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I don't know what I'm doing to be getting only 8.6 mpg average. I've been breaking it in very easy. Sometimes I use Tour Mode and sometimes Sport Mode. I live in Dallas and rarely go on a highway so almost all of my driving is short trips like to the gym and back which is about 2 miles each way. I've been very careful not to redline it and even though I get heavy on the foot at times I'm not doing it all the time. I couldn't even do it if I wanted to being in Dallas. I use only 93 octane gas in it. I've had 2 other C8s in the past and it was the exact same thing. I just assumed it was normal until reading some of the posts today of mpg people get and it shocked me how bad mine is, almost comparing it to a track. Any thoughts?
That's actually reasonable for a 495HP V8 driven around town in stop and go traffic. You are not giving it a chance to return any kind of cruising out on the highway to get the gas mileage the car can actually deliver.
That's actually reasonable for a 495HP V8 driven around town in stop and go traffic. You are not giving it a chance to return any kind of cruising out on the highway to get the gas mileage the car can actually deliver.
Oh ok thanks. I thought I was doing something wrong since the gas mileage is 16/24.
The engine is least efficient when “cold.” 2-mile trips do not allow the engine to “warm up,” thus your MPG is normal for short drives
Oh wow I had no idea about that. Thanks so much for pointing that out. It normally takes about 10 minutes to drive those 2 miles. Is there a certain amount of time I would need to drive to allow the engine to warm up?
Oh wow I had no idea about that. Thanks so much for pointing that out. It normally takes about 10 minutes to drive those 2 miles. Is there a certain amount of time I would need to drive to allow the engine to warm up?
Check the water temp and oil temp. When the oil temp gets to 160+ you can use full throttle so that's a good indicator of fully warmed up.
Last edited by AzDave47; Dec 22, 2023 at 12:20 AM.
You must be driving too slow OP. The faster I go the better it gets, really. Driving the car home 200 miles when new, I averaged 23.5 (all highway). Now overall it is 21.5 lifetime. I do not drive it easy.
Short trips tank you MPG for sure. I get 24ish on the highway in Texas at 80 or so. Recently I was tracking and had an ABS error and was locked to 43 mph so made 30 mpg driving 120 miles through Houston. Not fun but shows how effiecent it can be!
On the track I get 5 mpg, city driving 15-18, highway 24-27. I usually drive around in my mode which I have set aggressive except for suspension (for potholes). For road trips I put it in touring. Track is competitive mode.
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With only a 2 mile one way trip, you are not going to get high gas mileage. Drive it on a longer distance, even in city conditions, and see what you get.
Look at the trip odometer which shows average mileage and average speed since it was last cleared (I clear the trip 1 every time I fill up with gas). I'll bet the average speed shown is 20mph or less. That's why.
With only a 2 mile one way trip, you are not going to get high gas mileage. Drive it on a longer distance, even in city conditions, and see what you get.
I've probably been a bit **** in trying to only drive it in city conditions where I can constantly vary the rpms and not on the highway yet. I was thinking of driving it tomorrow to see family 100 miles each way which would get me to the 500 miles by the time I got home but I'm not sure how much I can vary the rpms since a lot of the driving is straight and steady at the same speed. Maybe I'm overthinking it and should just drive it?
Yep. Short trips. If I do a Costco run, I get about 8-9 mpg the first couple miles then as I drive down the highway, it climbs to about 25 mpg by the time I hit Costco in ~10 miles.
Yep. Short trips. If I do a Costco run, I get about 8-9 mpg the first couple miles then as I drive down the highway, it climbs to about 25 mpg by the time I hit Costco in ~10 miles.
Wow that is really interesting. I guess I should just take it on the highway and stop being concerned of trying to get a constant rpm variance during the break in period. Maybe I actually should be mixing it up.
Don't mean to sound like a dick, but i didn't get a Corvette for the MPG...
Well neither did I but I posted this because I didn't know if I was doing something wrong. When I saw how poor mine was compared to many others, I figured I would investigate. It's the same as buying gas. I'm not going to pay 50 cents more for a gallon when up the street it's 50 cents less.
My guess is you are not running on the road at a cruising speed, My car gets great mileage when it is not "stop and go" type of city traffic.
I am more than happy with my numbers and do not mind running gas thru it on any given day.
2 Mile trips sounds to me like the absolute worst thing you can do for a break in.
Cold starts, warm ups and short drives are not good for any engine.
Take that thing out on the highway and let it breathe.
Run it up to 80 then down to 50, drive for at least an hour.
I didn't floor mine for the first 1000 miles, kept it below 4000, that is how I take it easy.
We left the dealer and were on the interstate for an hour.
Stopped for coffee, and drove another 4 hours on highway to our hotel. No city miles.
That is my idea of an easy break in.
FWIW, the worse thing for a car and engine oil is cold starts. Particularly an issues for "garage queens" that mostly get used by driving less than ~4 miles. For the C8 the OLM will take into consideration your driving and may reduce the oil change requirement from minimum ever 12 months. It monitors the oil temp after cold starts along with other inputs, like total engine revolutions to define when you must change engine oil.
In fact may be interested in my '93 Vette Owner's Manual requirement for oil change if most drives are short trips. That was before the OLM.
Yep if engine oil does not get hot enough, long enough after a cold start to evaporate much of the water of combustion that passes the cold pistons, it will form things like sulfuric acid in he oil. That eats metal when the car is parked! Pic from my 1993 Vette Owner's Manual before the OLM.
Gas Mileage Question
