Go Back   EcoModder Forum > Forum News & Feedback
Register Now
 Register Now
 

View Poll Results: Can I remove the anomaly tanks from my log? (Poll closes on Jan 16th)
Yeah, go ahead. 0 0%
NO! Not fair! 7 33.33%
I don't care! It's YOUR fuel log. 14 66.67%
Voters: 21. You may not vote on this poll

Reply  Post New Thread
 
LinkBack Thread Tools
Old 12-27-2009, 12:21 AM   #1 (permalink)
EcoMod Wannabe
 
Sean T.'s Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Lake Orion, MI
Posts: 448

Taurusaurus Rex - '97 Ford Taurus GL (Sedan)
90 day: 19.39 mpg (US)

Blue Wagon - '00 Ford Taurus Wagon SE Comfort
90 day: 19.61 mpg (US)
Thanks: 6
Thanked 18 Times in 11 Posts
Is it ok to remove anomaly tanks in your fuel log?

The past couple weeks I had a few bad tanks due to severe engine/transmission problems, including having to drive to school (~45min) with half the trip stuck in 2nd gear.

These tanks resulted in 19.50, 21.07, and 19.07 mph each for a tank of about 15-15.5 gallons.

I realize these aren't dramatic enough to be outliers (yeah I was a statistics nerd in HS), but they will have the following effect:

90-day will rise from 21.95 to 22.40 (a 2.04% increase)
Lifetime will rise from 22.00 to 22.07 (a 0.32% increase)
% above EPA will rise from 9.99% to 10.35% better than EPA.

Let me know what you all think. Personally I think it would be fair due to the other-than-normal driving circumstances. (I know people could bring up that this would be the same as denying a tank due to bad weather, but with an engine problem it's like driving a different car... does that make sense?)

Normally, I'd just go ahead and do it since it is MY fuel log, but I seem to remember controversy rising when another member tried to do this, so I figured I'd check...

__________________
  Reply With Quote
Alt Today
Popular topics

Other popular topics in this forum...

   
Old 12-27-2009, 02:39 AM   #2 (permalink)
A madman
 
brucey's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: WV
Posts: 1,018

Pequod - '17 Subaru Outback
90 day: 22.79 mpg (US)
Thanks: 73
Thanked 183 Times in 98 Posts
Send a message via AIM to brucey
I drove around several trips and got my worse recorded MPG at 14. something MPG, always in 1st gear. Snow is a ***** eh?

I still logged it.

Option 3 on the poll is probably the best. It's YOUR information and for YOUR use.
  Reply With Quote
Old 12-27-2009, 03:10 AM   #3 (permalink)
(:
 
Frank Lee's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: up north
Posts: 12,762

Blue - '93 Ford Tempo
Last 3: 27.29 mpg (US)

F150 - '94 Ford F150 XLT 4x4
90 day: 18.5 mpg (US)

Sport Coupe - '92 Ford Tempo GL
Last 3: 69.62 mpg (US)

ShWing! - '82 honda gold wing Interstate
90 day: 33.65 mpg (US)

Moon Unit - '98 Mercury Sable LX Wagon
90 day: 21.24 mpg (US)
Thanks: 1,585
Thanked 3,555 Times in 2,218 Posts
Do whatever but keep in mind, if you then decide to make some sort of fe claim on a mod or technique or something, funky logs will not help you make your case... and yes when checking up on claims some of us do scrutinize fuel logs
__________________


  Reply With Quote
Old 12-27-2009, 03:15 AM   #4 (permalink)
herp derp Apprentice
 
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Lawrence, KS
Posts: 1,049

Saturn-sold - '99 saturn sc1
Team Saturn
90 day: 28.28 mpg (US)

Yukon - '03 GMC Yukon Denali
90 day: 13.74 mpg (US)
Thanks: 43
Thanked 331 Times in 233 Posts
i thought thats why there was the details part, make note of weather - temps, blizzards... parts getting replaced...mods put on or taken down. i figure if youre a statistics nerd, the more info the better.
  Reply With Quote
Old 12-27-2009, 05:42 AM   #5 (permalink)
aero guerrilla
 
Piwoslaw's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Warsaw, Poland
Posts: 3,691

Svietlana II - '13 Peugeot 308SW e-HDI 6sp
90 day: 58.1 mpg (US)
Thanks: 1,269
Thanked 721 Times in 458 Posts
If you remove your worst tanks, then you should also remove your best (downhill w/ tailwind). The only tank I haven't entered was when testing my mods: I filled up before and after to make sure it didn't effect any other tanks. I think that was OK to omit since it was scientific research for better fe But to be fair, that tank is included in my private spreadsheet log on my computer.
All other tanks are included, even the worst ones with snowchains, or hauling cargo, or whatever etc.
__________________
e·co·mod·ding: the art of turning vehicles into what they should be

What matters is where you're going, not how fast.

"... we humans tend to screw up everything that's good enough as it is...or everything that we're attracted to, we love to go and defile it." - Chris Cornell


[Old] Piwoslaw's Peugeot 307sw modding thread
  Reply With Quote
Old 12-27-2009, 08:20 AM   #6 (permalink)
Left Lane Ecodriver
 
RobertSmalls's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Buffalo, NY, USA
Posts: 2,257

Prius C - '12 Toyota Prius C
Thanks: 79
Thanked 286 Times in 199 Posts
It depends on what you're trying to measure with your fuel logs. I say log it all, so it reflects the way you actually drive and maintain your car. Me, I went an entire tank or two with a bad thermostat. If I didn't want that ugly data in my fuel logs, I should have identified and corrected the problem instead of driving like that for months.

What if someone decided he wanted to record his car at its best, so he only kept fuel logs during the summer?

Which reminds me, I have a fuel receipt in the glove box from a month ago. I'll update my logs with one good and one disappointing entry when I fill up this week.
  Reply With Quote
Old 12-27-2009, 10:09 AM   #7 (permalink)
Master EcoModder
 
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Leadville, CO
Posts: 509

Maroon Ballon - '98 Chrysler Town & Country LXI
90 day: 26.42 mpg (US)

MaEsTRO - '95 Geo Metro 5spd hatch, 3 cyl
Thanks: 47
Thanked 54 Times in 38 Posts
Maybe you should ask more questions of yourself because this is your log.

What are you trying to prove/accomplish?
Are you trying to impress somebody?
Are you impressed by somebody else's skewed data?
Is it about the science, or a pretty graph?
Is 3 low/high tanks in a row an anomaly or a trend?
Do you remove trips with a lot of EOC, because heck, the engine wasn't even on?
Are you adjusting the nut, or adjusting the data?

Driving around in 2nd gear is not "other-than-normal" for a lot of people, it's just daily rush hour traffic. For a lot of people, grill blocks, air dams, EOC, or turning off at a light, or removing wipers and mirrors, and A/C, and alternators, are "other-than-normal".

The fuel logs are just a tool, and can only be accurate if used properly.

It would be a lot more work, but a more accurate and realistic tool would be a spreadsheet that calculated miles per dollar, including all the costs of using a car. This would include everything you spend money on to keep a car on the road including payments and interest, taxes, parking, repairs, maintenance, tolls, licensing, insurance, tickets, towing, etc.

Then we would get to see if it would be more economically feasible to own a nice new 2010 Prius, or a 1995 Metro. Or even a bicycle and a bus pass.
  Reply With Quote
Old 12-27-2009, 11:48 AM   #8 (permalink)
EcoMod Wannabe
 
Sean T.'s Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Lake Orion, MI
Posts: 448

Taurusaurus Rex - '97 Ford Taurus GL (Sedan)
90 day: 19.39 mpg (US)

Blue Wagon - '00 Ford Taurus Wagon SE Comfort
90 day: 19.61 mpg (US)
Thanks: 6
Thanked 18 Times in 11 Posts
I'm not only removing bad tanks. I've had worse tanks, and to be honest 21 isn't that bad for me. I wouldn't think of removing them if it was due to snow or traffic.

My fuel log is just so that I can keep track of what kind of mileage my car is getting, and with the engine troubles I feel that it doesn't fairly represent my mileage.

And for me, three tanks is less than a month. We tried to figure out what the problem was, and ordered the parts we thought I needed, when that didn't fix it, I tried as soon as I could to get the car into the dealership to get it fixed.

I will still be leaving the tanks in the fuel log, but I will put the data in the details section and change the figures to 0 miles and 0 gallons.
__________________

Last edited by Sean T.; 12-27-2009 at 11:55 AM..
  Reply With Quote
Old 12-27-2009, 12:34 PM   #9 (permalink)
In Lean Burn Mode
 
pgfpro's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Pacific NW
Posts: 1,528

MisFit Talon - '91 Eagle Talon TSi
Team Turbocharged!
90 day: 39.03 mpg (US)

Warlock - '71 Chevy Camaro

Fe Eclipse - '97 Mitsubishi Eclipse GS
Thanks: 1,243
Thanked 581 Times in 373 Posts
To me the fuel log is your own tool to keep track of what changes did what?

Poor fuel inputs are just as good as Great fuel inputs.

The data is very important, no matter what the outcome.
__________________
Pressure Gradient Force
The Positive Side of the Number Line

  Reply With Quote
Old 12-27-2009, 02:41 PM   #10 (permalink)
Pokémoderator
 
cfg83's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Southern California
Posts: 5,864

1999 Saturn SW2 - '99 Saturn SW2 Wagon
Team Saturn
90 day: 40.49 mpg (US)
Thanks: 439
Thanked 530 Times in 356 Posts
pgfpro -

Quote:
Originally Posted by pgfpro View Post
To me the fuel log is your own tool to keep track of what changes did what?

Poor fuel inputs are just as good as Great fuel inputs.

The data is very important, no matter what the outcome.
Yeah. I understand the desire to compete with others and have the best tanks possible, but I also think you can document what happened in the details log. Storing all the fuel logs makes the fuel log portion of this forum more accurate in regard to real world conditions.

Ha ha, if you want, you could publish a "Good TRex" and a "Bad TRex" fuel log. That way the totality of data would be there, but the best tanks could put the best light on your car.

But it's your log, so it's your choice,

CarloSW2

__________________

What's your EPA MPG? Go Here and find out!
American Solar Energy Society
  Reply With Quote
Reply  Post New Thread


Thread Tools


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Hydrogen Generator Experiment willy57 DIY / How-to 601 08-23-2016 05:53 AM
mileage computer for a carbureted engine diesel_john Instrumentation 221 05-01-2014 10:38 PM
Project: Rebuilding an '01 Honda Insight as a nonhybrid Fabio Hybrids 158 01-12-2013 11:59 AM
ElmScan + Customized Scantool Software = data logging! cfg83 Instrumentation 19 08-08-2010 09:24 PM
Feature request: Maintenance Diary in the Fuel Log Joe_Bloe Forum News & Feedback 1 10-05-2008 11:03 AM



Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
Content Relevant URLs by vBSEO 3.5.2
All content copyright EcoModder.com