Mazda 3 Petrol Range

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7785 posts

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#1342264 13-Jul-2015 15:17

2 stroke engines seem to be particularly sensitive to older fuel. I think it has to do with reduced octane.

linw: I don't think stale petrol is an urban myth as we had problems starting our two stroke outboard motor on our trailer sailor if we didn't renew the petrol after some months (used the motor very little to get to and from the jetty for racing so tank could last ages before emptying).

Mike

mattwnz

20164 posts

Uber Geek

#1342293 13-Jul-2015 15:21

BruceHamilton:

Actually, it's very true. Petrol is a mixture of hydrocarbons, and some of them keep degrading over time. Most fuel specifications have a gum or oxidation stability specification, especially aviation gasolines.
The most damaging hydrocarbons are the olefins ( alkenes ) that will polymerise and form gums, consequently there are industry agreed maximum concentrations in NZ - because we have industry storage tanks at ports, and extra additives may be added by oil company brands as "their" fuel is transferred to road tankers for delivery.

Probably pays then to buy fuel from stations with a high turnover of cars.

nzkiwiman

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#1350375 23-Jul-2015 12:55

Done 300km since filling up and my average fuel use is back up to 7.9l per 100km, which results in a rough range of less than 250km until I need to fill up.

Certainly a bit more than my Civic, but not as good as I was expecting or guessing based on the published fuel range

Regs

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Snowflake

#1353919 28-Jul-2015 22:36

there was an article in the AA Directtions magazine on fuel consumption figures this month:

http://www.aa.co.nz/membership/aa-directions/driver/fuel-myths-busted/

check the "Why don’t most cars live up to their fuel claims?" section - which suggests that 20%+ of the variance is can be down to the 'human' factor.

also this: "In the AA Energywise Rally, an event that used to be conducted annually to find New Zealand’s most economical car by drivers focused on driving economically, manufacturers’ claims were commonly bettered by over 20%, with improvements of close to 40% for some."

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Jase2985

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#1354169 29-Jul-2015 09:56

Regs: also this: "In the AA Energywise Rally, an event that used to be conducted annually to find New Zealand’s most economical car by drivers focused on driving economically, manufacturers’ claims were commonly bettered by over 20%, with improvements of close to 40% for some."

yes it is possible

i read an article about this rally a few years back these guys were driving at 70-80kph on 100kph roads, so while its possible to get extreme fuel economy you end up holding up traffice and generally being an annoyance on the roads.

MikeAqua

7785 posts

Uber Geek

#1355362 30-Jul-2015 15:06

I getting avg 9.3L/100km from our Mazda 3 SP 25 (3 tanks now). That's a daily run of 50% urban 50% open road.

I could do much better but I didn't buy a zippy car to drive it economically.

Mike

Regs

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Snowflake

#1355549 30-Jul-2015 21:06

MikeAqua: I getting avg 9.3L/100km from our Mazda 3 SP 25 (3 tanks now). That's a daily run of 50% urban 50% open road.

I could do much better but I didn't buy a zippy car to drive it economically.

I always LOL at the people who talk about getting better fuel economy and savings from their $100K vehicles. If you're worried about saving money, buy a cheaper car :-)

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mattwnz

20164 posts

Uber Geek

#1355596 30-Jul-2015 22:37

MikeAqua: I getting avg 9.3L/100km from our Mazda 3 SP 25 (3 tanks now). That's a daily run of 50% urban 50% open road.

I could do much better but I didn't buy a zippy car to drive it economically.

Does sound a bit on the high side. I have looked at ours and it has done 4 tanks and is averaging 8.4l/100km, and that includes about 8 trips over the Rimutakas.

nzkiwiman

2585 posts

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#1355778 31-Jul-2015 10:25

455km, fuel light is on (last two "bars" of the fuel gauge) so will have to fill up tonight or before I head out over the weekend.
Annoyed that I can't seem to get 500km on a tank and I don't trust the range to go at all - went down 9km from when I parked up to turning on the car this morning and most days seems to be 1km driven, range goes down 2km

Wondering if I should use manual mode a bit more often - car tends to have a tendency to change gears at the worst times
This may have nothing to do with using more petrol but it annoys.

But I am still loving the new car

alasta

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#1355784 31-Jul-2015 10:30

I'm starting to seriously consider the diesel SP22 Limited. Apparently the automatic is quoted at 5.2l/100km so even with RUC the operating cost is about the same as the SP25 but I really like the idea of that low down torque. It would be interesting to see what the real world fuel consumption is like, but the range on a tank should be great.

jonathan18

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#1355836 31-Jul-2015 11:06

alasta: I'm starting to seriously consider the diesel SP22 Limited. Apparently the automatic is quoted at 5.2l/100km so even with RUC the operating cost is about the same as the SP25 but I really like the idea of that low down torque. It would be interesting to see what the real world fuel consumption is like, but the range on a tank should be great.

I've the same engine in my 6, and it's excellent. Fuel economy in this (a heavier/larger vehicle) is great on the open road - easily get it in the low-mid 5s on long trips, and up to 1,000 km from a tank.

Urban fuel economy's ok - closer to the 8s for me at the moment (but that's partly the delight of living in a small city where drives are short and a lot of stop-start driving).

From one of your other threads (on the Camry hybrid) you indicated you do little city driving, so as I mentioned in that thread I think that diesel could work well for you (whether it's in the 6 or 3).

MikeAqua

7785 posts

Uber Geek

#1356042 31-Jul-2015 14:01

2 tanks only for ours. There has been quite a bit of new car hooning though ...

mattwnz:
MikeAqua: I getting avg 9.3L/100km from our Mazda 3 SP 25 (3 tanks now). That's a daily run of 50% urban 50% open road.

I could do much better but I didn't buy a zippy car to drive it economically.

Does sound a bit on the high side. I have looked at ours and it has done 4 tanks and is averaging 8.4l/100km, and that includes about 8 trips over the Rimutakas.

Mike

alasta

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#1356354 31-Jul-2015 21:23

jonathan18:
alasta: I'm starting to seriously consider the diesel SP22 Limited. Apparently the automatic is quoted at 5.2l/100km so even with RUC the operating cost is about the same as the SP25 but I really like the idea of that low down torque. It would be interesting to see what the real world fuel consumption is like, but the range on a tank should be great.

I've the same engine in my 6, and it's excellent. Fuel economy in this (a heavier/larger vehicle) is great on the open road - easily get it in the low-mid 5s on long trips, and up to 1,000 km from a tank.

Urban fuel economy's ok - closer to the 8s for me at the moment (but that's partly the delight of living in a small city where drives are short and a lot of stop-start driving).

From one of your other threads (on the Camry hybrid) you indicated you do little city driving, so as I mentioned in that thread I think that diesel could work well for you (whether it's in the 6 or 3).

I have to admit that I didn't give much thought to your advice in the other thread because I felt that the 6 Limited was beyond my budget and the 6 GSX is a bit ho-hum but I've since decided that a bigger car is unnecessary and likely to be a bit of a nuisance.

I work just down the road from Capital City Motors so I might go and stick my head in the door and see if they will let me take the 3 SP22 for a drive up the Rimutakas, and I have a feeling it is going to impress me. It's expensive for a small car, but it offers so much kit that it's still better value dollar-for-dollar than some of the cheaper but more pedestrian alternatives I've looked at.

Thanks for sharing your experience with the diesel engine - it's definitely useful advice.

Regs

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Snowflake

#1356400 1-Aug-2015 00:14

alasta: I'm starting to seriously consider the diesel SP22 Limited. Apparently the automatic is quoted at 5.2l/100km so even with RUC the operating cost is about the same as the SP25 but I really like the idea of that low down torque. It would be interesting to see what the real world fuel consumption is like, but the range on a tank should be great.

I like the torque-y feeling in both the 3 and the 6 with the diesel versions. Just feels more responsive for most of my driving profiles (city not open road). The diesel is a little noisier though

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minimoke

750 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1365018 12-Aug-2015 21:24

2.0l Axela with Skyacitve and i stop owner here. I track fuel using mycars app.

Owned since February and I'm averaging 7.5l/100. Driving on the whole a 30km one way commute 1/3 city, 2/3 country with stops. Rest city driving

Trip computer seems to suggest running on empty when hitting the 50 litre used mark.Maximum range on this basis is 680km traveled and showing empty on gauge and 0 miles to go on trip computer. Most fuel I have put in is 50.4l so its not a 50 l tank and at that stage no sputtering of engine to suggest it was sucking the last remnants so no idea how big the tank actually is. I suspect its 55l. One day I'll take a 10l spare with me and run it dry to find out.

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