Comments on: Turn High Gas Prices In Your Favor: Buy A Gas Hog

By: Sodbuster

Sodbuster — Fri, 15 May 2009 16:35:40 +0000

This is a question(not a commet). what ever happened to the water enjected(hydrogen)
device that gives you about 40% better mileage??? Costs less than $150. for materials and instalation.

By: George

George — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 03:40:50 +0000

The new Porsche 911 gets better mileage with the 7 speed double clutch, especially on the highway.

The reason, 7th gear, which the manual transmission doesn’t have.
Gears 1-6 are comparable.

Same driver in both vehicles, the double clutch will get better mileage.
So long as the driver knows how to use the manumatic interface.

By: me

me — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 02:28:01 +0000

I know the DSGs well and they are great auto shift shift boxes , they have their roots in the shift-o-matics Porsches & VWs of the 70s . But like any automatics the shift patterns are limited to deal with the varied driving conditions in the most efficient way .

And on the DSGs wet & dry clutches they were built for quick shifts not for fuel efficiency . But one of the side effects of this is it is the most fuel efficient auto shift shift box ever made , maybe ever will be .

But it will never equal a manual in the hands of a well trained driver when it comes to efficiency .

And on having more gears that is to have more ratios for more driving situations not for increased fuel efficiency . Our cars in the US are shorted on gearing to give fast takeoffs not for maximum efficiency .

By: George

George — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 02:02:03 +0000

Automatics.
VW has 7 speed (dry) double clutch transmission and 5 speed manual in the ‘new’ Golf
The 7 speed ‘DSG’ gets better mileage & is faster.

ZF will replace their second generation 6 speed automatic with their 8 speed automatic. Why didn’t BMW launch the new 7-series with it?

JATCO’s 7 speed automatic will find more homes than just in Nissan/Infiniti products.
I love to see a G25 in addition to the G37.

By: me

me — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 01:39:44 +0000

No argument there , we’ll see which one performance of efficiency matters most when we pull up to the pump and see $6-7 a gal ………….in a couple of years . I raced Porsches & motorcycles when I was young so I’ll always be a manual shift person . No stinking automatics here , ever ….LOL

On the track speed & power are your friend , on the road fuel economy is your friend . Words I’ve always lived by ……….With the new diesels BMW 3 series CDI for one you can do what they said wasn’t possible to have speed , power & unbelievable fuel economy .

By: Randy

Randy — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 01:27:25 +0000

in response to By me on Aug 21, 2008

You are correct that many automatic drivers do not drive efficiently. Read this web site and you have the answer to that. On the other hand there are many that drive a manual transmission for performance and would get far better mileage with an automatic. To sum it up mileage is 10 times more dependent on the driver than on the transmission.

By: me

me — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 01:15:41 +0000

And has been stated better mpgs are related to how the car is driven and the driving skill of the driver . And as a rule automatic only drivers are not very proficient when it comes to driving for fuel economy .

And most of the things that can be done in a manual to improve fuel economy are not possible with an automatic . Not to mention that even the best of automatics have more internal friction than a manual which costs fuel economy .

By: George

George — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 01:12:29 +0000

Many times if you purchase a manual shift transmission vehicle in the US, you are stuck with really short gearing.

Audi ‘02 V6 Quattro 6 speed stick. Top gear is just over 24mph per 1k revs.
That allowed a top speed of about 150mph (with rear trunk spoiler) at maximum engine power.
Audi ‘02 V6 Multitronic. Top gear is MUCH taller, just over 38mph / 1K
The front drive car gets way better highway mileage, and slightly better city mileage (it is lighter though)

The lack of cruise gearing isn’t just a German problem.
Honda does the same with the Civic & Fit.

By: Randy

Randy — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 01:10:59 +0000

in response to By me on Aug 21, 2008

Bad example. People have far different driving habits even on the same route. I guarentee I get 25% better mileage than a lot of other people with a similar vehicle on the same route I take to work. The big thing is if you try to get good mileage you can do it with any transmission. My car gets a 5 mpg drop in mileage for every increase in 10 mph. If you accelerate more you use a lot more gas. If you use your brakes very little you get great gas mileage. Maybe you can get a little better with a standard transmission but I would bet it is more in the 5% range if that.

By: me

me — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 00:59:37 +0000

A perfect example of automatic using more fuel is the Toyota Matrix . I know two people that both drive around a big US city in their cars . One has a manual and the other has high tech automatic . They are rated almost identical but in real world driving the manual car is achieving 30-40 % better mpgs . Same car with almost identical EPA ratings where the manual is averaging around 40 mpgUS and the automatic is only achieving the high 20s over the same routes same time of day .

Another example is the Versa , I have a friend with one with the CVT and is only hitting low to mid 20s . And I know for a fact that the manual version over the same terrain can easily hit 40 mpgUS .