Who says Corvettes are gas guzzlers?

[Patman]

39 MPG!! I had the cruise control set to 60 MPH and was running in pure V8 mode (this car has the ability to run on 4 cylinders at light throttle) I had filled up with Sunoco 93 in Niagara Falls NY, and that has 10% ethanol in it. When I fill up in Ontario I have been running Costco or Shell 91 octane, both of which have no ethanol. I have heard that ethanol free gas is worth about a 3% bump in MPG, so I'm going to try that same stretch of road later on when I have a tank of ethanol free in it, and I should be able to crack 40 MPG! And running it in 4 cylinder mode is worth about another 5% improvement so I could possibly see 42 out of this car! Not bad for 455hp!

I know, I know, Corvette owners aren't supposed to care about MPG but this car will be used to travel back and forth from Florida every winter along with lots of long road trips, and I bet the price of gas is going to double (if not triple) over the next 10-15 years, so the great MPG is definitely going to be appreciated then!

(as a side note, I'd better go for my 40 MPG run before I switch this engine over to M1 5w30 ESP, as it could give me a slight decrease in MPG with it's higher HTHS)

 

[JHZR2]

Well, you could roll like this:



With more cargo and seating space...

But that's darn good. My 135i will do around the same as you show, but obviously is much less powerful than your corvette. On long highway trips it's more like 32ish.

It's pretty awesome you can get that with so much HP. Granted I think you may be cheating a bit with those Canadian gallons. Isn't there a difference?

So, how does it do in a traffic jam???

 

[montero1]

I never seem to get more than low 20s..... But I'm on backroads doing my Emerson Fittipaldi impersonation.

 

[Patman]

The Corvette calculates MPG in the smaller US gallon actually, not the larger imperial gallon. For those that figure out their gas mileage the Canadian way, it managed 6L per 100km.

I'm not sure what it would get in a traffic jam, zero MPG if totally stopped I guess!

One of my trip meters is used to keep track of the miles since I did my last oil change, and it also keeps track of the MPG for that time period too. In the 1750 miles since that trip meter was reset, the average is sitting at 25.2 MPG. I would guess the highway/city ratio during that time period is about 75% highway/25% city.

 

[umungus1122]

Will it stay in 4 cyl. mode in traffic? I wish we could get that ethanol free gas here in PA.

 

[CarbonSteel]

My 1996 LT4 with a ZF6 managed 32.2MPG from Houston to Nashville (both ways so not a fluke). The hard part is keeping your foot out of it.

 

[ammolab]

I just made an 80 mile highway trip to Roswell in my 415HP V8 Chevy SS Sport Sedan. 33.9 MPH!!!

Oh, but downhill all the way and I had a 35 MPH tailwind.

Trip home was 19.1 MPG. It was a short honeymoon.

 

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: Patman
In the 1750 miles since that trip meter was reset, the average is sitting at 25.2 MPG. I would guess the highway/city ratio during that time period is about 75% highway/25% city.


That's pretty great in and of itself... You have how many HP/Tq??

 

[Patman]

Originally Posted By: umungus1122
Will it stay in 4 cyl. mode in traffic?


It goes into 4 cylinder mode at part or steady throttle, but generally only in the higher gears (for instance, if you're stuck in traffic and only using the first 4 out of 8 gears, it will stay in V8 mode mostly) If I put it in manual mode (using the paddle shifters) it never goes into 4 cylinder mode.

I have mixed feelings about 4 cylinder mode. Some people on the Corvette forum strongly believe that the switching in and out of 4 cylinder mode is responsible for torque convertor failures. So that's why on long highway trips I prefer to make sure it stays in V8 mode all the time.

 

[Patman]

Originally Posted By: JHZR2


That's pretty great in and of itself... You have how many HP/Tq??


Horsepower is 455 (I have the base exhaust on it, the optional exhaust would be 460hp) and torque is 460 ft lbs.

If I went full throttle everywhere there is no way I could get that kind of average MPG but because I like hanging onto my driver's license, most of the time this engine lives below 2000 rpm, and it makes a huge difference.

 

[901Memphis]

But you're not having any fun at those MPG numbers.

 

[JeffKeryk]

Well, one of my Vettes was a 70 Coupe with a 70 LS6 Chevelle 454 (CRR) engine.
It got 4 to 6 MPG. I was hunting Vipers.

My current car is a 68 L36 Roadster. Pretty much bone stock.

 

[Patman]

Originally Posted By: 901Memphis
But you're not having any fun at those MPG numbers.

True, but on that trip the highway was packed with other cars and there really wasn't a chance to have fun. Once I pull off the highway and onto some side roads without any other cars, that's where the full throttle fun can begin (but even then, it gets over the speed limit so quickly that I really can't do prolonged full throttle blasts, one of the negative things about owning a high powered car I guess)

 

[The motor guy]

Corvettes run a very low rpm coupled with being light weight, so this equates to a minimal fuel burn even on a big engine. If I remember right a corvette runs at like 1400rpm doing 70

 

[Linctex]

Originally Posted By: 2015_PSD
My 1996 LT4 with a ZF6 managed 32.2MPG from Houston to Nashville (both ways so not a fluke). The hard part is keeping your foot out of it.

Around 2001 or 2002 I went on a trip with a friend in a late 90's Corvette, and was shocked at the high 20's and low 30's mileage numbers we were getting.

 

[KrisZ]

That is impressive and what it tells me is that because of the light weight, aerodynamic shape and very low RPM, and most likely other engineering tricks (perhaps a lean burn), this vehicle uses about the same amount of HP at a steady cruise as a compact sedan. Not a small feat for a fire breathing V8.

 

[eyeofthetiger]

Whaaatt. Why can't I have a 450 HP V8 in my Fiesta?

 

[Patman]

Originally Posted By: motor_oil_madman
Corvettes run a very low rpm coupled with being light weight, so this equates to a minimal fuel burn even on a big engine. If I remember right a corvette runs at like 1400rpm doing 70


That sounds about right, mine in 8th gear at 60mph is around 1200 rpm or so and I know that 80mph is about 1500rpm.

 

[Nick1994]

About the same as my Camry! That's pretty good. Maybe try it in 4 cylinder mode once, to see what it'll get? I doubt one trip will cause damage. A lifetime of 4 cylinder mode enabled might.

 

[CR94]

Originally Posted By: motor_oil_madman
Corvettes run a very low rpm coupled with being light weight, so this equates to a minimal fuel burn even on a big engine. If I remember right a corvette runs at like 1400rpm doing 70
Another factor that helps is that it's only knee-high.