# Fuel economy...04 vs 05 GTO? Please share your input...



## hssaini (Jul 9, 2005)

Hi All,

I am interested in knowing fuel economy differences between 04 and 05 GTOs.

If you guys please post your #'s, i would appreciate it very much.

Following is from Edmunds

2004

Specifications

Type: Midsize Coupe
Where Built: Australia


Dimensions 




Exterior 
Length: 189.8 in. Width: 72.5 in. 
Height: 54.9 in. Wheel Base: 109.8 in. 
Curb Weight: 3725 lbs. 
Interior 
Front Head Room: 37.3 in. Front Hip Room: 58 in. 
Front Shoulder Room: 59.7 in. Rear Head Room: 37.3 in. 
Rear Shoulder Room: 51.7 in. Rear Hip Room: 50.2 in. 
Front Leg Room: 42.2 in. Rear Leg Room: 37.1 in. 
Luggage Capacity: 13 cu. ft. Maximum Cargo Capacity: 13 cu. ft. 
Maximum Seating: 4 

Performance Data 




Performance 
Base Number of Cylinders: 8 Base Engine Size: 5.7 liters 
Base Engine Type: V8 Horsepower: 350 hp 
Max Horsepower: 5200 rpm Torque: 365 ft-lbs. 
Max Torque: 4000 rpm Maximum Towing Capacity: 1000 lbs. 
Drive Type: RWD Turning Circle: 36.1 ft. 

Fuel Data 


Fuel 
Fuel Tank Capacity: 18 gal. 
EPA Mileage Estimates: (City/Highway) 
Manual: 17 mpg / 29 mpg Automatic: : 16 mpg / 21 mpg 
Range in Miles: (City/Highway) 
Automatic: 288 mi. / 378 mi. Manual: 306 mi. / 522 mi. 


2005

Specifications

Type: Midsize Coupe
Where Built: Australia


Dimensions 




Exterior 
Length: 189.8 in. Width: 72.5 in. 
Height: 54.9 in. Wheel Base: 109.8 in. 
Curb Weight: 3725 lbs. 
Interior 
Front Head Room: 37.3 in. Front Hip Room: 58 in. 
Front Shoulder Room: 59.7 in. Rear Head Room: 37.3 in. 
Rear Shoulder Room: 51.7 in. Rear Hip Room: 50.2 in. 
Front Leg Room: 42.2 in. Rear Leg Room: 37.1 in. 
Luggage Capacity: 7 cu. ft. Maximum Cargo Capacity: 7 cu. ft. 
Maximum Seating: 4 

Performance Data 




Performance 
Acceleration (0-60 mph): 5.8 sec. Braking Distance (60-0 mph): 128.96 ft. 
Base Number of Cylinders: 8 Base Engine Size: 6 liters 
Base Engine Type: V8 Horsepower: 400 hp 
Max Horsepower: 5200 rpm Torque: 400 ft-lbs. 
Max Torque: 4000 rpm Maximum Towing Capacity: 1000 lbs. 
Drive Type: RWD Turning Circle: 36.1 ft. 

Fuel Data 


Fuel 
Fuel Tank Capacity: 18 gal. 
EPA Mileage Estimates: (City/Highway) 
Manual: 17 mpg / 25 mpg Automatic: : 16 mpg / 21 mpg 
Range in Miles: (City/Highway) 
Automatic: 288 mi. / 378 mi. Manual: 306 mi. / 450 mi. 


Thanks guys
Rinku


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## GTO JUDGE (May 14, 2005)

I cannot comment for the 04's cause I have an 05'. I have my gallons consumed indicator displayed at all times. What I have found is I am generally averaging between 16.1 and 17 local driving, average speed about 23 - 28 mph, and when I am going on a bypass run, I reset it. I have gotten as high as 24 mpg on an average speed of 50 mph. I have compared it to my other vehicles... My wife's 04' Grand-Am with the 3.4 v 6 last year on a drive to the mountains, it got 33 mpg. I thought that was incorrect so on the way back I redid it. Again it was 33 mpg. Was not using the A/C. I was really impressed by that... My 96' RAM 4 x 4 best I go on that was 18.6 mpg highway. Locally I'm around 12-13 mpg. Whata a friggin gas hog. That has the 5.2 magnum. My 88' 4-Runner with the 22 R best I ever got on that was 24 mpg. Comparing the GTO to the others.... I am impressed with the mpg I am getting. When I first read the average mpg on the stickers I said yea right NO WAY is a 6.0 gonna get that. Well, it does. For a 6.0 400 hp car, I am amazed at the fuel economy. This LS2 is an awesome motor.


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## fergyflyer (Apr 18, 2005)

When it had under 2000 miles I was getting 15.5-17 around town and 21 highway. At 5000 I'm now getting 17-17.5 around town and 23 at about 80 on the highway. If I'm around 55 I can get 24. i have a 6m.


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## toolman (Jan 10, 2005)

I have a 04 4a and I just drove a trip that was 185 miles and got 23mpg at an average speed of 72mph. If I drop it down into the 6x mph range it gets around 25mpg, but seriously who can keep below 80 mph on the interstate. As for the city driving I do, i get 18.x in my city driving. By the way I saw a huge increase in fuel economy at around 1200 miles, did anyone else notice. I went from 15 to 17 mpg in one tank at around 1200 miles.


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## fergyflyer (Apr 18, 2005)

toolman said:


> I have a 04 4a and I just drove a trip that was 185 miles and got 23mpg at an average speed of 72mph. If I drop it down into the 6x mph range it gets around 25mpg, but seriously who can keep below 80 mph on the interstate. As for the city driving I do, i get 18.x in my city driving. By the way I saw a huge increase in fuel economy at around 1200 miles, did anyone else notice. I went from 15 to 17 mpg in one tank at around 1200 miles.


I'm not sure if it was at 1200 miles, but somewhere right around 1500-2000 the whole car changed. More power different sound to the exhaust and better mileage.


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## Xcommuter (Jun 30, 2005)

fergyflyer said:


> I'm not sure if it was at 1200 miles, but somewhere right around 1500-2000 the whole car changed. More power different sound to the exhaust and better mileage.


That's sweet ... With 450 miles and trying to follow recommended break-in the trip average was 23.4 and now it's average 21.5 . Must be setting the parameters ... I also noticed that top off is not recommended so I stopped when the pump clicked and the gauge never made it to the Full mark...


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## hssaini (Jul 9, 2005)

Thanks guys......

I am new to the market. I am just trying to learn more about the LS2 and GTO itself in the meantime. 

Does anyone have a link or site what compares the GTO 04 or 05 USDM to the HOLDEN Monaro (Australia).

I am curious to know similarities and differences between the two.

Thanks for your input.

PS. Sorry for the newb questions. I was wondering what does SAP refers to? SPORTS APPEARANCE PACKAGE? some kind of aero package option from factory? Is it only on 05? or 04 adn 05?

Rinku


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## GTO JUDGE (May 14, 2005)

hssaini said:


> Thanks guys......
> 
> I am new to the market. I am just trying to learn more about the LS2 and GTO itself in the meantime.
> 
> ...


You're correct SAP= Sport Appearance Package. The SAP for 05' has more options to it than did the SAP for 04'. It is not a factory installed option. It's a dealer installed option, however you can purchase the kit and install it yourself.


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## hssaini (Jul 9, 2005)

GTO judge said:


> You're correct SAP= Sport Appearance Package. The SAP for 05' has more options to it than did the SAP for 04'. It is not a factory installed option. It's a dealer installed option, however you can purchase the kit and install it yourself.



Kool......thanks for the explanation. 

Anyone knows TOP SPEED on 04 GTO vs 05 GTO? Speedometer is upto 200mph but i wonder.......

Thanks
Rinku


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## hssaini (Jul 9, 2005)

http://www.gtoforum.com/showthread.php?t=1098&page=1&highlight=governor

Saw that after a search for an 04 GTO hitting speed governor at 160mph. Is it same for 05?


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## sno-rydr (Oct 13, 2004)

*04 economy*

i noticed the mileage on my goat really is sporadic. for instance, yesterday on a nice leisurely trip to the north puget sound, driving around 65-70 average, i got 29. sometimes, doing that same speed it may only be 26. and sometimes doing 75-80 it will be 26, sometimes a bit less. still, good mileage for such a powerful car and rather large car. one other thing is any time i do any in town driving, the economy goes down FAST. after driving for four hours on the highway and getting let's say 27. spend half an hour driving around town and it'll fall down to 22. around seattle i do a lot of freeway commuting and still avg only 17 or 18, granted i get on it pretty hard a lot.


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## GTO JUDGE (May 14, 2005)

sno-rydr said:


> i noticed the mileage on my goat really is sporadic. for instance, yesterday on a nice leisurely trip to the north puget sound, driving around 65-70 average, i got 29. sometimes, doing that same speed it may only be 26. and sometimes doing 75-80 it will be 26, sometimes a bit less. still, good mileage for such a powerful car and rather large car. one other thing is any time i do any in town driving, the economy goes down FAST. after driving for four hours on the highway and getting let's say 27. spend half an hour driving around town and it'll fall down to 22. around seattle i do a lot of freeway commuting and still avg only 17 or 18, granted i get on it pretty hard a lot.


I think the computer averages the speed and the MPG then computes up to date readings. Mine does the same thing. Best thing to do is fill your tank,,,, note the miles driven when refilling the tank, then divide the gallons into the miles driven. I did that and it equaled out the same the computer read. I watched my MPG go from 24 to 16.1 in a matter of miles once I left the interstate. My average speed also dropped from 55 to 23 mph as well. I was pissed when I first got my goat and noticed that, but now I pay little attention to it. If I am going on an interstate run I will reset it. If I really want to know what I get around town I will use the old math, but like I said, when I did that, the calculator read the same thing the onboard computer read.


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## GrayGoat (Mar 5, 2005)

I've kept track of the gas mileage on my 05 Goat since I got it. Seems the mileage does vary some given I consistently drive about 2/3 Freeway and 1/3 City miles on a tank between 70-75 (cruise control) Freeway and the speed limit on city streets. Although I do jump on it from time to time, I don’t think it’s enough to vary the mileage much. Anyway here’s some numbers: Miles Driven: 6,235, Average Miles Per Gallon: 18.79, Best MPG: 22.71, Worst MPG: 14.98, *Average gas price (91 octane): $2.50*


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## hssaini (Jul 9, 2005)

Thats great news.........with gas prices nowadays, you always have to get real #'s from actual users instead of #'s on website. Thanks to all of you for your input. I greatly appreciate that.

For such a powerful car, the average mpg is not bad at all. I am sure, some people have heavy foot than others and climate is different in different parts of the country and so is the gasoline 91, 92, 93.

This gives me a good idea of what to expect. Thanks again

You guys rock!

Rinku


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## RiceEater (Jun 21, 2005)

The 04 governor is set to 145 mph =/

The 05's governor is set at 160 mph on the A4, and supposedly 170 on the M6. With the 05 goats power though I wouldn't doubt it if it could be pushed up to 190 maybe even 200 mph.


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## muohio (Sep 22, 2004)

RiceEater said:


> The 04 governor is set to 145 mph =/
> 
> The 05's governor is set at 160 mph on the A4, and supposedly 170 on the M6. With the 05 goats power though I wouldn't doubt it if it could be pushed up to 190 maybe even 200 mph.



Where did you get this information?


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## RiceEater (Jun 21, 2005)

That's all I've been hearing come from Pontiac, I know for sure the 04's are set to 145 (it may be 140) and that the 05 A4's are set 15mph higher than that (so depending on whether it is 140 or 145). Now people have been saying that the 05 M6 is set like 10mph higher than the A4 is, but this one I'm not completely sure about.

Keep in mind thouhg that it doesn't take too much work to adjust or kill the governor if you know what you're doing, so you can of course go past the limits.


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## goatsandstrats (Jul 2, 2005)

This pass weekend I drove about 170 miles each way from Fort Smith, AR to destination in Little Rock. Going I ran up to 90, usually in the 80's (and still got passed by about as many cars as I passed), The avg was around 21.5 or so by onboard computer. On way home, I set cruise at 79. Ran slower at times in traffic and little higher to pass but most of trip at 79. The avg was 23.7 according to onboard calculations just before pulling off into city traffic from interstate. There are some grades to pull on the trip but one thing I noticed on flat ground, it really gets impressive mileage numbers even at speed. I see it even down one straight stretch at 40 in 6th gear over 30 mpg. Seems you can get some pretty good mpg at speed, it's just economically getting to that speed. But then, I didn't buy an economy car, I bought a GTO, I'm happy with the mpg I get overall.


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## EEZ GOAT (Jul 9, 2005)

toolman said:


> I have a 04 4a and I just drove a trip that was 185 miles and got 23mpg at an average speed of 72mph. If I drop it down into the 6x mph range it gets around 25mpg, but seriously who can keep below 80 mph on the interstate. As for the city driving I do, i get 18.x in my city driving. By the way I saw a huge increase in fuel economy at around 1200 miles, did anyone else notice. I went from 15 to 17 mpg in one tank at around 1200 miles.


that is so true. when iam on the hwy i got to go 75mph until i race some one :cool . btw i have yet to have my real first kill.


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## EEZ GOAT (Jul 9, 2005)

sno-rydr said:


> i noticed the mileage on my goat really is sporadic. for instance, yesterday on a nice leisurely trip to the north puget sound, driving around 65-70 average, i got 29. sometimes, doing that same speed it may only be 26. and sometimes doing 75-80 it will be 26, sometimes a bit less. still, good mileage for such a powerful car and rather large car. one other thing is any time i do any in town driving, the economy goes down FAST. after driving for four hours on the highway and getting let's say 27. spend half an hour driving around town and it'll fall down to 22. around seattle i do a lot of freeway commuting and still avg only 17 or 18, granted i get on it pretty hard a lot.


The first trip on my 05 a4 i got 350+ miles to a tank of gas. what about anyone else. i think that was very good b4 the break in period.


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## Groucho (Sep 11, 2004)

RiceEater said:


> That's all I've been hearing come from Pontiac, I know for sure the 04's are set to 145 (it may be 140) and that the 05 A4's are set 15mph higher than that (so depending on whether it is 140 or 145). Now people have been saying that the 05 M6 is set like 10mph higher than the A4 is, but this one I'm not completely sure about.
> 
> Keep in mind thouhg that it doesn't take too much work to adjust or kill the governor if you know what you're doing, so you can of course go past the limits.


I disagree. I've had my '04 M6 up to 145 mph (possibly a bit higher- was too busy to look down- but I actually _saw_ 145)...I never hit a software governor. I think only the automatic '04s are governed that low. Don't get me wrong- that's plenty frikkin' fast enough for me, and I have no urge to go there again unless I'm on a superspeedway...I'm through playing freeway test pilot for now. 

As far as mileage goes....when my car is running properly (long story) I can average 22.5mpg given the sea level - 4100' climb - sea level profile and some traffic on either end of my 115 each way daily commute, with an average speed of ~73mph or so. Not too shabby given the V-8 under the hood.


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## RiceEater (Jun 21, 2005)

yeah it may be just the auto's then


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## Xman (Oct 31, 2004)

The speed govener for all the 04 cars, A4 or M6, should be 160 mph. Since the 05s come with the same tires, I would expect it to be the same (I have not hear of it being different). Because of the gearing and transmission effeciency, the A4s my be hitting their aerodynamic limit or the tachometer limit (fuel shut-off) before 160.


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## RiceEater (Jun 21, 2005)

Xman said:


> The speed govener for all the 04 cars, A4 or M6, should be 160 mph. Since the 05s come with the same tires, I would expect it to be the same (I have not hear of it being different). Because of the gearing and transmission effeciency, the A4s my be hitting their aerodynamic limit or the tachometer limit (fuel shut-off) before 160.


Be careful on that one, the auto's on these goats are just about as powerful as the manual


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## TulsaGTO (Oct 3, 2004)

I get about 15 in town and up to 31 on the road. Most of my driving is in town, so I average about 15.5, which is not as good as my Vet gets. 

The speed limiter on the 04 is 160. My speedo showed 162 when it hit the limiter. There was still more power in the motor, just couldn't get to it.


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## RiceEater (Jun 21, 2005)

15/31? That's a crazy big difference for an 8cylinder especially with what I've seen from these goats. Are you on the A4 or M6? I'll freak out if you say A4...


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## Goat Herder (Jul 5, 2005)

Yesterday I took my car out for a ride here in Astoria Queens and took it out to Astoria Park. My avg. fuel economy said 10.6 miles! Is this normal or is it because my car only has 800 miles on it and still has to break in.


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## fergyflyer (Apr 18, 2005)

Goat Herder said:


> Yesterday I took my car out for a ride here in Astoria Queens and took it out to Astoria Park. My avg. fuel economy said 10.6 miles! Is this normal or is it because my car only has 800 miles on it and still has to break in.


GTO's get horrible mileage in heavy city traffic. I'm guessing that is what you were driving in. Mine did better as it broke in, but 1-2 mpg better is all that it did.


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## GTO JUDGE (May 14, 2005)

Goat Herder said:


> Yesterday I took my car out for a ride here in Astoria Queens and took it out to Astoria Park. My avg. fuel economy said 10.6 miles! Is this normal or is it because my car only has 800 miles on it and still has to break in.


Man o days Herder, I'd move out of NY. It's the type of gas you guys use.  just kidden :lol: 

Here In Lancaster I am amongst the Amish, I'm teachin my goat how to run on straw.
Methane gas in abundance also, it's what we breathe. :willy:


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## Wing_Nut (Mar 6, 2005)

25 MPG ==> Highway In 6th Driving Smoothly
23 MPG ==> Daily 45 Mile Commute Mostly Highway
18-19 MPG ==> Around Town

Not disappointed at all. Amazing really for the power and weight of the GTO.
The GM small block pushrod engine has nothing to apologize for.
GM should really do a better job of marketing these engines.
They can compete with any high revving, low torque, multi-cam engine Japan or Europe is offering.

My Volvo 2.3L Turbo didn't get significantly better mileage (about 25 MPG) on the same commute.


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## TulsaGTO (Oct 3, 2004)

RiceEater said:


> 15/31? That's a crazy big difference for an 8cylinder especially with what I've seen from these goats. Are you on the A4 or M6? I'll freak out if you say A4...



Notice I said up to 31. That was in 6th gear on a flat road for about 200 miles. That is the best I have gotten.


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## RiceEater (Jun 21, 2005)

TulsaGTO said:


> Notice I said up to 31. That was in 6th gear on a flat road for about 200 miles. That is the best I have gotten.



Oh oh ok, missed that part. I thought you were talking 31 on like a seemingly regular basis, which would be insane

Even then though, 31 is VERY good no matter how you look at it with a car this powerful.


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## motorheadmike (Jul 13, 2005)

I'm commuting in my '04 M6 about 50 miles per day in mixed traffic. Been averaging around 25 mpg by using 1st, 2nd, 4th, and 6th gears and avoiding any heavy applications of the throttle. Keeping the rpm down seems to be the trick. Granted, it is not as much fun to drive this way...


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## RiceEater (Jun 21, 2005)

motorheadmike said:


> I'm commuting in my '04 M6 about 50 miles per day in mixed traffic. Been averaging around 25 mpg by using 1st, 2nd, 4th, and 6th gears and avoiding any heavy applications of the throttle. Keeping the rpm down seems to be the trick. Granted, it is not as much fun to drive this way...


I try to keep my rpm's down as much as possible too to help conserve gas, but nowing me I can have adrenaline streaks go through me at the slightest moment. This means that if at any time some car challenges me, I'm going to sure as hell show them what my goat has.

I can usually stick to 18mpg city and 21-23mpg highway though


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## motorheadmike (Jul 13, 2005)

RiceEater said:


> I try to keep my rpm's down as much as possible too to help conserve gas, but nowing me I can have adrenaline streaks go through me at the slightest moment. This means that if at any time some car challenges me, I'm going to sure as hell show them what my goat has.
> 
> I can usually stick to 18mpg city and 21-23mpg highway though



I'm an old street racer from way back, and I typically didn't 'play my hand' unless the was a good pot on the table. Answering every challenge would have just cost me gas money. I don't do much of that anymore, but I am well-trained at ignoring challenges.


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## JMVorbeck (Jun 1, 2005)

motorheadmike said:


> I'm an old street racer from way back, and I typically didn't 'play my hand' unless the was a good pot on the table. Answering every challenge would have just cost me gas money. I don't do much of that anymore, but I am well-trained at ignoring challenges.


Curious what you consider a good pot?


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## Groucho (Sep 11, 2004)

JMVorbeck said:


> Curious what you consider good pot?


[email protected] hippies.


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## JMVorbeck (Jun 1, 2005)

Groucho said:


> [email protected] hippies.


  Hey! No editing!


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## motorheadmike (Jul 13, 2005)

JMVorbeck said:


> Curious what you consider a good pot?


At least enough to pay for gas.  

We were poor boys, so I don't think we ever raced for more than a few hundred. Seemed like big money at the time. It was small-town stuff - didn't take long for word to spread about who beat who, so you tried to keep it a mystery as long as possible. The best times were concerts and car shows when street machines would show up from neighboring towns - fresh meat on the drag! 

Ah, memories...


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## vmax (Mar 19, 2005)

"GTO" and "fuel mileage" should never be in the same sentence unless the words "poor", "bad", or "pitiful" are included as well.......

Here's the facts from my '05 M6-

4200 miles
16.7 average MPG on the dial
80% of those miles are city driving, not including a 550 mile road trip over 2 days
On that trip the overall mileage went up to almost 21 mpg, 80-85 MPH over most of those 550 miles. I suppose I could have set the trip computer...

That being said I agree with you guys that said if I wanted a car for mileage I wouldn't have bought the GTO. BUT....at $2.30+ a gallon it gets a little tough to justify sometimes. WWWWWWWWWWWWWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OK I'm over it now.


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## golfshaftguys (Sep 9, 2004)

*Gas Mileage*

I am still waiting on my Blue/Blue M6, leaving California next week, yeah right! Hey I got the employee pricing so I guess I won't complain!

However the last thing I am worried about is gas mileage! I am more concerned with how I am going to break this thing in like an adult should and after breaking it in how long my second set of rear tires are going to last!

My thought is after breaking her in I will get about 8 MPG on the next couple of tanks and 4 rear tires!

:cheers


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## RiceEater (Jun 21, 2005)

It's easy enough really for racing people at stop lights and such. Just leave TC on so that your acceleration is limited and you can't spin out your tires. While this of course means you can accelerate to you full potential, from my experience you will still have PLENTY of power to beat just about anything that tries you.... that and it looks a lot more funny because it appears as if you're not even trying at all to beat them. So you also greatly increase your tire life this way too.


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## BigNick (Jan 7, 2005)

*Mileage*

Took a trip to Darlington 2 months ago, here's the numbers for the round trip

total miles: 1396.22 (the trip odometer rolled over twice at 655.36 miles and showed 85.50 miles at the end of the round trip)
total fuel: 60.06 gallons

23.247 MPG. This was a new (about 1600 miles when starting the trip) 2004 M6 car running Mobil 1 5W30 and either Sunoco 94 or Shell 93 premium fuel, completely stock, FWIW. Lots of Interstate driving with some local driving mixed in.

I usually average about 15 MPG in daily driving back and forth to work which is mostly suburban traffic, speeds under 45 MPH, which means very little 5th and no 6th gear.


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## C5ORGTO (Dec 30, 2004)

I have a Black 04 6-speed with 6700 miles. I've been averaging near 14mpg. I live 5 miles from work and drive agressively. I hit 22.7 on a long road trip once, but 14mpg is about the highest I've hit in everyday driving. Filling up sucks!


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## rtsoul (Feb 6, 2009)

I mostly use mine for the 12 miles to work and back with an average of about 26 MPH on my 2006 GTO six speed. I mostly get about 16-17 MPG. Once I'm on the highway, in sixth, and have the cruize on I've been getting about 26 MPG at about 65 MPH. I'm huge on mantainance and how well my toys run so my 2000 Silverado gets about 21 MPG with 170,000 miles on it. Be vigilant with your maintenance and smart on how you drive and you'll be happy with your milage.


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