Just got Ultra Gauge today!

[pletby]

Yay! It finally arrived. I've spent the last hour playing with it and filling out the rebate form process only to find it's available to U.S. residents only. Doh! Whatever, it's all set up and cables routed. Time to fill up (my wife drove this whole tank. I am NOT counting it) and watch the numbers guide me to better FE!

As a side note: if you get one of these and it won't power up after you've gone through the setup process it's not broken! It's got two ignition on detection systems and with my car the default one doesn't get results, but the second does. Led to half an hour of grumpiness until I read the manual through.

[pletby]

I just got back from my first drive with the UG. Wow what a difference instant feedback gives! I can tell how much of a hit I'm taking from headwinds and crosswinds, or help from passing cars and trucks. I also started accelerating a little quicker so I could enjoy the longer glides at 100+ mpg in town.

I also tried my A/C on the highway and the expected massive hit took place. I went with the wind from 40ish mpg to 26 mpg. That's too big of a hit. Into the wind I went from 32 to 22. Nasty. Needless to say the A/C is not going on unless I'm desperate. I did both those tests at the posted limit, much faster than I normally go. Silly me forgot to wind down the windows and test that difference, I just left the panel fan on to keep cool. Next time!

I want to test the difference between having my rear spoiler on vs removed. I'll have to read up on A-B-A testing again. I think I'll have to wait for a zero wind situation. Now I have the tool I need to measure properly.

Avg mpg from that 30km play test run: 35 mpg. My best tank so far is in the 31's. Sweet!

Happy happy!

Paul

[graydonengineering]

Nice! Yes, the wind is a real killer as are slight inclines that you may not even notice. If you have done much bike riding, you know that to be true but without a gauge, it is near impossable to keep tabs on while driving. My experience has shown windows down has minimal impact but AC can take me down a ton. For example, engine on coasing without ac is about 100 mpg but with ac is about 75. Thants 25% in that case! 45 mph constant without AC is about 35mpg, with AC is about 27. Under major load, the AC hit is not enough to tell really. My best tank before my SG2 was 25mpg, my current best is near 31! You have to know what your car is doing to respond for best mpg. It's a big investment but it will pay for it's self.

[Old Tele man]

...and, OH how you're gonna learn to HATE stoplights!!!!

[nemo]

Originally Posted by Old Tele man

...and, OH how you're gonna learn to HATE stoplights!!!!

I recall having an aversion to them before getting my UG, it just reinforced it!

[pletby]

Originally Posted by Old Tele man

...and, OH how you're gonna learn to HATE stoplights!!!!

I see what you mean. I also am getting an even bigger aversion to rush hour traffic. With being able to see the mpg for each trip I make it's amazing to watch your economy plummet when you get caught in the stop and go (mostly stop). Today I struggled to get over 26 mpg. Tomorrow I have a nice highway run to help make up for it. Then I get to hop in a zippy little toyota company car for the day. The best part is it's a standard transmission! Yay!

My UG seems a little too optimistic with the mpg readout based on my seat of the pants feel of where I am on this tank. I'm thinking with a calibration on the next fill it ought to get closer. It's showing 32 mpg for this tank and there is no way. I'm hoping for 29 based on my fuel gauge and trip meter IF I baby it on the highway. I should need to fill tomorrow so I'll find out how much it's out.

[Fat Charlie]

Go to page 31 in the manual and calibrate distance. Then when you fill up, go to page 30 to calibrate fuel usage. I calibrated mileage yesterday and played with the calibrations a little too much, resetting trip distance and whatnot, so I'm going to have to wait until the end of my next tank to calibrate the fuel.

[California98Civic]

Originally Posted by Fat Charlie

Go to page 31 in the manual and calibrate distance. Then when you fill up, go to page 30 to calibrate fuel usage. I calibrated mileage yesterday and played with the calibrations a little too much, resetting trip distance and whatnot, so I'm going to have to wait until the end of my next tank to calibrate the fuel.

I have to try this again too. I gave up after the first few tanks and assumed the readings would just have to be a little off, and rely on the odo/pump as the last word on mpg. But you make me want to return to it. I noticed that the milage is sometimes off by 10-15 miles at the end of a tank, other times it is amost spot-on. And the fuel usage is off by as much as nearly half a gallon sometimes, and other times near spot-on. I always go to the same pump, and I always pump a full 9-10 gallons in order to minimize pump variation. But still, the discrepancies with the UG change. Why?

[pletby]

Originally Posted by Fat Charlie

Go to page 31 in the manual and calibrate distance. Then when you fill up, go to page 30 to calibrate fuel usage. I calibrated mileage yesterday and played with the calibrations a little too much, resetting trip distance and whatnot, so I'm going to have to wait until the end of my next tank to calibrate the fuel.

You bet! I already managed to calibrate distance, but I did goof the calibrate fuel the first time. I'll be trying again on next fillup. I just did it in the wrong order.

[Fat Charlie]

The sad part is that it was helping even without being calibrated.