Miles per Gallon - the truth?

[bertusgeert 1]

More and more we are seeing car manufacturers using mpg as a selling point, usually stated well above the actual mpg I've been getting in mine, and I'm sure most people get in theirs.

How is this regulated, and how come there's such a big difference between 35mpg and the 24 I get?

While we're on the topic - what's the best mpg you ever got? (Mine was driving down to key-west & back, 50mph for a few hours of flat driving - 30.5mpg in an accord.)

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As jy dom is moet jy bloei!

[J_Cook 0]

They test MPG under ideal, and street illegal conditions. From what I last saw, they do testing at peak performance speed, usually 50-55 mph, without the muffler on, without air resistance, without passengers in the car, etc, etc. If you drive on the road to get the best MPG, you shouldn't have trouble getting somewhat close to the sticker MPG. Accelerate slowly, don't drive over 55, coast down hills, coast as much as possible when coming to stop signs, follow behind tractor-trailers on the highway and your MPG will increase dramatically (assuming you're like the average driver who does the opposite of all the things I just listed).

[billeisele 130]

wonder if they use 100% gasoline or this 10% ethanol junk

Give one city to the thugs so they can all live together. I vote for Chicago where they have strict gun laws.

[cocheese 0]

My Yamaha TW200 advertises 78 mpg. I get 20 miles more than that sometimes.

I once drove it to the dz 70 miles away and back home for only $2.55 because a guy who rode it, filled it up when he took it for a ride.

[wolfriverjoe 1,523]

The mileage listed by the mfg is "for comparison purposes only" and "Your Mileage May Vary".

They all have to use the same technique to get the MPG so I believe the relative numbers are valid.

Hard lauches off stop signs and red lights, running 70 or faster on the freeway, speeding up and slowing down in traffic, all that stuff lowers the actual MPG.

My actual MPG? Usually around 6.5 or so. Lately I've been pulling heavy loads so it's dropped closer to 6
But that's in a semi

My 4-cylinder Porsche 944 gets 27 overall, quite consistently. But I drive it gently, and keep it below 70 on the highway (WI cops are pretty strict, and most cops keep a close eye on sports cars).

My old Toyota MR2 usually got 33-35, but it was a lot lighter than stock due to extensive rust

"There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy

"~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

[ridestrong 1]

I drive a Dodge with a 5.7L Hemi and I get the quoted MPG on the highway. It seems to get better mileage if I'm driving closer to 80 mph. I'm not sure about city MPG because I drive too f'n fast.

*I am not afraid of dying... I am afraid of missing life.*
----Disclaimer: I don't know shit about skydiving.----

[Amazon 7]

Quote

More and more we are seeing car manufacturers using mpg as a selling point, usually stated well above the actual mpg I've been getting in mine, and I'm sure most people get in theirs.

How is this regulated, and how come there's such a big difference between 35mpg and the 24 I get?

While we're on the topic - what's the best mpg you ever got? (Mine was driving down to key-west & back, 50mph for a few hours of flat driving - 30.5mpg in an accord.)

One thing I love about my VW TDI's.....they both get far better milage than the posted mpg at the dealerships. The new one I looked at a year ago was listed at 42MPG hwy and 30 MPG city... I have yet to ever get less than 45 MPG average between city and country roads in mine while commuting about 250 miles a week.....and I have managed to get over 60 MPG on a long trip... flat freeway doing 70 MPH. I usually get about 650 miles to a tank of fuel.
Oh yeah

2000 Bugly and 2003 Jetta.. both TDI

[DavidB 0]

Much of it is determined by where you drive, & how you drive. Hilly, curvy, stop & go driving uses more gas than running at 45 on a flat straight road. Basic "hot rodder techniques" of making it easier to get the air in, getting the mixture burning & getting the exhaust out with less restriction STILL works, too!

My truck is gov. rated at something like 14-21 MPG. Through a combination of technique & minor "hot rodding" (timing curve changes, torque converter lock & unlock speed changes & opening up the stock air inlet mainly) results in an average of 17-19 MPG depending on the time of year (winter less, summer more) from my usual 2-3 mile short-trips & once a year I run 1200 miles each way resulting in 25 MPG running around 70 most of the trip.

My best was 3 years ago I managed a 25.8 MPG average for the 2700 mile round trip. Not too shabby for a small 4WD extended cab truck ('04 Colorado) with optional engine, trans & gears, eh?

When the only tool you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail.

[VTmotoMike08 0]

http://fueleconomy.gov/feg/info.shtml

[VideoFly 0]

Maybe they test drive from the rockies in Colorado downhill to Kansas. I remember my Road Runner only got 9 mpg, but I still loved to drive it.

[pontiacgtp00 0]

I could average 45mpg with my 1990 honda civic when it had its 70hp engine. Now that I've upped the compression, threw a bigger cam in, bored cylinders, lower gears, and opened the intake + exhaust it averages 25mpg when I'm easy on it. 18mpg or less if I'm running it hard. Oh and I have to run 93 octane for the 12:1 compression.

[Calvin19 0]

after 240k miles on a 1997 Subaru Outback 2.5l, that claimed 21mpg/27mpg, I got an average of 24.1mpg, sometimes when delivering pizza I got 16mpg for weeks at a time. On a few road trips I got 27 average. on one I got 31mpg for 900 miles. (driving east with a 30kt tailwind)

[skydiver30960 0]

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wonder if they use 100% gasoline or this 10% ethanol junk

BINGO.

The consumers got a thrown big green donkey dick on this one. "Hey everybody, add ethanol to your gas! It's better for the environment!"

So for only 10% of the ethanol, I now only get a 10-20% reduction in the mileage (depending on season, amongst a couple other things). Also, the 10% ethanol seems to burn dirtier in my hybrid, so the "check engine" light is always on.

Elvisio "fak" Rodriguez

[eUrNiCc 0]

The EPA tests are done in a lab and then the numbers they come up with are reduced by 10-22% to make up for the gap between lab conditions and what actually happens out on the road. The driver has much more to do with fuel economy than any other factor. My personal best tank average is 29mpg for my 1997 Jeep Cherokee and 79mpg for my 2000 Honda Insight.

My fiance and I bought the Insight a few years ago & there was a definite learning curve to get the car to match the EPA's 49 city/ 61 hwy rating. Once you've got a few thousand miles under your belt, you can easily exceed these numbers by a significant margin, especially if the conditions are right. On a flat road in the heat of the summer with a moderate tailwind I've been able to sustain 80-100mpg at about 58-65mph.

The only hybrid car that has been built for no-compromise fuel economy was the first generation Insight. It was the first hybrid car to hit the market & for some reason nobody has even come close in performance in the 10 years since it was introduced. It boasts a 60hp 1.0L three cylinder, aluminum frame and body, had the lowest drag coefficient of any production car, and weighs 1850lb (10 years later the current model Insight weighs 900lb more... WTF?). Even at a superlight 1850lb, it's still a very well built car. We've been lucky enough to avoid most really costly maintenance and we're about to turn over 250K miles. I don't understand why car companies are now trying to sell everybody on bloated four door hybrids that are lucky to get 40mpg. Back in the mid 90's Honda made the Civic VX two door hatch with four seats & it was capable of breaking 50mpg without being a hybrid. What the hell happened?

Egad, A BASE life defiles a bad age.

[warpedskydiver 0]

Burning more fuel does not reduce emissions, the result is zero change or even worse.

We did a statistical study based on real drivers and real conditions.

Ethanol does not get the same mileage at all.

Sure you get more pwer from ethanol, because you can burn more of it.

Ethanol is oxygen bearing fuel so therefore you can put more in to get more power.

We should all just burn Nitromethane if they want us to quit using gasoline.

We can use propane if we went to all Nuclear, Hydroelectric or Solar/wind.

Keep the gasoline and diesel for the military.

[pontiacgtp00 0]

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Back in the mid 90's Honda made the Civic VX two door hatch with four seats & it was capable of breaking 50mpg without being a hybrid. What the hell happened?

Because they're extremely basic cars. No power steering, windows, locks, cruise control, A/C, only available in a stick shift. Not much sound deadening means a lot of road noise.

70hp with very long gears. Great fuel economy and extremely reliable....but those just don't sell very well. The masses want cars with a lot of flair....and more things to go wrong with them. The older Civic's are so reliable because they're just so simple.

[Niki1 1]

I've got a 2008 Honda Accord LX with automatic transmission. The sticker said 27 MPG and I get 26.5 to 27. I don't drive hard but I some times drive fast. 85 to 95 on uncrowded interstates.

At one time I had a 1984 Honda Civic 3 Door Hatchback. I routinely got 35 MPG in Fla. I drove it from DeLand to Seattle in '91. The mileage seemed to get better out west for some reason. West of the Rockies I was getting 40 - 45 and for 2 tank fulls from Nev through Calif. I got 50 MPG. Driving cost about the same as flying and I had a much better time and I had a car when I got there. I don't remember what the gas prices were. Not nearly what they are now, that's for sure.

Most of the things worth doing in the world had been declared impossilbe before they were done.
Louis D Brandeis

Where are we going and why are we in this basket?

[eUrNiCc 0]

^ I know! That type of car didn't sell all that well 15 years ago because nobody cared very much about fuel economy when gas cost $1 a gallon. As a result it seems like cars have just gotten heavier, less efficient, more complex and a lot less durable than they could be. You just can't buy a car that's light, simple, durable, efficient and affordable anymore.

Egad, A BASE life defiles a bad age.

[pontiacgtp00 0]

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You just can't buy a car that's light, simple, durable, efficient and affordable anymore.

Sure can't, cars today with their 8 different computers and 960 million sensors. Sensors letting you know the tire pressure is low, the glovebox is open, the car infront of you is too close, low traction, when it's raining, when your wife is pissed, when to change the oil, etc...

[AllisonH 0]

I don't know what it was advertised to get, but the best I've gotten in my 2000 Saturn SL2 is 40 mpg. 35-38 is pretty average on the highway, and with my usual combination of in town and highway driving it gets around 32-35.

[gearless_chris 1]

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I could average 45mpg with my 1990 honda civic when it had its 70hp engine. Now that I've upped the compression, threw a bigger cam in, bored cylinders, lower gears, and opened the intake + exhaust it averages 25mpg when I'm easy on it. 18mpg or less if I'm running it hard. Oh and I have to run 93 octane for the 12:1 compression.

The cam and gears are what killed your mileage. It's more fun to drive now, which is what you were after, right?

My 4 cylinder '94 S10 used to get 27MPG, it dropped to 12 MPG with the V8. It's a blast to drive now.
My '94 Geo Metro would average 49 MPG, without being a hybrid. The frame rotted out, so my plans are to build a tube frame for it and eliminate everything that isn't neccesary. Under 1,000 lbs. is my goal.

"If it wasn't easy stupid people couldn't do it", Duane.

My momma said I could be anything I wanted when I grew up, so I became an a$$hole.

[Southern_Man 0]

You should look up hypermiling. Many tips on how to get more miles than the sticker.

"What if there were no hypothetical questions?"

[peregrinerose 0]

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I don't know what it was advertised to get, but the best I've gotten in my 2000 Saturn SL2 is 40 mpg. 35-38 is pretty average on the highway, and with my usual combination of in town and highway driving it gets around 32-35.

I also have a 2000 Saturn SL2, and also get routinely 38mpg. 99% of my driving is highway. It has 180,000 miles on it too. I am very disgruntled Saturns are no longer being made.

Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

[DJL 235]

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follow behind tractor-trailers on the highway

What you're describing is called a dingle-berry. And it's very annoying.

"I encourage all awesome dangerous behavior." - Jeffro Fincher

[DocPop 1]

My '09 Audi S5 is quoted as 22 Hwy, 14 City and I can definitely beat that. Regularly get 25 on the freeway.

Not bad for a V8.

"The ground does not care who you are. It will always be tougher than the human behind the controls."

~ CanuckInUSA