Gas Mileage - anything like the manual says?

[MGNoir]

Was looking at the original manual for my Midget, and the car was (apparently) rated at 44 MPG on the highway but I think I'm lucky to get 25. Given the cost of gas here in Oregon is sitting at around $3.41 a gallon for the CHEAP stuff, I'd love to get that 44 MPG!

So what kind of MPG do you all get out there? Anyone actually getting near what the car was originally rated for?

 

[Trevor Jessie]

44 MPG? I dunno... maybe those aren't US gallons. Mine has varied greatly over the years as I've tinkered with the car. I think the best I averaged was 37. However, that was very tame 60 mph cruising on pretty flat roads.

 

[bugimike]

I do believe that rating was probably for Imperial gallons (which are larger) and a 948 cc. 30-35 MPG should not be unrealistic if you really drive with good mileage in mind! I get 25-30 MPG with a 1275 cc. and usually "spirited" driving!
Still not bad for 40+ year-old cars!!

 

[racingenglishcars]

I was getting 40 mpg with the 948 engine back in the mid 70s when I was a teenager. I wouldn't exactly say "spirited" driving with the 948. I think it's always pedal to the metal.

The lower octane rating of gasoline these days does only a very little towards lower gas mileage, but not much. The fuel still has about 43000 KJ/kg, same as it did in the 70s.

 

[Steve_Lawrence]

I averaged 33-34 in my '74.

It was a mix of highway and city driving.

 

[jlaird]

Re: I averaged 33-34 in my '74.

From Atlanta to Iowa City Iowa in 1976 I got 49 miles per gallon.

 

[Speedy_Pete]

Re: I averaged 33-34 in my '74.

$3.41 a gallon? Awww diddums, my heart bleeds for you! It's up to $8.50 here. And I almost bought a 4.2 litre Mercedes last night too!

 

[BIBBER]

Re: I averaged 33-34 in my '74.

Speedy...and you probably mean per litre....
you BRITS have always been hammered on fuel
prices...those prices make it nice to even
live in California for the states!!

 

[Sarastro]

44 miles per imperial gallon is a hair under 37 miles per US gallon. My sprite, close as I have measured it (which isn't very close) is about 30 mpg when I'm not making lots of short trips or other things that clearly reduce mileage. One thing to remember--the mileage of all cars of this era, before lots of digital electronic engine controls, depended much more strongly on how they were driven. Especially, gas mileage is really bad when the engine is cold and the choke is out. Lots of driving like this, and of course the mileage will be low.

 

[kcbugeye1275]

I've had a bugeye for 25 yrs, first with a 948 for about 18 or 19 yrs, then a 1275 and 5 speed for another 6 or 7 yrs., and now with a sc 1275 and the 5 speed. I have never checked the milage. Of course, the speedo didn't work for a lot of those yrs. No, I need to figure out how to drive it without really punching it hard all the time. If I ever do, I'll let you know the milage. However, it is the smiles per miles the car delivers in all forms that make it special. Also, the small tank is a joy to fill, and here in the states, I have always gotten chage from a twenty.

 

[Speedy_Pete]

Before I took mine off the road I was getting around 180 miles from a full tank. It's oil consumption wasn't much less...

 

[jlaird]

Oh me I remember fill up with a 5 and getting change, quite a bit in fact, several dollars.

 

[regularman]

An imperial gallon is exacty 5 US quarts. I made that calculation 10,000 times. Imperial gallons X 125% gives US gallons. That being said. When I had my midget on the road, I got an average in the neighborhood of 30mpg going back and forth to work and running around town. The only significant trip I took of around 300 interstate miles each way yielded 37 mpg. That was the 1275 with the stock 4 speed and 3.90 gear and a Weber DGV. I would think that with the right gearing and tuning that 50mpg should be possible for a spridget on the highway and 35-40 around town. I could smell mine running a bit rich at the time. I drove several minis that got near 50 on the highway, but they were the 1000cc type, but minis are taller and block a bit more wind than the spridgets, so the spridgets should do better aero wise, I would think.

 

[Bugeye58]

but minis are taller and block a bit more wind than the spridgets, so the spridgets should do better aero wise, I would think.

Ther aerodynamic comparison is much like comparing a shoebox to a brick. /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/grin.gif
Jeff

 

[bugimike]

At todays price/gal. ($3.05 avg. around here) there will be precious little change if any from a $20 to fill even a BE anymore!!! /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/mad.gif

 

[middleagecrazy]

In my 69 I get just over forty MPG (us). That is 99% interstate at 70 MPH. It is a 1275 with ribcase transmission and 3.9 rear end. I run up size on the rear tires. 175/80R13 as opposed to the original 145SR13. It has the SU HS1 carbs with stock Jets and Needles. I did spend about nine hours in tuning to get it to this milage.

Anthony

 

[RickB]

All I know is that I went from our Ford minivan to the Midget as a commuter car and dropped from 15 gal / week to about 6.
That's a substantial savings.

 

[bugimike]

Anthony, do you have HS1s on a 1275? I thought they should be HS2s! /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/confused.gif