Hyundai Azera Real World MPG

Replying to: snaglepus (May 09, 2008 6:51 am)

Replying to: joezera (May 08, 2008 3:04 pm)

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• hjc1 (May 28, 2008 8:54 am)
  • wamba2000 (May 28, 2008 2:24 pm)
• cobrazera (May 29, 2008 2:15 am)
  • snaglepus (May 29, 2008 6:02 am)
    • joezera (Jun 14, 2008 3:06 pm) and 2 more...

Replying to: wamba2000 (May 28, 2008 6:21 am)

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• wamba2000 (May 28, 2008 2:24 pm)

Replying to: hjc1 (May 28, 2008 8:54 am)

Our car is an '07 Azera Limited, 3.8L V6, Prremium package. We made a trip a couple of weeks ago to/from the Texarkana area. I reset the trip mileage setting before we left. On the trip we obtained 29.2 mpg with the cruise control on driving 55 and 60 mph. That was the average developed during the round trip. I had changed the oil and filter the first time at 3K miles before we left. We now have about 4500 miles since we returned with our usual shopping and school trips etc. The average has dropped down to 28.0 on the computer.
 
In addition to changing the oil filter, I had also put in a K&N air filter. They are supposed to breathe easier and provide slight power and economy improvement (I am not expecting miracles). We are quite pleased with the car's performance.
 
Yesterday I had to punch it to get out of the way of some fast approaching traffic. Wow!! This car really has get up and go!
 
Happy Motoring.

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• gamleged (Jun 16, 2008 8:12 am)
  • carolinabob (Jun 16, 2008 1:01 pm)
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Replying to: wamba2000 (May 28, 2008 6:21 am)

Replies to this message:
• snaglepus (May 29, 2008 6:02 am)
  • joezera (Jun 14, 2008 3:06 pm)
    • snaglepus (Jun 14, 2008 5:01 pm) and 1 more...

Replying to: cobrazera (May 29, 2008 2:15 am)

"A more open throttle in a higher gear, i.e., staying in 5th rather than downshifting, should return better fuel economy. I won't get into the science of it, but it should be so."
 

 
Perhaps it "should return better fuel economy" but that is not so. The computer either downshifts or unlocks the T/C because it "knows" it is better for fuel economy for the motor to be under a reduced load and rev a little higher than to be under an increased low and revving less.
How do I know? Some cars have a computer that will give you an immediate fuel economy reading at any instant, whereas the Azera does not have such a feature.
With those vehicles that do have that "instant fuel consumption feature" you can see what the F/E is at any speed as when under an increased load.
With my daughters 2002 6.0L Escalade, when on a grade under load, with the T/C locked up and still in overdrive, F/E would drop to as low as 7 or 8 mpg. If F/E got any lower than that, the computer would cause the transmission to either unlock the T/C or command a downshift to third speed or direct drive. This would lessen the "load" and the F/E readings would rise even though the motor was turning faster.
 
Interestingly, when running regular, this would occur on every grade, but when I used straight premium, this did not happen! Why? Someone wrote somewhere that when using the lower octane fuel, the motor produced less horsepower due to the computer and the "knock" sensor "hearing" the engine ping and adjusting the ignition timing lower causing as much as a thirty horsepower reduction in power. Reduced ignition timing caused less power and caused poorer F/E and the computer "figured" downshifting the tranny and letting it rev would improve both the power and the F/E. I test drove that vehicle 5000 miles during our annual summer trip and discovered why Cadillac recommends premium fuel. Some tank fuel economy averages were as high as 19 mpg compared to 14 or 15 mpg when running regular and using the cruise control at all times.
 
Needless to say that with premium fuel way over $4.35 per gallon, I will not be borrowing her Caddy for making that same 5K mile jaunt to my camp on the WPG river at least for this summer.
 

Replies to this message:
• joezera (Jun 14, 2008 3:06 pm)
  • snaglepus (Jun 14, 2008 5:01 pm)
    • joezera (Jun 15, 2008 8:09 am)

Replying to: snaglepus (May 29, 2008 6:02 am)

I recently visited http://ecomodder.com/ for tips on hypermiling. They mention an item called ScanGauge which just plugs into the OBD2 connector under the dash and shows continuous miles per gallon. That way you can tell instantly how what you are doing is impacting the fuel economy. The website also discusses a "home brew" kit project for older vehicles. I looked at that as a possibility, but way too much complexity for me to consider doing that. The ScanGauge is by far the easiest for the average person.
 
I started using the "Drive with Load" technique for up and down hills on our last trip to/from Sherman, TX. I managed to pick up another tenth of a mpg. by doing that instead of using the cruise control.
 
We regularly use a Wal-Mat shopping card to buy gas at Murphy when in town. We put money on the card with a Discover card that gives us 1% back, so all together we can save about 7 cents per gallon at the Murphy station. I figured that in a year's time it will save us about 1/2 to 3/4 of a month's expense on gasoline.
 
Our average mpg is now at 27.3 with a little over 5K miles on the car now. Average roads here are farm-to-market asphalt with some flat and some rolling hills. We usually drive 50-60 mph.
 
Good luck to all!
 
Joe

Replies to this message:
• snaglepus (Jun 14, 2008 5:01 pm)
  • joezera (Jun 15, 2008 8:09 am)

Replying to: joezera (Jun 14, 2008 3:06 pm)

 
So you bought and are using ScanGauge? I thought about one of those but cannot afford one at this time.
 
Have you tried using second gear starts and making the tranny upshift as early as possible,
and also allowing the T/C to engage as early as possible in fourth and fifth?
I am wondering if this helps or hinders F E ?
 
In other words, is it better to let it does its own thing or try and control the transmission yourself?
 

Replies to this message:
• joezera (Jun 15, 2008 8:09 am)