sc354

Well tonight I couldn't sleep much, so I figured it would be a total waste of time to wait for my sleep to come. Anyhow I decided to go for a drive. On my little journey I noticed a Sunoco station that I had never seen before. It must have recently opened since I've never seen it there. Anyhow I filled up, and started off on a drive. I drove very lightly, on a couple roads where the limit is 80, generally going about 5-10 km/h below the speed limit, if not going at the limit. I did 60 km total on this journey, and my needle hardly moved off of the F line. I mean as soon as I fill up the needle went way above the F line, and by the end of my 60 km journey, the needle is perfectly parallel to the F line. Now usually with all city driving, I can go no more than 30km until i see the needle begin to move.

This leads me to believe that my few short trips a day that I make is killing my gas mileage. It looks like once the car is heated up, if you drive it nice a smooth, you'll get far far better mileage. But why do short trips decrease gas mileage that substantially? I mean I'm I realize that constantly having to re-warm the car takes more gas, but 50% more?

does this make sense guys?

I went back and filled the tank up after the 60km and it only took 6 litres, which means I'm getting 11L/100 km. I would say for 90%city driving, that's quite amazing. That's 21.5 MPG. For all city, I can live with that.

Any ideas why all of the sudden the car is soooo much better on gas? not that I'm complaining about it.

thanks guys.

G-UNIT

Toronto traffic definitely kills our gas mileage....
which sunoco stn is new? I live in mississauga btw....
I usually get 500 kms until my light goes on...

sc354

I live in Thornhill, but happen to be in the Richmond Hill area. the new station is on rutherford, between bathurst and dufferin. BTW do you do mostly highway driving? or mix? or all city? 500 seems like rather good mileage. If I was getting that consistently, I would be very pleased. Let me know how you do it. BTW what type of driver are you? slow? agressive? constantly gunning it?

thanks

Bxscig

The answer to your questions > http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/planning.shtml

"Combining errands into one trip saves you time and money. Several short trips taken from a cold start can use twice as much fuel as a longer multipurpose trip covering the same distance when the engine is warm. Trip planning ensures that traveling is done when the engine is warmed-up and efficient.

With a little planning, you can avoid retracing your route and reduce the distance you travel as well. You'll not only save fuel, but also reduce wear and tear on your car."

So other tips for getting better gas mileage > http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/drive.shtml

G-UNIT

Im pretty aggressive, unless its snowing....i go 70/30 hwy/city driving...i thought 500 kms was OK, considering the power we have....although some ppl on acura-cl.com say they get 600 KMS...thats unbelievable....

Maybe u have a very very heavy foot?

fsttyms1

fuel economy all depends on your RIGHT FOOT!

AznScratchRida

woah dat was scary! the whole time when I was reading this post, I imagined you to be at the new one near Bathurst and then u were!! lol~

goldendragon576

There's something wrong with my right foot...it's making my gas milage suck! I should go to the doctor and remove the lead.

ChucksCL-S

It takes ALOT of energy to accelerate a mass to a given speed, but very little to keep it there. Idling at redlights and stop signs yields ZERO miles/km per gallon/liter.

ChucksCL-S

It takes ALOT of energy to accelerate a mass to a given speed, but very little to keep it there. Idling at redlights and stop signs yields ZERO miles/km per gallon/liter.

fsttyms1

yea at times i sweear my right foot weighs acouple hundred pounds

njtls

thanx..but im pretty sure everyone know sthat dring style affects gas mialge

Vicman17

Short distances not only affect the mileage but also the maintenance schedule. It would be classified as "extreme" as the car is not able to reach optimum operating temp unlike a highway run. So you may need to change the oil more often than normal. Short distance driving also builds up the carbon and sludge inside the engine that may cause some premature wear on some internal engine components as well as seals and rings. These problems are commonly associated with higher-end cars that were driven by seniors who do no more than drive to the malls and doctors, etc without "stretching the car's legs". Once selling their cars, the interiors may be pristine, but the engine would be a POS.

The reason why city driving or short trips uses more fuel is that in the city, you stop in more intersections, do turns that require you to slow down. Everytime the tranny goes back to a lower gear and the revs go up to change gears, that's what uses more gas.

Idling is another mileage killer. With this engine, you idle it more than necessary, and you would feel the gas consuption go up.

The engine burns rich when started then slowly goes lean as the temp stabilizes. Also, the gearing that cars are designed these days, is that they use the least fuel at around 90 kph (55 mph). This is most likely using the top gear. So in essence, doing 160 kph (100 mph) uses twice as much fuel. That's why a lot of drivers in this forum find their sweet spot on the speedo. Mine is around 110-120 kph and I would get 500-560 kms per tank. Anything faster (or slower) than that, then it guzzles gas. You can't measure proper mileage within the city as the situations (traffic and light changes) vary as opposed to highway driving which is mostly constant.

Also, since you filled up at Sunoco (most likely Ultra 94) that could be a factor too.

thumpy

Here's another comparison for you guys... and I was very surprised at the difference in mileage.

Two trips to Huntsville Ont, the first trip was a rather fast one and needed a re-fueling stop. I was at 1\4 tank b4 I got there. The second trip was at the speed limit or 10-15 kmh above max. I made it there and back with 1/4++ tank remaining!! I was shocked.
I was worried about taking this car to Florida because of the gas consumption, not anymore. Now all I have to worry about is getting the AC fixed and the Tranny failing.. Damn
BTW, I always use Sunoco 94 and it makes a major difference. I wont put any other fuel in any car I've owned unless I have no other option.