Are you getting the proper milage?

[D4fingers]

Question to everyone out there. On a full tank of gas I average out about 360 miles on local/hwy combined. If i was on a long trip non-stop highway 380 -390.

Now with the gas prices high, I've noticed a huge drop in milage. Twice now my 4runner will come up to 290 - 300 miles. That's 60 miles short! People say i'm crazy, but it's happened twice. In one day I drove 18 miles freeway and surface streets and burned through a 1/4 tank of gas (according to the gauge).

After the first tank, I cleaned my air filter can't think of the name but the high end brand K&N? the tires are properly inflated. maybe just living in LA? but I've never had this happen before till a couple weeks ago.

Is there a different mixture of gas going on? Is anyone else experiencing this?

Lastly, my wife and I bought her a Hyundai Sonata and supposidly that's supposed to have great gas milage, WRONG! not the 36highway / 32 surface, she's avg about 16miles! She's not an aggressive driver and her work is only a mile away. I'm sticking to my assumptions and saying there's something in the gas to make us buy more at a higher price.

Would love to hear from you all.

 

[Zuke]

I have always believed gas mileage is 80% based on driving behavior.

My wife has a Kia Rondo 4cyl. She gets about 20-22 mpg. I drove it for a few weeks while she was away and went through 2 tanks of gas. I got around 25-27 mpg.

 

[D4fingers]

I agree driving behavior has a lot to do with milage and I forgot to mention how I drive. Not too aggressive but faster than usual. Get the miles mentioned above.

But with these gas prices being so high, I've been driving much slower and easier on the gas pedal. that's when I noticed the mileage drop.

Someone mentioned getting new spark plugs. Would that do anything to the fuel consumption?

 

[borgzman]

I think I've done my part so I can get the mileage my V8 can efficiently get.
- Regular maintenance
- Fuel System Cleaner
- Stock tire size, inflated properly
- Clean air filter/ Removed HCF
- Cleaned MAF Sensor
- adjusted driving style
..and more
Its just that the winter formula gas is/was responsible for my low mpg these days. Before it was 18-19 mpg(computed) combined city-highway driving...now its only 14-16 mpg.

 

[D4fingers]

Its just that the winter formula gas is/was responsible for my low mpg these days. Before it was 18-19 mpg(computed) combined city-highway driving...now its only 14-16 mpg.

I've heard that the other day. I didn't know they had seasonal blends of gas. Is that common?

Latest update, I drove from los Angeles to san deigo today and kept it at cruse control at 73 most of the time. Reset the trip, the average mpg on the center dashboard and used my gps zeroed out to compare everything.

The avg mpg calculated was 23mpg. Distance at the end was off by 2 miles from my trucks readout and the gps device. The first 100 miles was about 1/4 of the tank. Better than the 18 miles a 1/4 the other week. Then again straight highway and not combined make a huge diff obviously, but like I said earlier, usually it's about 18 mpg combined, not 18 miles in 5 gallons.

Will keep on tracking the miles.

 

[loki_210]

Ethanol

I've seen no one else mention this, but this is worth looking into.

The below article makes reference to this "Ethanol contains less energy than gasoline, and it takes a lot of energy to produce."

The ethanol myth

Now if you do a quick Google search you can find articles about how much more it takes in ethanol to reach the performance of gas.

Ethanol less efficient than gasoline (A Warning)

Being that a large portion of the farming industry that grows the corn used to make ethanol is subsidized by you the American Tax payer should be a concern. Considering the fact that it is added to your gas by mandate of the federal government (thus lowering the mpg your vehicle gets). So at the end of the day they tax your income, pay farmers to grow corn to be refined into ethanol, then mandate that it goes into your gas, and then tax the gas at the pump. Now you add up all the cost for the farmer, the refining, the fuel cost for all those along the line, and you will see that there is a lot of taxes being paid just to get that ethanol that reduces the performance of your gasoline into your tank.

Loki

 

[klennop]

I run the mid grade, non ethanol. My local station has ethanol in the low and high grade, not in the mid so I go with the mid grade.