i just got back from an all day ride.
i put 98 miles on my cat today and i just thought i would share my gas milage with you.
and i was in and out of 4 wheel drive all day.
going fast and slow and on all sorts of terrane.
at 77 miles exactly i had to switch to reserve and at 96.3 miles i ran out of fuel.
im impressed.
anybody know what the auto would get for gas milage.

 

Mudblaster,

A lot depends on what kind of riding you're doing (duh) but I think my 500 Auto only gets about 75% of the milage that a manual gets. I'm not really sure and a few things like jet kits and also my Cat came from the dealer with the foam air filter element completely clogged with heavy oil, so I'm not sure exactly what milage it gets now that I've got it more or less sorted out.

But I'm pretty sure that the manual will get wayy more miles per tank than the auto under any conditions.

Bob

 

How do you figure? That might be true, but the auto does keep the engine on the sweet spot. I'd like to hear from someone who has ridden with both on the same trip to compare mileage.

A CVT tranny is very efficient. It has infinite gear ratios between min and maximum, so I'm just not sure how the conclusion can be drawn that a manual is more fuel efficient.

I'd be curious to see a real-world comparison.

 

The CVT keeps the engine in the correct powerband, not necessarly the optimal fuel band.

 

My friend has a 03 400 manual and I have a 03 400 auto. He gets much better mileage than I do. I can get somewhere around 60 miles before I need reserve. He can get more like 90 miles before he needs reserve. I think those numbers are fairly accurate. I am testing the limits of my memory here.

 

That would be plenty of evidence for me, if you are running similar tires. If he's on stock tires, I would expect that to offset your disadvantage. If tires are similar, then that's a pretty consistent comparison, especially if you ride together often. Mine varies wildly with the type of riding. My best experience with my 375 is 65 miles without tapping the reserve. I'm not sure, however, how much further I could have gone before getting into it. That day was at Hatfield/McCoy, Rockhouse trail area. That had more high speed trail riding than I normally do.

 

the auto will not always get better mileage though, my buddy has an 03 500i auto and there has been many of times that he has run out of gas before me. All depends on driving style and how many miles are on your quad. one thing too with the auto if we are going about 20-30 mph his engine is reving a lot higher then mine and a lot of accelerating and decelerating will hurt the auto more then the manual. i haven;t actually gone for a long ride with my mudlites on yet, just been playing in the mud, wondering how that will affect it? if i am screwing around in the mud and driving fast down the railroad bed with stock tires i could hit about 63 miles and it would die i could get about 15-17 more miles with reserve. plus what type of gas are you running. regular, super, premium? i run regular because i thought that i heard that it was better for the motor, also when was the last oil change, how much do the riders weigh, what type of land are you riding on (hilly, flat, muddy,smooth, straight, curvy), there are alot of things that contribute to gas mileage!! sorry for ranting!

 

Dan,

I think "luvthemud" has the explanation. At equal speeds, the engine in an auto will be running faster than the engine in a manual (assuming the rider of the manual keeps it in the appropriate gear for the speed).

I notice that with my auto on level ground that I am always wanting to shift to a higher gear, although I can't. I don't ride with anyone with a 500 manual to be able to directly compare milage per tank on an equal basis. I've heard that doing the clutch mod will help with milage but haven't as yet tried it.

Bob