dentinger

and btw, when im driving normally, like, with my parents in the car with me, i shift at about 3500 to 4000 RPM....usually 4000 for first, 3500 for second, then usually 3rd and 4th almost immediately.....(to cruise in a higher gear)
but seriously, im averaging about 19ish MPG (i did the math) which really doesnt seem all that great to be honest....whatever, i cant help but drive fast....im 18

P.S. the manual states that you should be shifting at....
Gear 1 to 2: 21km/h (13mph)
gear 2 to 3: 39km/h (24mph)
gear 3 to 4: 55km/h (34mph)
gear 4 to 5: 79km/h (49mph)

and for crusing.....
gear 1 to 2: 18km/h (11mph)
gear 2 to 3: 29km/h (18mph)
gear 3 to 4: 37km/h (29mph)
gear 4 to 5: 68km/h (42mph)

Olestra

Yeah I read that stuff.
I admit, I drive slowly on purpose because I don't want to fill up every 5 days. You just need to curb your ego that's all. You don't need to floor it everytime you take off from a light just to hit the next light and do it all over again. When I'm driving next to someone that does that, most of the time I catch up with him at the next couple lights anyways.

Of course it's more fun to push the car a little. Your choice to drive that way I guess. Btw, you must be getting up to 60 km/h already by the time you shift into third?

I shift mostly at the cruising speeds, comes second nature now and b/c you have to shift so often your shifting speeds improve. So you're not necessarily driving slow either, you're just shifting earlier. My trip computer shows that I can drive a distance ~675km on a full tank. I don't know how accurate that thing is but it can't be very far off. Seems like I get less than that, closer to just under 600km.

dentinger

yeah, i dont have a trip computer on my car (or i do, and i havent found it yet)....my M3 is '07 and complety base...
and yeah, by the time im shifting into third, and usually at around 60ish...

and i seem to fill up every 10 to 14 days.....

and this is my first car (technically second, but my civic was a piece and never saw the road) and i cant help it....how many 18 year old drive brand new cars that THEY own

around here, not too many....and most of the time, mommy and daddy bought it for them
(here you go son, have an Escalade....oh, you dont want to drive the Escalade anymore?? here you go, Have one of our 3 Hummers.....)
true story.....that actually happened

Olestra

Hehe, props to you if you paid for that car on your own and you're only 18. That entitles you to drive it however you like. =)

PS base model doesn't come with the trip model - I don't think.

EDIT - typo with the trip model, oops

Olestra

Hmm, if you fill up every 10-14 days (same as me), I'm now suspecting that you're heavily under estimating your tank. Reset your mileage counter (I forget what it's called) next time you fill up and see how far you can travel before you have to fill up again.

dentinger

yeah, i do that everytime i fill up, and i record how many Km's i put on the tank.
then when i refill, i record the cost of gas, how many litres i put in, and the total km's on my car (my worst was 250km, and my best was 400....but take into account thats all city driving...)

and p.s, i technically dont own the car, mazda does....im only leasing it, but its under my name, so its close enough!! (i have to wait another 4 years before i can own it....)

and what do you mean "underestimating my tank"??....i usually fill up once the light comes on...(and its called a "tripometer.... :P)

Olestra

I meant I suspected that you underestimated the distance you were able to travel on a tank of gas (sorry, I just had a hard time believing that our mileage was so different). If you're that accurate on taking down the kms in your car and the litres, then you're probably pretty bang on...

I'm going to rely on the tripometer and the litres poured into my tank next time I fill instead of looking at my trip computer.
I did use the tripometer when I put in my first 3-4 tanks but have gotten lazy since.

ivo

I'm getting 24.5 - 27.5 mpg mixed HW/city driving. Usually my low gas light comes on at ~300miles

speed24

just throw in a k&n air filter and you can improve your mileage by at least 2-4 miles per gallon.
at 75-80 we went 364 miles before gas light came on

brandonv

I've gotten 34mpg (US) on the interstate once, typically get 28-32 highway.
2.3i 4-door, pretty good conditions too. with that I can get just over 400 miles on a 12 gallon tank.

It's new too, under 6000 miles, did someone say gas mileage would go up with time?

ivo

I've never heard of 2.3i

brandonv

probably because it's supposed to just be the 2.3

hugh7

Hi: I'm on the verge of buying a new Mazda3, after hitting a deer with my 2000 Protege (which had 100,000 miles). On my Protege the only things I had to fix were a new ignition coil- at about 90.000 miles, and new timing belts. So I'm wondering if the extra $ for extended warranty, maybe even to 7 years, is worth it. Seems to me it ties you to expensive checkups at the Mazda dealer, compared to my friendly local garage.
Or should I buy an Elantra, which has a longer warranty ?
Comments ?

brandonv

Depends on the dealer. Warranties are only good if you have a good dealer, which I don't. So as soon as mine expires I'll be seeing the local garage for all my maintenance.

Besides, mazdas are incredibly reliable. My last one had over 150,000 on it with very few mechanical issues (at least none that wouldn't be associated with any other 150,000 mile car).

dentinger

dont buy an elantra....we completly bashed them in one of the 'off topic' threads, i believe...
theres a reason why they have a 10year/100,000km warranty on them