Miata MPGs? Or how to be a cheap bastard on my commute?

Yeah I mean if I could pocket 300 for sure, what I meant is whatever I change won't make a 300 dollar difference it will be some smaller portion of that.

That is actually why the volt is interesting. Since if its true the 2016 Volt was shooting for a 10k lower price point 25k vs 35k + 1500 california rebate + 7500 federal tax credit + montero value (lets say 6k being pessimistic) could make it a decent value. IF the new volt is that much lower sticker price new it will immediately make all the current 2014/2015 models on dealers drop in value I would assume to be cheaper than the new model so could be even better deals out there if you can still find them "new" and get the tax credits

BoxheadTim wrote: IME - mind you, I've only owned four Miatas so far - you'll be hard pressed to get much more than 28mpg out of a Miata. Maybe 30 if you're really lucky. Doesn't matter if it has a hardtop or not. They're just not very good on fuel for their size.

I got 34 MPG out of Timo's 4th miata. 100% freeway road trip though. It averages 27 MPG on back road commuting driven "spiritedly".

I'd keep the montero and just DD the miata whenever possible. I've got atleast -2 camber all around on mine for autocross and I recently changed out the suspension for bits that make it sit lower ( also helping gas mileage? lol ) so I'm betting its close to -3 now. A second set of wheels off craigslist with decent tires souldn't cost too much and that will save your autocross tires. Then you still have the montero for weekend family trips but are benifiting from a cheaper gas bill.

On my car I've replaced almost everything but I've never touched the o2 sensor. If I recall correctly I was getting low 20s when I first got the car 2 years and about 20K ago. The only thing that could have changed is my driving style.

And lol, I drive from escondido to mira mesa

Jaynen wrote: The closest thing to a replacement for the montero I have been considering atm is actually a volt because then I can almost eliminate using gas and can use carpool lane.

That's the road I took. I kept the fun but not so great MPG sports car for fun weekend driving and using the Volt as a DD. My monthly gas bill was higher than yours so it nets out for me cost wise but I saved 1 hour a day in daily commute by being able to use the HOV lane.

I am also going to double check the tire pressure on the montero and make sure its pumped to the max. I am buying 15x9s for autoX so the daisies can keep tires for commuting

I know most of you will probably disagree with this suggestion. Slow down, when I commuted I would drive 5 mph under the speed limit when it could be done safely. With my 92 Miata 34-36 MPG was common. My 09 Mazda 3 w/2.3 returned similar numbers depending on temperature. This was mostly highway driving at 60 mph. just sayin

As an add on to my last post:

The maximum speed limit was 55 mph when the NA and NB Miatas were designed and marketed. I am sure the engineers designed for that speed to assist in meeting CAFE standards for the entire Mazda fleet.

The national 55 mph limit was dropped partway in 1987, and completely in 1995. So that theory certainly doesn't apply to the NB. The Miata has always been such a small part of Mazda's sales that it wouldn't make a big difference in making a company-wide CAFE target (especially for a company that has a disproportionate number of small, efficient vehicles), so I doubt that was a design factor. Interestingly, the gearing of the NB is shorter than that of the NA 1.8.

I suspect you're noticing a bigger difference from two things: decreased aerodynamic drag at the lower speed, and being slower than most traffic you won't have to alter your speed for anything.

Not to mention that they sold them outside the US with the same gearing and gearboxes, even to places with no speed limits.

It's flat out not safe to drive under the speed limit around here