lostinthebush Posted October 2, 2004 Share Posted October 2, 2004 How is the gas mileage on yalls 2.5L's? its a 97 outback with a 5spd, driving consertively and i have been less than impressed. i have heard the gas mileage is medocre but i will admit i think the 2.5L has more than enough power for real world driving situations and overall i love the outback! than again i am coming from a ford f-350 where i was getting 4 miles a gallon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeamPanic Posted October 2, 2004 Share Posted October 2, 2004 I've got a 99 Outback, Auto., run synthetic Mobile 1, and I just got 28.7 mpg on my last tank.....I was rather impressed to say the least. I've also got a K&N air filter and a tornado air attachment. This is a combo of 70% city and 30% highway driving. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rweddy Posted October 2, 2004 Share Posted October 2, 2004 I've got a 99 Outback, Auto., run synthetic Mobile 1, and I just got 28.7 mpg on my last tank.....I was rather impressed to say the least. I've also got a K&N air filter and a tornado air attachment. This is a combo of 70% city and 30% highway driving. My 96 5spd 2.2 gets 32 mpg highway with all synthetic. My father in laws 02 2.5 auto gets 28 on the highway with dyno oil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranger83 Posted October 2, 2004 Share Posted October 2, 2004 We had two of them with autos and my sister-in-law has one with a manual. Average city/highway is 25-26. Absolute low is 20 mpg in all city highway driving. High for one tank is 28.4 mpg mostly highway 65-75, 29.1 driving 65. The manual doesn't seem to do better, but it's hard to tell because in VT it's all up-and-down and only about 1/2 her mileage (209K) is highway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commuter Posted October 3, 2004 Share Posted October 3, 2004 97 OB 2.5L Auto as well. I consistently get 24 / 25 mpg, mostly highway driving at 70 mph. A little better in the summer, a bit worse in the winter. The best I ever saw was about 27. Commuter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattocs Posted October 3, 2004 Share Posted October 3, 2004 96 OBW 2.2L 24.5MPG average. 31.2 was my best highway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martinjmpr Posted October 3, 2004 Share Posted October 3, 2004 How is the gas mileage on yalls 2.5L's? its a 97 outback with a 5spd, driving consertively and i have been less than impressed. i have heard the gas mileage is medocre but i will admit i think the 2.5L has more than enough power for real world driving situations and overall i love the outback! than again i am coming from a ford f-350 where i was getting 4 miles a gallon I guess it depends on what you consider decent mileage. I consistently get 25-28 in my '99 AT OBW. HIghest I ever got was about 31, lowest has been around 21-22. Remember that the OBW is not a tiny car, so it's unrealistic to expect 35+ MPG. I had a Mazda p/u that got nearly 40 MPG, of course, it was 2wd and so slow I named it the "silver slug" (I think it had a 90hp engine!) Most of the statistics I see show the MT Subarus getting slightly worse overall MPG than the AT versions. I assume this is because of the 50/50 AWD system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lostinthebush Posted October 3, 2004 Author Share Posted October 3, 2004 yes, great points. how much should i expect out of a full tank of gas? 300 miles? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martinjmpr Posted October 3, 2004 Share Posted October 3, 2004 yes, great points. how much should i expect out of a full tank of gas? 300 miles? I'd say at least 300. I figure on about 350 if I'm in town, a little less if I'm on the road, just because gas stations are fewer and far between out here in Wyoming. I think I've gone up over 400 before I finally lost my nerve, but I don't think I've ever put over 14.5 gallons in the tank (capacity is supposedly 15.9 which should give you 429 miles @ the EPA estimated 27 MPG on the highway.) The other thing to consider is the accuracy (or lack thereof) of your odometer. I've got a GPS and have noticed that the GPS typically shows me traveling about 2% fewer miles than the car's odometer. Now, of course the GPS has an error, too, but it's probably smaller than the one on the car. So, in reality, I may only be getting 25 or 26 MPG rather than the 28 or 29 I figure using the odometer. As the saying goes, your mileage may vary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
r_chopin Posted October 4, 2004 Share Posted October 4, 2004 Guys, How about the octans? Don't think it's possible to approach 30mpg with 87. How is the oil affecting it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martinjmpr Posted October 4, 2004 Share Posted October 4, 2004 Guys,How about the octans? Don't think it's possible to approach 30mpg with 87. How is the oil affecting it? I think that's a myth. I'm not an engineer, but as I understand it, the octane rating of a fuel is the rating of the fuel's resistance to ignition. The higher the octane, the more resistant to ignition the fuel is (i.e., the more heat it takes to spontaneously ignite the fuel.) The reason high-performance cars and piston-driven airplanes need high octane fuel isn't because the fuel has more energy in it (I don't know if it does or not), rather, it is because these types of engines produce more power by using higher compression ratios. Higher compression = more heat, which means more likelihood of preignition (knocking or 'pinging'), which robs an engine of its energy and can actually be harmful to the engine. Bottom line, a normally aspirated engine that is designed to run on regular gas will not run any better on premium, unless preignition has been a problem. Subaru engines are designed to run on regular gas, so the extra money you spend on premium is probably wasted. Incidentally, octane ratings change with altitude. The 87/89/91 octane fuel you get at sea level is 85/87/89 in Colorado and Wyoming. I have gotten over 30 MPG on my OBW using regular, 85-octane fuel (though, as I've stated, this is calculated using my odometer, which may be off by 2%.) All it takes is a flat road, liberal use of cruise control and a light foot on the gas (I cruise at 55-60 mph when I'm not in a hurry to get somewhere.) Like it or not, the biggest killer of gas mileage is your right foot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOMAD327 Posted October 4, 2004 Share Posted October 4, 2004 What I have heard about regular grade gasoline is that it contains a bit more energy than premium grade and as such would give slightly more economy. What I really notice is when they switch from Summer grade mix to Winter grade mixture of regular, I gain and then lose up to 2 MPG with every vehicle, and it's a sudden change over a period of one week as the old mixture gets sold out. With Subaru, I have gotten 25 to 28 MPG highway, and drive well over the limit at times, I have seen as low as 19 in town, but usually about 22 to 23, it's a 2.5 auto 99 outback wagon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
99obw Posted October 4, 2004 Share Posted October 4, 2004 Like it or not, the biggest killer of gas mileage is your right foot. I assume you mean the right foot on the accelerator. The second biggest killer of economy IMHO is the right foot on the brake. Braking wastes hard earned (usually derived from the combustion of gasoline) kinetic energy. I try and coast whenever braking seems inevitable but not yet absolutely necessary. That way I am using kinetic energy to move my car forward, not to heat up the brake components. This behavior annoys the mathematically impaired people behind me, but I really don't care. FWIW my wife's average in the outback over the past 10 or so tanks is ~26.7 MPG in mixed driving. EPA highway is 26. I have seen as high as 31 MPG highway when I am driving. I have no complaints about the economy of the 2.5. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lostinthebush Posted October 4, 2004 Author Share Posted October 4, 2004 ya plus subarus are a blast to drive so its harder to contain your urge to speed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pcwizard2600 Posted October 5, 2004 Share Posted October 5, 2004 My 98 Outback w/ MT gets around 25-27 mixed city and highway, and there are a lot of hills and mountains where I am. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaltree Posted October 5, 2004 Share Posted October 5, 2004 Last week I had a '97 2.5L AT Ouback. Usually saw 21 city / 30 highway. Next week I will have a '97 2.2L AT Outback. I will be interested to see the changes... Yes - it's a blast to drive. Just wish she was a WRX. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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