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What kind of gas mileage is "normal"?

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Old 06-08-2001, 06:23 AM
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Anir
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Question What kind of gas mileage is "normal"?

In my 993TT, my gauge typically indicates between 9.5 and 10.5 mpg. A lot of my driving involves stop-and-go city commutes (unfortunately). I'm typically around 3,000 - 4,000 rpm.

I'm not too concerned about the economics of the issue, but I do want to make sure that my car is performing as it should. It idles smoothly, and I haven't come across any glaring deficiencies. However, I did purchase it used with 6,000 miles, and it's my first p-car.

Is this sort of mpg normal? Thanks for the help.
Old 06-08-2001, 08:53 AM
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SundayDriver
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That seems low for the driving you describe, unless you are also including a moderate amount of full throttle.

Note that the computer only goes as low as 9.5. I don't recall what mods you have, if any, but in my modified TT, I get 4.5 mpg on track, 13-14 around town and ~20 on the highway. With 4.5 mpg running hard, it doesn't take much to pull your average down.
Old 06-08-2001, 08:54 AM
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SundayDriver
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That seems low for the driving you describe, unless you are also including a moderate amount of full throttle.

Note that the computer only goes as low as 9.5. I don't recall what mods you have, if any, but in my modified TT, I get 4.5 mpg on track, 13-14 around town and ~20 on the highway. With 4.5 mpg running hard, it doesn't take much to pull your average down.
Old 06-08-2001, 12:30 PM
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Porsche911NYC
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With a little over 18,000 miles logged on my car, I'm getting in the high teens as an average for the city/highway combo. A few months ago, on the return trip from Indianapolis back to NYC, I got close to 25 MPG on a 400 mile stretch (6th gear with cruise control set @ 70 MPH, tailwind).
Old 06-08-2001, 12:31 PM
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Rick in Portland
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Anir,

I got almost the same mileage as Mark. Usually around 13-16 around town and as much as 24 on our trips.

Anytime you see boost readings above zero, your mileage is being severly reduced.

Rick
Old 06-08-2001, 01:57 PM
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Tom T.
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Originally posted by Anir:
<STRONG>In my 993TT, my gauge typically indicates between 9.5 and 10.5 mpg. A lot of my driving involves stop-and-go city commutes (unfortunately). I'm typically around 3,000 - 4,000 rpm.</STRONG>
I think your last sentence hit the proverbial nail on the head. When cruising
try to upshift to reduce RPM's. This will increase your mileage. Of course if you are always in traffic then nothing will help much.

Good luck!

Tom
Old 06-08-2001, 02:13 PM
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jim in State College
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I'm not trying to 1-up you guys, but my 95C2 recorded 28.3 mpg over 715 miles interstate cruising at 70-80 in 6th (cruise control off). The engine and aerodynamics seem to be very efficient at that speed. It would seem reasonable to expect a tt to get around 25 under such conditions.
Old 06-08-2001, 02:20 PM
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Jack
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Anir:

I would have to agree with Mark and Rick; I usually see between 12-13 on the computer, given the driving conditions you described. Of course, you could be having way too much fun with the skinny pedal.
Old 06-08-2001, 03:06 PM
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Robin 993DX
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I get consistant 18 MPG with my NA 993. 24.5 on our BMW 323ci (stick).

All local driving.
Old 06-08-2001, 07:33 PM
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Anir
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It seems that the 993 TT's get a bit less in general than the non-turbo 993s, but I'm still lower than all of you.

The traffic engineering is pretty sorry in Lexington, and you can spend a lot of time at lights. However, I've never seen better than 12-13 mpg on the highway either.

I wouldn't consider myself a major hot foot (except on the highway, where I rarely go less than 80-85 mph). I've run some Lubro Moly Jectron and Ventil Sauber through the fuel system recently, and the car seems to be running great.

Should I be concerned, or is a difference of 3-4 mpg no big deal (Jack, Rick, and Mark all seem to get around 13-16 mpg)?

Tom, I guess I avoid low rpms in an attempt to avoid "lugging" the engine when accelerating. I try to stay in the "meaty" part of the torque / horsepower curve. Do ya'll drive at 2,000 - 2,500 rpm? Am I beating on my engine by hanging out around 3,000?

Thanks again for all the help.
Old 06-08-2001, 07:49 PM
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Rick in Portland
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Anir,

Given your driving enviroment, everything sounds fine. What's interesting is that the TT got better highway mileage than my previous C4S... go figure.

Like I said before, if you see the boost readout rise above 00, your MPG is being greatly affected.

As far as additives, I have always used Techron. That stuff really works keeping the carbon deposits off of the valves. I usually use a bottle of this stuff about a week before my next oil change. And, most of the time I used Chevron gas, which contains a small amount of Techron.

Rick
Old 06-08-2001, 08:22 PM
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John D II
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Anir,

My daily commute consists of some pretty hard 0-60 sprints and a fair amount of steady 3,500-6,000 RPM cruising on twisting roads with some full throttle blasts, followed by some stop and go. I average 12.7 - 13.5 on the computer. Highway trips - high teens.

John
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Old 06-08-2001, 10:15 PM
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Jimmy
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Anir,

My daily driving involves purely stop-and-go commutes and I get 9-11 mpg. Hope that is normal
Old 06-09-2001, 10:46 PM
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Anir
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Jimmy,

It's nice to see that I'm not the only one!

Thank you for sharing my spot at the bottom of the mpg barrel!
Old 06-10-2001, 04:33 AM
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Randall G.
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My 993-powered (N/A) 964 never drops below 18 mpg. On long trips, I've seen as high as 27 mpg. This is similar to the gas mileage I got with my old 964 engine.

Road and Track's July '96 test of the 1996 993tt lists the following mpg figures: 13 mpg city, 19 mpg highway, 15 mpg normal driving. So ... it looks like a twin-turbo gets about 3-5 less mpg than a N/A car.

If I was Anir, I'm sure I would be concerned about my gas mileage. Only getting 12-13 mpg on the highway means you're barely reaching the "city" rating. Perhaps all your freeway driving is being done at 120+ mph That would certainly explain things


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