pinball-1

Hey all two quick questions; what does the average 2002 LS1 get for MPG city and highway?-(when not having a lead foot haha) And do you need to use premium gas? I seen some articles saying it is highly recommended. Would regular E10 gas work as well? because it has a higher octane rating than regular unleaded gasoline.

I'm not really all that concerned about mpg, because I have a '96 V6 Camaro right now (which I love!) that is only getting 20mpg average (something is messed up with it). But I'm asking because its kinda a thing to make my dad feel better about me spending the $14k its gonna cost for this one haha.

Thanks in advance.
Dustin

jmmullin

To start, depending on mileage, $14,000 seems like a lot for a Z28, unless it is in absolutely perfect condition as a 35th anniversary... but thats not your question

The rating I think is around 19/29 mpg, but not many folks get that much, so I'd say around 17/28. I have a 6-speed that got 28 on the highway before I did a heads/cam swap, and now it still gets 26.5 last time i took it to the beach... Autos would typically get 1 mpg less, maybe 2 less. I imagine that Z28 would get better than 20 average, and be a lot more fun than the V6 at that.

jmmullin

Oh, and I don't see any reason E10 gasoline wouldn't work fine; your mileage will suffer though, since the Ethanol is only about 70-80% as efficient as gasoline; so crunching some numbers...

16 gallons of gas * "100"% efficient = 1600 which would be like going (at 20 mpg average) 320 miles on a tank

16*10% = 1.6 gallons ethanol + 14.4 gallons gasoline: (in a 16 gallon tank)
1.6 * "75"% efficient + 14.4 * "100"% efficient = 120+1440 = 1560

So using a proportion to find how many miles the answer "1560" would be like driving you do:

1600/320 = 1560/x; x = 312 miles... so you'd drive 8 miles less in theory on a full tank, which would be (-8/320)*100% = a drop in 2.5% fuel efficiency..

I'm very bored right now at work...

slomarao

ya im bored at work too but dont do what you are. Sheesh, i should talk to your boss.


A good running ls1 will get good hwy milage. Especailly a 2.73 car or an M6.
I would expect 27-30 mpg's while driving at 65-70mph. Now there are many things that can affect this, if you put in 3.73's in a a4 car its not going to get good hwy mpg at all. But if you can tach 1600-1900 rpms you should get getting good milage.

jmmullin

I am the boss

haha j/k

but he was gone and there was nothing to do with 15 minutes left

is the car an A4 or M6?

Bayer-Z28

I would imagine that an A4 would be a little better on gas.. With a full exhaust and a tune, I was averaging about 330 HW miles to a tank... -Mostly stock.. I've got heads and cam now and I'm averaging about 260 miles to the tank around town, and 360 miles to a tank on the HW, but I don't like it going below 1/4 tank out in the middle of nowhere.

FiefSS

15-18 in the city depending on your foot, if there is ethanol in the fuel, etc.
25-30 hwy also depending.

I average around 16 in pure city, and 25-27 on the highway when I drive normal ( a few speed bursts for the fun of it, but otherwise civil driving). Its not amazing but its also not bad.

29-30mpg is attainable even with 3.73's in my car I just have to drive like a grandma.


As for the ethanol question, I do not get what you mean. You are refering to 87 octane with 10% ethanol? That would be a bad decision for an LS1. If you mean 91-93 octane with 10% ethanol thats what I have to use because I am near chicago so it works, with no ethanol gas it does tend to get 1mpg better.

pinball-1

Thanks for the help guys, hopefully this info along with my insurance not going up at all (very suprised considering I'm only 19) will help convince my dad to let me buy it. I love the car, but my dad aint all that excited bout me buying a newer V8 lol.
After looking around for the past 2 months I think I may have finally found one that I like and can afford.

It has 50k miles, t-tops, manual, leather, permium sound, chrome rims, factory ground effects, fully loaded pretty much, and in very good condition. It is high, but there isnt another Z28 in my area with low miles in that price range.

swisscheese

I average about 26.5mpg while driving to work and back:
70% highway at 65-75mph
30% city at 5-35mph

Ironxcross

Then keep looking. I got mine for $6700. It has 97,000 and full options. You'll find a better deal and probably sooner than it would cost you to pay off that extra 7k you would have spent.

jmmullin

That isn't so bad, should last a while and be a lot of fun!

mattbailey

I average 23-24 mpg with no highway driving. I have full bolton's also. 6th gear is the ****...

jaguar5822

I agree, find a better deal. I found a 01 SS vert with 70k asking $9,000 for it, I'm probably going to pick it up assuming it has nothing majorly wrong with it.

chuck

There is a bunch of gas mileage data from my '98 Z28 here: http://home.tx.rr.com/ferrisbuehler/green_z28.html

Coolformula

My 99 6 speed with 400+ rwhp got 29mpg on a trip.
My 99 A4 with a lid got 33mpg last trip(2:73) car.

I got exhuast 4 inch mufflex on my a4 car now and going to see if it helps the gas milage any.

So on the freeway these cars do pretty well. Just put it 60 to 65 and set cruise.