260-340 miles per tank ok?
11-02-2011, 12:29 PM
#22
In our LS1 F-cars I believe 1998 have a 15.5 Gallon Tank and 1999-2002 have 16.8 Gallon Tanks.
So should I assume when the O.P. says he's getting 260-340 Miles per tank out of an 1998 T/A that he's filling up with 15.5 Gallons each time he refuels?
No, that would be ridiculous. But we can play around with this number to give another example.
260 miles divided by 15.5 gallons is 16.8 MPG and 340 miles divided by 15.5 gallons is 21.9 MPG. 17-22MPG is pretty good, so I would say he's getting average mileage out of his LSx Car.
But this still isn't as accurate a measurement as it could be. There is no way he runs his tank that low before refueling. I would say he's actually getting better mileage because he has to be using less than the 15.5 Gallons the tank will hold. But without knowing how many gallons are actually being used, I can't figure what his mileage actually is.
Knowing the Capacity of the Fuel Tanks of our cars makes it easier and can allow us to make a good educated guess (such as in this case). But when someone with a 2005 Ford Focus tells me they get 240 Miles Per Tank it doesn't mean **** to me unless I know how many gallons he uses between fill-ups. That's my hangup with people telling me how many "Miles Per Tank" they're getting. I don't know how big the fuel tank is in your car, so there is no way for me to know if 240 miles per tank is good or bad. I have no problem doing the math, but I can't do that if I'm not given all the numbers.
Also, there is a reason New Vehicles are measured by Miles Per Gallon. It makes the measurement uniform for every vehicle and therefore comparable. The O.P. is looking to know if his car is getting good mileage as compared to ours. To do that, we need a Uniform Measurement in order to make this comparison. The most accurate Measurement is Miles Per Gallon.
I'm not trying to come across as sounding like a dick. I'm simply a fan of: If you're going to do something, then lets do it the right way.
11-02-2011, 03:15 PM
#23
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On the Window Stickers of new vehicles Fuel Efficiency is written in Miles Per Gallon (MPG), not Miles Per Tank. I've never understood how anyone can measure the fuel efficiency of their vehicle by simply noting how many miles you've gone on a tank of fuel. Tanks are not all the same size, even in our 4th Gen F-body Cars, so a measurement like this isn't uniform.
The correct way to check is to write down your odometer reading or reset your Tripometer when you fill up. Then the next time you fill up, take the number of miles you've traveled and divide it by the number of gallons you just put in your tank. This will give you how many Miles Per Gallon your vehicle is traveling. (NOTE: This only works if you Fill-Up your tank each time you Refuel. If you add any fuel between Refills your calculations will be off using this method.)
For example: Lets say you've gone 325 miles since your last fill up and you just refilled your tank with 16.5 Gallons. Take 325 divided by 16.5 and you get 19.7 Miles per Gallon.
Simply saying, "I get about 325 miles per tank", doesn't tell us anything, unless you know how big of a tank you have and how many gallons you put in it to fill it.
Again, for example: Lets say you've gone 325 miles and ran your 10 gallon tank dry. That would give you 32.5 MPG, and that's awesome. But if you've gone 325 miles and ran a 20 gallon tank dry, you only got 16.25 MPG, that's not so good. Not knowing how big your tank is and the number of gallons you put in it makes a big difference on how Fuel Efficient your car really is.
And as mentioned above, Fuel Gauges are not necessarily accurate portrayals of how much fuel is being consumed. So saying, "I got 150 Miles on half a tank." doesn't mean **** if you don't know how many gallons you've actually used.
We all have Cell Phones with Calculators on them. The next time you fill up use it to figure your Miles Per Gallon. That will tell you how Fuel Efficient your LSx really is.
The correct way to check is to write down your odometer reading or reset your Tripometer when you fill up. Then the next time you fill up, take the number of miles you've traveled and divide it by the number of gallons you just put in your tank. This will give you how many Miles Per Gallon your vehicle is traveling. (NOTE: This only works if you Fill-Up your tank each time you Refuel. If you add any fuel between Refills your calculations will be off using this method.)
For example: Lets say you've gone 325 miles since your last fill up and you just refilled your tank with 16.5 Gallons. Take 325 divided by 16.5 and you get 19.7 Miles per Gallon.
Simply saying, "I get about 325 miles per tank", doesn't tell us anything, unless you know how big of a tank you have and how many gallons you put in it to fill it.
Again, for example: Lets say you've gone 325 miles and ran your 10 gallon tank dry. That would give you 32.5 MPG, and that's awesome. But if you've gone 325 miles and ran a 20 gallon tank dry, you only got 16.25 MPG, that's not so good. Not knowing how big your tank is and the number of gallons you put in it makes a big difference on how Fuel Efficient your car really is.
And as mentioned above, Fuel Gauges are not necessarily accurate portrayals of how much fuel is being consumed. So saying, "I got 150 Miles on half a tank." doesn't mean **** if you don't know how many gallons you've actually used.
We all have Cell Phones with Calculators on them. The next time you fill up use it to figure your Miles Per Gallon. That will tell you how Fuel Efficient your LSx really is.
I actually think we are all doing that.
11-02-2011, 09:34 PM
#24
Here is the first post you made in this thread...
If this is what you're doing, what exactly is your MPG when you get 400 miles out of your tank?
Wow, maybe I get better gas mileage than I thought? Or maybe I'm just nicer to my car than other people?
When I get on the interstate I set my cruise at 70MPH, I never touch it till I hit traffic or need to fill up.
I can get a little over 400 miles out of a tank, all highway driving.
When I get on the interstate I set my cruise at 70MPH, I never touch it till I hit traffic or need to fill up.
I can get a little over 400 miles out of a tank, all highway driving.
