Long road trip, gas mileage

[jimnkaran]

Originally Posted by unicycle

All but about 3 of us know that there is no way that increased speed improves mileage. These pissing contests that frequently show up on this board only show the gullibility of some posters and some readers. As SuperGeek points out, there are huge margins of error when people only fill up partly.

So for those of you who believe that you're getting mpgs in the high 40s and above, here is a simple thing you can do:

Set the odo to zero at the next fill-up. Record the 'exact' amount of gas put into the car for the next 5 fill-ups. This should take you about 1200 miles, give or take. Divide that by the 5 amounts put into the car (which will probably be about 30 gallons). That will give you a pretty good idea of the mileage over several fill-ups and will 'flatten out' some of the margins of error.

I humbly submit that I'm noticing some real drop-off in my mpgs since the start of winter. I drive mostly highway, low traffic, avg'ing about 57-60 mph. My mileage has lately been about 41-42. In warmer weather I was getting about 46. I should also mention that I try various methods to improve mileage, like pulse-and-glide.

Just take a 4000 mile road trip and that will give you an exact mpg, no guessing if you stopped short of a fill up or what. Combined city and highway mileage with terrible headwinds coming back. Anyone that believes they are averaging more than 50 mpg's is in a dream world.

[24-42]

Originally Posted by jimnkaran

Anyone that believes they are averaging more than 50 mpg's is in a dream world.

Unless you have a 450 !

Donald LaFavor

[Kermit]

I'm with Supergeek. The Smart is most efficient at around 48-52mph.

Dare I go out on a limb and defend the speed demons, but with the increased speed sometimes there are variables not mentioned. One time I got 42mpg in a Toyota Matrix over 300 miles at speeds of 70-85mph. Those variables? Drafting, tailwind, the type of material the road is made of. Averaging that ever tank, I just don't quite see it. Once in a blue moon, it can happen.

[Wdhitch]

Now that I have the Scanguage in the mpg's are more stable.... pulling around 43 on the interstate with the AC on... better mpg's with the AC on than with the windows open.