Over the past few months we have had many what is the MPG
on your car topics. Some of us are not getting as good "advertised"
MPG from there new or newish Accents. Does anyone take into account
that most states have a 10% minimum ethanol mix in there gas now?
I have read that ethanol can reduce MPG on cars that are not Flex-fuel.
On some websites it is listed that you can lose as much as 2 MPG on 10%
ethanol mix. I'm sure the sticker MPG figures do not take into affect the
10% ethanol mix. Any thoughts?

Hmmm... you know I didn't really think about this until I filled up the other day at RaceWay and saw the "Contains 10% Ethanol" sticker on the pump. I know Hyundai has issued a bulletin saying NOT to put ethanol in Hyundais, but I think they were referring to E85. I know we have had a problem with the fuel pumps on the newer Elantras having O-rings disintegrate, they say due to Ethanol. I also remember reading that although Ethanol is cleaner for the environment (supposedly) that it does return worse MPG figures than straight gas.

You may be on to something here...

Hey, this is a good point and I went to check out my local QT and they do not have ethanol mixed in with there gas. So my issue still stands with really bad gas mileage :(...I thought you were on to a solution to my problem. This may help out other people though.

My original thread is at http://www.hyundai-forums.com/t28692-bad-g...leage-19mpg.htm

I always run 10% ethanol since that's all I can find around here. I'm in Illinois. This weekend I ran the h*ll out of my stick accent and still got over 35 mpg. That was stop and go and 75mph with AC on. How many of you getting bad mileage have automatic transmissions?

Kevin

Me... been averaging around 24-25 mpg, A/C on, mix of city and highway driving.

States in the Accent's owner's manual that up to 10% ethanol is acceptible. But yes,E10 does not have the energy content of straight gasoline. Even worse on E85, look at the EPA ratings for Flexfuel vehicles compared to the straight gas ratings sometime. :blink:

Not sure what it's like in other areas, but I have no way of knowing if I'm running E10 or not since Indiana and Kentucky where I fuel up apparently don't have any laws in place that force the stations to state their fuel is E10. *shrug*

Last tank I know 100% was E10 (because the pump actually said so once) I got 35.35 MPG for my usual week's worth of commutes/out farting around around town.

I've got an automatic, BTW. 90 day running average is 33.56 MPG. No complaints with mileage here, straight highway tanks are in the upper 30's Lower when more city driving has taken place.

I noticed to that my gas pump said "up to" 10% ethanol, but my mileage is the same, mid 30's. i am 90% highway tho so the ethanol may have more impact when you really need the extra energy to start and stop in city traffic. How much does the pollution factor way into the mpg factor when using 10% ethanol.

I have a 5 speed btw.

I have been averaging about 34 all around ,but the last three weeks mine has dropped to 32.6.I think alot of brands around here have been adding a little more than they were.

I call it something else. efanol. it makes your car's mileage worse, drives up the cost of a basic food commodity, making just about every grocery you buy either directly or indirectly cost more. even the e10 sucks out upto 10% of your FE. where's the proof in that? well, not totally scientific, but he we go.

i live in minnesota, 10% is a requirement. i just got my accent, so this story is about FE in my yaris sedan. we recently drove to calgary and banff to visit a friend and go into the mountains. while we were there in canada, where they don't use any ethanol, i averaged 42-45mpg on all the tanks using canadian gas. the difference was immediate in the first tank. back in the us travelling to/from calgary? about 39mpg. upon returning, i was averaging 39-40mpg, but have gotten that upto 42mpg by using alot of hypermiling techniques and turning off the engine at any light where i know i will idle more than 7 seconds (which is about the break-even point in the yaris, it has been tested - not by me though!). anyways, bottom line is ethanol, even 10%, in cars that shouldn't have any is an FE killer.

i get the same...

I've noticed exactly 29 MPG on my '08 auto 3 door driving with the AC on most of the time, 80% highway miles going 75-80 most of the time on the highway. I live in a very hilly area in the Shenandoah valley and never take it easy from a standing start.

Has anyone tried taller tires? I typically get 38 to 40 mpg (90% hwy) on my 08 GLS with a 5 spd.
However, this car is screaming at anything over 60-65. When compared to other vehicles in its class, the final drive ratio makes the RPM at 70mph between 500 to 800 rpm higher than the others. This car needs an overdrive gear and I am guessing it would be too hard to change the gears in the transmission if one was even available (likely would void the warranty).
The easiest (and cheapest) solution would be to install taller tires. Has anyone tried using 185/70 14 HRs or switching to 15 inch wheels with taller tires?
I know the speedometer would be off but at least I could keep up with traffic without running the car at 3500 rpm for hours on end. I have noticed that mpg drops off exponentialy when you run any faster than 65 mph.

I have 205/55/r15.. love them.. on top of the after market muffler, i noticed a mpg difference around that time.. I played if off to 20-30lbs taken off of the wheels. the stock rims weigh about 18lbs, and my new rims are only 11lbs, but remember i also have more tire on the wheels. So i didn't get the close to 40lb drop i was expecting.

I also notice better handling, but I also changed the tire brand since i was fed up of always getting a bubble when hitting a pot hole.. I think they look fine for downsizing, especially once i get my lowering springs, but i did it for my long commute to work and 6 months on them without a bubble!

BTW--when i drive 65mph i am at 2500 rpm's and even 70mph is around 2700rpm's. Not nearly the 3500rpm's you're talking about. Tyler, my boyfriend says thats pretty good since he does about 2500-2700rpm's going the same speeds. I have an auto though.. We have the advantage on the hwy :thumbsup:

This post has been edited by o0kat0o: Aug 23 2008, 01:55 AM