MPG Run--1995 Aspire SE

[TominMO]

Just bought this white 95 Aspire SE, 5-speed, so decided to take it on a mileage run.

Installed new tires. The stockers were all practically bald, and cheapos to boot; the PO wasn't really a car guy--just went with cheap stuff; which you NEVER want to do with tires, or for that matter brake pads. Which I also had to replace.

MODS
The tires are 185/70x13 Kumho Solus, a good quality all-season tire with an 85K mile tread warranty, which I put on Casper's original 13x5.5" aluminum rims. Looks a little balloony, but rides great. This is a DD for me along with Blue (which I might sell now). The original tires were 165/70x13. The diameter difference is 5% taller for the new tires, so that much less engine RPMs on the hwy; about 140 RPM less. So effectively the final drive was more like a Festy trans. The only other mod was a much nicer shift knob from a late-90s Escort; cheap at a JY, fills your hand better, and screws right on to Festy and Aspire shafts.

Drove my usual loop around St. Louis, at 60 MPH, which after odometer correction came out to 85.4 miles. Windows up, A/C off, radio on. Refilled the gas tank to the brim with 1.77 gallons for a MPG figure of 48.24. Not too shabby, methinks.

The Aspire appears way more aerodynamic than a Festy, but weighs about one mother-in-law more. My best mileage to date on the Festy at 60 MPH was 52.1, about 8% better than the Aspire. But the Aspire is quieter, more solid feeling, has more creature comforts, airbags, and a bigger trunk.

For my next and probably last run with the Aspire, I will change to a 45,000-volt coil, gap the plugs 10% larger and index them. Tmw I will do an MPG run with Casper.

[eurotiva]

^ nice info there Tom. Keep 'em coming. I would like to see you test alot of cars.....

[TominMO]

This morning I was watching Motorweek on the Speed channel. They were testing combined mileage on the Prius, Insight, Jetta TDI, Audi TDI, and Smart for2. The Prius won easily with 49.2 MPG combined city/hwy. About what I would expect from a good-running Festy. The Prius might win by a small amount, 1 or 2 MPG compared to a Festy, but it costs TWENTY-NINE THOUSAND DOLLARS!!! The cheapest car, the Smart, got 36 combined and cost about $13,000.

Pfft.

[Britstiva]

I've got an Aspire too but I've never seen mileage like that before! Mine is a 5 speed.... if I keep the rpm's low between changes, don't use AC, and keep it at 55-60 mph, I can squeeze out 41mpg.

Are you doing anything special?

[TominMO]

I've got an Aspire too but I've never seen mileage like that before! Mine is a 5 speed.... if I keep the rpm's low between changes, don't use AC, and keep it at 55-60 mph, I can squeeze out 41mpg.

Are you doing anything special?

I just bought the car last weekend. All I've done is put on new, taller tires for a 5% gearing change. 30 PSI cold in the tires. I didn't do a test with the stock tires for comparison, sorry. I drove consistently at 60-61 MPH, as much as possible. For the hwy, 41 sounds a little low, but maybe (1) your speed is not as consistent as mine when I am testing; (2) the gearing change from the larger tires matters a lot.

[TominMO]

Correction prease...honorable distributor not have external coil wire, so no way to use high-voltage coil on esteemed Aspire. So sorry for error.

[neanderpaul]

The smaller the amount of gas you burn / fewer miles you drive, the greater the margin for error is. The variation in fill up amount is a greater percentage of 2 gallons as opposed to 8 gallons. 49 is really good for a festy. It's rare if not unheard of on an aspire.

[TominMO]

The smaller the amount of gas you burn / fewer miles you drive, the greater the margin for error is. The variation in fill up amount is a greater percentage of 2 gallons as opposed to 8 gallons. 49 is really good for a festy. It's rare if not unheard of on an aspire.

Actually I fill up to the very brim, even spilling some if necessary to get it full, so I'm satisfied with the accuracy. 49 is good, but I've gotten 52.1 MPG @ 60 MPH with my Festy, 58.5 @ 55, 62.5 @ 45. You can see a consistent trend here regarding speed, which help support the methodology used.

Part of it is consistency--fuel is wasted if you slow down and then have to speed up; and I try to speed up downhill only, if needed. Uphill acceleration wastes even more fuel. Also state of tune, tire pressure, drag, wind (which is why I travel in a large circle). But I think the single biggest factor is the right foot.

[neanderpaul]

Fill it up to the brim, then shake the car. Air escapes, you can add more. I've been known to do that 4 or 5 times. That is the variable. And my point is that that quart or two makes a much bigger difference to two gallons than it does to eight.

[TominMO]

Fill it up to the brim, then shake the car. Air escapes, you can add more. I've been known to do that 4 or 5 times. That is the variable. And my point is that that quart or two makes a much bigger difference to two gallons than it does to eight.

Obviously.

[neanderpaul]

So you shake it and top it the same every time?

[TominMO]

Yup.

[TominMO]

Also, where I get my gas the ground slopes away from the pump, lessening the chance that there will be an air pocket in the tank. Smart of them to do that; more gas gets pumped that way.

[Banana Bonanza]

The Aspire appears way more aerodynamic than a Festy, but weighs about one mother-in-law more.

So the Aspire weighs about 1900-2000#? My first generation Rabbit was about that weight if I remember correctly.

I was curious, the successor to the Aspire is first generation Kia Rio designed before Hyundai took over. It apparently got really chunky at like 2400+ pound. I wondered why fuel economy really took a hit when Rio came out.

What is it that car manufacturers want to keep adding weight and bigger engine to an economy car model over the years?

Then again I dont understand marketing. I think more from an engineers perspective. How can weak points be improved. How can longevity be improved without great cost increase. How can fuel economy be improved without affecting drivability. Not how can we extract more money from more people more frequently.

[neanderpaul]

Increasingly strict safety regulations make them heavier.