Pleasant Surprises

"Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness" (long-voyager-2nd-edition) 07/19/2019 at 07:50 • Filed to: Fuel Economy

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Last night marks the 3rd time I’ve fueled the van up since we bought it. I’m happy I check my economy the old fashioned way instead of just relying on the gauge on the dash or I would be disappointed.

My first tank told me 24.1 mpg on the gauge, calculating manually showed 26.5 mpg .

2nd tank showed 23.9 mpg on the gauge, manual calculation showed 25.8 mpg

My fill last night showed 22.1 mpg on the gauge ( yes there was some “fun” had on this tank ), yet manual calculation showed 26.03 mpg.

So it gets significantly better economy than my 1994 (18.5-22.5), but only slightly better than my 1992 (22-27), but our driving has been pretty mixed, so I’m interested to see how our trip to Chippewa Falls goes tomorrow morning. I plan to fill it up when we’re leaving then top it off when we get back to check a pure highway run.

E90M3 > Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness 07/19/2019 at 07:56

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Yes, but do you keep a spread sheet to track your economy? 

Arrivederci > Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness 07/19/2019 at 07:57

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This might be the first vehicle I’ve ever heard of where the computer is less optimistic than the actual result.

someassemblyrequired > Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness 07/19/2019 at 08:01

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Can usually get ours up to 28 on a long highway run on the computer.

E90M3 > Arrivederci 07/19/2019 at 08:07

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I was thinking the same thing. The fuel economy meters in both my M3 and my 328i are a bit optimistic .

TheRealBicycleBuck > E90M3 07/19/2019 at 08:23

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I shouldn’t jump in on someone else’s question, but I can’t help it!

For which years? I’m pretty sure I have at least a decade’s worth of records on my old truck. I watched it decline from 20 mpg down to 18 mpg. I switched from a notepad/spreadsheet to Mileage Keeper when I bought my WRX. I have over three years in for the WRX (19.2 mpg), but lost track when I started getting rentals for work.

pip bip - choose Corrour > Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness 07/19/2019 at 08:31

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i have to admit, i’ve never once checked what my car s f uel  economy is

Sammyno55 > Arrivederci 07/19/2019 at 08:43

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Since I learned to drive, I have always tracked mileage. Every tank, every car (even rentals). My first car had a unreliable fuel gauge. Only way to ensure I wasn't stranded was to track mileage. (And keep a gas can in the trunk) over the last 30 years, I've driven hundreds of cars. I travel for business frequently and rent 15-20 cars a year. Very seldom have I found a car that wasn't optimistic in the mileage calculation. Kudos to Dodge for this one.

E90M3 > TheRealBicycleBuck 07/19/2019 at 08:56

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I’ve been using a spread sheet since I got my 328i. I used to get 26 MPG with a standard deviation of 1.5. Now that I don’t drive as far to work, it’s dropped to 24 MPG with a standard deviation of 2.5. 

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness 07/19/2019 at 09:03

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Pro tip: don’t fill it back up  quite as far and your mileage will improve.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > TheRealBicycleBuck 07/19/2019 at 09:05

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I was told that when you replace the OEM tires, you'll lose some MPG because the OEM tires roll more easily, even for the exact same brand and model of tire.

Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 07/19/2019 at 10:07

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Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness > pip bip - choose Corrour 07/19/2019 at 10:08

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I always check.

Mostly because I like to know, but partially because it gives me an idea if something is wrong. Like when my van went from 18.5 down to 12-14, I knew something wasn’t right.

Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness > someassemblyrequired 07/19/2019 at 10:09

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I’m guessing it will be 28-30 real world on our trip.

Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness > Arrivederci 07/19/2019 at 10:10

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It’s the first I’ve driven that’s like this. Generally I find the computer is 1-5 mpg optimistic. I’m very happy to find this one is not.

Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness > E90M3 07/19/2019 at 10:13

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I usually check at each fill up and was recording on fuelly for a while. I got lapse on it when I ran for a long time without mileage variance. I just started logging on fuelly again when we got the new van.

This made me realize I haven’t tracked my 1994's mileage on paper since it was the 3.0 3-speed under the hood.....

TheRealBicycleBuck > E90M3 07/19/2019 at 23:18

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It used to be more work for me since I kept the records on a small spiral notepad in my glove box and transferred them to a spreadsheet every six months or so. Now the apps make it  super easy as long as other people aren’t driving my car and filling the tank.