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so this weekend i went from orange county to stockton(both about sea level) cali which is about 360 miles. recently in mixed city/highway i have been getting around 20mpg which tells me i have some maintainence to do. the trip was mostly flat farm land with one mountain to climb approximately 4000ft in elevation. going north is a 5% grade and going south is a 6% grade. on both downhill runs i did alot of coasting anytime possible to save on fuel. here is the intersting part.
at approx 220 miles we stop for breakfast and i realize there is no way i am going to make it on one tank so i fill up approx 10 gal with 22.5 mpg and i have already both ascended and descended the mountain. not happy.
i get there and do some city driving for maybe 30 of the approx 250 miles and fill up because it is time to head home and my fuel light has just popped on. i get 12.5 gal and 20mpg. really not happy.
i drive 340 point something miles to drop off dad 15 miles from where i live and i fill up on the corner from his place. i get 12.3 gal and 27.69 mpg. really happy, but wtf?
mostly i drove 80mph but my speed flucuated from 65-85mph just depending on traffic. the only difference is going there i used cruise to maintain speed and the gas/brake pedals to adjust my speed. coming home i used cruise to maintain/increase/reduce my speed. beyond that there was nothing done differently and no maintainence performed over the weekend midtrip. the question is: could that one variable really cause a 5mpg difference? the tour has almost 73000 miles and since i only aquired it 3 months ago i do not have specifics concerning prior maintainence.
00 black/tan svt, #2052 of 2150, born 2/1/00
formerly known as my csvt
"Nothing in the world is more dangerous than a sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity." -Martin Luther King, Jr.
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Joined: May 2000
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Yes it can. If you mash the throttle to accelerate then yeah, the cruise will be more gentle.
TB
"Seems like our society is more interested in turning each successive generation into cookie-cutter wankers than anything else." -- Jato 8/24/2004
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You will never get â??accurateâ? MPG readings from one trip. Plus you will need to fill up â??fullâ? to the top of the fuel tank neck every time. If you rely on the fuel pump to shut off it can very widely from pump to pump and day to day. Just to many variables in your trip/fill ups. 27 plus is do-able.
Louie
96 Contour SE,V6,5 speed,Black w/tan Leather, metal WP,heated mirrors,engine block heater
02 Ford 4x4 F250 Crew Cab,7.3 TURBO Diesel,6 speed,400 HP and 800 TQ
01 GMC,All Wheel Drive,loaded
69 Karmann Ghia Convertible,Body off restoration
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However, conversely:
If you DO go until the pump shuts off each time (yes, I know it is slightly different at each pump) for LONG enough, your shut off time would begin to average. Your mpg readings over a PERIOD of time, would be your average, still.
It may read SLIGHTLY higher, or SLIGHTLY lower than if you were diligently filling to the EXACT level each time. But it will be the same readings, over time, regardless of which pump you used.
Reiteration:
"Exact science" approach may lead to a more definite number.
"shut off" method will, inevitably, give a different number, though slightly lower. Each pump will be slightly different, but after a length of time, the "differences" will be averaged out, and your "lower" readings will still maintain themselves (while being slightly lower than the exact method..)
Ray
'99 CSVT - Silver #222/276
In a constant state of blow-off euphoria.
Originally posted by Kremitthefrog:
I like to wear dresses and use binoculars to watch grandmas across the street.
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Originally posted by 96contourSE:
27 plus is do-able.
For my past 8 or so fill-ups, I've averaged 28.7 mpg each time. It's been so close (within .1) each week, it's kinda scary!
-Chris
2000 SE Sport V6 5spd
(all stock except for EO brakes)
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Other factors:
1.) Tail/Head Wind
2.) Traffic - Every tap of the brakes requires more gas to get back to speed.
3.) Drafting
4.) Terrain - Was it smoother in one direction? Also, even though it looks mostly flat, there probably is some overall change in elevation.
5.) Weather and Air Density - More Humid?
Ofcourse there can be other factors too.
- Zack
WANTED: T-Red HEATED Side Mirrors
FOR SALE: 4 14" Alum Alloys and Nearly New Avid H4s Tires w/ Center Caps
2000 T-Red SVT
1995 LX V6 MTX (RIP)
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1)neither, just a cross wind at the top of the mountian, gorman pass for those familiar with the grapevine.
2)none going as i left at 3am, but coming back i did hit traffic off and on for the last 90ish miles
3)i am not stupid so i do not tailgate which is the only way to draft. i cannot say the same for the other schmuks on the road which may lead to a rant thread later.
4)for the first hundred miles away from my place it typical so cal. after that it is 260 odd miles of flat boring farm land.
5)as stated, i left at 3am so it was cooler then. coming back sunday afternoon it was in the 70-80's. humidity unknown.
dad and i think it is just accelerating using cruise vs using the gas and brake pedals. we very much doubt weather theories due to number 5.
00 black/tan svt, #2052 of 2150, born 2/1/00
formerly known as my csvt
"Nothing in the world is more dangerous than a sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity." -Martin Luther King, Jr.
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i get 30mpg on tha highway......
99 SE V6\5spd - 156 HP\157 TQ 15.166-90.84
Totaled 02/12/06
99 SVT # 1571 - 175 HP\153 TQ 14.999-91.88
Born 3/24/99 Reborn 3/18/06
Pietenpol Racing Technologies project vehicle
90 Festiva L 5spd, Blue(not for long), 103k
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Originally posted by pole120:
i get 30mpg on tha highway......
next time i go there i will try to get some cleaning done first and see if i can get to where you are. my next goal. the current one was 27mpg
00 black/tan svt, #2052 of 2150, born 2/1/00
formerly known as my csvt
"Nothing in the world is more dangerous than a sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity." -Martin Luther King, Jr.
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Being behind a diesel trailer will remove the wind resitance without tailgating.
On a purely technical note: drafting CAN be done, to some extent, without tailgating.
I won't argue how EFFECTIVELY it can be done, but it is there, to some degree.
Ray
'99 CSVT - Silver #222/276
In a constant state of blow-off euphoria.
Originally posted by Kremitthefrog:
I like to wear dresses and use binoculars to watch grandmas across the street.
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