The mpg which you quoted ... 38.6 ... seems too good to be true. There was a similar thread last month ... nothing like that number was reported.
I have achieved 34 mpg on a highway trip ... fill-up to fill-up ... very few stops at 55mph.

Maybe you were on level terrain ... no hills, or valleys. Maybe you had unusually favorable wind conditions. ... Difficult to explain your results.

 

My 94 gets @ 30 mpg going between 65 and 75 mph.

My 95 gets it best mileage while parked in front of the house .... :disappoin

just sayin' ....

 

too good to be true

Yeah that is what I thought "too good to be true" when i first did the math and got 38.6. In fact I did the math about another 4 times & got the same numbers. I, like you, was skeptical at first and just chalked it up to a fluke, wind, terrain, weather, bad math, whatever. But since then i have been able to take some long distance trips, and the results have been the same, my best mileage came from driving at about 75-80mph. My average mpg was about 36-38, and I even hit 39.4mpg once.

 

Wondering how you measure your fuel. I attempt to get it close to full, stop fueling for a moment and then run the fuel until it shuts off. I try to repeat the process each time I fill it so it is close to the same full level. Read the gas pumped from the receipt or the meter. Obviously I reset the trip odometer at the pump and read it when I'm stopped to refuel. It's best to get the tank under 1/4 before filling and when I'm in town where stations are plentiful I often run it down to the light if I'm checking mileage. I routinely get 30 mpg and have come close to 32 once or twice. I try to use only 100% gas. I drive 75-90 mph on the highway and don't intend to slow down to see if my mileage goes up. Driving around town with some highway I average about 23-25 mpg but I drive hard in town too. No significant difference between my '01 and '04 and both are Camry 4 bangers with autos. I remember another time someone claimed that type of mileage but he was running it down to the 1/2 level and assuming he had used 1/2 a tank. I'm sure you know better but 38+ seems pretty incredible. I would hold onto that car if I were you.:thumbsup:

 

The laws of physics are all against you. There is no way a vehicle can be more efficient at that speed due to exponentially higher air resistance. Best fuel economy on any vehicle is being able to drive in the highest gear possible at the lowest speed possible (without causing undue strain) of course with an auto it is impossible to cause undue strain but with a manual you can much more precisely match your most efficient RPM to road speed. I would lay odds on a 4 cyl camry auto this would be something like a steady 45 to 50 mph (with no hills causing torque converter unlock or a downshift). Here too a manual is more controllable. I think it is one of the reason that under same drive conditions my Vue 2.2 with 5 spd can best the Camry on MPG

 

Welcome to TN dw_wanno

I believe you. My wife's old car a 2001 Malibu was rated at 29 mpg. It got its best milage going from the middle of Kansas up to Denver at 75+. Over 35 mpg. It has done that every time we made the trip (at least a dozen times) It also did it on a trip to & from Sandusky Ohio at similar speeds.

What you are saying underthehood51 makes sense but it is to simple. An engines most fuel efficient rpm is what's important. What speed that is at in top gear obviously varies with each transmission. In some cars the efficiency of the rpm overcomes the air resistance. If you observe the rpms and drive at what ever speed that is in a lower gear you should get even better mpg assuming the transmission is equally efficient in that gear as that factors in also.

 

Air resistance, tire pressure, roll out resistance, weight, overdrive RPM, are all factors competing in MPG. I could do 65mph in my Hyundai Accent with a 1.6l DOHC 16 valve, auto transmission, 2800rpm at 65mph, and on my best day get 34mpg. That was a 2200lb roller skate. Not calling you a liar DW, but most cars these days have a hard time reaching 40mpg.

 

Yes and no. Most cars these days can get close. Let's here it for vvti, direct injection & similar tech. If you can't beat the rated mpg then you have a bad commute/terrain. My 09 Camry is rated 30mpg. My best is 37.4, I used to get over 35 all the time. A friend who has a 5th gen tells me he hit over 38 a lot. I belive him as the 5th gen are a little lighter with not quite as aggressive vvti settings. My wife's 2013 Altima is rated at 38. It will get over 40 at 75. All of these are on no Ethanol gas of course. I drove it on a 130 some mile round trip at 60 mpg just to see what it could do. 53.5 mpg. The new over 500 HP Corvettes will get over 30 highway. When direct injection gets more widespread I think 40 will be the new 30 in most cars.

 

On my 98's first and only road trip, doing ~75 with no cruise control and following someone, I calculated 37 mpg. I've not done another long road trip, so I haven't been able to check it again.

It does seem impossible and I figured it was due to the 2nd fill up pump cutting off early.

 

Following some one? As in drafting? You could get crazy mpg doing that but that's dangerous. Probably the pump as you say. I use the same nozzle on the same pump when I can. I also drive 40-50 K a year so I have a large data set.

 

Not drafting!

 

Anyone getting over 30mpg with a pre'02 Camry is BS...Get a new calculator.

 

I hate to burst your bubble but I get 32-34mpg in my 95 Camry. I can get 40+ if I hypermile.

 

The 5SFE is not a gas hog. And shifting pre 3k RPM and not beating on her, I consistently get 30-32mpg. low cruising RPM at 65mph (2400-2500rpm) why does that not sound achievable JB?

 

Is yours manual or auto?

 

Automatic

 

I get my best MPGs at 10mph. I get up there... and then I drift it in neutral. I get 99mpg for long distances that way!!

 

93 5S-FE, 198,000 miles. My best was 28 mpg highway @ 65 mph.

 

My best was 31.2 mpg on my '95 Camry. My worst was 18.4 mpg. My average is around 24.3 mpg. I have an automatic. I tend to stay around 2000 RPM and I try to avoid unnecessary stops by creeping up to red lights and such, but traffic doesn't always allow for that.

 

I've owned two '92's, a '93, an '01 and an '04 Camry. All 4 bangers automatics. I can believe 28-32 MPG average on a highway trip (maybe a bit more occasionally if conditions are perfect). Mixed driving probably mid to low 20's. Hyper-mileing is something I couldn't stand to even try so I can't speak for that, but running at normal highway speeds or higher and consistently getting 35-40 MPG seems highly unlikely. I don't consider myself an expert by any means but if anyone is getting that type of mileage I strongly suggest you hold onto that vehicle for as long as possible.

 

I hyper mile so I can speak for that, 38-42 on the freeway and 29-31 in the city.

Back before I was hyper miling (going 75 on the freeway and shifting at right about 3k rpm). I was getting about 27 mpg overall, about 29 on the freeway and 22 in the city.

 

Good to know, Balto. Your before numbers don't surprise me at all and I've heard similar claims from hypermilers so I can believe that too although again, I can't speak from experience. Personally, I typically drive 75-85 MPH on the highway in the '04 and run about 29-31 MPG on 'real' 87 gas. I drive really fuelish in town and often only average 24 MPG and sometimes less if it's mostly city. I have no desire to drive in a manner to get the best mileage and happy I don't have the need to do so either. I know some do it for the challenge while others want to save money and I'm not knocking anyone for doing so. It simply isn't a style I would care to drive. But 35-40 MPG at 80 MPH has got to be a real keeper for a non-hybrid Camry.

 

One of the reasons I think my Vue (even though bigger and heavier than the Camry) gets better average MPG is it is mostly a non-highway vehicle now (meaning I no longer commute 135 miles RT to and from O'Hare) but now only do a 18 mile RT commute and only 2 days a week plus just slogging around town here. It is a 5 spd and I can shift it when I want to unlike the Camry which seems to want to "wind out" much more than I would if I was controlling the shift(s). I typically will shift the Vue under 2500 while the auto in the Camry (even under what is to me light throttle) wants to always wind out to 3k and above. Drives wonderfully but I do wish it was a manual ;-)

 

Never got over 28 with brand new plugs, wires, after injector cleaner...etc. EPA said 29max hwy and they are usually optimistic...Around town really sucks for a 4cyl. I guess I am used to corollas and civics...I drive 90% hwy.

 

The MPG numbers OP posted are hard to believe. I don't do much highway driving myself. I get around 22 MPG driving around town in my 1MZ-FE.

But I have a friend with a 5SFE that said he was shocked when he got better MPG driving fast on the highway than when he drove slower.

As someone stated before, air resistance increases exponentially with increasing speed. Primary force cars must overcome at higher speeds on flat land.

Engines consume less fuel the less the gas pedal is depressed and the lower the engine RPM is.

If OP says that he gets better MPG at 75-80 than below 70, his engine must run a lot more efficient at that cruising RPM range and speed.

If only we had a dyno graph that had a horsepower output versus fuel consumption ratio.

 

If he used the live data monitor or torque app we could get a snap shot or graph of what his vehicle is doing to achieve those results. I drive 48 miles on Highway each way at 72mph and about 2 of those miles are local side streets and I average 25-26mpg. My fuel light comes on at about 350-375 miles. Fill it back up with about 15 gallons on Friday morning. Tires are 205/65/15 with very little thread left and the car pulls to the right. Shocks are good but I shake down the road with bad mounts. No CEL, clean TB and iac. No leaks or oil consumption. Base idle around 689-702. No tune up maintenance history just been running it for 3 months. That's. My setup on a 97 xle v6. Did swap out the radio for weight savings. Lol

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I can add to the 35+ mpg circle. I usually get 35-37 when driving from norcal to socal (long, straight, between 65-70mph) and theres a big mountain pass that puts strain on the engine, but you go down too). Best was 39.7 from san diego to just north of the grapevine (just past the mountain pass). Its possible to get these figures, but your car needs to be tuned and conditions need to be right with the weather, road type, traffic, etc... With these numbers, I also don't do much stop and go, so accel is mostly zero while maintaining a constant velocity and no breaks a long the way.

Currently, my commute is only 3 miles. I only get ~22.

 

I have a 2000 Camry, 4cyl. I drive from Texas to New York often and I calculate mpg each time I fill up the tank. I average 65-70mph the entire way. I get about 37-8 mpg. Recently (ten days ago, actually), I drove back to Texas and averaged 34mpg, but my alignment is off. I spend about $140 in gas each way, and I get about 450 miles from the full mark to the quarter tank mark, which is when I fill up again.

My calculation method is to fill up the tank until the pump clicks off. Then I drive until I have about a quarter tank left (roughly 450 miles). Then I fill up again, until the pump clicks off. I then check the trip counter (I reset to zero at every fill-up) and divide the number of miles just driven by the number of gallons I just put in.

Please note that I have my tires filled to 32 and use Mobil 1 synthetic oil, both of which I believe contribute to the good mileage.

 

I drive 90% highway, 20 miles each way to work. I have my tires inflated to 44psi. I typically drive at 65mph. I ran seafoam through the gas tank, put in new sparkplugs and wires and I have only recorded 27mpg top since last September. The car runs awesome and the plugs look great. I refuse to put in synthetic oil into a vehicle with 173k on it as I have had a very bad experience before where the car just started to drink oil when I made this change at a high mileage. What year did they stop installing the Power/Normal switch by the shifter? The car is only rated for 29mpg by the EPA which is usually generous.

 

As for running tires highly over inflated. Don't waste your time. First the car rides like s^&t, handles like s^&t, and is unsafe. And also it does absolutely nothing to improve MPG. Look for a myth-buster episode on this. They did scientific measurements of fuel use on a controlled course. They found that running the tires on the test vehicle down to 10 PSI (BTW a full size Ford Crown Vic) caused a very slight loss of MPG. Something like .06% IIRC, they than ran the tires to like 60 PSI and found a .0001% difference over recommended. Their conclusion?..................................BUSTED.