Is this normal gas mileage?

Motor City Rick · September 7, 2017

Z71_Tommy,

Are you getting that off a "instant gas mileage" reading on your dash??? Or the average after 250 miles of driving???

Doing some research and been in that same neighborhood on Highway 15 coming out of Parowan Utah (to Vegas). The altitude there is 5,970 feet. Heading to Mesquite Nevada, the altitude there is 1,601 feet. You drove "downhill" for 4369 feet drop in elevation. That would explain your reading. Now go the other way and tell us the cruise control mileage over the 110 mile trip back to Parowan.

J0E · September 7, 2017

Lol, that's not even close to city driving!.....55mph backwoods and your going through a small rural town..... That's closer to highway driving, with limited slow downs at each destination.

It's what I have to work with. Real city driving I do maybe once or twice a month if that, and that's how I like it.

Sometimes I never come to a complete stop on my daily 30 mile drive to work.

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Z71_Tommy · September 8, 2017

Z71_Tommy,

Are you getting that off a "instant gas mileage" reading on your dash??? Or the average after 250 miles of driving???

Doing some research and been in that same neighborhood on Highway 15 coming out of Parowan Utah (to Vegas). The altitude there is 5,970 feet. Heading to Mesquite Nevada, the altitude there is 1,601 feet. You drove "downhill" for 4369 feet drop in elevation. That would explain your reading. Now go the other way and tell us the cruise control mileage over the 110 mile trip back to Parowan.

I have it set at average every 25 miles I think. My family in parowan is only 200 miles. Ill be moving from Vegas to Eugene Oregon in November. Ill monitor my miles then. Going to parowan ill pull anywhere from 20-22mpg I stay off the gas to do the best I can put her in cruise and let her do her thing.

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Motor City Rick · September 8, 2017

Average gas mileage setting should be done from full to empty at a minimum. Or some people do multiple fills to get a "longer average". But anything under one full tank load (less than 250 miles) is a waste of time and accuracy. Setting it every 25 miles, what's the point of average fuel economy???

Z71_Tommy · September 8, 2017

When I get back in my truck I'll change the setting on that and see where it goes from there.

Mark Diedrich · September 8, 2017

It's what I have to work with. Real city driving I do maybe once or twice a month if that, and that's how I like it.

Sometimes I never come to a complete stop on my daily 30 mile drive to work.

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I think it's awesome that you don't have to do" city driving"! I was just laughing that your style really wasn't close to it either ( which you had already said)....

Nanotech Environmental · September 8, 2017

Average gas mileage setting should be done from full to empty at a minimum. Or some people do multiple fills to get a "longer average". But anything under one full tank load (less than 250 miles) is a waste of time and accuracy. Setting it every 25 miles, what's the point of average fuel economy???

To get a realistic longer term average, yes. However, personally I think that there is value in getting shorter term averages as well. I like that I can see what my truck is doing in real time as well as shorter averages.

The key is in how one communicates that to others. I've seen people say 'my truck gets 25 mpg'(or insert whatever number they're bragging about), when what they're really getting is about 16 or 18 or ?? long term average or something like that. Many folks love to cherry pick data.

Personally I've seen a high short term 100km average of 8.4 l/100km on my truck. That works out to about 33 or 34 mpg cdn. (high 20's US) The long term (12000 km) average so far is about 10.6liters/100km or so, which will get a bit worse as we move thru winter. The long term average includes all types of driving.

Motor City Rick · September 8, 2017

3beejay3,

If you have an "instant fuel mileage" gauge reading, then use it. But if you want accurate gas mileage, run it over a couple of hundred miles / for you, kilometers

Number one point in collecting data, it has to be "accurate". Next it has to be "consistent" with the majority on "how" the data is "acquired". Collecting gas mileage data is done over hundreds of miles / kilometers of driving, not short spurts. Then the gas mileage data must be "repeated" to obtain a pattern or performance.

Since you have that type of mindset, your defeating your own data as being accurate overall. Using your evaluation procedures, my HHR get's 99 miles / 159.325 kilometers to the gallon / 3.785 liters of gas (dash gauge maxed out) going down the mountain road with my foot off the gas for the next 15 miles.

Mark Diedrich · September 8, 2017

Lol, Motor City Rick, exactly what I was thinking too!

Nanotech Environmental · September 8, 2017

3beejay3,

If you have an "instant fuel mileage" gauge reading, then use it. But if you want accurate gas mileage, run it over a couple of hundred miles / for you, kilometers

Number one point in collecting data, it has to be "accurate". Next it has to be "consistent" with the majority on "how" the data is "acquired". Collecting gas mileage data is done over hundreds of miles / kilometers of driving, not short spurts. Then the gas mileage data must be "repeated" to obtain a pattern or performance.

Since you have that type of mindset, your defeating your own data as being accurate overall. Using your evaluation procedures, my HHR get's 99 miles / 159.325 kilometers to the gallon / 3.785 liters of gas (dash gauge maxed out) going down the mountain road with my foot off the gas for the next 15 miles.

I think you missed the last part of my post and totally misunderstood what I was getting at: (snip of post) "Personally I've seen a high short term 100km average of 8.4 l/100km on my truck. That works out to about 33 or 34 mpg cdn. (high 20's US) The long term (12000 km) average so far is about 10.6liters/100km or so, which will get a bit worse as we move thru winter. The long term average includes all types of driving".

The point was that there is value in getting both short and long term data to some people. However, some people only cherry pick the good stuff. I pointed out the difference in my short and long term mileage, both of which are reasonably accurate as far as the DIC can get and I don't have a 'mindset' such as you imply. I suggest you go back and re-read thoroughly.........

Grumpy Bear · September 9, 2017

Today I drove 11.0 hours. Covered 554 miles. Used 17.676 gallons (US) fuel. Netting a trip average 31.34 mpg. With the first 10 gallons used I had covered 329.6 miles or 32.96 mpg. 55-85 F day. 3-15 mph winds shifting all day. Northern Illinois and Eastern Iowa. Rolling hills.

Single best tank 31.8 mpg over 438 miles. Single worst tank 22.9 over 421 miles.

Last 6 tanks covered 3074 miles. Used 105.797 gallons for 29.1 mpg longer term average.

27.8 mpg 24 tank moving average.

34,685 miles / 1304 gallons = 26.6 mpg average. (lost the first 7500 miles of records due to a computer crash the remaining 1300 miles were those driven by previous owner).

Average tank 475 miles. Average fill 17.9 gallons.

43,283 miles on the clock on 1080.4 hours for 40.06 mph.

Gofas · September 9, 2017

You drive really slow grumpy bear. Good way to save on gas. Your driving back road and not interstates I hope.

I drive slow but it does not show cause of all the stop and go and really short driving distances.

Nanotech Environmental · September 9, 2017

Grumpy - That's pretty decent fuel mileage on a pickup, IMO

Grumpy Bear · September 9, 2017

You drive really slow grumpy bear. Good way to save on gas. Your driving back road and not interstates I hope.

I drive slow but it does not show cause of all the stop and go and really short driving distances.

Actually that's a few mph faster than the National average according to Ford Fleet Services (Miles/hours). That said I drive slower than most just sit in the saddle longer than most. Steady. 53-55 mph is my favorite.