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Is 2.5i Outback Under Powered?

49 messages,  Last post on Aug 07, 2007 at 6:00 PM

You are in the Subaru Legacy & Outback Forum.

What is this discussion about? Subaru Outback, Engine, Wagon

Messages Page 5 of 5

#40 of 49 Re: Used Models by jaffee

Aug 07, 2007 (9:33 am)

The trade off with an H6 is that fuel economy isn't as good as an H4.
 
Does anyone know if the PZEV models vary in fuel economy or power from the models that aren't PZEV?

#41 of 49 Re: Used Models [jaffee] by ateixeira

Aug 07, 2007 (10:04 am)

Replying to: jaffee (Aug 07, 2007 9:33 am)
Yes, for those model years I think they gave up something like 3hp. Almost negligable, in fact I doubt you would feel any difference.

#42 of 49 Re: Used Models [ateixeira] by shrinermonkey

Aug 07, 2007 (12:45 pm)

Replying to: ateixeira (Aug 07, 2007 8:23 am)
If the manual recommends a certain octane then use it. You will not only get less power but you will get less mpg so it ends up being a $$ wash. I have never understood people that put cheap gas in a car that needs premium just to save a few bucks a tankful and then end up paying for it latter in worse gas mileage and possibly even gunked up valves.

#43 of 49 Re: Used Models [shrinermonkey] by ateixeira

Aug 07, 2007 (1:37 pm)

Replying to: shrinermonkey (Aug 07, 2007 12:45 pm)
Here in Potomac premium costs about 10% more. I seriously doubt your mileage would drop by 10%. 3%? Sure. 10% no way.

#44 of 49 Re: Used Models [ateixeira] by gsemike

Aug 07, 2007 (2:22 pm)

Replying to: ateixeira (Aug 07, 2007 1:37 pm)
If the 4 cyl requires regular and the 6 cyl requires premium, that will sway me towards the 4.

#45 of 49 Re: Used Models [shrinermonkey] by gearhead4

Aug 07, 2007 (2:25 pm)

Replying to: shrinermonkey (Aug 07, 2007 12:45 pm)
The H6 was designed foer maximum output with high octane fuel, but is very drivable with lower octane fuel. If you need maximum output such as with towing or mountain driving, the extra power is necessary. But, for normal, conservative driving, the difference is minimal. I doubt the gas mileage difference would be detectable.
That said, I would have to agree that saving 20 cents on a gallon of gas amounts top very little savings. 20/300 equals about 7% savings.

#46 of 49 Re: Is 2.5i Outback Under Powered? [hoo320] by gearhead4

Aug 07, 2007 (3:06 pm)

Replying to: hoo320 (Jul 27, 2007 9:30 am)
I don't have any eperience with the Tribute, but the mileage figures you mentioned for the Outback 2.51 (4EAT) matches my experince. I get 21 mpg in the suburbs in winter and 29 mpg in continuous hiway driving. My overall average is about 23.
I also agree with Consumers Union's experince with the 2006 Outback when they rated it as one of the 5 slowest cars they drove last year. I would say my Outback is one of the 5 slowest vehcles I have driven in my 35 years of driving. I blame the automatic tranmission and the electronic throtle control. What is interesting is that the Legacy 2.5i with a manual trans that I owned previously was much faster and more fuel efficient (24 to 31 mpg).
I still like the 2.5i Outback. It is attactive, nimble, confortable and reasonably efficient, but it will never win any acceleration contests.

#47 of 49 Re: Used Models [gsemike] by ateixeira

Aug 07, 2007 (3:39 pm)

Replying to: gsemike (Aug 07, 2007 2:22 pm)
Premium is recommend, but not required.
 
How much more does premium cost around you? Here it's a 24-30 cent difference per gallon.
 
You could just use premium when you knew you were going to haul a lot of weight, such as when towing.

#48 of 49 Premium fuel by shrinermonkey

Aug 07, 2007 (5:16 pm)

Seriously, do what you want but I would not use low octane fuel in a high compression engine like the H6. With low octane you will get pre-detonation and pinging... this causes the computer to retard the spark, reducing the engines efficiency significantly. Constantly changing the fuel grade is going to cause havok with your fuel mappings. Like was said, premium is only about 25 cents more so just suck it up and save your engine some torture.

#49 of 49 Re: Premium fuel [shrinermonkey] by xwesx

Aug 07, 2007 (6:00 pm)

Replying to: shrinermonkey (Aug 07, 2007 5:16 pm)
My '96 2.5L "required" premium, but I never put in anything other than 87 octane up until around 200,000 miles. At that point, I was noticing hesitation/pinging on a regular basis and nothing I did seemed to clear it up. 90 octane (premium around these parts!) eliminated both of those conditions, though gas mileage did not change noticeably. I used it for the last 20,000 miles I owned the car and would certainly still be using it today had the car not met its untimely end.

Messages Page 5 of 5

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