disjoint thoughts

After a couple years of owning my car I finally decided to see what kind of gas mileage I am getting. I always assumed it was somewhere in the mid to low 20 miles per gallon. Not only did I want to see what mileage I normally get, but I wanted to see how much driving style really effects fuel consumption. How much am I really wasting when my lead foot comes into play?

First off I drive a 2005 Subaru Impreza WRX. The only modifications I’ve made to it that could effect the gas mileage are a Cobb AccessPORT Stage 1 California ECU reflash, and a SPT Axle-back exhaust. The reflash may or may not make my gas mileage better, it should cause the car to use more fuel but at the same time make more horse power. The exhaust could add a slight benefit to the mileage, but nothing substantial as it is only axle-back.

So last week I filled up my tank and off I went, slowly, very slowly. All of last week I tried my best to keep my foot from stomping on the pedal. Matter of fact, most of the time I would only depress the gas pedal down 10-20% of the way. It took some serious concentration to keep this driving up.

After driving like this for the better part of a week, I gave in a filled my tank again. After 193.8 miles (probably 60-70% city driving) my gas mileage was 26.2 miles per gallon. Not too shabby. I was hoping for a little better, but at least that gives me a baseline from which I can do more experimenting.

This week I’m driving without worrying about letting my foot hit the floor. I’ll post the results of my aggressive driving in the next couple of days.