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

[Atheria]

Sophia has a 10.5 gallon tank. But, if the car wasn't as full as the gas gauge made it seem when I got it...I actually would have gotten WORSE mpg, not better. It just must have been a fluke because I checked after driving only 117 miles in my curiousity.

Trust me, I don't trust salesman....but I truly don't think he was lying about the 45 mpg. I can already see it's possible. With 91 octane in the car right now I'm in the 45-46 mpg range. I'm going on a long drive to the Jemez Pueblo today, so we'll see how high I can get it up via cruise control. I don't like not feeling I have control of a car and don't use cruise control often, but this will be an open highway without much traffic.

A mechanic I met swore his diesel MASSIVE....I mean MASSIVE (and lifted) pick-up truck got 34 mpg. I found that very hard to believe, but he swore he wasn't exaggerating. He laughed when I told him my Scion xD got 34-36 with a mix of highway/city driving. The Scion was rated at 26 city / 33 highway and in New Mexico I consistently got way better mpg. In Los Angeles the car only got 22! So the fact I'm getting low to mid 40s with Sophia who is rated at 31 / 40 isn't surprising here in ABQ where the traffic is good.

Atheria the 46 year old

[H-Man]

The MPG of my ecomodded Prizm is every mile I have driven since I started the mods.
Trolla is the same car, but it had a stuck open thermostat for half of the log.
Trolla is every mile I have driven since I started keeping track.
It seems silly to inflate numbers since I have to use this data to see how much money I need to set aside for gasoline since I'm funemployed and going to college.

[XYZ]

Originally Posted by Atheria

Sophia has a 10.5 gallon tank. But, if the car wasn't as full as the gas gauge made it seem when I got it...I actually would have gotten WORSE mpg, not better. It just must have been a fluke because I checked after driving only 117 miles in my curiousity.

No, what I meant was that perhaps you didn't fill the tank as much as the dealer did originally - in which case it would appear that the car didn't use as much gas as it actually did, when you refueled it. Some gas attendants shut the pump as soon as the nozzle clicks off. Others will fill it up almost to the brim. On some cars you could pump another gallon or two into the tank before it overflows. On a car with a small tank, that can affect the calculation. If you pump your own gas and are always consistent about how you fill the tank you will get more accurate readings of your true MPG. Also refueling and checking the MPG on a partly empty tank is never quite as accurate than waiting until the tank is almost empty, due to that factor.

A mechanic I met swore his diesel MASSIVE....I mean MASSIVE (and lifted) pick-up truck got 34 mpg. I found that very hard to believe, but he swore he wasn't exaggerating. He laughed when I told him my Scion xD got 34-36 with a mix of highway/city driving. The Scion was rated at 26 city / 33 highway and in New Mexico I consistently got way better mpg. In Los Angeles the car only got 22! So the fact I'm getting low to mid 40s with Sophia who is rated at 31 / 40 isn't surprising here in ABQ where the traffic is good.

I find his story hard to believe too. If there is any truth to it, he might be able get that on a trip that is all highway driving. OTOH, if your trip involves any city driving at all ("city" usually means at any speed under 45 MPH) it will reduce your high MPG substantially.

There are numerous factors that can affect MPG: weather (temperature and wind), octane and blend (whether 10% ethanol) of gasoline, traffic, your speed, elevation and terrain (whether your trip is mostly uphill or downhill), the gear ratios of the car's transmission, etc. Many of them are not under our control.

If you keep a log book of your MPG when you refuel you will have a more accurate assessment of your actual mileage. After using several tanks of gas you will have a clearer picture of the actual fuel usage.

Does your car have any instrumentation that reports real-time MPG while in motion?

Atheria the 46 year old

Now what sort of horrible person would ask a lady to reveal her age?

[Atheria]

https://mobile.twitter.com/Atheria/s...161218/photo/1

Here is Sophia next to red rocks in Jemez, NM today. Doesn't she look good next to red? :-D

I used cruise control for part of the long drive and only did 65 despite a higher speed limit and cars racing past me doing 90. I'm driving like a little old lady! What has happened?! I have noticed that Sophia's sweet spot is going 42 mph in 5th gear. Now, for all rugs to have the right speed limit and no traffic lights. I am becoming really irked when I have to hit the breaks now!

Anyway, by the end of today's trip the average mpgs sensor said 49.4! I took a photo of it and it's on Twitter too. LOL

My awesome Fiat does have an instantaneous mpg sensor but that drives me batty.

I didn't think about the fact the car might have had more gas in it than to where I filled it.

Atheria

[Atheria]

Also, yet another GUY liked my Fiat today and asked me about it! Ha!

[ciderbarrel]

Originally Posted by Atheria

Also, yet another GUY liked my Fiat today and asked me about it! Ha!

I actually like the Fiat (Abarth especially). I was shocked at how comfy it was behind the wheel. I'm 5'10 and 300 lbs and I fit with no problem. As soon as I climbed in, everyone at the car show wanted to know how I felt inside. As I said before, I just need more cargo area for a car.

I agree with others, I think you are just worrying too much. You just need to enjoy driving your new ride and get used to the differences between it and your Scion. Look at my fuel logs for my Mustang and Valkyrie. The first few tanks had low MPG. As I got used to them, the MPGs eventually picked up over time.

[Atheria]

Okay, I will! Vroom! :-)

Atheria

[XYZ]

Originally Posted by Atheria

I used cruise control for part of the long drive and only did 65 despite a higher speed limit and cars racing past me doing 90. I'm driving like a little old lady! What has happened?! I have noticed that Sophia's sweet spot is going 42 mph in 5th gear.

That's not surprising. Staying in the highest gear at the lowest possible speed (without lugging the engine) will usually produce the highest MPG. Unfortunately we can't always drive everywhere at 42 MPH in 5th gear.

My awesome Fiat does have an instantaneous mpg sensor but that drives me batty.

What do you mean? Is it that the readout is constantly fluctuating or that you don't like the MPG it is reporting? A photo of it might be interesting.

[Atheria]

The fact the readout fluctuates like crazy from 80 to 27 stresses me. :-)

https://mobile.twitter.com/Atheria/s...03279610884096
Sorry, this is only a picture of the average mpg. :-)

[MetroMPG]

I'd be very surprised if the car doesn't also have a resettable 'average' or trip mpg meter as well. I'd investigate ... there's likely a button to press to switch between the two modes.