRX
Year/Model/Tranny:2007 WRX 5 Speed Manual
Mods Affecting Mileage:None
Octane:93
Mileage:26.5 MPG
This is 180 miles on the car. Filled up when it was at around half , this is mostly highway but w/ me speeding up and slowing down alot in both 4th/5th to vary the rpms since it was a 240mi drive home from MD to NY
Mods Affecting Mileage:None
Octane:93
Mileage:26.5 MPG
This is 180 miles on the car. Filled up when it was at around half , this is mostly highway but w/ me speeding up and slowing down alot in both 4th/5th to vary the rpms since it was a 240mi drive home from MD to NY
Saw this thread hadn't seen any love for awhile so......
Year/Make/Trans: 2005 WRX with 5spd MT
Mods: 3" SR*S Catback Exhaust and airbox resonator tank cut off.
Octane rating used: 91
City or Highway?: Mixed
Estimated Milage: Worst was 18 cuz I just got the car and was having a little too much fun with it
but average is 21-24 mpg with mixed highway/street and stop and go traffic. I usually try to keep my rpm's at shifts/highway speed just under 3,000rpm and surface street cruising around or under 2500 rpm and keep my shifts quick and throttle input smooth (its hard to harness the urge to romp on it once in a while though, so I probably knock off 10 to 20 miles per tank with a few pulls too, lolz). I usually get around 180 miles at the 1/2 tank mark and around 300 miles when the low fuel light comes on.
Year/Make/Trans: 2005 WRX with 5spd MT
Mods: 3" SR*S Catback Exhaust and airbox resonator tank cut off.
Octane rating used: 91
City or Highway?: Mixed
Estimated Milage: Worst was 18 cuz I just got the car and was having a little too much fun with it
but average is 21-24 mpg with mixed highway/street and stop and go traffic. I usually try to keep my rpm's at shifts/highway speed just under 3,000rpm and surface street cruising around or under 2500 rpm and keep my shifts quick and throttle input smooth (its hard to harness the urge to romp on it once in a while though, so I probably knock off 10 to 20 miles per tank with a few pulls too, lolz). I usually get around 180 miles at the 1/2 tank mark and around 300 miles when the low fuel light comes on.
Registered User
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 230
From: Palo Alto,CA
Car Info: 2004 STi,sold.
How in the world are you getting almost 22 mpg with an STI???? I just bought an 06 Forester XT (turbo) and am HORRIFIED by the gas mileage! I mainly do only city driving, but the mileage is always around 13 mpg!! I researched the heck out of this car before buying it and everyone on the message boards I saw said it usually gets around 18-20 in the city, except for one guy who said his got around 12. I thought he probably wasn't calculating it correctly and wrote him off. Now, I'm in the same boat! I only get around 200 miles on a tank of 91 octane California gas. I've only had the car since the end of March. Weather is not an mileage issue.
Also, even when I'm driving on a cold night, the driver's leg/foot area gets inordinately hot. When I touch that side of the console (where the radio is mounted, etc.), it's burning up. The passenger side of the console is much cooler. Anyone else experiencing this? The dealership is gonna think I'm nuts when I bring it in this week. The car only has 1400 miles on it.
And, no one ever mentions how damn HOT these cars get just from sitting in the sun! OMG! The thing is like a Swedish sauna, even with the reflective shade I always put in the windshield. I've never had such a hot car before. I'm gonna have it tinted as dark as a limo this month because I just can't stand it! You'd think the car was black, but it's not. The car's a dark silver.
Gotta say, however, that the thing is just a BLAST to drive. LOVE the car! Best car I've ever driven (and I've had a Porsche and BMW!). It's just hotter than heck and gets really lousy gas mileage (which sucks because the reason I bought the thing was to get better mileage than my regular, truck-based SUV, which gets 10 mpg).
I'm gonna check the air in my tires this week, but I'm assuming that the dealership inflated them to the proper numbers. Any other suggestions? I even removed the roof racks hoping that would help! Will the window tinting help?
Regards,
Samantha
Also, even when I'm driving on a cold night, the driver's leg/foot area gets inordinately hot. When I touch that side of the console (where the radio is mounted, etc.), it's burning up. The passenger side of the console is much cooler. Anyone else experiencing this? The dealership is gonna think I'm nuts when I bring it in this week. The car only has 1400 miles on it.
And, no one ever mentions how damn HOT these cars get just from sitting in the sun! OMG! The thing is like a Swedish sauna, even with the reflective shade I always put in the windshield. I've never had such a hot car before. I'm gonna have it tinted as dark as a limo this month because I just can't stand it! You'd think the car was black, but it's not. The car's a dark silver.
Gotta say, however, that the thing is just a BLAST to drive. LOVE the car! Best car I've ever driven (and I've had a Porsche and BMW!). It's just hotter than heck and gets really lousy gas mileage (which sucks because the reason I bought the thing was to get better mileage than my regular, truck-based SUV, which gets 10 mpg).
I'm gonna check the air in my tires this week, but I'm assuming that the dealership inflated them to the proper numbers. Any other suggestions? I even removed the roof racks hoping that would help! Will the window tinting help?
Regards,
Samantha
Last edited by walt; Mar 11, 2008 at 02:00 PM.
Registered User
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 230
From: Palo Alto,CA
Car Info: 2004 STi,sold.
I noticed this thread is missing any mention about reformulated gas. In some states, the gas is reformulated for lowering emmisions. The reformulation may involve using MTBE, ethanol or other additives. These additives don't contribute much power when burned and so the gasoline's power is effectively diluted. I see a 10% improvement in my mpg when changing from CA gas to either oregon or nevada gas.
Here is a map to show where reformulated gas is used:
http://www.eia.doe.gov/oil_gas/petro...lated_map.html
I average 25-26 mpg on my stock OBS for mostly highway commute.
Here is a map to show where reformulated gas is used:
http://www.eia.doe.gov/oil_gas/petro...lated_map.html
I average 25-26 mpg on my stock OBS for mostly highway commute.
Registered User
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 30
From: Vacaville
Car Info: 04 STi 07 STi and soon 08 STi
My wife and I both have an STi mine is a 2004 and hers a 2007, on our trip to california we got 35MPG and in city we get about 22 highway was about 26-28 we use shell/chevron 91 octane last paid 3.79/gallon 2004 has: intake, cusco race clutch with light flywheel, TBE (no cats), pulleys, and reflash.
2007 has Catless TBE, intake, cobb stage 2 91 octane map.
2007 has Catless TBE, intake, cobb stage 2 91 octane map.
Registered User
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 19
From: Burbank, California
Car Info: 08 WRX WRB
Year/Model/Tranny:2008 WRX Hatch 5 Speed Manual
Mods Affecting Mileage:None
Octane:91 : 76 Gas Station
Mileage: Reading says 19.3 mpg
Mostly City or highway driving?: 90% City Driving 10% High Way
I just got the car two weeks ago and I'm on my first fill up. Still breaking the car in so my revs are between 3k and 3.5k rpm
A couple hard pulls to 3.5k just to make sure the car is working properly.
I drive 4 miles to work, 4 miles back home and 10 miles on the weekend to visit the girlfriend and 10 miles back home FRI-SAT-SUN
Mods Affecting Mileage:None
Octane:91 : 76 Gas Station
Mileage: Reading says 19.3 mpg
Mostly City or highway driving?: 90% City Driving 10% High Way
I just got the car two weeks ago and I'm on my first fill up. Still breaking the car in so my revs are between 3k and 3.5k rpm
A couple hard pulls to 3.5k just to make sure the car is working properly.
I drive 4 miles to work, 4 miles back home and 10 miles on the weekend to visit the girlfriend and 10 miles back home FRI-SAT-SUN
Registered User
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 22
From: california
Car Info: 05 sti aspen white
Year/Model/Tranny: 2005 sti 6spd
Mods Affecting Mileage: intake exhaust custom tune
Octane:91 : shell
Mileage: Reading says 19
Mostly City or highway driving both
Mods Affecting Mileage: intake exhaust custom tune
Octane:91 : shell
Mileage: Reading says 19
Mostly City or highway driving both
Last edited by kali dipper; Jun 13, 2008 at 05:24 PM.
Churro Aficionado
iTrader: (38)
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 54,661
From: IG - @thomas.teammoist
Car Info: IG - @TEAMMOISTOFFICIAL
Year/Model: 02 wrx
Octane used: CA 91
Milage: 21.4
Price paid: $4.67
Miles on that tankful: 300 miles
Driving Condition : freeway/city
Mods : turboback, AP, protune
Octane used: CA 91
Milage: 21.4
Price paid: $4.67
Miles on that tankful: 300 miles
Driving Condition : freeway/city
Mods : turboback, AP, protune