What's Your Car's Gas Milage? Poll

  • Thread starter Thread starter Cyrus
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Gas Poll
Click For Summary
The discussion centers around a poll regarding gas mileage experiences among forum members. Participants share specific details about their vehicles, including make, model, engine type, and fuel efficiency, particularly noting the impact of 10% ethanol in gasoline on their mileage. Many report a decrease in fuel efficiency due to ethanol, with some losing 4-5 miles per gallon. Various vehicles are mentioned, from older models like the Honda Accord and Civic to newer minivans and motorcycles, with reported mileages ranging from 11 mpg for larger SUVs to over 70 mpg for motorcycles. The conversation also touches on the desire for more accurate polling options and the potential for hybrid vehicles that achieve higher mpg ratings. Additionally, there is a debate about the merits of measuring fuel efficiency in miles per gallon (mpg) versus gallons per mile (gpm), with participants expressing differing opinions on which metric is more practical for consumers. The discussion is lively, with humor and personal anecdotes interspersed throughout the technical details.

Gas Mileage


  • Total voters
    34
Cyrus
Messages
3,237
Reaction score
17
A poll to see what your gas milage is.

I will start:

Car: 98 Accord 4-door
Engine: Straight-4
Gas milage (when it was gasoline): ~25mpg.
Gas milage (now that we have 10% ethanol) ~21mpg.

I lost roughly 4-5 miles for every gallon now that we are using 10% ethanol in our gasoline here.

Don't put guesstimates, I kept the receiptfrom the gas station, it was 13.269 gallons when I had an empty tank with the gas light on. I used the tach to track the milage, it was 280miles. Now the gas light is back on.

Just round to the nearest value. When in doubt, round down.
 
Last edited:
Physics news on Phys.org
At the moment I drive an Odyssey and the mileage varies between 20-23 depending on how much highway driving is done. I could probably push it up on flat roads, but the area where I live has lots of hills.

I was driving a Honda Civic 4-DR sedan that got between 35-40 mpg. I miss that car - but it had worn out with more than 180,000 miles IIRC. It needed an engine overhaul and transmission work, so rather than spend about $3K, I took my wife's car and we got her a newer, more modern Odyssey.

Once that gets paid off, I'd like to find a smaller car, maybe a hybrid, that get 40+ mpg. And I'm trying to use a bike or walk for short trips.
 
Your poll numbers need to be much, much wider. Few SUVs get above 18mpg and many mid-size and compact cars get above 30.

I drive a Mazda 6i (2.4L 4cyl, 160hp), advertised at 26/32, but I get more like 24/29.

I'm surprised you were only getting 25mpg out of that Accord.
 
You can fix the pole range if you want to Russ, if not, Ill fix it. (Man I am lazy.)
 
russ_watters said:
I drive a Mazda 6i (2.4L 4cyl, 160hp), advertised at 26/32, but I get more like 24/29.

I'm surprised you were only getting 25mpg out of that Accord.
I think Cyrus is right on the reduced performance with the ethanol blends. I have observed the same, and I think Pennsylvania may also be using ethanol blended gasoline.
 
I currently drive a BMW F650GS motorcycle which nominally gets 70 mpg. I'm probably not getting quite that much.
 
NateTG said:
I currently drive a BMW F650GS motorcycle which nominally gets 70 mpg. I'm probably not getting quite that much.

Man... what an excuse to get a motorcycle! :!) :!) :!)
 
ya when you save all that money on gas your family can buy you a bigger tombstone after you hit that tiny bump on the highway and get flown 100 yards into a volvo driven by a soccer mom
 
Wishbone said:
ya when you save all that money on gas your family can buy you a bigger tombstone after you hit that tiny bump on the highway and get flown 100 yards into a volvo driven by a soccer mom

Thats why we should ban soccer moms
 
  • #10
totally agree
 
  • #11
cyrusabdollahi said:
(snip)I lost roughly 4-5 miles for every gallon now that we are using 10% ethanol in our gasoline here.
(snip)

Ethanol is "precombusted" --- look at it this way, it's 20% burnt ethane when you buy it. Something of a rip --- does drop operating temps and NOx and CO emissions.
 
  • #12
Last time I calculated, Swerve's Expedition got about 11 MPG. Not a poll option.
 
  • #13
loseyourname said:
Last time I calculated, Swerve's Expedition got about 11 MPG. Not a poll option.

Dear god, that's horrible. I honestly thought my poll options were at the upper and lower ends.
 
  • #14
She's been trying to get a new car for two years now. It looks like her parents are finally going to relent and buy her something before the end of the summer.
 
  • #15
I have a '92 Accord 2-door that dives me about 32 on the highway and about 29 on city roads.
 
  • #16
yep, selected less than 19. The Honda Civic Hybrid I want allegedly gets 50mpg.
 
  • #17
I get 45/50 mpg out of my P106 about £36 lasts
me six weeks. Diesel of course, your poll is averagist Cryrus.
 
  • #18
I ride the bus :smile: It costs me $12 a month :biggrin:
 
  • #19
Fuel type...MJ/L...BTU/imp gal...BTU/US gal...Research octane
number (RON)
Diesel...40.9...176,000...147,000.... 251
Gasoline ...32.0...150,000...125,000... 91–98
Gasohol (10% ethanol + 90% gasoline)
.....28.06...145,200...120,900...93/94
LPG ...22.16...114,660...95,475...115
Ethanol ...19.59 ...101,360 ...84,400...129
Methanol ...14.57...75,420...62,800 ...123
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gasoline

Biodiesel........120,000
http://www.agriculture.state.ia.us/biodiesel.html
 
Last edited by a moderator:
  • #20
Since you said 'no guestimates', I can only give you figures for the Roadrunner. If I kept it to 59 mph (flat road, no wind), it got 25 mpg. At 60, the secondaries on the carb started to open and it dropped to about 23. If I put my foot in it, or got stuck in city rush-hour traffic, forget it. Probably 5 mpg or so. I once had to pass 9 cars stuck behind a motor home doing 50 mph on a 2-lane highway. Downshift to 2nd and balls to the wall. I was doing 145 mph when I went by the motor home, and immediately dropped back to just above the 60 mph speed limit. That little manoeuvre used about 1/8 of a 22 gallon tank of gas. It's hard to say for sure, because acceleration forced the fuel to the back of the tank and let the float drop. All that I know for sure is that the gauge dropped from 1/2 to 1/4, then slowly returned to 3/8.
Keep in mind, though, that I'm using Imperial gallons which are significantly bigger than US ones. Also, the thing required a minumum of 95 octane leaded, so the addatives seriously kicked the cost above what it would have been had I been using normal gas. (The motor, by the bye, is a .030-over 440 at 12.5:1 compression--approx. 650hp. Curb weight is about 2800 lbs.)
The Camino is significantly better, although not nearly as fast. About 27 mpg out of a 455 Olds motor, as long as I stay under about 75 mph. (It's slow, but it'll climb over anything.)
 
  • #21
You have a 650HP roadrunner. I want pics. All hail, the king has arrived.
 
  • #22
It's been rotting away in my mother's back yard for over 20 years, so please don't cry too much when you see what shape it's in. It will be rebuilt eventually, but it'll cost over $50,000 to do it. Although it is literally the only one of its kind ever built, the collector value is already gone due to engine mods. If I'd thought of it, I would have kept all of the parts, then I just would have needed a stock block (not overbored) to put it back to original condition. As it is, I've designed my own engine to replace the 440. I'm not going to get into details, but leave it suffice to be said that it's 600 ci with over 2,000 hp. :biggrin: :devil: (hint: doesn't that space between the hood nostrils just cry out for a 6-71 with a bird-catcher? :devil: :devil: )
Anyhow, for what it's worth, here it is:


http://img297.imageshack.us/img297/6530/danpics0376is.jpg
 
Last edited by a moderator:
  • #23
I get 90-100 MPG. :-p
 
  • #24
Danger said:
It's been rotting away in my mother's back yard for over 20 years, so please don't cry too much when you see what shape it's in. It will be rebuilt eventually, but it'll cost over $50,000 to do it. Although it is literally the only one of its kind ever built, the collector value is already gone due to engine mods. If I'd thought of it, I would have kept all of the parts, then I just would have needed a stock block (not overbored) to put it back to original condition. As it is, I've designed my own engine to replace the 440. I'm not going to get into details, but leave it suffice to be said that it's 600 ci with over 2,000 hp. :biggrin: :devil: (hint: doesn't that space between the hood nostrils just cry out for a 6-71 with a bird-catcher? :devil: :devil: )
Anyhow, for what it's worth, here it is:

2000HP? :rolleyes:
 
  • #25
Yup....[/color]
 
  • #26
Sorry, but I have to doubt that completely.

Especially with older cars because old cars had their horsepower ratings way off, and always well above the true number.

I don't see how a street legal car can be pushing 2000HP. Sorry.
 
  • #27
There's no 'legal' limit to horsepower. That's an urban myth, the same as the one about your car having to be able to brake more quickly than it can accelerate.
I'm not getting into full details about the engine, but as a starting point it's 600 cubic inches, with plastic rods and titanium-coated plastic pistons. That brings the potential rpm limit up to over 10,000. Add to that a 671 (or maybe 8:71) Roots blower (or an Eaton for higher efficiency) with direct port injection. The cam is replaced by electronically controlled hydraulic or helinoid actuators regulated by an on-board computer that tracks the rpms. As you might know, the power band of the engine depends upon the duration of the cam as well as the intake and exhaust configuration. The computer will continuously alter the duration to match the rpm's of the engine, while maintaining maximum lift the whole time. (And the plastic rods give minimal rod stretch, so that lift can be more.) Although this isn't close to done yet, I'm also working on variable geometry intake and exhaust manifolds to accomplish the same effect.
And incidentally, Mopar products were pretty much the only ones who under-rated their hp and torque figures. You'd better believe that a 426 street hemi put out more than the listed 425 hp
 
  • #28
Danger you have to fix that car up! You have to!

I drive an 01 Olds Alero and get about 38 mpg highway and about 32-4 in the city.
 
  • #29
Dammit danger, fix that car!

I built a nice model car of that once, bright yellow with a black stripe down the hood.

When properly fixed that car is AMAZING. You have a real diamond in the ruff my friend.

FIX IT THATS AN ORDER!

It's going to need one hell of a lot of body work, everything work really.
 
  • #30
For anyone who hasn't seen Dangers car in it's original glory

71Roadrunner-440-6-1.jpg


http://www.hubcapcafe.com/i/2001/cars4kids/plym7101.JPG

That car use pure badass. :cool:

My two cents, replace the black roof liner and ditch the hood for the later model style. Then give her a nice black color. Deep gloss black that will highlight all that chrome trim. She will be spectacular.
 
Last edited by a moderator:

Similar threads

  • · Replies 3 ·
Replies
3
Views
2K
  • · Replies 22 ·
Replies
22
Views
7K
  • · Replies 16 ·
Replies
16
Views
5K
Replies
49
Views
8K
  • · Replies 6 ·
Replies
6
Views
4K
  • · Replies 24 ·
Replies
24
Views
3K
Replies
21
Views
8K
Replies
9
Views
3K
  • · Replies 3 ·
Replies
3
Views
3K
Replies
9
Views
25K