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Vans & Minivans Mazda Mazda5 Mazda5 Owners MPG-Real World Numbers
378 messages, Last post on Nov 23, 2009 at 1:42 PM
You are in the Mazda Mazda5 Forum. Your Host is Karens
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Replying to: sbsteggs (Feb 20, 2009 8:18 pm) Every time the brakes are applied, the gas mileage goes down -- as kinetic energy is turned to heat, and wasted. For fun, spend a few hours driving the speed limit, with the cruise control engaged, on relatively flat interstate (brakes not required to maintain speed), when there is little wind, with only one exit (to turn around). Top the vehicle off before and after a couple hundred miles. If your mileage isn't in the 32-35mpg range, I'd be surprised. Doing so would at least prove that there is nothing wrong with the car. If that is the case, your 20 mpg numbers can be accurately attributed to driving style and/or conditions. FWIW, my front tires are at 42 psi, and the back ones are at 40 psi. Also, the engine spins slightly faster, in 5th, on a manual transmission than it does with the 5 speed automatic. From reported numbers, the 5 speed automatic may actually get a little better gas mileage.
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Replying to: sbsteggs (Feb 20, 2009 4:11 pm) |
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Replying to: sbsteggs (Feb 20, 2009 4:11 pm) For me personally I tend to forget and tend to have fun driving.  If you want to improve this kind of driving the old adage is to imagine a raw egg between your foot and the gas peddle.
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Replying to: athenasius (Feb 21, 2009 3:06 pm)
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Replying to: 5_more (Feb 21, 2009 5:44 pm)
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Replying to: sbsteggs (Feb 21, 2009 7:13 pm) The highway test will determine if there is a problem with the 5. What did you get for mpg on your previous vehicle, just before getting the 5? What percentage of that vehicle's EPA rating was that? Other factors... snow tires luggage rack (at least at highway speeds) altitude ?? |
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Replying to: 5_more (Feb 21, 2009 7:11 am) How does letting off the gas and pressing the brake reduce MPG? You could put the car in neutral and slam on the brakes or put the car in neutral and coast to a stop and the amount of gas used would be the same. Now what will use more gas is quick accelaration from traffic lights and stop signs. How you use the gas pedal, not the brake pedal is what will affect your MPG. Also, using defrost in really cold weather won't engage the AC compressor. |
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Replying to: bobw3 (Feb 22, 2009 10:18 am) E=0.5mv^2 Stopping a Mazda 5 from 60mph requires doing something with about 588kJ of energy. There are four options. 1) turn it all in to heat with the brakes 2) coast out, loosing the energy to wind drag and rolling friction, but gaining distance 3) store it somewhere, such as rolling up a hill until you stop 4) some combination of the above Assuming you eventually park in the same spot you started from, the only source for the 588kJ is the fuel in the tank. 588kJ is approximately the amount of energy in 0.6 oz. of E10 gasoline. Combustion engines are not that efficient, so in reality, it would take more than an ounce of fuel to replace than energy. If you chose to coast to a stop, in neutral, with the engine off, you'd have gained all of that distance for free versus the braking option. The store-it option is what a hybrid does, only instead of rolling up a hill, a battery is used. Well, actually, a battery, a pressure tank, or a flywheel is used depending on the type of hybrid. The stored energy is then spent to accelerate when the driver decides to go again. You could put the car in neutral and slam on the brakes or put the car in neutral and coast to a stop and the amount of gas used would be the same. Miles Per Gallon... In your example, you would indeed use roughly the same amount of gas. The difference is in the distance that you're getting for that gas -- gas that you already spent to achieve the speed you were traveling at. In the braking case, it a little over a hundred feet. In the coasting case, its well over a thousand feet further -- for free. Do that a few times, and you picked-up an additional mile for no added cost. The same concept works at any speed. It all adds up. The closer you can get to coasting out on every stop, the higher you gas mileage will be.
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Replying to: bobw3 (Feb 22, 2009 10:18 am) Both matter -- and the brake pedal far more than most people appreciate.
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Replying to: 5_more (Feb 22, 2009 6:21 pm) I have a new 2009 mazda 5 sport auto trans. and I am getting overall approx. 25pmg (5 tankfuls so far). I live in northern ky and when I use the auto defrost the a/c always kicks in, so I turn it off (and it does get very cold here at times) so I have mentioned to my wife not to use the auto climate control whatsoever in the winter. Now the brakes were a bit touchy for my wife and I, but we adjusted as everyone does. I can't help but think if one gets 20mpg on the M5 then your probably safe to say that in the Sedona one would be averaging 3-4 mpg less as well? At any rate I would like to hear what comes about with this mystery...
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