So, I filled up gas at 1 of the ethanol free stations
03-10-2010, 12:15 PM
#23
6th Gear Member
Another off-topic discussion and many individual threads on MPG's.
Personally, I pay no attention to the "Miles Left" or whatever it's called. The on-board is typically inaccurate anyway but I use the Avg. MPG indicator as a reference only. Hand calculating is the only TRUE method of determining real-life fuel economy and since that is done from fill-up to fill-up, so should the AVG MPG indicator be reset at the pump when you fill-up and ONLY then. Resetting it while on a steady state cruise is meaningless with regard to a vehicles average fuel economy (but if you like to see large, meaningless numbers, hit reset while going down a big hill. Just don't post it or fear the wrath of people like me.. LOL!).
I have been able to get, hand calculated pump-to-pump, 26 (and a few tenths; the log is in the Stang which is in remote storage) MPG on a trip that was all 65 MPH highway. But I used to drive the exact same 420 mile stretch and stop at the exact same gas stations in the same manner and would get wildly unexpected variances in fuel economy (as much as 4 MPG) every 2 weeks over a 1 1/2 year period. I assumed it was environmental (seemed to lose economy in very humid and in rain) and variations in % ethanol. Go figure...
Personally, I pay no attention to the "Miles Left" or whatever it's called. The on-board is typically inaccurate anyway but I use the Avg. MPG indicator as a reference only. Hand calculating is the only TRUE method of determining real-life fuel economy and since that is done from fill-up to fill-up, so should the AVG MPG indicator be reset at the pump when you fill-up and ONLY then. Resetting it while on a steady state cruise is meaningless with regard to a vehicles average fuel economy (but if you like to see large, meaningless numbers, hit reset while going down a big hill. Just don't post it or fear the wrath of people like me.. LOL!).
I have been able to get, hand calculated pump-to-pump, 26 (and a few tenths; the log is in the Stang which is in remote storage) MPG on a trip that was all 65 MPH highway. But I used to drive the exact same 420 mile stretch and stop at the exact same gas stations in the same manner and would get wildly unexpected variances in fuel economy (as much as 4 MPG) every 2 weeks over a 1 1/2 year period. I assumed it was environmental (seemed to lose economy in very humid and in rain) and variations in % ethanol. Go figure...
Last edited by Nuke; 03-10-2010 at 12:18 PM.
03-10-2010, 03:59 PM
#24
4th Gear Member
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Portland, OR
Posts: 1,747
Another off-topic discussion and many individual threads on MPG's.
Personally, I pay no attention to the "Miles Left" or whatever it's called. The on-board is typically inaccurate anyway but I use the Avg. MPG indicator as a reference only. Hand calculating is the only TRUE method of determining real-life fuel economy and since that is done from fill-up to fill-up, so should the AVG MPG indicator be reset at the pump when you fill-up and ONLY then. Resetting it while on a steady state cruise is meaningless with regard to a vehicles average fuel economy (but if you like to see large, meaningless numbers, hit reset while going down a big hill. Just don't post it or fear the wrath of people like me.. LOL!).
I have been able to get, hand calculated pump-to-pump, 26 (and a few tenths; the log is in the Stang which is in remote storage) MPG on a trip that was all 65 MPH highway. But I used to drive the exact same 420 mile stretch and stop at the exact same gas stations in the same manner and would get wildly unexpected variances in fuel economy (as much as 4 MPG) every 2 weeks over a 1 1/2 year period. I assumed it was environmental (seemed to lose economy in very humid and in rain) and variations in % ethanol. Go figure...
Personally, I pay no attention to the "Miles Left" or whatever it's called. The on-board is typically inaccurate anyway but I use the Avg. MPG indicator as a reference only. Hand calculating is the only TRUE method of determining real-life fuel economy and since that is done from fill-up to fill-up, so should the AVG MPG indicator be reset at the pump when you fill-up and ONLY then. Resetting it while on a steady state cruise is meaningless with regard to a vehicles average fuel economy (but if you like to see large, meaningless numbers, hit reset while going down a big hill. Just don't post it or fear the wrath of people like me.. LOL!).
I have been able to get, hand calculated pump-to-pump, 26 (and a few tenths; the log is in the Stang which is in remote storage) MPG on a trip that was all 65 MPH highway. But I used to drive the exact same 420 mile stretch and stop at the exact same gas stations in the same manner and would get wildly unexpected variances in fuel economy (as much as 4 MPG) every 2 weeks over a 1 1/2 year period. I assumed it was environmental (seemed to lose economy in very humid and in rain) and variations in % ethanol. Go figure...
On a side note, I also reset the MPG Avg at each fill up, and surprisingly it was pretty accurate compared to most cars I have been in. Usually within 1 mpg either high or low. My old Titan was VERY optimistic
03-10-2010, 04:17 PM
#25
2nd Gear Member
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: AL
Posts: 413
you people with low mileage; do you have O/R pipes? is your O2's turned off, these two so-called Mods are only two mods that will eat your mileage and you will loose power as well, I ran a O/R pipe with the cel on and my mileage dropped, But my car was louder; believe it or not your factory exhaust is not that restrictive as most people try to make it, on one side of your V8 you have a 2 1/4" or 2 1/2" factory pipes for 4 cyc's, a car with a 4 cyc motor like a honda has a 1 1/2" exhaust all the way out the back and they get 35mpg.
03-10-2010, 04:48 PM
#26
4th Gear Member
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Portland, OR
Posts: 1,747
you people with low mileage; do you have O/R pipes? is your O2's turned off, these two so-called Mods are only two mods that will eat your mileage and you will loose power as well, I ran a O/R pipe with the cel on and my mileage dropped, But my car was louder; believe it or not your factory exhaust is not that restrictive as most people try to make it, on one side of your V8 you have a 2 1/4" or 2 1/2" factory pipes for 4 cyc's, a car with a 4 cyc motor like a honda has a 1 1/2" exhaust all the way out the back and they get 35mpg.
03-10-2010, 07:06 PM
#28
3rd Gear Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Lewisetta, Virginia
Posts: 788
I finished using up 3/4 of that tank of gas that was ethanol free. I ended up going in some city traffic and it lowered my MPG. I hit reset on MPG, Trip and Gallons Used on the car's electronics after every fill up. I went 316 miles and filled up with 10.03 gallons of gas....which translates into 31.5 MPG. After filling up the car's electronics said I had 503 miles until empty! LOL.
I just got a call from Granatelli Motor Sports and they diagnosed my MPG coil packs and said 3 of them were bad. They are replacing all of them though. How nice. They did charge me $25 for diagnosing them which was fine with me. Soooo, I can't wait to put them back on and go back to this ethanol free gas station to fill up again and see what kind of MPG I'll get with the Granatelli Coil Packs installed again. After switching to Ford Racing CAI from the Granatelli CAI, both with Brenspeed tunes, I seemed to get a little better MPG also.
So, yes I like the power of these cars as much as anybody else but getting the most economy and an overall better ride is most important to me. That's why I bought the CAI, MPG Coil Packs, Brenspeed tunes, Motor Silk and drive at reasonable speeds.
One more note on my good gas mileage. I live in the Charlottesville, Virginia area where there are lots of hills and mountains. When I go down large hills or mountains, I put the car in neutral and drift down the hills. This is a form of hypermiling but not extreme. Of course, I also have to accelerate up the hills after going down them so that cancels out some of the gains of drifting down the hills.
I just got a call from Granatelli Motor Sports and they diagnosed my MPG coil packs and said 3 of them were bad. They are replacing all of them though. How nice. They did charge me $25 for diagnosing them which was fine with me. Soooo, I can't wait to put them back on and go back to this ethanol free gas station to fill up again and see what kind of MPG I'll get with the Granatelli Coil Packs installed again. After switching to Ford Racing CAI from the Granatelli CAI, both with Brenspeed tunes, I seemed to get a little better MPG also.
So, yes I like the power of these cars as much as anybody else but getting the most economy and an overall better ride is most important to me. That's why I bought the CAI, MPG Coil Packs, Brenspeed tunes, Motor Silk and drive at reasonable speeds.
One more note on my good gas mileage. I live in the Charlottesville, Virginia area where there are lots of hills and mountains. When I go down large hills or mountains, I put the car in neutral and drift down the hills. This is a form of hypermiling but not extreme. Of course, I also have to accelerate up the hills after going down them so that cancels out some of the gains of drifting down the hills.
03-10-2010, 07:07 PM
#29
6th Gear Member
I've found that my mileage begins to roll-off at about 2000 RPM and drops pretty quickly from there. The sweet spot seems to be in the 1600-1800 RPM range. But even at 2000 RPM (which is ~70 MPH on my ride) I can still average 23-24 MPG pump-to-pump.
My on-board (and quite a few other forum members) is usually about 1.5 - 2 MPG high. My g/f's '06 V6 pony's on-board is near dead-on.
My on-board (and quite a few other forum members) is usually about 1.5 - 2 MPG high. My g/f's '06 V6 pony's on-board is near dead-on.
03-10-2010, 07:22 PM
#30
3rd Gear Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Lewisetta, Virginia
Posts: 788
If I drive 70 mph instead of 60, it lowers my MPG by 3 or 4 MPG. That's one reason I drive 60 mph. That and at 60 mph I have more seat time in the wonderful Mustang and a more enjoyable ride.
