Quote:
Originally Posted by serialk11r
How fast were you going? I averaged around 36mpg in my FR-S. The FA20 goes into closed loop enrichment at very low load, so leaning out the tune helped a lot when going up hills. I set the idle to 600rpm which saved 10% at idle. Then the VVT settings gave me 1mpg at steady state 60-65mph cruise.
The hardest part about getting good mpg was that when I was trying to find parking in SF, I would burn through a crazy amount of fuel because the FA20's efficiency drops like a rock below 2000rpm, and the 2800lb curb weight is much more than my Spyder's 2200lb curb weight. The Spyder managed to get 25-27mpg going between stop signs while the FR-S struggles to do 22.
Nowadays I just have my 2ZZ Spyder as a track toy and I don't drive to work, so I don't care about fuel economy anymore. The stock tune on the 2ZZ is not bad, the AFR is around 12.8 at red line and it runs closed loop stoich whenever you're below 3700rpm or something. It gets around 40mpg on the freeway, which is good enough for the rare occasion it gets to go on the freeway.
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I drove from Susanville to Carlotta on Highway 36. I averaged about 48 mph. Speed limit was mostly 55 mph so that's what I drove if I could. There was a stretch in Lassen County where the speed limit was 65 mph but not for very long. Highway 36 has a lot of switchbacks and some modest grades. It crosses two mountain ranges. Some sections I would accelerate into a wide sweeping turn only to find it sharply turned even more near the end. That went on for about 5 hours.
I did notice the torque drop like a rock below 2000rpm. The Mazda3 had torque from 1300-1400 RPM and would only hit 2000rpm around 65 mph. I got 41 mpg driving the Mazda3 to Susanville. Which is very different than driving it back since I ended at a higher elevation than I started. But I've got some habits from driving the Mazda3 that I need to change and unlearn now that I have the BRZ. I could throw the Mazda3 into a turn and scrub speed, doing that in the BRZ still makes me nervous. The shifter and clutch are vastly different.
I'll get used to it.
So you figured out it was easier to not drive to work?
I have an Uncle that lives in Burlingame and he lives a few blocks from work. I have to drive to go anywhere here. Bus lines are nonexistent except from town to town. I live outside of a village. The biggest downside is still the fact that I either work for the government or grow weeds. I am not going back to retail or factory work. I was fortunate to get a job with the post office but I was applying to the city and state for a job and couldn't get them to call me back except for minimum wage. Post office they promised me a day or two a week and it went from that to 6 days a week. My first full week was 74 hours. Then the holidays I worked 50-60 hours a week helping other carriers. I keep waiting for it to slow down but it's been 5 months already. My only expense besides my failed student loans is my car. So I waste my money on that.