Combined EPA Rating ... cheaters up in here or just a big misunderstanding?? - Fuel Economy, Hypermiling, EcoModding News and Forum

Markmysite · 08-19-2008, 02:16 PM

I was browsing through the EM Garage and sorted by model to compare what others with my cars are seeing with the mileage. I've been noticing that some people have mileage sig's that show a 70% improvement over EPA and their mileage #'s are close to mine. I didn't think there could be that big of a difference between model years (and I was right). I looked each car up on Fuel Economy to check their combined EPA rating.

What I have learned is that many, many of the cars listed on here have EPA values that are way off. I won't name any names and I am assuming that people just put the wrong values by mistake ... not in an effort to make their % look better ... heh. I know there is some confusion with the old vs. the new EPA rating method, and I think we should all use the new method for continuity. They are also lower values which does help your % too.

So what is the big deal? For fun, I changed my real EPA value of 29mpg combined to 27mpg combined like some other people have with my same car. My percentage went from 30.3% to 40.1% improvement over the EPA rating!!! That is showing a false value of over a 30% improvement in gas mileage. Show me a mod that can achieve that. It's the best mod for the money yet. Just cheat and don't put your vehicles true EPA combined rating ... put the city value like a lot of people did ... lol.

Seriously though, we should all be playing fair ... don't ya think?

Please go to Fuel Economy to find your real combined EPA rating. Click the top left where it says "find and compare cars" and then do your year, make, model, and engine type. It makes a mig difference if you are manual or automatic too. A simple 2mpg off can change your % a huge amount.

I don't know if there's any way possible to link our values to the gov website, but that would solve the misunderstanding problem.

SVOboy · 08-19-2008, 02:36 PM

Are you using the new or the other numbers?

To be perfectly honest, it's not a competition so I don't even look at anyone else's stuff,

. When the garage gets revised the EPA numbers will likely be autofilling, so this won't be an issue in the future.

Daox · 08-19-2008, 02:36 PM

We do have a link to fueleconomy.gov when you edit your vehicle in the garage. And while we do not actively police the garage, if we see something that is incorrect we will ask that it be fixed, or we will do it.

Markmysite · 08-19-2008, 02:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SVOboy

Are you using the new or the other numbers?

To be perfectly honest, it's not a competition so I don't even look at anyone else's stuff,

. When the garage gets revised the EPA numbers will likely be autofilling, so this won't be an issue in the future.

I'm using the new #'s yes. I know it's not really a competition, although people will use values of cars they see and try to strive for what they are getting. That's how I noticed it. Pull up a car in the garage and look up a couple of their values. I think people are doing it by mistake and probably putting their city #'s without even realizing it.

Good to know you're revising the garage. Being able to search in the garage would be awesome. The sorting feature is helpful as it is though. I was using it to compare Corolla's, Vibe, Matrix since they are all similar and have the same base engine. I wanted to see what others are doing to get over 50mpg.

azraelswrd · 08-19-2008, 04:36 PM

We have a sort function? (shows how much I use the garage beyond entering my own stuff)

taco · 08-20-2008, 03:13 AM

i have min correst 16 city 20 hwy 17 combined. for a 1998 toyota tacoma 4x4 5 speed 2.7l reg cab.

wow that is alot..

but i have noticed the same thing wiht the garage.

but i just noticed a 2005 awd matrix auto has the combined rating of 25mpg, and a fwd matrix has a city rating of 25mpg then the manual matrix has a combimed 29mpg while the auto awd has a 29 hwy mpg.

maybe that cofuses people? i dont know.

edit again...
i noticed my 2007 camry i4 auto has a different rating than the same car in 2008, no differences at all ?

99metro · 08-20-2008, 09:41 AM

Make sure that the car you are comparing to is exactly like yours - same year, engine, transmission, trim - these all make a difference in the fueleconomy.gov values. Manufactures can make small differences between model years with the seemingly same spec vehicle, enough to make MPG differences. I agree we should all be using the same "new" standard. I noticed a few vehicles like mine are still using the old EPA values.

I believe playing fair is the only way to go. I have noticed that there are some who only drive less than a mile, or a very short distance, and claim/post their 115mpg or so. Gee, that was great, but I could do that too. Then they are the top dog in a category when it comes to fuel economy. Are they dishonest? Technically no, but this is very misleading. I personally believe things should be documented tank to tank, and not using a Scangauge or similar for short distance stuff. I see this on other fuel economy documentation sites also.

rant done

HyperMiler · 08-20-2008, 10:52 AM

Another thing to keep in mind is that the percent of driving in the city/highway may be different than someone else so your combined mpg will be different. For instance, my combined mpg using fueleconomy.gov's standard values (15,000 miles and 55% city driving) is 29. However, when I put in how many actual miles I drive (24,350), and that I do 25% city driving, that combined mpg jumps up to 32.

99metro · 08-20-2008, 11:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HyperMiler

Another thing to keep in mind is that the percent of driving in the city/highway may be different than someone else so your combined mpg will be different. For instance, my combined mpg using fueleconomy.gov's standard values (15,000 miles and 55% city driving) is 29. However, when I put in how many actual miles I drive (24,350), and that I do 25% city driving, that combined mpg jumps up to 32.

That's right! You can have your own custom city/combined/highway MPG based on your particular driving. I almost forgot about that feature at fueleconomy.gov.

MechEngVT · 08-20-2008, 01:51 PM

Maybe the garage should specify which ratings you should enter. I entered the "new" ratings for my vehicles without any customized settings (your percentage highway/city affects the combined number if you save your customizations). Personally I felt slightly disingenuous doing this because I typically felt the "old" ratings were fair and accurate for my vehicles and it even wasn't hard to best the highway rating on a combined tank, but the web site seems intent on pushing the MY2008 ratings so I used them. Besides, on new vehicles the "old" ratings are no longer available. I wish they were, or that the new ratings only applied to certain vehicles (ahem...hybrids) and not others (diesels).