I was trying to think of where to post this, and I come back on the site, and here's the place! I calculated my fuel mileage after 1/2 a tank, and got 16mpg...I've been driving it a little hard, but not enough to warrant mileage like this...does anybody have problems with the fuel gauge? It could be a Ford thing (my dad's Taurus he just traded in was never really accurate) or maybe it's just my car? I plan on running this tank of gas down, as much as possible, then filling it back up and trying to calculate my mileage again. Has anybody else has this problem?
____________________ Proud owner of a Black 2000 Focus ZX3...
well, I look at it this way...when I get to 1/2 tank left, I've only got about 1/3 or less of my actual mileage it doesn't really go very linear and it varies because the needle is bigger than the line. If you get down below a 1/4 of a tank and you don't have 240-250miles on the tank, then I'd worry about the bad mileage.
Don't use the fuel guage for calculating fuel consumption. Just a mild tilt to the car can cause errors. Just log mileage and fuel input. Be consistant on where and how you put the fuel in.
I just Zero the trip meter every time and then log the amount of fuel used for that mileage.
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A man is not old until regrets take the place of dreams...John Barrymore
Codger wrote: Don't use the fuel guage for calculating fuel consumption. Just a mild tilt to the car can cause errors. Just log mileage and fuel input. Be consistant on where and how you put the fuel in.
I just Zero the trip meter every time and then log the amount of fuel used for that mileage. I agree. You have to divide the miles/kilometers by the amount of gas you actually pump into the car. That means topping off the tank carefully. The gas guage is useless for this. The guage in my car normally doesn't move from full until I have between 85 & 100 miles on that tank of gas. After that, it's pretty linear. After topping off, I normally get close to 400 mi. on a tank.
____________________ If you can't read this, you're illiterate.
auto tranny in the hills of the california coast. that about sums it up. these cars need about 30 more horses to get decent mileage on anything but flat ground. even here in fla with a 5 speed we are lucky to get 26 mpg average for all driving. hell i average 24 mpg with my g35 at double the foci horsepower. go figure that one out fomoco.
Since my change to the Amsoil 0w-30 I'm averaging 29-33/tank.
I'm actually running a log reflecting the date, fuel, where I bought the fuel, type of driving since the previous fill, total miles on tank, gallons purchased, cost and total miles on the car. I've also mentioned any changes to my vehicle (maintenence done)
I'm excited as I used to average anywhere from 25-30 on a good day.
____________________ Get in, Sit down, Shut up and HANG ON!
This won't help with the topic at hand but I thought it was be good for anyone following along and wondering to themselves why the gas gauge reads full for so long after you've filled the car. I found it interesting information
teamfocus wrote: I only get about 240 miles on 10 gals of gas. Rick, as promised, I'll be flying out from Ohio next week to show you how to take that thing outta 2nd gear.
____________________ If you can't read this, you're illiterate.
Mr. Versatile wrote: teamfocus wrote: I only get about 240 miles on 10 gals of gas. Rick, as promised, I'll be flying out from Ohio next week to show you how to take that thing outta 2nd gear.
Pssst. Mr V. While you are there you might want to show him that little lever between the seats. Ya, the one with the button on it that should be in the down position when he's driving. He'll probably complain that one of the lights on the dashboard goes out and since he paid for that light he wants to see it on all the time.
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A man is not old until regrets take the place of dreams...John Barrymore
OK...sorry for bringing up such an old topic, but after adjusting my measuring method to what was recommended above, but I've been getting 20 mpg consistently since then. I'm going to run a scan tool on it tomorrow to see if the air fuel ratio is off which is the only thing I could think of at the moment. From what I've read, a new intake should increase mileage a small bit...mine did almost nothing. I don't really think increased air flow is throwing off the computer, because i was getting that mileage before the intake. Any other suggestions? The tank I'm running now is looking like somewhere in the 18mpg range, and I do drive it hard, but still not hard enought to warrant that kind of mileage, especially with the temp around here being around 40-50 degrees...from what I've read this is the optimal temp for mileage. Hmmm
____________________ Proud owner of a Black 2000 Focus ZX3...
