churrosurf

The only thing i can say about all this "conversation" here is SCION XB gas mileage sucks!! I had a 2012 scion xb, and no matter how I drive this car , I can made more than 210-220 miles. I drive 72 every day from home to work and back, and I have to fill up my tank twice a week from monday to friday. Driving at 65,75 or 80mph is the same. I'm relly hate that , I don't know is a small gas tank or what, but this car is like a v8. I used to have a Mazda Protege 5, with header, CAI, Magnaflow exhaust system, catless midpipe, and I drove this car really hard, 80mph or more the same way home-work and back and I used to make 300 miles or more with a tank, only one tank the whole week . I'm trying to do something with this xb, but I think I'm gonna finish selling the car o take to the dealer and get another I don't know, but with the gas on 4.00$ a gallon an going up what we can expect..

pyroman131

Your old Protege was better equipped for fuel economy:

1. Not box shaped
2. Curb weight: 2,716 lbs
3. Fuel tank capacity: 14.5 gallons
4. 2.0l 130 hp
5. Fuel economy: 25/31


xB:

1. Box shaped
2. Curb weight: 3,027 lbs
3. Fuel tank: 14 gallons
4. 2.4l 158 hp
5. Fuel economy: 22/28

As you can see, the xB, although thrifty, cannot possibly contend with fuel economy compared to your Protege. I get an average of 260 miles per gallon with a 70% city and 30% highway driving. Keep in mind my xB is heavier, thirstier, and has a slightly smaller gas tank. So I think 260 is actually pretty good. I also have heavy 18" wheels.

churrosurf

JAJA I know , but that's another concern, the fuel tank I really don't think is 14.5 gallons.I run almost empty, ligth on and display said 3 miles to empty, and put only 11 something gallons, my old mazda I put like 13 gallons on it, the other big plus was a 5 speed, my xb is AT.

GDubya

First off, making the engine breath (via CAI) and exhaust with less restrictions would yield better theoretical efficiency EXCEPT that typically when you add "performance parts" you're not driving/accelerating as sedately as before either. So, if you're excited about gaining 3-8% HP, chances are chewing up gas mileage on your end.
And lots of people don't understand effective exhaust gas management. If your pipes are too large in diameter, you will get more/louder/sexier resonance (bass) sound but it'll allow the gases to cool more and flow slower...

Unless you squeeze every drop out of your tank, the math says you're seeing 250(city)-325(ALL highway) miles per tank if you refill 12 of 14 capacity gallons. Understand that you're still driving a 1-5 person "fun brick" at reasonable purchase price and normal speeds, not a fn moped on side streets or 2-3x $ advanced hybrid or electric...

So, if you want a little extra giddy-up-and-go without extra induction (super-charged or turbo) costs, a CAI and good exhaust are gonna help you realistically.

TrevorS

iTrader: (1)

It really doesn't make the engine more efficient to be able to breath better through intake and/or exhaust. What it does is to make it more capable (as in performance). If you want max mpg, leave it stock. If you want max performance, make well considered mods. Fortunately, even with performance mods, if the driver chooses fuel economy as number one, it's still possible to achieve very good gas mileage. However without making and following through on that choice, it's not going to happen! MPG isn't a given, you have to continually choose it!

ScionFred

iTrader: (1)

In the worst case the XB should average at least 25mpg during combined city/hwy driving. Assuming you drive 25,000 miles per year and that gas costs $4 per gal, you're paying $4000 per year for fuel. You could trade in your used XB for a 50mpg Prius at a cost of ~$10,000 and it would take 5 years to recoup that in fuel cost savings. Longer if you pay interest on all or part of that $10k.

You can try a lot of things to improve your XB's fuel economy such as CAI, free-flowing exhaust, lowering springs, low rolling resistance tires, lighter wheels, high tire pressures, etc. but I think you'd be very lucky to see even a 2mpg increase over stock. It's still a brick powered by a 12 year old engine design which is why it costs so little initially.


* Edit: Since we're on the subject of fuel economy, I thought I'd share something I've noticed because of having a AFR gauge. When coasting the ECU cuts fuel to the engine and provides engine braking but if you downshift an auto trans manually, it supplies fuel for a several seconds before cutting it again. So for max fuel economy, let the ECU handle the engine braking. I don't know if the MT ECU does the same but suspect it might. I believe it interprets the downshift as indication of the driver's intent to accelerate.

DJ_FroZone

iTrader: (2)

I average close to 276-292 a tank. and friday is stomp day. which means i can rip the ____ out of it when i want. now im stock wheels. when i have my 18's which are prolly the heaveist 18s on the board that number drops to maybe 250-60 range.

Now i do something idfferent. on the highway i do not go over 55-62 why? we have 4cyc with no 5th gear. u keep the rpm above 3k ur just gonna burn through that gas with no time difference. leave for work earlier so u can just crusie at 60 in teh slow lane. less chance for accidents. honestly try it. spend a tank crusing at 55-60 rather than 80. i can push this car to 147+ i've done it. and watched that needle just DROP. seriously keep it under 60 when ur cruising. yea its slow and takes maybe 5 mins top longer but its worth it for gas. i have a 12.4 gallon tank

Yes mines heavliy modified but even stock you should achive close to the same

Cai
Header
Ebay exhaust
Unichip (running 87)
And a heavy ___ sound system haha and all my work gear.

So its possible and driving at 65+ will do NOTHING for you.l

vancouverray

How good do you think the XB should be on fuel ? It's not a corolla . I get good milage for what it is . Large slightly heavy box . I know a friend with a Soul and it sucks gas like crazy for a small car .

TrevorS

iTrader: (1)

Guess I'm not clear on the message of this post, but there are many that report well under 25 mpg. It's always possible to mistreat your car in such a fashion to worsen your MPG. Further, the more your car is modded to enable performance, the greater the possibility of reducing MPG (large OD rims typically also contributing). MPG is not exclusive of performance mods, but it does depend on willingness to drive in a fashion consistent with MPG. If you are a binary driver (either max throttle or max brakes) especially combined with stop and go traffic patterns, you can expect the worst MPG. The more performance capable your car is (via performance mods) the worse you can expect that MPG to be. Max MPG regardless of conditions requires max easiness on the throttle and overall laidback driving behavior.

sjthompson01

Good lord peep just buy the stuff to enjoy your ride and make it look and sound cool maybe performe better lol. If you feel it better if not oh well .

ScionFred

iTrader: (1)

I suppose 25mpg city/hwy avg isn't really the worst case but if I can still average 25mpg with a turbo boosting bhp to 275 and heavier wheels with fatter tires, any semi-competent driver should be able to duplicate that with a stock or IHE XB. For those who can't manage 25mpg avg from their XB they won't get 50mpg from a Prius or match EPA estimates for any car so it's a wash.

TrevorS

iTrader: (1)

Unfortunately, many owners expect the sticker or better MPG without having to making any driving behavior adjustments. The greater their aggression as a driver, the more the performance capability of their vehicle will cost MPG . Little wonder Toyota included that snorkel before the air box ! Agreed, you can probably screw up the economy of any economy car if you're determined enough !

DJ_FroZone

iTrader: (2)

i have made a prius dip under30. i was SO proud.

TrevorS

iTrader: (1)

Cracked me up dude, that's great ! Hopefully a learning flag for others !

ScionFred

iTrader: (1)

Those expectations have some basis in recent history. As you probably recall the EPA MPG estimating procedures were changed in 2008 resulting in a drop across the board of ~1-4mpg. It made most 2008 new vehicles look like gas hogs compared to their prior model years. For those used to getting same-as or better mpg than the EPA estimates, suddenly getting same-as or worse MPG must have been a disappointment.

Also as you correctly pointed out, the full-throttle, full-brake crowd suffer more as engine efficiency and power increases. Obviously it takes more fuel to produce 200hp than 150hp and that crowd is far too obtuse to notice the difference in a-b. It's all about how they look to their peers...

ScionFred

iTrader: (1)

Well done!

GDubya

PROPS, my spirited-driving Brother!