I have 3320 miles on my little car and I finally broke 40 mpg. (41 actually) Here is what I learned:
1) The computer for shifting in automatic mode is an idiot. You can't get mileage ( or at least I can't) in automatic mode.
2) You have to follow the rule of driving the smart as if you stole it - it is more fun to drive and it gets better mileage.Go figure. In fact, my local smart dealer literally told me to drive it this way.
3) Well, there is no 3
What a wonderful car.
Dan
1) The computer for shifting in automatic mode is an idiot. You can't get mileage ( or at least I can't) in automatic mode.
2) You have to follow the rule of driving the smart as if you stole it - it is more fun to drive and it gets better mileage.Go figure. In fact, my local smart dealer literally told me to drive it this way.
3) Well, there is no 3
What a wonderful car.
Dan
Tags: mileage
Replies to This Discussion
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I now mostly drive it in manual mode & generally shift between 3500 & 4200 rpms. So it's not exactly like I stole it, however the car clearly does not want to be babied. In auto mode, when driving conservatively, the car is LUGGING in 5th gear before 38 MPH. I had assumed that since the computer was designed to shift this way, it must be optimal for mileage. This appears to not be the case.
Dan
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Permalink Reply by Carlos on -
Really that early in 5th? In Europe in automode, it goes around 55mph in 5th.
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in europe, it would be 55KPH would be 34MPH, which is what i get with my USA version 451. you have to learn to convert. the shift from 4th to 5th would occur at 3700 rpms at 55 MPH, but at 2300 rpms at 34 MPH.
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i've been getting 42-45mpg with auto mode the last 9 months in city driving, and i've been "feather-footing" it. (sometimes i force 5th at 34mph if i know the road ahead is flat)
i now have 6500 miles on my smart, so i figure it's "broken in", i'll try some "goosey" driving. over the years, i've seen several opinions on driving for MPG, one accellerate slowly, another accellerate quickly to the cruise speed.
i'd like to try it with a scan gauge to see what is going on, but my first "new impulse" buy was a kel-tec P3-AT, obama has been "anti-gun" in the past, i've had my eye on this gun for years, so it's a top priority. i bought it an hour ago online. i'll get the SG2 next, first things first...
funny thing, when it's cold, the auto shift likes to hunt in lower gears at 10-15mph.
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Permalink Reply by Herb Bell on -
Congratulations on your good mileage! The scan gauge is an excellent idea. I've gotten 39.9 mpg with a Mercedes C230K on a 1200 mile trip by using the car's mpg display and playing it like a video game. I discovered that coasting downhill in Neutral makes the mpg rise quickly, as does speeding up slowly and then letting it coast to 5 mph less than the speed limit. Keep repeating. This works well on a generally flat road, like I-95. Above all, rack up your high mpg early during a trip or it takes forever to push the mpg higher later on. Speeding and hard acceleration DOES kill mileage - no way around that fact. Finally, use only fuel-efficient tires and occasionally dose your gas with "Sea-Foam" additive to keep the injectors and fuel system clean.
I've read that reprogramming the car's "brain" results in substantial gains in HP and in mileage.
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Kahn, have you been having mileage trouble too?
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It is my third week and I haven't gotten to the 40's yet...max here has been 32-35..hope that change soon..
no AC on since it is nice weather in Houston these days...I am switching to manual and see how that works!!
Thanks
Fabio
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Permalink Reply by kerry on
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Hi,
Just filled up for the first time. I am getting 42.2 mpg. Almost all city, almost all in auto mode but conservative on the take off, only used the air once, mostly top down driving. I hope I get better once broken in after 1,000 miles.
Kerry
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just installed my SG2 this week, learning a bit more about the smart drivetrain. it really sucks gas when cold outside until warm (it was 10F here the last couple days and for the first 4-5 miles it uses twice the fuel while accellerating and idling, when warm the smart idles at 0.2 GPH @ 32F when warm, at 10F when the engine is cold, it idles @ 0.53 GPH) and accelleration when warm is about 1.2 GPH, on a cold engine it's 1.8 GPH for the same amount of throttle. with the sub-freezing temps i'm getting 41MPG in my stop-n-go commutes (12 miles with an average speed of 22mph)
the nice part is when you see the MPG over 100, before it cuts off the fuel while decellerating in D and goes to 9999MPG. i wish i could patch an LED display in my back window for an auxilary MPG display, it would make people think as i scoot along at 60-80 MPGs and watch them freak out when it goes over 120 MPGs!
the SG2 will help when "drafting" on the highways, rather than guessing when you're close enough to that trailer ahead, you'll see the numbers and know "you're in".
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