Freak MPG Episode

[BamaDrewski]

So, I went to a station that put in new pumps and they were slow as molasses. Took about 15 minutes to fill up. Left the station, put a 10 mile run (80+ miles per hour) just to put my T4R through its paces.....

A couple of days go by and the needle has not moved off full. I start looking on the forums for a stuck gas gauge. (Found plenty of posts) Finally, the needle gradually moves and at 1/2 a tank and 218.7 miles since fill up, I am telling myself the gauge is wrong and need to fill up rather than risk running empty with a bad gauge.

I fill up the tank with 8.11 gallons and guess what? I was showing a 26.9 miles per gallon. I am still asking myself WTF happened and how do I do it again?????

 

[Ryance39]

It's unlikely, but filling your tank slower, when the temps (air) is cold, will result in more fuel getting into the tank. The faster you fill and the warmer the gas is the more vapor it puts off. This can make your tank "think it's full"

People often talk about filling slow and in the morning when the temps are still cool.

Idk how big of a difference that actually makes, I've never noticed any obvious difference when I have filled at different times/speeds.

Is your runner by chance running lean? That would cause less fuel to be used.

 

[daveherrmann]

I work in the oil industry (as a programmer) and have asked many of my clients about fueling when its cool vs hot and they all say the same thing, the gas is stored in the ground, below the frost line. any heating or cooling will have little if any measureable effect on mpg and filling the tank.

filling it slow on the other hand will result in more gas into the tank

 

[turbo8]

Did you fill up at the same gas station and fill the tank as slow?

 

[alumarine]

Maybe it's the Archoil...

 

[phattyduck]

I am still asking myself WTF happened and how do I do it again?????

Continue to overfill your tank, then underfill it. You will have alternating awesome mileage and horrible mileage. :yo:

-Charlie