TOP UP VS DOWN MPG

[SS PANTHER]

Originally Posted by SS PANTHER

I tried this out last weekend with my 2013 SS A6 vert. Made a 65 mile trip one way with the top down. Average was 75 degrees outside at 10pm. I reset all my trips and mpg, etc. at my house, which, is at 2200' ASL.
The first part of my destination takes me down to 900' ASL in the first 10 miles than pretty much levels out after that. Cruise set at 70mph, no traffic. Right before getting off the freeway my mileage was 26.2mpg. By the time I reached my destination 3 miles later on the street it was 25.8mpg.
Driving home with the top up was almost the same for most of the trip at 25.6mpg and degraded to 24.7mpg by the time I reached home after the the last 10 miles of the trip with a steady incline. I was impressed. I have full bolt ons, shorties not LT's, and most suspension upgrades. Now I'm not sure if I want to dyno and trans tune and change my 3.27's to 3.70 gear's.

Tuesday night I repeated the same drive this time with my Range AFM delete module and tonneau cover installed. Temps, time and speeds were just about the same. Going there with top down I was at 25.1mpg just before getting off the freeway and 24.7 when I reached my destination. Going home with top up and Range still plugged in I was at 25mpg until I started my last 10 miles of incline to home. Mileage for the return trip when I reached home with top up was 23.6mpg. I think this is pretty good overall mpg for a SS convertible top up or down.

[Chevy_cowboy]

top up? Why would I want to do that?


As someone else mentioned, checking mileage based on short trips or even a full tank isn't really useful data, long term average is more realistic. Our average since we bought the car about 4000 miles ago is 19.8. That's fairly mixed in town/highway/twisty blacktop, never interstate, never top up, and usually driven pretty hard.

[trcsr]

Originally Posted by pgustavson

Every convertible I've owned in the past 28yrs came with a "top boot", so that's why I call it that. When I hear tonneau cover, I think of what's shown in the pic below. I look forward when I drive so I barely notice the flapping. And you're right, I don't give a rat's ass about it or most things people whine about for that matter. If I used the cover on this last trip, the interior would have gotten way wetter when I ran into some rain with the top down. It already takes 20+ seconds to raise the top - who needs the extra aggravation??? If I wanted to get out of my car to raise the top, then I'd drive my Chevelle...

Love the Healy! I had one just like it and would love to get a tonneau cover for the Camaro like that. I agree that what the Camaro has is a boot cover, but I use the tonneau cover term as that is what seems to be normal for these cars. Like you, though, when I hear or use the term tonneau cover I think of the entire passenger area cover as on the Healy. Don''t ever get rid of that Healy! As far as I am concerned, that was the best "everyman" car ever built and would give anything to have mine back.

[kevinw]

i am averaging 20 both city and hwy combined with my 2LT vert, with 1700 miles and driving it conservately. hope gas mileage increases with my Rotofab installed and car is broken in more.