Potential new owner...how bad is the MPG?

[91C02920]

Hi all, I'm looking at Caprice, and just wanted to hear what the real world mpg for them are. This would have to server as a daily driver for my 60 mile round trip, mostly highway commute. I'm reading 24 mpg with 2.92 gears? Boy that seems low, but the car does weigh near 4.3k lbs of course.
Any hope of getting 27-28 out of it?

[leadfart]

Real world is low twenty's, sorry. AFM helps, but my blower car, without AFM, gets almost as good, as it did NA. If you need 25-30, this ain't the car!

[91C02920]

but...mostly...highway...

lol

How about using 87 octane? Does that kill performance?

I have a 98 Firebird and only put super in it, and it gets about that 23mpg on the round trip to work. Using 87 might make it hurt a little less.

[Pursuit]

I saw 23-24 mpg with the 2.92 gears at 75 mph with the AFM active. I switched to a 3.45 gear and it dropped to 21-22 at 72 mph. That is with the AFM active. Without AFM I see 18-19 mpg.
But, I didn't buy the car for miles per gallon. It IS tough to measure smiles per gallon....

And, welcome to the group!

Regards,

Maurice

[Gerome]

This is definitely not the car if you are wanting great mpg's . For its size , weight and engine size it gets great mpg .

[Raunchtastic]

My foot must be heavier than most... I try to use strictly e85, and get close to 13.5 MPG. Almost exclusively city driving. When using 87 I get about 14.5-15mpg

[9C1fanatic]

I average 18.5-19.5 MPG mixed city highway driving. Long trips depend greatly on speed it seems. I've pulled over 26-27 driving 70 or slower across the flat gulf states but drops to 23-24 around 75 MPH and 20-21 if driving 80-85.

For now I have stock tune and will always keep stock gear.

[xcidmigs]

I've consistently gotten 23mpg on any road trip longer than 100 miles with speed average in the mid 70's... Driving any slower isn't really an option out here in the east coast with the road rage factor.... If you are trying to use better than 87 octane gas to get better mpg you have to get the engine retuned it should be giving you the best results on the factory tune with the 87 its designed for.

[storm9c1]

I agree with everyone else. Mixed city driving in southwestern PA is brutal, I get 15MPG on 87 octane. Unlike other cars in my collection, if I use 91+, I get little or no MPG gain. On the other hand, e85 is atrocious, I won't even use it unless it's ridiculously cheap. Highway mileage is decent if you keep it slow and use hyper-mile techniques (keep it in 4cyl mode, etc.). All of my cars are V8 powered and my 2011 Caprice gets the best mileage out of the bunch on long trips. Road rage doesn't bother me, people can pass me if I'm in no hurry. I have seen upwards of 30 MPG if I keep my speed in the butter zone (65MPH) and feather it up hills. Anything above 70MPH and it drops off like a rock. It's just addicting hearing that L77 roar to life sometimes...

Nobody owns a V8 car for MPG. If you want economy plus torque, buy a VW diesel car. Oh wait... you can't anymore.

[Navy Lifer]

study the C7 Corvette for some reality on this topic

8 speed auto

6.2L, 460+ HP (LT1)
direct injection & 11.5:1 compression
AFM
VVT

Axle ratio is 2.41 (!) for standard car & Z06, 2.73 for Z51

http://media.chevrolet.com/media/us/en/ ... -lead.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

17 city
29 highway
21 test cycle average

And that's a car that weighs considerably less than PPV, with superior aerodynamics.

With my own PPV, I've seen 27+ running @ 65, but it's a VERY fragile number that will quickly drop with just a few stabs of the throttle or deviation above that speed--and it's terrain sensitive. Haven't checked it since installing the new wider wheels & slightly-shorter and wider tires....not expecting improvement.

Short of putting in a GenV engine & 8L90 trans (from a truck?), I'd want to figure out how to put the 8-speed in the PPV as both a performance and fuel economy mod, keeping the 2.92 axle ratio.