Thread: MPG, then verses now.

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Mileage is subjective. Guidelines are just that a guide. Back in the REAL old days they had the Mobile Economy Run and each year every manufactured car was driven in the real world over a substantial course with monitor guys on board to make sure there was no cheating. For example there was no neutral coasting on downgrades. But the stories got out how they cheated any how.

WW I ace Eddie Rickenbacker emphasised how mileage was an individual achievement. He'd say he would drive a car someone got great mileage out of and he couldn't do it.

After the CAFE limits were instituted they resulted in some hokey figuring completely unlike real world driving. It's akin to the times when the insurance companies got tough about HP and so manufacturers began reading HP at the end of the transmission instead of at the flywheel for a lower reading.

It's the same with any government mandated fuel economy projection. Now they supposedly got a new new/better way of figuring it. Yeah. They can make it come out the way they want depending on subtle things.

About all we can tell from the BS on the stickers is if one car says 21/33 mileage and another says 23/31 that the 1st car will get somewhat better mileage....though yours may vary

At some time in the last few years the EPA changed the meathod of calculating mileage , the old meathod was done at speeds that no one drove so they were all rated at higher than what could be expected. I was tought that you needed to average from several fill ups to get a true MPG. My work truck may get 11 one week and 17 the next. but its average is 13.8 over the last month. That Toyota makes me feel ok about this , 13.8 from a 9800 lb. 4x4

Another thing many manufacturer do when testing MPG ratios is that the vehicle is tested on a straight and usually level run or track at about an average speed of 55mph ...no stop and go...no sitting and idling...no slowing down, no speeding up, no climbing up hills or mountain passes, no A/C running, cars...vechicles are "super fine" tuned and tire air pressures set to ambient weather conditions. The cars/trucks are filled with gas in a special one gallon tank remote from the main gas tank then monitored and run until the vehicle runs out of gas. Vechicle fuel gauges are not used just the test monitoring gauges.
There was an expose done on the practice a year or so ago in a program I watched on, if I remember correctly, the Science channel. They never came out and stated the manufacturers but the cars looked to me a mix of then current Fords, Chevy's, Toyotas with the logos blocked out and camo type graphics on the test cars.
It never gained wide spread media attention because who the hell watches the Science channel

Could it be that the gasoline companies are giving us a lower quality product AND CHARGING US MORE?????????

Don seems like that happened in my truck as soon as prices started to climb .

Originally Posted by Twitch

Mileage is subjective.
WW I ace Eddie Rickenbacker emphasised how mileage was an individual achievement. He'd say he would drive a car someone got great mileage out of and he couldn't do it.

Back in '82 my wife and I had to travel a lot so we bought a pontiac T-1000 (Chevette) because it was touted to get 30+mpg. When I drove it, using my best abilities, I got 17. I took it back to the dealer and they drove it and got 34. When my wife drove it she got low 20's. We had it for 17 mos and I never got over 20 with it. My new F150 5.3 is supposed to get 17-24, I can't get 12,the wife can get about 15. The answer is that I never dirive.
John

dang i only get 8-11 mpg 60+ bucks a week :O 18 gal tank

Yeah, well what do you expect at 9,000 rpm's?

not in my car , in my stock 1980 350 q-jet truck !!!! thank god its a stick! the car actually gets better gas mileage then the truck but now that its a little more beefed we will see how that fares

86 mustang 5.0 stick ,20 plus miles to the gallon ,still at almost 200,000 miles........with my foot dEEp into the throttle .............highway mileage is alot better around 26 to 30 depending......I predict even better mileage ,now that I changed the original 1986 plug wires last month.
91 4 cylinder mustang 2 plugs per cylinder a rock solid 30 mpg at all times!!!!

Originally Posted by shawnlee28

86 mustang 5.0 stick ,20 plus miles to the gallon ,still at almost 200,000 miles........with my foot dEEp into the throttle .............highway mileage is alot better around 26 to 30 depending......I predict even better mileage ,now that I changed the original 1986 plug wires last month.
91 4 cylinder mustang 2 plugs per cylinder a rock solid 30 mpg at all times!!!!

'97 Ford Ranger 4cyl/5-speed - synthetic from front to back. Best I can do is 24 mpg in the summer/19-21 mpg in the winter.....and I don't even down-shift anymore.

Originally Posted by techinspector1

Yeah, well what do you expect at 9,000 rpm's?

Really I was talking to a guy yesterday and he was complaining about paying 150 dollars for gas on the same drive I did at 50 dollars. I told him driving like a maniac at 100 MPH does not help....

Then we could also talk about all the yuppies commuting daily with their Yukons, Tahoes, Excursions, 4 door pickups..... Maybe if the demand for gas went down a bit, the price might follow??? The Bonneville gets about 24 mpg, the Excort 30 and change, we just won't talk about the toter or the drag cars, none of which have been out since October. Towing is going to be a huge expense this summer, not looking forward to that at all. Probably just have to miss a few of the "away games" we used to go to....

Originally Posted by Dave Severson

Towing is going to be a huge expense this summer, not looking forward to that at all. Probably just have to miss a few of the "away games" we used to go to....

I am with Dave on this one.

Shirley and I have talked about the expense of towing the 32" goose at 5MPG x $4 a gal, and then the price of alchohol for the race car, entry fees, not to mention all of the other expenses just getting the car ready for every race. This could be a bad year for racers and tracks alike.
We live about 75 miles from 3 different tracks, so that is a minimum of $120 for gas. 20 gal of alcohol at $4 is another $80, entry fee is $75+ that's $275.00 just to get there. Then there is pit passes and food for the family and crew and we are talking another $200-250. So a day of racing will cost us $500 if everything goes well.
Now add to that the cost of maintenance and insurance on the trailer, replacing dated safety equipment, freshening the backup motor and trans for the season (won't even talk about the need to build a replacement motor for the one we blew last year), stocking the trailer with oil, spark plugs, gaskets, cleaners, towels, etc, and all of a sudden the cost of this hobby gets out of hand fast.
How about you other racers, what are you going to do?
John