mileage #01

Fuel mileage

Fuel mileage[V70][2000] Mike Madsen -- Tuesday, 5 June 2001, at 11:23 p.m.

I purchased my 2000 V70 AWD R wagon in January 2001. Everything about the car is great except the
fuel mileage. What are other people getting for MPG with R models or reg AWD models. Any tips for
better economy?

Re: Fuel mileage[V70][2000] Sin -- Wednesday, 6 June 2001, at 12:37 a.m.

Tips for better mileage:

- Increase tire pressure.
If you increase the psi to just under maximum psi rated for the tire, you can pick up MAJOR mileage.

- Run synthetic engine oil and synthetic ATF.
You should see atleast 2mpg increase by doing both. Some have reported up to 4mpg, but I'd say it's
closer to 2mpg.

- Remove any heavy unecessary items from the car.
Anything in the rear of the car that isn't necessary should be removed. And if you rarely carry passengers
in the rear seats, remove those too. You'd be surprised at just how much seats weigh.

- Remove any unecessary exterior items such as wind deflectors and roof racks.
Everyone knows roof racks can easily decrease your mileage by 4 or even more mpg, but all kinds of wind
deflectors can also affect mileage by up to 2mpg.

- Have some one fabricate some steel panels or aluminum panels for the under body of the car.
When you look at the Lexus LS400, you wouldn't imagine it being aerodynamic at all. But in fact, it has a
ridiculously low cd or coefficient of drag. Do you know why? It's in the underbody. If you do a lot of highway
driving, this could definetly be worth your while. Just cover up the front section a little better, though it is
already pretty good, cover the exhaust tunnel, cover up ALL that empty space in the rear, and you'd be
surprised at just how much lower rpm you'll need to carry high speeds.

- Any exhaust modification, whether a cat-back or a downpipe back exhaust, should increase your
mileage, but is costly.

- Choose more efficient tires.
Different tires produce differing mileage. Why do you think Michelin markets their "Energy" line the way
ther do. Also, try increasing the diameter of the tire as well as decreasing the width of the tire. Assuming
you stay with the same rims, you will lose performance. Increasing the diameter changes the gearing and
can make quite a difference on mileage. Also, the width of the tire plays a large role in the mileage you get
from your car as the wider the tire, the more rolling friction.

- Get a higher flowing air filter.
All that increased flow gives you more performance when you need it, but it also increases your mpg.

- Make sure your engine is running as efficiently as possible.
Use a GOOD fuel injector cleaner as directed. Stick with BG44, Redline, AMSOIL, or Chevron with
Techron. These can make quite a difference. Also, make sure you are using good products in your car.
Make sure your cooling system is working at its best. The better it works, the cooler your engine runs.
When was the last time you had your coolant inspected? Follow the prescribed service intervals at the
least. Make sure your battery is pumping hard and that the ignition system is in good shape. Your car is
still pretty new, so you probably don't have to worry about the ignition or the battery just yet, but they are
things to remember.

Basically, everything I've mentioned is common sense. You may not want to go for some of the more
extreme suggestions, but simply increasing your tire pressure, running synthetic engine oil in your engine,
synthetic ATF in your tranny, removing unecessary items such as loads and seats, removing unecessary
items from the exterior of the car, getting a higher flowing air filter and the mini plethora of suggestions for
making the engine run more efficiently won't cost you all that much, and you will DEFINETLY see changes
in your fuel consumption. Synthetic lubricants cost an extra buck or two per quart, removing unecessary
items is free, increasing your tire pressure is free, a higher flowing air filter should be around $35, fuel
injector cleaners are usually around $5-7. And I'm sure you'll see more then the same amount of money
saved, as well as increasing the life of your car, as well as increasing performance.

Re: Fuel mileage[V70][2000] Bill -- Wednesday, 6 June 2001, at 8:04 a.m.

Mike, Sin said it perfectly....However if I can make a couple of suggestions. I don't know what you cruise at
on the highway, but if its 75,your going to eat up the gas....If you want better milage you've got to go
slower....which is real hard for a lot of people and their Volvos to do!!! So decrease you highway speed by
5-7 mph and you WILL get better mpg! Plus try to use a "VERY LITE FOOT" Good luck, Bill, getting 35-39
highway mpg on my S40 abiet fanatical economy driving!!!!
--

bill

Re: Fuel mileage[V70][2000] Mike -- Wednesday, 6 June 2001, at 8:40 a.m.

On my V70 GLT I'm getting 20 to 21 MPG (mostly suburban driving)

Re: Fuel mileage[V70][1999] Mike Wayne -- Wednesday, 6 June 2001, at 9:53 a.m.

With my standard 1999 V70, I'm getting a little over 25 in town and nearly 30 miles per gallon on the road.

Thanks for the great tips, Sin.

Thanks for the appreciation guys[V70][2000] Sin -- Wednesday, 6 June 2001, at 10:37 a.m.

I can't imagine how I forgot to mention driving style. I guess I don't consider them much myself. Heck, I
usually cruise at 160km/h if the conditions are good enough.

BTW, anyone have a quick way of converting mpg to L/100km?
--

Re: Thanks for the appreciation guys[V70][2000] Ian -- Wednesday, 6 June 2001, at 1:54 p.m.

> BTW, anyone have a quick way of converting mpg to L/100km

not on me but if you wanna wait till tomorrow I can get it for you.

Great tips Sin, I'm thinking I'm going to try the synthetic ATF next time I flush (probably next month) and see
what happens
--
1998 S70, heavy mods

Re: Fuel mileage[V70][2000] Doug Gerard -- Wednesday, 6 June 2001, at 5:02 p.m.

If you increase the diameter of your tires, that would have the effect of reducing the number of turns of your
wheels per actual measured mile, thus making any calculation of MPG from your cars odometer falsely
low.

The rest of your comments are well taken.

Re: Fuel mileage[V70][2000] Sin -- Wednesday, 6 June 2001, at 5:17 p.m.

Yes, but you will actually be increasing mileage.
--

Re: Fuel mileage[V70][2000] Mike Harris -- Wednesday, 6 June 2001, at 10:11 p.m.

Mike,

I'm getting around 26 MPG in my 98 V70 AWD with a chip and dual cat-back exhaust. If I take a long trip
(Sandy Eggo to Palm Springs) the mileage jumps to nearly 30. I have an automatic xmission.

About 40,000 miles ago, I added the chip and exhaust. Before that, the mileage was around 23-24, and
around 27-28 on the PS trip.

I drive approximately 75 MPH when traffic and safety permits, but have at least one stop/go set of traffic
to/from work slowing me to 30-50 MPH. One thing I find myself doing is using the shifter to slow down in
traffic when I am going less than 50 MPH. Saves on brake wear, but don't know the long-term effects on
the xmission.

Hope this helps.

Regards,

Mike Harris in Sandy Eggo
--

Roof rack/mileage[850][1996] Sam -- Thursday, 7 June 2001, at 6:05 a.m.

I am about to order a new V70. The salesman is trying to convince me the factory installed front to back
racks don't affect mileage "much" or make much wind noise. "Its the side to side bars that effect these
issues." What is the truth?

(96 850 still going strong, but couldn't pass up military overseas rate. Eligibility dues kinda stiff though)
--
Sam 96 850 Turbo Wagon

Re: Roof rack/mileage[850][1996] Sin -- Thursday, 7 June 2001, at 10:51 a.m.

I'm sure the roof racks you described aren't going to make that much wind noise or increase mileage that
much either. But if you really care, and don't really use them, then don't get them.

The truth is, almost anything you add to the exterior of the car no matter how aerodynamic or small in
frontal area is still going to create some wind noise and increase wind resistance.
--

Re: Roof rack/mileage[850][1996] B. De Denko -- Friday, 8 June 2001, at 12:06 p.m.

If I'm understanding your post correctly, the "front-to-back" roof rails are those along the length of the car,
one rail on each side. The amount of aerodynamic drag that these would add to the car is probably
negligible. The frontal area of each of those rails is probably less than two square inches. You might think
of it as the drag imposed by you sticking your thumbs out into the slipstream when the car is moving.
On the other hand, no pun intended, "cross bars" are those that go across the car, from one side to the
other. Now the drag would be significantly more. Imagine holding an inch-and-a-half closet pole (four feet
long) across the car, out of the sunroof and in the slipstream. The frontal area of that pole is going to be
around 72 square inches, and usually there are two of them on a car. These are also known as "load bars"
because bicycle and ski fixtures attach to them. Fortunately, V-70's come with prepared holes above each
door made to accommodate removable roof racks. I chose that style so as to not have anything on the roof
when it's not in use. Good luck!
--
B. De Denko

Re: Fuel mileage[V70][2000] john k -- Sunday, 10 June 2001, at 11:50 p.m.

I just completed a 750 mile road trip in my 98 v70 t-5 auto. Los Angeles to Mammoth, CA up 395, mostly
freeway with speeds ranging from 60 mph to 120 mph (very briefly), with lots of mountain driving. Average
fuel mileage over trip was 25.1 mpg. I would imagine you could get around 30 mpg on cruise control @
60-65 mph.

If you have any experiences, facts, hints comments or data that you think might be useful on the site, please

and I will post it, with an acknowledgement of your contribution (if you so wish).