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How to get better MPGs in the Veloster

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16K views 28 replies 11 participants last post by  RPW00Mirage 
#1 · (Edited)
The biggest change you can make is to adjust the nut behind the wheel.Mechanical
  1. Reduce weight - Remove anything in your car that you don't need - garbage, notebooks, tools, spare tire/kit (if you have AAA or similar), bike rack when not in use, etc. Some go to even more extremes like floor mats, backseats, passenger seat, trunk mat, etc. On a typical vehicle, every extra 100 pounds increases fuel consumption by 2%
  2. Remove that roof rack- When not in use. A roof rack will add unnecessary weight and increase aerodynamic drag.
  3. Inflate tires - Make sure your tires are at least recommended pressure, some will go to max sidewall* or even over which will increase your MPGs but also the risks associated.
  4. Tire Alignment - Have your tires aligned.
  5. Check spark plugs - Make sure your spark plugs are in working condition and don't need to be replaced, refer to owners manual on the maintenance schedule for this.
  6. Keep your air filter clean/new - Do this yourself, don't pay someone to do this please.
  7. Low Rolling Resistant tires - When needing to get new tires, opt for the LRR ones.
  8. ScanGauge, UltraGauge, Bluetooth OBD + App - Having a way to monitor your instant MPGs and other metrics will teach you the best way to drive the Veloster. I used a Bluetooth OBD2 connector from Amazon with the OBDFusion app, the Torque app is another popular choice.
  9. Synthetic Oil - This can be argued either way but using Synthetic oil should help your gas mileage, especially in colder climates because it flows a lot better which helps during that engine warmup period.
  10. Regular Maintenance - Make sure you follow the regular maintenance intervals to keep your Veloster producing optimal gas mileage.

Driving style
  1. Be Aware - Be aware of drivers around you, stop lights, stop signs, uphills, downhills, small children, etc. Being aware of your surroundings and reducing distractions will not only be safer but can also yield better average MPGs.
  2. Don't warm up your car - If possible you don't need to start your car in the morning to "warm it up", simply drive it easy the first 5-15 minutes of your drive until it is at optimum operating temperature, and even then continue driving it easy :).
  3. Avoid long idling - If you need to idle for a long time, turn off the engine, the amount of gas used when starting is a lot less than idling. Also stop going through the drive through and walk in to get your food, I find it faster most of the time anyway.
  4. Reduce use/need of brake - As you learn to be more aware of your surroundings you will use your brakes less, using your brakes can waste valuable energy needed to get up the next hill without accelerating.
  5. Don't tailgate - tailgating increases risk and unnecessary braking, also very unsafe and illegal most of the time.
  6. Coasting vs. flooring it to a stop sign - This should be obvious but I still see people do this everyday. There is no reason to floor it to the next stop sign/light, simply coast to the stop. Also if there are multiple lanes, change into the lane which will improve your chances of not having to come to a complete stop. Even coasting in Neutral at 10-20MPH still yields great MPGs (Excuse the throttle % - for some reason it has 12-13 even when I am not touching it)
    1. Coast in gear - Good
    2. Coast with a slight pedal pressure (still losing speed significantly) - Better
    3. Coast in Neutral - Best
    4. Coast with Engine off - Ultimate (See #13)
  7. Timing stop lights - If you know your stoplight is about to change to red and you aren't going to be able to make it, coast (prefer in neutral*) to the stop. It is actually better to switch to neutral, apply the brakes early on to slow you down and crawl to the light. Even though you may be going only 25 MPH to the stop, your average MPG in neutral coasting gets about 60-70 instant MPG in the Veloster (non-turbo).
  8. Target Driving - Target driving is maintaining a consistent instanct MPG/engine load. In order to get the best results from this I suggest having a way to monitor instant MPGs/engine load through a OBD2 reader. You ill lose speeds on uphills but you will gain them on the downhill, hopefully maintaining a consistent MPG throughout.
  9. Consistent Speed - Keep a consistent speed, minimum throttle in the highest gear. Most say 45MPH is a good number to stay at, I don't personally know the optimum efficiency speed in the Veloster.
  10. Pulse and Glide - This technique opposes the thought of driving a consistent speed to get the best MPGs. Instead you will pulse to a high speed and glide (preferably in neutral*) to a low speed. The reason behind this is when you pulse you will get a low MPG but your glide will net you a much larger average as long as your glide is longer than your pulse. As an example. I am on the highway driving at 65 MPH consistent speed and getting a 50MPG instant readout. Instead, if I accelerate to 75 MPH getting a 30MPG instant readout and then shift to neutral and coast down to 60MPG, getting a 250MPG instant readout, the average nets a higher MPG than the 50MPG at a consistent speed. This technique is harder to do with hills and traffic but definitely possible.
  11. Accelerate smoothly/quickly - I used to think accelerating slowly would net higher MPGs but you actually get the worst MPG while accelerating so the quicker you can get up to that optimum efficient speed to use any of the above tips, the better. Something to keep an eye out for is accelerating quickly and having to stop again soon, if you know you need to do this, it would be better to accelerate quickly (not to a high speed) and coast in neutral. So overall reduce acceleration time to increase coast time or consistent speed time.
  12. Reduce use of A/C - If you need to use the A/C, only use it when at optimum speed or while coasting, never at a stop if possible.
  13. Engine off Coasting - only for manual gearbox, I wouldn't recommend this because of safety concerns but coasting with the engine off will improve your MPGs a lot. Using this as part of Pulse & Glide (during the glide obviously), your average MPGs will skyrocket.

Aerodynamics
  1. Front grill block - The thought behind a grill block is to improve aerodynamics while also improving heat-up time as a warmer engine produces better MPGs. Although during the summer months or in very warm climates grill blocks which block the radiator are not recommended as your car could be to hot. I have started a mock of a front grill block you can check in my build thread.
  2. Mud Flap delete - Remove these as they interrupt the aerodynamic flow.
  3. Window deflector delete - Remove these as they interrupt the aerodynamic flow.
  4. Smooth Wheel covers - some people make these out of pizza pans, coroplast, sheet metal, lexan, etc.
  5. Rear wheel skirts - Some people make these out of coroplast or sheet metal or lexan. See Honda insight below.
  6. Seal panel gaps - seal up the gaps in the hood and front bumper area around the headlights - may not see a huge difference here but every bit counts! Can use weatherstripping as mentioned here http://www.veloster.org/forum/8-hyundai-veloster-general-discussion/51993-hood-weatherstrips.html
  7. Front air dam - Move the air up and over and around the sides of the car instead of underneath. Common to see made our of black lawn edging.
  8. Lowering Springs - The lower your car, the less resistance from the air going underneath your car.
  9. Under-Belly Pan - for the air that does make it underneath the car, a smooth underbelly pan will help that air to flow smoothly.
  10. Partial kammback - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kammback Some people fabricate these our of coroplast, lexan, sheet metal.
Again I would start with a couple of the simple mechanical changes like pumping up your tires and deleting un-aerodynamic pieces and then start to use the driving style techniques. During the winter months you generally get lower MPGs, using pure driving style techniques I filled up this morning and got 41.7 MPG, .2 MPGs from my all-time highest MPG in the Veloster. Be very conscious of your driving habits, throttle position and awareness of others around you and potential opportunities will help you to get better gas mileage out of the Veloster. I will hopefully update this "DIY" as others chime in with their tips and tricks.

*I am not responsible for any damage you cause to yourself, your car or others using any of the above techniques. When in doubt follow your manual and local/state laws.
References: Fuel Economy, Hypermiling, EcoModding News and Forum - EcoModder.com, Home - MetroMPG.com - Geo Metro, Chevrolet Metro / Swift, Pontiac Firefly, Suzuki Swift fuel economy info,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy-efficient_driving
 
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#5 · (Edited)
I am not understanding your point, are you saying you disagree with that statement? Or are you making that statement?

I can guarantee you that coasting in gear gets worse gas mileage than when in neutral. I have updated the original post with the images of coasting in gear, coasting with slight pedal pressure and coasting in neutral.
 
#8 ·
I agree that coasting (or freewheeling as it's also been called) is potentially dangerous, and if I remember correctly illegal in some countries.
Does anyone remember the Saab 96 from the '60s / 70s? It had a 2 stroke engine that used a freewheeling drive-train so the engine would be lubed when going downhill .. that thing was freakingly dangerous as it had no engine breaking when you took your foot off the gas. :eek:
 
#9 ·
The East German Trabant was kinda the same. Air-cooled two cylinder, two stroke engine. Four speeds, the fourth one with free-wheeling drive. When you costed in 4th or even ran at RPMs, several things happened: the engine didn't get lubed. The fan was direct-belt drive. So it didn't get cooled. Engine doesn't get lubed or cooled? Guess what happens!? Engine seizes up.
 
#17 · (Edited)
If it's any consolation, I do agree with all of your points regarding mechanical and driving style, (obviously with the exception of the one about coasting ;) ) and they're true even if you were driving a '56 aircooled Beetle instead of a Veloster. The one about taking off swiftly and firmly, as opposed to taking off with all the speed of a tranquilized glacier (as one sees hypermilers often do) seems equally counter-intuitive... but it's also correct. Same with the tailgating. Many people think they can save gas by riding a draft or whatever when in reality they have to keep adjusting their speed... which eats into gas mileage.
 
#20 · (Edited)
Glad you find some of the tips useful :)

It's all relative. If I drive 2000 miles/yr and you drive 20000/yr that is 10 times more; however, your mpg's might be twice as good as mine at low 20's and yours is in the low 40's. You are still burning 5 times more fuel than I do annually. I suppose it all averages out in the end.
Definitely agree here, I drive a lot of miles so improving my average miles per gallon helps the wallet.

Interesting info. For "Timing stop lights - If you know your stoplight is about to change to red and you aren't going to be able to make it, coast (prefer in neutral*) to the stop" yea, that's probably more fuel efficient than my current "drop two gears and stand on the gas pedal while shrieking "get the !(*#^&! out my way!" method lol.

One thing I catch myself doing is forgetting that I have 5th and 6th gear. I'm surprised at how fast the car's shift indicator has you in sixth if you follow it. I tend to get to fourth then kinda forget about shifting further. Even driving at my worst though I am satisfied with the fuel economy of my Veloster because my other car is a BMW 740i (~17 mpg) and a Dodge B250 (~12 mpg) so the Veloster shines by comparison haha.
Haha! The faster you can get into 6th and reach that constant speed the better mileage you should see. Surprising to hear you cruise around in 4th gear :eek: What mpg are you getting?
 
#18 ·
It's all relative. If I drive 2000 miles/yr and you drive 20000/yr that is 10 times more; however, your mpg's might be twice as good as mine at low 20's and yours is in the low 40's. You are still burning 5 times more fuel than I do annually. I suppose it all averages out in the end.
 
#19 ·
Interesting info. For "Timing stop lights - If you know your stoplight is about to change to red and you aren't going to be able to make it, coast (prefer in neutral*) to the stop" yea, that's probably more fuel efficient than my current "drop two gears and stand on the gas pedal while shrieking "get the !(*#^&! out my way!" method lol.

One thing I catch myself doing is forgetting that I have 5th and 6th gear. I'm surprised at how fast the car's shift indicator has you in sixth if you follow it. I tend to get to fourth then kinda forget about shifting further. Even driving at my worst though I am satisfied with the fuel economy of my Veloster because my other car is a BMW 740i (~17 mpg) and a Dodge B250 (~12 mpg) so the Veloster shines by comparison haha.
 
#21 ·
Rest assured that automobile manufacturers are using every tool in their arsenal in order to wring out every mpg their product is capable of achieving. That's what sells their cars, at least it did before the "oil glut". Electronically controlled ignition and fuel injection has even made their mpg goals even more achievable. Thinking that you can "one up" them with applying unusual and unique driving methods is "pie in the sky".

***
 
#23 ·
Give me another 140 miles to run the rest of 91 octane ethanol free fuel through. I grew up a farm boy. Knew all about real gas. I was home seeing my parents last month and their is a country mart $2.59 Lebanon, Indiana that sell real gas :smiley::smiley::smiley::smiley::facepunch:. Filled up and now on the second tank I used my V for commuting and I am so pleased to see 39-41mpg @ 65-67mph..

I will have a few videos with in the week to let you guys hear the difference of the engine at idle, on shell vpower vs ethanol free. No joke getting 3-4.5 more miles to the gallon better. Had this in our farm trucks and got 1-2 better mpg.
 
#25 ·
Holly smokes so the past two days I have driven highways instead of interstate. 55-63mph. I'm shocked at the fuel miles I'm getting. 91ethanol free gas from country mart. This is my second tank full @ $2.59 gal. Previously paying $2.20-$2.30 for shell VPower with 10%E. I am getting 42.7mpg out of my V :smiley::smiley::smiley::smiley:.
For me at .20 more per gallon was only $2.10 more for a fill up for ethanol free. Taking my mpg from 34.5 to 43. It cost 1.2 cent difference to travel per mile. Times that for 1,000 rd trip that will add up quick.

My final thought if E free is between .20 and .40 difference from premium fuel from top tear. Go with real gas!!!
 

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#29 ·
over $5/gal for 93 here in MA. but i can't drive for awhile so i'm saving tons of money. busted knee.
 
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