well with my experience with the cvt outie i noticed it likes to keep itself in high reves before switching into a higher gear. common sense will tell u the higher the rpm the more gas your wasting. so a good technique is let go of the gas and at that same instint it switches into the next higher gear. so smoothly get on the gas again. this technique has kept me in th 8-10L/100km. i do this as well while cruising and from the real time gas reader, it seems like it also work. i will be driving at 10L/100km i'll do the pas pedal thing and brings me down to 7L/100km.

also keep in mind the speed you have your fan on affects engine load along with the defrosters front and rear. which means more gas consumption. and also what i have noticed with the 2.4 it really eats gas when ur in speeds of 115, 120km/h or higher. so if theres no need to speed, keep it at 100-110 u'll save alot of gas that way.

also cruise controls tend to waste more gas then if you where actually driving, for some reason.

 

Had to add my 2 cents ($ Canadian $)...lol.....I went from a VW Jetta TDI to my brand new 09 Outlander. I had no preconceptions that my Outie would be anywhere close to my Jetta in respects to fuel consumption. I do agree that the dealer posted fuel consumption is a joke, however taking into consideration that i could only assume these reports are as much as a joke on other "in class" vehicles thenI have no problem with it. I did not buy an SUV (don't be fooled by the term CUV, thats just an SUV built on a car chassis!!) for fuel efficiency! Anybody who did is a fool! I bought mine to accomodate my expanding family and for more versatility.

That being said why not instead of arguing whether or not the Outie is a gas gussler (which by car standards it is and by truck, van or other utility vehicle it is not) lets use this thread from here on out to help each other achieve better MPG or L/100KM whatever your dealing with.

In the short time I have owned my 09 I've found one very simple and effective wayfor me to reduce L/100KM. WhenI am doing my highway drivingI leave it in D untilI come up to the speedI want then I shift into manual mode and set the cruise control. This eliminates the constant revving and downshifting the6 speed Sportronicdoes when you go up an incline. Also comming upto speed slowly (if possible) and going the posted speed limit (I know this is hard to do) will greatly affect your consumption.

Our driving habits are the most influential variable when it comes to gasconsumtion so any pointers and suggestions would and could help us all out.

One last thing.... Has anyone used or has heard anything on these so called Vortex Generators seen all over ebay? seems like a very easy and inexpensive device. I don't belive for a minute their claims of 30%+ fuel efficiency but for the price even if it helped a bit it might be worth it. I don't realy know much about cars so i have to claim complete ignorance.However for the price I might have to give it a try.

Thanks, and it great tobe a part of such a passionate forum dedicated to such a beautifullvehicle

 

i had one of those vortex aluminum thingies for my Infiniti J30. went behind the MAF. gave a nice whistle when accelerating but not sure if it actually helped. made the engine sound like it was tuned anyway, even at idle.

 

Just My 2 Cents.....

If you have a CVT you don't have any gears....What you have is a one speed tranny.....

 

true but the manual mode lets you play around with how high the RPMs go so in a sense it works like a 6spd manual when not just set to Drive.
it's a computer controlled fake 6spd but it won't automatically upshift and you can rev it out if you want just like a conventional semi-automatic.

 

Don't waste your money on the Vortex Generator. It will actually reduce your gas mileage. If there was anything that could simply be added to the intake of any car, the manufacturer would install it at the factory and increase their mileage. The higher mileage would result in increased sales.
Another thing to remember about gas mileage is if you use gas with or without ethanol. Gas without ethanol will yield higher mileage due to the lower BTU content of ethanol compared to gasoline.

 

I think the phrase 'if it works, the manufacturer would have added it' is too frequently used by skeptics. There are stuffs which science have yet to explain. To the scientists, anything unexplainable is impossible. Automotive designers have differing priorities and aims. Designing cars like prius will sure top the fuel economy charts. Do you like the shape? Adding vortex generators, in theory, aids fuel economy as well.. Will many buy anything from the factory full of shark fins? Or some triangular scoops? Design, cost, fashion and appeal, unfortunately drives what you get in a car. So, in short, you wont get all good things in your car. You get what the designers think the majority of car buyers will want, some 3 to 5 years ago.

 

I agree with you on some of the things you are saying on how cars are designed, but are you suggesting that increase fuel economy and poweris not appealing to most buyer these days.Engine design is a fine balance of countless parameters, Intake restriction, exhaust, compression ratio, valve opening, valve size, timing,... I can go on and on. any changes to these parameters will affect the efficiency of the engine. For someone to come along with a device and sayjust bolt this on to any engine is like if Nike came out with a single pair of running shoes and said that any athlete in any sport would improve there performance by wearing them.

 

Power does traditionally appeal to people and fuel economy is only recently the highlight when oil hits 140 a barrel. The outlander was at least conceived 3 to 5 years ago, when people never expect oil to be so expensive. At that time, people are still rushing to get the v8, v10 gas gusslers. There are many simple add on devices which helps fuel economy. Even Some 3dollar 3M tapes stuck across the right places helps smootien air flow, and improve fuel economy. Some people are willing to drive cars with duct tapes all over their cars, while others say 'crazy'. Keeping an open mind, helps to open one to new ideas. Not all good things need multimillion research. Many had heard a joke about some nasa scientist trying to design a pen that can be used in vacuum, zero gravity, underwater, inverted conditions. Russians used a simple 20cents pencil to achieve the same result.

 

Are you crazy? Why 3M tape, go for the generic it's half the price!

But you do bring up an interesting point, adding a device that creates resistance inside the intake give moreefficiencybut adding something to the outside of the car to create less resitance improves efficiency, hmmm, maybe we should just cover the inside of the intake with tape.