What kind of mpgs do you get in really bad traffic?

[KingZiptie]

Im curious how bad some of you dudes gas mileage is when its stoplight to stoplight. My ranger gets pretty awesome hwy mileage- about 30 us mpg at 65. I could easily pull more at slower speeds (at 45 my ultraguage reports 40mpg often). This to me suggests that the engine/electronics/sensors are all working as they should.

But man, put the A/C on and crawl in stop and go traffic- the ultragauge will show average mpgs of 13 and 14! I dont have a lift or real tall tires. I thought about asking in the Ranger forums but most of them could care less about mpgs.

EPA for this truck is 21 city. Usually my average mpg is about 23 not using any eco techniques. But if things get real clogged up, the mpgs drop. Is this right? Besides EOC, neutral coasting (which I do alot coming up to lights to try and time green, or use DFCO), etc, is there something up with my vehicle I should be checking out? Maybe its just because its a truck?

By clogged I mean catching every stoplight red, block after block after block. I want to make sure I get the truck running as it should be before focusing on technique.

New coil, wires, plugs, fuel pump, upstream o2, cleaned maf, cleaned throttle body, cleaned map, excellent compression, 87000 miles.

[deejaaa]

stick/auto?
i was stuck in freeway accident traffic for 30 mins. couldn't kill engine because it would creep every 3-4 seconds by 10 or so feet. before the traffic, i was averaging 55 on UG. afterwards, it dropped to 49.
if stick, try to EOC, kill engine at lights, bump start if light changes before stopping(if stick). most of my driving is freeway, no AC at 55. on off days, city traffic will drop me between 5 and 10 mpg.
i'm starting to get the hang of using DWL more.

[nimblemotors]

The Prius gets 60 mpg in crawling freeway traffic..

[slowmover]

Bumper to bumper hurricane evacuation expect 3-5 mpg any vehicle. Idle fuel burn is pretty well the same for any vehicle. Biggest fuel tank wins that race.

[oldtamiyaphile]

What's you average speed?

My average drops as low as 8-10mph in the worst of it (over 14 miles or so of commute).

That makes it hard for me to match my NEDC City figure of 22MPG US, but usually I pretty well match it, or slightly better it (A/C off).

Normally, I average 20mph and my last tank averaged 38MPG. So half the speed, half the MPG.

Best trips with no traffic I've managed a few times is 50MPG over the same routes.

[user removed]

I've seen it bad enough here that it took people 14 hours to move 14 miles. That was when a water pipe burst and flooded the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel for the first time since it was built in 1957.

If you are not moving at all like once I moved a mile in one hour, you are just screwed.
If the traffic is moving at 10 mph average or more then I actually get better mileage than I would at 65 mph.

We have traffic reports and living on a peninsula it pays to have my 50 years local knowledge of alternate routes especially when the I64 gridlock moves to the alternate routes. On a motorcycle (air cooled) in 98 degree temps, 8 traffic light cycles to more through a single intersection, you can roast an engine.

regards
mech

[jamesqf]

I think it's bad when I can't time the one stoplight before getting on the interstate :-)

[Ecky]

Worst I've ever seen is about 35mpg. It was stop and go, and I was blasting the A/C. Without A/C I probably would have been closer to 50 (in this particular worst-case), and as long as traffic isn't stop and go, it's significantly higher,

[user removed]

Originally Posted by slowmover

Bumper to bumper hurricane evacuation expect 3-5 mpg any vehicle. Idle fuel burn is pretty well the same for any vehicle. Biggest fuel tank wins that race.

Idle fuel burn varies fairly dramatically. My CVT Insight was .11 gph, compared to a larger V8 at .5 gph or higher. I told my neighbor my Insight would go 40 mph on what his truck consumed just idling.

regards
mech

[slowmover]

I'll bet that with A/C use that the majority of vehicles aren't terribly far off. 3-5/mpg stop and go at a dead crawl is a FEMA estimate.

Biggest gas tank for the win.