peacefrog_0521
07-19-2008, 12:28 PM
I've had my 2002 Mazda Tribute (ES 3.0L V6 4WD) for 5 yrs, currently with 123k on the clock, and typically get around 20-22 MPG. I parked it for the past month or so in favor of my Hyundai Elantra. A couple days ago I got my new ScanGauge-II and immediately hooked it up to the Tribute to see what it could help me do. I mainly keep it on the Gauge screen, using LOD, TPS, GPH, and MPG.
So far, I've eked out a few more MPG with it, though much of it was highway mileage. I'll continue using it for the next week or so to get at least a tank out of it. But in the past day or two, I've made some surprising (albeit unscientific) discoveries/conclusions about the Tribute that I hadn't known even after 5 years.
The Tribute is very sensitive to slight changes in grade. The MPG and GPH readouts can act erratically even on ground that seems level. But it can often vary from the high teens to the low-40's.
At speeds below 30-35 MPG, if you take your foot off the accelerator and let it coast, it apparently makes little or no difference to shift into Neutral.
If you coast up to a stoplight with engine off, SG-II shows MPG in the thousands range! Until it comes to a complete stop, of course, when it reads 0 MPG.
Just as the Tribute is sensitive to variations in grade, it is also sensitive to slight variations in throttle position. Back off a few millimeters and the MPG shoots way up.
Normal acceleration from a stop gives less than 10 MPG, often close to 1 (one!) MPG.
On suburban/city streets, cannot get the transmission to shift into 4th/OD below 45 MPH. (At 40 mph, about 2100 rpm or so; at 45-50 mph, about 1500-200 rpm.) In fact, in the Tribute, for some strange reason, slower speed doesn't always give better mileage, because of how the engine and/or transmission are managed. I suspect, but cannot confirm, that Ford/Mazda tried to employ some engine/transmission management programs to try to inflate the MPG under the old EPA conditions.
If I interpret the LOD readout to mean the % of engine reserve power being used, the Tribute doesn't have enough power to carry its weight efficiently. (I've often suspected this and always wished that they would put the new 3.5L V6 in the new Tributes.) Even at slow speeds, almost near idle, LOD is in the 30's. Highway speeds show it in the 70's.
I'm curious if there are other Tribute owners out there who have tried the SG-II and what your experiences have been.
:driveby1:
So far, I've eked out a few more MPG with it, though much of it was highway mileage. I'll continue using it for the next week or so to get at least a tank out of it. But in the past day or two, I've made some surprising (albeit unscientific) discoveries/conclusions about the Tribute that I hadn't known even after 5 years.
The Tribute is very sensitive to slight changes in grade. The MPG and GPH readouts can act erratically even on ground that seems level. But it can often vary from the high teens to the low-40's.
At speeds below 30-35 MPG, if you take your foot off the accelerator and let it coast, it apparently makes little or no difference to shift into Neutral.
If you coast up to a stoplight with engine off, SG-II shows MPG in the thousands range! Until it comes to a complete stop, of course, when it reads 0 MPG.
Just as the Tribute is sensitive to variations in grade, it is also sensitive to slight variations in throttle position. Back off a few millimeters and the MPG shoots way up.
Normal acceleration from a stop gives less than 10 MPG, often close to 1 (one!) MPG.
On suburban/city streets, cannot get the transmission to shift into 4th/OD below 45 MPH. (At 40 mph, about 2100 rpm or so; at 45-50 mph, about 1500-200 rpm.) In fact, in the Tribute, for some strange reason, slower speed doesn't always give better mileage, because of how the engine and/or transmission are managed. I suspect, but cannot confirm, that Ford/Mazda tried to employ some engine/transmission management programs to try to inflate the MPG under the old EPA conditions.
If I interpret the LOD readout to mean the % of engine reserve power being used, the Tribute doesn't have enough power to carry its weight efficiently. (I've often suspected this and always wished that they would put the new 3.5L V6 in the new Tributes.) Even at slow speeds, almost near idle, LOD is in the 30's. Highway speeds show it in the 70's.
I'm curious if there are other Tribute owners out there who have tried the SG-II and what your experiences have been.
:driveby1: