How could I lose 10 mpg in a week of BETTER driving?!

[Diesel_Dave]

Originally Posted by Atheria

With 9.401 gallons of gas that was a mixture of premium and mid grade, I got 42.54867 mpg. Yes, I'm a stickler for accuracy. :-)

Careful, don't mistake precision for accurracy. Both are important, but just because a number is more precise doesn't necessarily mean it's more accurate.

+1 on Old Tele man's suggestion on the logbook. Myt columns are fairly similar:

Date|Station|Price|Fuel Purcahsed|Odometer|Trip Miles|Hours|Avg Overhead MPG Display|Avg Temperature (from my daily log)|Notes

From those you can calculate everything else (avg FE, avg speed, $/mi, etc.)

[ciderbarrel]

Originally Posted by euromodder

On the MPG front : EU car ratings are measured with the most expensive / high octane gas.

They aren't designed for E10, so MPG usually drops when using E10 - one of the reasons why the E10 introduction in Germany failed massively.

In the USA, the EPA estimates are made with E0 (Ethanol-free gas) in the vehicle.

Frequently Asked Questions

[XYZ]

[QUOTE=ciderbarrel;365013]

Originally Posted by euromodder

On the MPG front : EU car ratings are measured with the most expensive / high octane gas.

They aren't designed for E10, so MPG usually drops when using E10 - one of the reasons why the E10 introduction in Germany failed massively./QUOTE]

In the USA, the EPA estimates are made with E0 (Ethanol-free gas) in the vehicle.

Frequently Asked Questions

In the USA, the EPA estimates are made with E0 (Ethanol-free gas) in the vehicle.

Of course here in the USA, in daily use we usually buy the cheapest gas available, which typically is 10% ethanol.

As the old saying goes there are "lies, damned lies and... statistics"

The EPA knows how to woo the public with statistics. Those statistics are useful to both government and the auto industry in marketing and selling cars.

The statistics don't need to be accurate. They only need to lead us to believe that they are.

[XYZ]

Originally Posted by Atheria

I can't believe I am forgetting but I am a certain age. :-)

So what age is that?

"Does this car make me look young?"

Actually the FIAT Cinquecento is a car that Italian men drove fifty years ago, because they couldn't afford anything better. Their women stayed at home, cooking and doing housework.

Everything old is new again.

[Atheria]

Good luck finding gas without ethanol in it...sigh.

XYZ - I'll tell my age when you admit what you drive. I adore my cute Fiat with high mpg. And I am getting lots of compliments on the car's cuteness.

Oh, and flirting by attacking is very 5th grade.

Atheria

[XYZ]

Originally Posted by Atheria

Good luck finding gas without ethanol in it...sigh.

XYZ - I'll tell my age when you admit what you drive. I adore my cute Fiat with high mpg. And I am getting lots of compliments on the car's cuteness.

Oh, and flirting by attacking is very 5th grade.

Atheria

Atheria,

I do drive, several vehicles. As I said, none of my vehicles are a FIAT, nor a Ford, nor a Saab. There's the admission you wanted. So now tell us, what's your age?

I'm glad you adore your cute FIAT, as I said in earlier posts, but you might not have noticed.

I'm not flirting, although you may be. I'm not attacking you, although I think your choosing a FIAT may prove less than satisfying in the long run.

Is your car "you'? If you think you are being "attacked", that's "very 5th grade".

[Atheria]

All you have done since I first posted is try to make me feel bad about a brand new car I just bought that I happen to love. That is attacking Fiat. I do not flirt with unknown men on the internet, and since you didn't actually say what holier than thou vehicle you drive, my age is not your business. End of my replies to you, lurker.

To the others who have helped....a genuine thank you.

[XYZ]

Originally Posted by Atheria

All you have done since I first posted is try to make me feel bad about a brand new car I just bought that I happen to love.

"No one can make you feel inferior without your consent."

Do you know who said that famous quote? (Hint: It wasn't a man.)

That is attacking Fiat.

OK. So what? It's only an opinion about a certain brand of car. No one is attacking YOU.

I do not flirt with unknown men on the internet, and since you didn't actually say what holier than thou vehicle you drive, my age is not your business.

I answered your question, and then you got your panties in a twist. It's obvious you are young. And also immature.

[RedDevil]

Originally Posted by XYZ

... I answered your question, and then you got your panties in a twist. It's obvious you are young. And also immature.

And what a mature answer that was.
You drive: Not a Fiat, nor a Ford, not even a Saab.
Now you claim the right to know Atheria's age.
I can only tell you mine; not 19, not 47 and not 73.

[razor02097]

I just wanted to add my two cents to the OP's observation. I have noticed also that if I try to squeeze extra miles out of the tank I tend to use more fuel than if I actually use the engine power.

I have read up on pulse and glide and exactly WHY it works. It makes sense that the technique is to try to reduce pumping losses in the engine by using the engine's power to accelerate up to an efficient speed then coasting until you reach a slow enough speed the engine can use it's power to speed you back up.

I have used this to modify my tecnique a little. At a dig I will accelerate up to speed using a lot more throttle than I would normally. I will shift when the RPMs are at or a little above the engine's max rated torque. then once up to speed I will hold the throttle just enough that the ECM doesn't activate DFCO. When speed bleeds off a little I give it a burst then again hold the throttle barely enough to keep out of DFCO.

Doing the above I do not have to clutch in or coast. I have met or slightly exceeded my max MPG trend. Moral of the story is if you baby your engine by accelerating slow and maintaining a slow speed you could actually be wasting fuel.