this is wierd as heck mpg

[terramir]

okies I usually get around 11 to 15 mpg on my 2.3L efi 1992 convertable. Well I just had a little tech problem namely my cooling fan broke and melted (the electrical kind). And suddenly I was faced with having to watch my heat very carefully. Well that problem is solved after driving about 90 miles(10 of it about city) back and forth on the freeway to a junkyard, however I discovered something amazing. The two days before mostly city added up to a total with the junkyard trip of 133.2 miles then back home I filled up did a quick calculation and I got an average of 26.95 m/g. I was like WTF since I owned this thing and well it's got 154000 miles (over 20k miles mine in a year and some change ) on it now I have never gotten this sort of gas mileage.

I do understand I usually drive like a bat out of hell, but heck I always thought there was something wrong with this car I expected like 15 and 22 the way I drive but I got shown and by my car. during the last two tanks before this mind u (14 and 15 mpg total with about 20% -30% freeway) I had dumped in to fuel injector treatments, but when I had filled just after this problem started (fan) I had an MPG around 14.
However here comes the wierdest part I did some math and in order to come anywhere near the city/freeway split I must have driven on the partial last tank before I filled these are the values I got .


mpg H miles H mpg C miles C
31 91.1 21 42.1
32 85.5 21 47.7
28 102 24 31.2
28 89.8 25 43.4
29 94.3 23 38.9

in anyway to make sense considering what I drove I got better than EPA H:28 F:21 values on either one or both of the parts (high/city). I just want to because I found out that I could have been saving lots of money over the last year

What is the max u guys get on four bangers with auto tranny's (al4d) and does my watching the shift dots on the odometer and the smooth acceleration (barley touching the pedel) really make that much difference?

Shameful
terramir

 

[Red_LX]

Ok, I barely understood your post.

But, MPG can fluctuate greatly depending on a multitude of factors. I found this out with my tempo.

I used to drive about 35 miles each way to work, and I generally got 28-30 mpg (usually closer to 28).

A couple years ago I drove it out to St. Louis, MO, and averaged 36 mpg on the way out (tempos weren't rated for anything close to that from the factory).

Now I have to drive it through town every day to get to work, and I'm lucky to get better than 20 mpg. Hell, it might even be worse than that.

 

[ethangsmith]

My 88 2.3L A4LD gets 17-22mpgs around town and 22-32mpgs on the highway. I have found that higher octane fuels and warmer weather increase my mpgs. The 86 capri 2.3L has a 3 speed C3 automatic in it. It used to get 16-20mpgs around town and 25-35mpgs on the highway. Now after doing some modifications I'm not sure what it gets, but it seems to be in the realm of 16-20mpgs. Oh, a fresh tune up and oxygen sensor works wonders.

 

[Stinger]

Most likely your new "full" tank actually shut the pump off before it was all the way full...screwing up your calculations.

 

[svopwr]

Ok, I barely understood your post.

But, MPG can fluctuate greatly depending on a multitude of factors. I found this out with my tempo.

I used to drive about 35 miles each way to work, and I generally got 28-30 mpg (usually closer to 28).

A couple years ago I drove it out to St. Louis, MO, and averaged 36 mpg on the way out (tempos weren't rated for anything close to that from the factory).

Now I have to drive it through town every day to get to work, and I'm lucky to get better than 20 mpg. Hell, it might even be worse than that.

hahahahaha....lol! i just figured id read the first post and the replys and after i read the first post i felt the exact same is Red LX's first sentence in his reply. i bout died laughing after reading red's reply!!! i was completely lost as well.

 

[stykthyn]

I get about 300 miles to a tank, not sure on tank size, it's around 15 isnt it? I guess that would put me at 20mpg in the city

 

[egnorant]

mileage

You cannot tell much from one tank of gas.
And Yes drivng style can account for a lot!

I have a pizza delivery car that gets 35 mpg in delivery mode and 50 mpg on my last 300 mile trip on the interstate.

You can also have WHERE you fill up mess with you.
One station I stop at (best looking counter girls AND cheap gas) has a slope at the pumps.
Fill up going one direction and I get less gas in the tank and my MPG seems to soar!
Fill up the other direction and I have figured that I get another 2 gallons into the tank.
Tank one fill up may be 8 gallons with 360 miles.....WOOT!! 45 mpg!!!!
fill up the other way took 10 gallons for about the same 360 miles....36 mpg.

Get an average over several tanks and it will level out.

Bruce

 

[glowstang93]

When I was driving 80 miles round trip to work, I was getting 30 mpg. Now that I am only driving 8 miles round trip to work, mostly through town with stop and go traffic, I get about 20 mpg. This spring I will be doing the fuel filter, plugs, wires, transmission fluid/filter change, differential fluid change, and maybe an oxygen sensor too. I would imagine my mpg will increase some then.

 

[Red_LX]

All that stuff you're doing won't help. Stop and go traffic, and a short trip like you're making, kill your gas mileage no matter what.

 

[bhuff30]

My best on a relativly stock 2.3 was 25-26mpg. That was mostly highway in the hot summer.
Funny thing, my best with the 97 GT is 27mpg, driving the exact same route as before.
These days, the 2.3 gets about 17mpg if I'm lucky. Then again, I only drive it for fun . I get my foot in it plenty, and any highway miles I do get, there isn't a chance it will go into closed loop with my fuel pressure up to 55 and the C4 running the engine at 3500 @70 mph. It's a blast though

 

[glowstang93]

I know it may not help the mpg, but it is its 90,000 mile tune-up. I have been doing the 30,000 mile tune-ups religiously and it sure cant hurt anything. Besides that, I will usually find something else while under the hood that needs taken care of. Its a win-win.