awesome mileage on dirt roads!

This past weekend I just repeated a trip north that included about 110 miles of gravel logging roads. When I first did this trip last August I filled up the tank before and after and calculated my MPG to be 51.1mpg and I assumed there was an error. (car is a 1.0L w/5 spd)

I repeated the run this weekend and was very careful in filling the tank before and after and double checked my calculations and again found 51.1 mpg. I normally average 46 mpg in a mix of city+highway.

These dirt logging roads are widing, hilly roads that are rough, rock strewn and pothole riddled and involve lots of shifting of gears , swerving, etc. Normal driving speed on these roads is around 25-35MPH in third or fourth gear. I really expected my fuel econmy to nosedive under these conditions, but I guess the little Metro loves driving through the woods!

I can only assume that the economy is a function of the slow speed - but it was quite surprising!

Ren

This is not all that surprising to me. Good gas miliage is a result of driving that is careful to provide gentle acceleration and minimal breaking. Keeping the RPMs low relative to speed is very helpful. We tend to drive more gently and carefully on unpaved roads so improved miliage is not a surprise. I get my best miliage just cruising along at 55 mph in the highest gear.

Yup, gentle acceleration is the key. Using my ScanGuage I've come to realize just how light of a foot one needs to keep on the accelerator to avoid too high of a TPS (throttle position sensor) value, especially when starting from a full stop. Stay out of it and let those in a hurry use the passing lane (or pull over and let them race to the next filling station).