Last week, I filled up at a local Holiday gas station with 93 octane gas. I always never top the tank and let the pump shut off by itself. After 35 miles, I dropped a bar. After 62 miles, I dropped another bar. This is very odd. Typically, I drop a bar after 50 miles + even sometimes 60 miles. Overall, I only got 279 miles with .6 gal left.
This week I got 93 octane at another gas station. That was Sunday morning. I've put on since 74.2 miles and the bar has not drop. It's still on FULL. Unbelievable!!!
Either I'm going to get exceptional mileage on this tank or my fuel gauge is not working. I'll drive it tomorrow again to see if the first bar drops.
This might be a record breaking tank of gas.
Last edited by blackbeagle; 09-29-2008 at 10:41 PM.
I usually let the pump click off, wait about 30 seconds, and then try it again... Sometimes the second 'fill' adds quite a bit more gas (but usually very little). I'm guessing that some pump spouts are more sensitive or cause a bit of backsplash and shut off well before the tank is filled.
I always note the ODO mileage on the pump receipt and keep track of consumption in a spreadsheet. Occasionally I notice an unusually high fuel mileage followed by an unusually low one, signaling that the first "fill" was incomplete.
I have no idea why, but I get more miles out of the tank if I fill up at Sunoco.
CUBE
I do notice when I fill up at some gas stations, my pump is always shutting off. The gas is coming out so fast that the gas foams up some and thus makes the pump shut off. It is coming out so fast that the gas can't get down the pipe fast enough. This might be the issue with why you have not a full tank one place and full at another.
I have no idea why, but I get more miles out of the tank if I fill up at Sunoco.
CUBE
It has been suggested that lower quality fuel is the cause of poor economy. I wonder how accurate the proportions of gas to alcohol are in the cheaper fuels. A higher alcohol content will lower the BTU's in the fuel and thus lower power and economy. I think that I will fill-up on high octane racing gas for one tank to see if we can break into the 30 mpg range. Currently we get a consistent 29 mpg.
It has been suggested that lower quality fuel is the cause of poor economy. I wonder how accurate the proportions of gas to alcohol are in the cheaper fuels. A higher alcohol content will lower the BTU's in the fuel and thus lower power and economy. I think that I will fill-up on high octane racing gas for one tank to see if we can break into the 30 mpg range. Currently we get a consistent 29 mpg.
Is that your average MPG? Or is it CITY? and if it's average, do you know the ratio of your driving if you drive it mainly to work.
We keep a smart in Tucson AZ, a small western city and do all our driving in town and the suburbs. Trips are always over 10 or 12 miles, the a/c is always on, and we drive mostly in auto. Only 1 hill: a gentle grade of about 1.5 miles rising around 500 feet.
Our CA car is in Woodland Hills, a Los Angeles suburb. There the trips are shorter about 8 to 10 miles and we occasionally drive the freeways. Same driving style same 29mpg.
I understand about a cold car getting poor mileage, but in the 100 degree heat of summer once a car warms up it stays that way all day so any subsequent trips are with a hot engine.
It has been suggested that lower quality fuel is the cause of poor economy. I wonder how accurate the proportions of gas to alcohol are in the cheaper fuels. A higher alcohol content will lower the BTU's in the fuel and thus lower power and economy. I think that I will fill-up on high octane racing gas for one tank to see if we can break into the 30 mpg range. Currently we get a consistent 29 mpg.
One more thing to consider is outside-air-temp. My smart this summer when temps were in the mid to high 90s and running the a/c would get from about 33 to 36mpg average. Now that the air is down to the mid 70s to low 80s my last three tanks have been 39 to 42mpg. I know that running the a/c less than 50% of the time now accounts for some of the improvement but I believe the OAT out-side-air-temp may be accounting for a fair amout of the improvement also.
Ethanol has 30% less energy than gasoline, and a 10% ethanol blend yields 3% less energy. Your MPGs won't fall more than 3-5% simply from using E10.
Outside air temp is a big factor as is humidity, because if you use A/C, that's a big hit. I get 5MPG more when the AC is off, and have more low-end power/torque. It's a small engine, and any A/C unit will take the first energy out of the powertrain.
The gas gauge finally dropped one bar after 79.1 miles (based on normal driving). That is a new record for me. I know one bar drop doesn't mean 1 gallon used but it's still outstanding and by far the furthest I've gotten so far. I'll have to see how the rest of the tank fares. I've heard some people have gotten over 400 miles.
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