Subaru Baja MPG thread

General talk about the Subaru Baja.

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Honda_Fan
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Re: Subaru Baja MPG thread

Post by Honda_Fan »

jaxed wrote:Posting my fuelly badge - I really find the site useful!

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I notice the same trend downward in your mileage in the winter months. I have been using the Gas Cubby app on my iPhone.
My numbers since 3/28/09 are
Avg MPG 25.56
High 27.93
Low 21.41
total miles 18698
avg miles per fill 311.63
Zooom
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Re: Subaru Baja MPG thread

Post by Zooom »

I am currently getting about 22-23...but I have been letting the car warm up in the morning and get toasty and running the defroster on full blast ( which engages the A/C compressor-so it's like running full on summer A/C) and holding it in gear at higher RPM's for to engine brake for some of the slippery stuff that is floating about....so it is all blamed on the driver and usage/driving habit for my city driving around the DC area here....
sbradley
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Re: Subaru Baja MPG thread

Post by sbradley »

I got a good exercise in the importance of tire inflation.

We bought our 2006 Turbo A/T with ARE cap (probably the worst configuration for mileage) last month. First and only run with the old OE tires yielded just under 20mpg, which was disappointing. Then replaced them with Nokian WR G2 year-round snows, and got a number of runs, all lower still, really disappointing. Then I looked around online and found a Legacy board where guys there mentioned the really soft sidewalls the Nokians have, and that they were running up to 40psi without any issues. So I pumped mine up to 40, and just completed a run at 22.8, more in line with what I expected.

I know only one run is not definitive, and I would not suggest that others run their tires at higher pressures, but I thought this might be of some interest in this thread.

Looking forward to getting more mileage data in the spring, when we hopefully switch off of the winter fuel blend, and also will be switching to K&N filters next oil change.

I was planning to change to Royal Purple oil also, but it appears that their 5-30 is not API SM rated, so could cause warranty issues (got a Certified Used Baja).
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jseabolt
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Re: Subaru Baja MPG thread

Post by jseabolt »

jaxed wrote:Folks, I thought I'd start a thread to log MPGs. I got a little app for my iPhone which will be helping me, but please feel free to log your MPGs as well. It might also be good to note what year, and engine.
The most I ever got was around 31 mpg. This is while driving to the beach. I normally get 28 mpg. But this time I tried over inflating the tires to 44 PSI to see what effect this would have. I also tried 93 octane to see if this would advance the timing further.

I don't think I can justify wearing out tires and spending an extra .30 a gallon on 93 octane to gain 3 mpg but the tires were needing replacing and thought I'd do an experiment.
Last edited by jseabolt on Sat Mar 19, 2011 12:43 pm, edited 2 times in total.
http://s222.photobucket.com/albums/dd148/turbofiat/

2003 Subaru Baja
1968 Ford Fairlane 500
1980 Fiat 124 Spider (turbocharged)
1987 Yugo GV (1500 turbocharged)
1981 Trabant 601 S
1987 Citroen 2CV
1977 MGB
RobRBaron
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Re: Subaru Baja MPG thread

Post by RobRBaron »

2006 Sport, 45,000, auto, original tires, gentle city driving at 7000 foot elevation. Owned for one year, 24.7 mpg ave. Have not reset ECU. One interstate trip against 40 knot wind, 25 mpg
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sbradley
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Re: Subaru Baja MPG thread

Post by sbradley »

RobRBaron wrote:2006 Sport, 45,000, auto, original tires, gentle city driving at 7000 foot elevation. Owned for one year, 24.7 mpg ave. Have not reset ECU. One interstate trip against 40 knot wind, 25 mpg
Is there something about resetting the ECU that improves mileage? If so what is the process?
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Re: Subaru Baja MPG thread

Post by RobRBaron »

ECU reset , I read about it in several posts here or on the nosioc baja site. something about how the tranny shifts...
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Re: Subaru Baja MPG thread

Post by Sabber »

From everything I have read resetting the ecu will actually caue the MPG to go down. basically over time your ecu learns how you drive and how the engine is performing and the MPG will increase over time. Resetting the ecu would reset that process, though again that is just from how I understand it and it may not be correct. However in case your wondering you can reset the ecu by disconnecting the negative terminal on your battery and pressing down on the brake pedal to use up excess power.
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tcat
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Re: Subaru Baja MPG thread

Post by tcat »

'05 Sport, 65K miles, original owner

Never got above 24 MPG, (95% city/5% hwy); typical is 21-22, never below 20.

MPG is the only real disappointment in my baby. Considering selling because of MPG (although I probably won't). No good "replacements" out there.
(Looking at Fit, Soul, Forte HB, Matrix... none with "that" much better MPG.... and none as practical!)
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Re: Subaru Baja MPG thread

Post by kman.45 »

2006 Turbo with about 56K miles, just made a 1200 miles trip and two tanks were basically pure interstate mileage.. 24.5 and 24.2 mpg (different days, opposite directions), driving 72 mph mostly, using premium. OH, and I had the tonneau cover installed! Pretty sure that is higher than the EPA rated mileage?
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Re: Subaru Baja MPG thread

Post by mowillie »

so i think that tannue covers and the bed shells reduce the MPG. also anything like extra roof racks, bike racks, headache racks, etc. will lower the MPG. Plus leaving the tailgate down will have a lower MPG than leaving it up.
canuck37
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Re: Subaru Baja MPG thread

Post by canuck37 »

mowillie wrote:so i think that tannue covers and the bed shells reduce the MPG. also anything like extra roof racks, bike racks, headache racks, etc. will lower the MPG. Plus leaving the tailgate down will have a lower MPG than leaving it up.
It is a scientifically proven fact that bed covers reduce air drag on any open bed vehicle with a tailgate, and thus improve mileage.........same as roof racks, etc. increase drag and decrease mileage....physics 101.
mowillie
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Re: Subaru Baja MPG thread

Post by mowillie »

canuck37 wrote:
mowillie wrote:so i think that tannue covers and the bed shells reduce the MPG. also anything like extra roof racks, bike racks, headache racks, etc. will lower the MPG. Plus leaving the tailgate down will have a lower MPG than leaving it up.
It is a scientifically proven fact that bed covers reduce air drag on any open bed vehicle with a tailgate, and thus improve mileage.........same as roof racks, etc. increase drag and decrease mileage....physics 101.
the scientifically proven facts that i have read state that as the air flow hit the up-right tailgate of an open bed of a truck that it circles back, and actually pushes against the back window, therefor pushing the vehicle forward.
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Re: Subaru Baja MPG thread

Post by PenguinSub »

year/engine type/miles on car: 04, turbo/leather, 109k
gas: 93 premium
driving style: mild to aggressive (the full range, depending on the day)
mileage type (city/highway): mixed (45%/55%) speedy and bumper to bumper
mods of note: K&N Filter (doesn't really affect it, tho)
MPG: 18-20 normal/ 22-26 highway. The 26 I saw coasting down a mountain for 15 miles.
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Re: Subaru Baja MPG thread

Post by Benhart21 »

Year/engine type/miles on car: '05 Turbo 5spd 90k miles
Gas: 91 octane
Driving style: Moderate
Mileage type (city/highway): 60%/40%
Mods of note: ARE cap
MPG:
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