I think you are lying to me about mileage

[tigger]

Yesterday was the first day of vacation and I made a road trip to Boise to see some friends, celebrate my cake day, install some window and windshield tint, do the hood wrap and graphics, and take care of some legal issues with the previous landlord.

There was a wind warning for the Vegas Valley region so figured I better head out. What they failed to say was they the wind would get worse the further north I went. Out of the 625 miles, 5 were a tail wind, 130 were a head wind the rest a side wind. I would say the average speed of the wind was 30-40 mph for the whole trip.

I was 72 when I left Vegas. It was between 32 -39 degrees and snowing from Ely to Jackpot. I had not planned for cold weather. Even hit snow in Boise.

Mileage from LV to Ely, 15.9. (it had to get better right)
Mileage from Ely to Twin Falls, 12.1. (can't get any worse than that)
From Twin Falls to Boise 8.6. (even my Jeep on 35's never got that kind of mileage)

In the last 130 miles, the Toy shifted into OD 5 times for less than 30 seconds each. Otherwise I was at 3500 RPM or higher just trying to maintain the speed limit.

I might as well have been driving a 30' RV. :wtf:

 

[aweaver65]

Interesting. I'm here in Vegas and it was BRUTAL yesterday. The wind and dust sucked all the moisture out of the air so bad that many people ended up with nose bleeds. Mine hasn't stopped.

I'm wondering if your air filter is totally blocked with dust or something because 8.6 mpg is indicative of a problem unless you are driving like a maniac or something?

 

[mo_mo]

Yesterday was the first day of vacation and I made a road trip to Boise to see some friends, celebrate my cake day, install some window and windshield tint, do the hood wrap and graphics, and take care of some legal issues with the previous landlord.

There was a wind warning for the Vegas Valley region so figured I better head out. What they failed to say was they the wind would get worse the further north I went. Out of the 625 miles, 5 were a tail wind, 130 were a head wind the rest a side wind. I would say the average speed of the wind was 30-40 mph for the whole trip.

I was 72 when I left Vegas. It was between 32 -39 degrees and snowing from Ely to Jackpot. I had not planned for cold weather. Even hit snow in Boise.

Mileage from LV to Ely, 15.9. (it had to get better right)
Mileage from Ely to Twin Falls, 12.1. (can't get any worse than that)
From Twin Falls to Boise 8.6. (even my Jeep on 35's never got that kind of mileage)

In the last 130 miles, the Toy shifted into OD 5 times for less than 30 seconds each. Otherwise I was at 3500 RPM or higher just trying to maintain the speed limit.

I might as well have been driving a 30' RV. :wtf:

32 F = more dense air compared to 72 (more aero drag)

40 mph head wind = big aerodrag
40 mph + 60 mph (dunno your speed limit) = 100 mph
okay side wind
80 mph forward, 40 mph perpendicular = (sqrt(2)/2* perp speed + fwd speed = tot fwd speed rough)
80 + 40 *.7 = 108 mph

What's your question? You were 72 when you left Vegas? Is that years? Don't worry I've been drinking too.

I just went through So Cal, Vegas, Utah and back and averaged over 20+mpg with duratracs for my freeway mileage. Got a bit over 10 mpg when in 4wd but I wasn't doing an indicated air speed of 100 mph+

What do you normally get without severe winds?

 

[DesertCanyons]

Mileage in storm

Your gas mileage just kept getting worse. Maybe something's wrong with the car. Is it under warranty? Can you take it to a mechanic where you are? Timing, spark plugs? How warm was the car running? Normal?
My Jeep GC with a 5.2L V8 gets the same mileage in those conditions, not counting the head wind. If you're doing the speed limit, 65 mph, with a head wind of 30 mph your virtual speed for wind resistance and drag is 95 mpg. Still, it should get better gas mileage.
I like the name of your home location, lost wages. That's my favorite name for the place too.

 

[tigger]

It was getting worse as the wind was getting worse. the 8.6 was a 30+ mph headwind while trying to do 80 (speed limit in Idaho)

I don't think there is anything wrong with the vehicle. It was more of a tongue-in-cheek post cause the winds were so bad. It was all I could do to keep it on the roads. Went through many spots where I had to slow down to 30 as the dust created brown-out conditions.

And no, I was not 72 when I left, I just haven't learned to type yet. IT (the air temp) was 72.

And honestly, I have no idea what it gets normally. Yesterday was only the third time I have driven it since I got in in Feb. I had only put on about 150 miles of around town and 1 trail driving. :wow:

Hopefully the trip back next week will be a lot less windy. Can't take another 10 hours of that :dizzy:

 

[Friggin Idiot]

Check some of the other places in the forums. I made a mention about Oklahoma wind there, and it has a ton to do with fuel economy. Our trucks are not very aerodynamic, obviously! I've noticed any speed above 75mph even on a calm wind day just started sucking down the fuel economy. Hence trying to do 80mph + 30mph headwind is really pushing the engine the same as if you were doing 110mph!
Also your sidewind, aka crosswind. These are NEVER exactly perpendicular to your course, and will always have some bit of headwind or tailwind with them. A wind 10 degrees forward of perpendicular at 15mph is 2.6mph of headwind. Change that same wind to 20 degrees forward of perpendicular and that nearly doubles to 5.1mph. That's 15mph, imagine what it's like with 30mph? Toss in the fact that you're no longer driving straight down the road, but having to angle more into the wind to compensate for it pushing you off the road, and you just add more wind resistance.
I've personally done road trips trying to hold close to 85mph, and found that I just can't deal with the 12-14mpg fuel economy that comes with that. Now think about your 110mph fuel mileage, and I'd bet money that 8.6mpg isn't unrealistic.
Good luck on the trip back, I certainly hope the wind is the same direction and speed giving you a nice tailwind and better fuel economy to go with it!

I read an article in a pilot magazine a couple weeks back. Often general aviation pilots hope for tailwinds, but the reality comes to a tailwind in one direction means a headwind when going back. Because you move slower with the headwind you spend more time in it consuming even more fuel. Since wind rarely blows so that you have a tailwind all of the time, the best scenario you can hope for is calm winds in both directions.

 

[Jetboy]

The section of highway from Tooele utah to the nevada border recorded 90 plus mph gusts. The closed it for a while. Bunch of semis tipped over lots of injuries and at least one person killed. I guess it was so bad they ran out of ambulances. Crazy spring weather. Hopefully your return trip is better.

 

[1engineer]

1/2 pv^2

 

[firepilot]

Headwinds can be the bane of my existence.... In my old FJ I had a drive from Lewiston, Idaho to Bend Oregon. I could leave Lewiston and make it to Madras, get fuel and head into Bend. Other days with the wind in the Gorge I would be sweating to make it to a little station that was almost 100 miles closer.

flying I have been passed following the freeway before by a VW bus, and in a million dollar helicopter that is frustrating.

Flying cross country I plan on 250 nm fuel stops. Couple of years ago flying to Louisiana with a great tail wind was able to go 500nm on the same tank of gas.

To the OP. The good news is it's down hill back to Lost Wages!

Phil

 

[wfo9]

The 4r is a brick. Last summer (on a long trip) I noticed 80mph vs 70mph made a significant difference in MPG. Then once up in the mountains, my mpg improved even though I was climbing in 4th much of the time. Air density made a big difference.

Hey I know what you need, The ECO block:naughty:

 

[WU7X]

I have been watching the mileage on my 2011 T4R ever since purchasing it last November. I just got back from a trip to the Seattle area. The vehicle is pretty stock in appearance; hidden winch in front, Camelback Metal roof rack with a Fiamma Pro35 awning attached up top, White Knuckle rock sliders replacing the stock ones. One big difference is a 3" OME lift and 255/80R17 ST/Maxx tires. I use my Garmin Montana to check gas useage and mileage because the larger tires cause the speedometer to be low by ~4% at highway speeds.

Looking at just the highway mileage, averaging 73 mph, I got 17 mpg. Note little heavy front winds. Average in-town mileage drops to ~16 mpg.

 

[Off_Gridder]

Or a big fugly fairing and boat tail made out of election signs and gorrilla tape...

Worse fuel economy I have ever gotten was in 50 - 70 kph winds (31 - 45.5 mph) was 26L / 100 km (~9 mpg) just trying to maintain 110 kph (68 mph). Your numbers don't sound too far fetched if you were trying to maintain 80.

 

[jrandom]

It was getting worse as the wind was getting worse. the 8.6 was a 30+ mph headwind while trying to do 80 (speed limit in Idaho)

I don't think there is anything wrong with the vehicle. It was more of a tongue-in-cheek post cause the winds were so bad.

Too bad it wasn't a tailwind you would have gotten 45mpg


So far my experience, trying to go the rural speed limits 70-80mph I get real crappy mileage. If I prod along at 65 it is dramatically better.

 

[Jayhawk5G]

Yesterday was the first day of vacation and I made a road trip to Boise to see some friends, celebrate my cake day, install some window and windshield tint, do the hood wrap and graphics, and take care of some legal issues with the previous landlord.

There was a wind warning for the Vegas Valley region so figured I better head out. What they failed to say was they the wind would get worse the further north I went. Out of the 625 miles, 5 were a tail wind, 130 were a head wind the rest a side wind. I would say the average speed of the wind was 30-40 mph for the whole trip.
I was 72 when I left Vegas. It was between 32 -39 degrees and snowing from Ely to Jackpot. I had not planned for cold weather. Even hit snow in Boise.
Mileage from LV to Ely, 15.9. (it had to get better right)
Mileage from Ely to Twin Falls, 12.1. (can't get any worse than that)
From Twin Falls to Boise 8.6. (even my Jeep on 35's never got that kind of mileage)

In the last 130 miles, the Toy shifted into OD 5 times for less than 30 seconds each. Otherwise I was at 3500 RPM or higher just trying to maintain the speed limit.

I might as well have been driving a 30' RV. :wtf:

So what your saying is a giant boxed shapred BOF suv, in extreme conditions that both adversely effect mpg, got bad mpg and you are surprised?

I averaged 19.8 on my last trip from Chicago to Kansas City going east to west in 50-60 degree temps. Edit: 72 mph

 

[oljedi11950]

We are driving a box ! Any lift & we're fuqd , not like aerodynamic or anything ! And we're going uphill to boot . Be glad didn't have roof rack with a ton of stuff .

 

[LXRunner]

I used to tow brick shaped 21' travel trailer and always notice mpg drop
and frequent transmission downshifts with head wind.
Solution is to slow down by 10 - 15 mph.

T4R + Strong wind + Bad MPG = You chose wrong direction to drive !

:lookout: