[MazdaFan]

Mileage report for my 2nd tank:

I used trip computer for my recent trip from the Bay Area to south Lake Tahoe and back:
Distance: 424 miles
Average consumption: 27.0 mpg
Speed: 57.7 mph

I did not encounter traffic (left really early), had short stints in Oakland and SLT around casinos. The car had medium load (2 people and some ski gear inside the car)

For those who are not familiar with this trip involves driving from ocean elevation to about 7500 ft and descnding to about 6250 ft. It's mostly freeway except the last 40 miles on US 50 which is a 2 lane winding highway. I drove at indicated 80 mph on the freeway section.

Even though it didn't exceed 4000 rpm for break in, I enjoyed engine performance on high altitude, better than my E90 with N52. In the last half hour of the trip (after 7 hours of driving, 6 hrs of skiing and 1 hr playing jackpot) I was feeling the bumps and potholes on terrible Bay Area freeways, otherwise the car was very comfortable. One issue that I encountered, if you driving fast, non HID headlights are inadequate in pitch dark winding roads. They are either aimed low or the OEM bulbs are not good. I will try to replace the bulbs and see if it makes a difference.

My overall average with 2 tanks now stands at 25 mpg.