Increase the mpg?

[Partsguyct87]

Forgive me if this is already discussed somewhere, I couldn't find anything. I'm looking to see what everyone has done to improve the mpg further on your 500l. I know everyone will say pedal control as an obvious solution but I'm looking deeper than that, what modifications can be made to help pump up those numbers. I've been averaging about 28mpg per tank with a mix of highway and City driving in my 2014 manual so far. So let's see what y'all are getting.

[Fiat500USA]

Forgive me if this is already discussed somewhere, I couldn't find anything. I'm looking to see what everyone has done to improve the mpg further on your 500l. I know everyone will say pedal control as an obvious solution but I'm looking deeper than that, what modifications can be made to help pump up those numbers. I've been averaging about 28mpg per tank with a mix of highway and City driving in my 2014 manual so far. So let's see what y'all are getting.

Driving technique is the number one way to improve your gas mileage. Cars are so well tuned today it is hard to improve upon what the engineers have already done.

A few things

• Proper oil viscosity and keep the oil fresh. Dirty oil can affect the MultiAir, besides obviously wearing stuff out.
• Tires to proper inflation. I generally up the pressure a few pounds front and rear for sharper handling. That will also increase fuel economy.
• Short shifting. Don't wind the gears out. Shifting around 2100 rpm as long as you aren't lugging the engine will increase gas mileage.
• Try to drive in the highest gear the car can pull without lugging.
• Use the instantaneous mpg readout to keep track of your driving. Try to keep it above the average mpg reading as long as you can will increase your fuel economy.
• Don't let your car idle excessively.
• Use the cruise control as much as you can. Obviously be attentive, but regular use of the cruise control will boost your mileage because you are driving at a steady speed. Constantly accelerating and slowing down will kill your mileage.

I use these techniques and have a lifetime average of 34+ mpg on my Abarth and I have a mix of rural/urban commute. Let us know how you make out.

[Ando]

If you are doing rush hour commuting look as far ahead as possible and react to the overall flow of traffic, not just the two cars in front of you. Let them scream up on that wall of brake lights, you'll catch up with them when traffic starts moving again and you will use a lot less fuel than if you were participating in the stop start zombie drive.

Same thing with traffic signals, if you drive the same route every day memorize how the signals change and try to figure out what speed to drive to hopefully catch all the greens. Any time you can conserve momentum you are saving fuel, conversely every time you have to use your brakes you will likely need to use a proportional amount of throttle to return to cruising speed.

• Use the cruise control as much as you can. Obviously be attentive, but regular use of the cruise control will boost your mileage because you are driving at a steady speed. Constantly accelerating and slowing down will kill your mileage.

As a counterpoint, the cruise control doesn't care about MPG, it only cares about achieving your setpoint. This is particularly noticeable in hilly areas. If traffic and laws allow I like to feed in throttle downhill to let the car take advantage of gravity and coast up the uphill, ideally returning to my target speed by the top of the following hill.

Hypermiling is a super interesting corner of car enthusiasm. It was a lot more fun in my TDI than my Abarth, but tinkering with various techniques forms good driving habits overall.

We've only been talking about driver mods so far. Easy things to do to get more MPGs is to drop weight where possible. Do you have roadside assistance? Leave the spare at home. Not driving anyone to lunch? Remove the rear seats. Not going curling today? Take the stones out of your trunk. You get the idea. Most of this is free. Removing your floormats isn't going to net you a 1mpg increase, but every bit helps.

Shop for some low rolling resistance tires. These generally equate to lower ultimate traction but if you're not carving canyons in your Elle you probably won't notice the difference.

[venom]

This should be titled the “Tight Wad” thread....All good tips though. I like to challenge myself to see just how good mpg I can get. It’s like a game.

[Ando]

This should be titled the “Tight Wad” thread....All good tips though. I like to challenge myself to see just how good mpg I can get. It’s like a game.

Touché... I think OP was aiming more for "what can I do to innately improve MPG without becoming "that guy"?" Low rolling resistance tires and actively monitoring tire pressures are probably the best path, no driver mods required.

Hypermilers are crazy, but it's fun to try once in a while. Even so, doing crazy hypermiling things every once in a while raises your awareness of when you are wasting fuel. I drive like a one armed crack monkey most of the time but that doesn't mean I scream up to red lights at full highway speeds. It's all a balancing act.

Just for fun check out the Fuelly page for the 2014 500L. Looks like your 28mpg is average. From there you can sort the Elles by fuel type or transmission or single out cars with exceptionally high mpg numbers and check for mods in their description.

[2014-500L]

I recently added the GFB upgraded diverter valve and a K&N drop in filter, and I am seeing improved MPG. I would vary from 23/24mpg with the occasional 26 mpg tank at my best. Since the install I have had 3 fill ups coming in at 28.5, 27.6, and 26.9 mpgs, and that's with a few high rev pulls that really hurt the average. My '14 is a 6 speed manual.

[Partsguyct87]

I've already been driving like I have Ms Daisy in the back, I read mostly looking to see what other ways we can improve MPG, if I'm pretty much at the peak then I might end up going the other way and improving power to get a little fun out of this car on my way back and forth to work.

[texanbrit]

You can use one of the Go-Pedal type products in economy mode. That softens your accelerator input.

[Ando]

If you are even a little bit on the fence I'd opt for fun mods. You are much more likely to enjoy them, and you might even keep your efficiency. (None of my favorite mods burn more fuel)

Texanbrit's pedal mapper suggestion is good. Depending on your mood you can be ECO-Warrior or Track-Warrior.

[Fiat500USA]

This should be titled the “Tight Wad” thread....All good tips though. I like to challenge myself to see just how good mpg I can get. It’s like a game.

That's how I think of it and how I entertain myself on my work commute. Makes the drive interesting and it balances out the times I light my tires up or do some other antisocial behaviors. The bonus is it keeps me flying under the radar when I cruise by the police.

[Saponetta]

.ake sure alignment is always on spec. Clean air filter, plugs in good shape. Dont drive around with 400lbs of crap in the car at all times like my mother.

Go on the dart forums. Every time a.google search has led.me there, they are all claiming to get 50mpg outta 1.4t lol. Whatever.

[rustbucket]

I'll throw in one more thing- fuel. On my previous '13 500 Sport I switched over to 91 octane ethanol- free fuel when it became available in my neck of the woods and saw a 1 to 2 mpg increase. Ethanol contains fewer BTU's per gallon than gasoline. That said you won't be saving any money as it costs about 50 cents per gallon more than 87 octane E10. Living in CT you probably don't have access to ethanol free fuel but it's still worth trying different brands and grades of fuel. Sometimes you might see an improvement from a different brand even though it is (supposedly) the same grade (octane).

[Saponetta]

Definatly on the fuel. If you have a scanner, see which fuel give you the best peak timing advance. That will be your mpg champ. I've found my abarth doesnt even run well stock on some 93 octane. And with increased boost pressure, the bp and Phillip's 66 fuel is flat out dangerous in my area. Mobil 93 octane seems to be so far above other fuels in knock resistance, I'd imagine their lower grades are superior to their published rating as well. Plus they supposedly have best additive/detergents.

[samwichse]

https://ecomodder.com/forum/EM-hypermiling-driving-tips-ecodriving.php

Ecomodder has a great "100 tips" list for this.

They also have this list of modifications of various difficulty.

https://ecomodder.com/forum/fuel-economy-mpg-modifications.php

The roof rack removal is near the top of both lists for a reason. They also have a forum for more specific questions :-).

[mlkfiat]

Dont drive around with 400lbs of crap in the car at all times like my mother.

I shouldn't, but I can't resist.

That isn't a very nice way to talk about your mother, even if she does weigh 400 lbs.
And why is she always in your car when you drive?