8-1/2 years old and 35 mpg
05-17-2012, 12:34 PM
#41
ive got 380miles (highway) on a full tank with about 20 miles left on it on my trip to boston.
its a TL-S but in the city i barely get 14 mpg. about 190 miles full tank. the sad part is only drive in the city
its a TL-S but in the city i barely get 14 mpg. about 190 miles full tank. the sad part is only drive in the city
05-17-2012, 12:48 PM
#42
Team Owner
Didn't read the whole thread, but thought I would chime in on the subject: Start tracking your mileage on Fuelly.com and get the real story. Resetting your trip for a short drive doesn't tell you shit. And even resetting it every time you fill up doesn't help you track the history of the car and identify problems.
BTW: I have a 23 yr old CRX Si that just got 43.2mpg. And that's not even factoring the tires I'm running are 3.2% taller. That boost's actual mileage to 44.5mpg. lol If you take care of these cars, they will last. The same can't be said for any EV or Hybrid. How long does your car's battery last these days (3-7 years). How long do you think a Hybrid's battery pack is going to last. 10 years would be lucky lucky. And who is gonna replace an expensive battery pack on a 10yr old car?
I just started on Fuelly.com a month or two ago. It's really interesting to track your results. Plus they give you banners with built-in links you can share on the forums (see below). Here are my 4 cars so far. CRX's average isn't that great because it had a bad gas cap seal that let a lot of gas vaporize over winter storage. This site helped me figure that out though...
BTW: I have a 23 yr old CRX Si that just got 43.2mpg. And that's not even factoring the tires I'm running are 3.2% taller. That boost's actual mileage to 44.5mpg. lol If you take care of these cars, they will last. The same can't be said for any EV or Hybrid. How long does your car's battery last these days (3-7 years). How long do you think a Hybrid's battery pack is going to last. 10 years would be lucky lucky. And who is gonna replace an expensive battery pack on a 10yr old car?
I just started on Fuelly.com a month or two ago. It's really interesting to track your results. Plus they give you banners with built-in links you can share on the forums (see below). Here are my 4 cars so far. CRX's average isn't that great because it had a bad gas cap seal that let a lot of gas vaporize over winter storage. This site helped me figure that out though...
05-17-2012, 01:16 PM
#43
^Oh for sure.
But considering the EPA Estimate for the 89 CRX 1.6L (Si) was 24/30mpg, I figure I must be doing something right... http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/noframes/5262.shtml
In the TL I was getting consistent 31mpg tanks when I lived in Vegas and drove ~90% freeway. Now I'm at 55% freeway (by distance) and fuel economy has suffered.
But considering the EPA Estimate for the 89 CRX 1.6L (Si) was 24/30mpg, I figure I must be doing something right... http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/noframes/5262.shtml
In the TL I was getting consistent 31mpg tanks when I lived in Vegas and drove ~90% freeway. Now I'm at 55% freeway (by distance) and fuel economy has suffered.
05-17-2012, 02:36 PM
#46
Suzuka Master
iTrader: (1)
05-17-2012, 02:40 PM
#47
Team Owner
What did you do that dealt with instrumentation if you don't mind me asking? I work in an indsutry that's huge on instrumentation and data collection. I do a little work here and there with instrumentation but it's not supposed to be a part of my job.
05-17-2012, 03:11 PM
#48
I always fill at whatever random Chevron station. In first 1.5 years of religiously checking the mid, I never had it off even once. I thought it was off once when I calculated 29.5, the mid read 30. But that would still be correct since it should round up at .5. I don't double check the MID anymore.
05-17-2012, 04:13 PM
#50
Kinda off topic, but I thought I would throw this out there.... I call this Gas vs Electric. The question is "at what point, if ever, do you break even should you buy an all electric Nissan Leaf?" Our gasoline comparison car will be a brand new Honda Fit.
Lets define some variables for the sake of this argument:
- Nissan Leaf base price $27,700
- Honda Fit base price $15,325
- Electricity costs 13 cents per KW (standard rate here in NV)
- Gasoline costs $4.00 per Gal (standard rate here in NV)
- Leaf averages 4 miles per kilowatt measured-at-the-outlet (reports from actual owners)
- Fit averages 31 miles per gallon (EPA "combined" estimate)
- Maintenance will not be a factor (I have no idea about EV maintenance)
After the Leaf has accumulated 150k miles, total cost of ownership will be $32,575 ($4875 in electricity). For that same overall cost, a Honda Fit will have only traveled 133,687.5 miles. Seems like the Like the leaf has the Honda beat as it would require another $2105 to carry it to the 150k mark. But here's the catch........At the 10yr/150k-mile mark, the Nissan's battery pack is most likely spent. This means it's time to shell out another 8-10 THOUSAND DOLLARS. This effectively brings the car's value to $0 since nobody will spend that kinda money to fix an old EV. At the same time, the gasoline powered Honda will still be worth about $4000 in good condition (@ 10yrs & 150k miles).
The bottom Line: the Honda Fit will put nearly $2000 in your pocket, while the Nissan will just be sent to the crusher with nothing to show for it.
PS: The Nissan's pack is only guaranteed for 8 years or 100,000 miles. And that doesn't cover gradual performance loss.
Lets define some variables for the sake of this argument:
- Nissan Leaf base price $27,700
- Honda Fit base price $15,325
- Electricity costs 13 cents per KW (standard rate here in NV)
- Gasoline costs $4.00 per Gal (standard rate here in NV)
- Leaf averages 4 miles per kilowatt measured-at-the-outlet (reports from actual owners)
- Fit averages 31 miles per gallon (EPA "combined" estimate)
- Maintenance will not be a factor (I have no idea about EV maintenance)
After the Leaf has accumulated 150k miles, total cost of ownership will be $32,575 ($4875 in electricity). For that same overall cost, a Honda Fit will have only traveled 133,687.5 miles. Seems like the Like the leaf has the Honda beat as it would require another $2105 to carry it to the 150k mark. But here's the catch........At the 10yr/150k-mile mark, the Nissan's battery pack is most likely spent. This means it's time to shell out another 8-10 THOUSAND DOLLARS. This effectively brings the car's value to $0 since nobody will spend that kinda money to fix an old EV. At the same time, the gasoline powered Honda will still be worth about $4000 in good condition (@ 10yrs & 150k miles).
The bottom Line: the Honda Fit will put nearly $2000 in your pocket, while the Nissan will just be sent to the crusher with nothing to show for it.
PS: The Nissan's pack is only guaranteed for 8 years or 100,000 miles. And that doesn't cover gradual performance loss.
The following 3 users liked this post by 94eg!:
05-18-2012, 02:19 PM
#51
Are you using the same pump everytime? Over time, they will be very close to one another. I've noticed at least with the local stations, at Shell I can easily put another 3 gallons in the car after it clicks off the first time. Chevron pretty much tops it off at the first click.
What did you do that dealt with instrumentation if you don't mind me asking? I work in an indsutry that's huge on instrumentation and data collection. I do a little work here and there with instrumentation but it's not supposed to be a part of my job.
What did you do that dealt with instrumentation if you don't mind me asking? I work in an indsutry that's huge on instrumentation and data collection. I do a little work here and there with instrumentation but it's not supposed to be a part of my job.
I recently moved out to CA and now do stress analysis at Boeing, which is about as far from instrumentation as you can get... I would like to get back into it in the future though.
The following users liked this post:
justnspace (05-18-2012)
05-18-2012, 02:43 PM
#53
That's funny because this past weekend I had the same results when I was driving 64-65mph on the highway. Mine is an 04 as well and had the a/c on full blast. Mine read between 33-36 the entire time! Mine is COMPLETELY stock down to the filter and I have 40lbs of pressure in Bridgestone Potenza 960AS rubbers...
05-18-2012, 02:45 PM
#54
05-18-2012, 02:52 PM
#55
08 MDX, 04 TL (sold)
iTrader: (1)
8 years old with 170,000 miles and 34-39 mpg with 100 % highway, 29 mpg with 80% highway
OP, I have also been very impressed with how I have had no loss of fuel economy despite my TL's age and mileage.
I got 39 mpg on a stretch of highway this past March going from Milwaukee to Chicago. Flat highway, no AC, speed limit of 55 most of that trip, some 65 mph and I was on a couple tickets so I was behaving. So for me these were the ideal conditions. My car is stock btw.
This is from a few weeks ago and is a longer stretch of travel for all the folks out there who will say the above (and the OP) only captured a short amount of travel.
And if you want to see a long period of travel across a few tanks. This is with roughly 80% highway and 20% city. This is pretty typical of the kind of mileage I get on an ongoing basis:
For me, I do manual calculations as well and it has pretty much always matched the MID computer within 1 mpg.
OP, I have also been very impressed with how I have had no loss of fuel economy despite my TL's age and mileage.
I got 39 mpg on a stretch of highway this past March going from Milwaukee to Chicago. Flat highway, no AC, speed limit of 55 most of that trip, some 65 mph and I was on a couple tickets so I was behaving. So for me these were the ideal conditions. My car is stock btw.
This is from a few weeks ago and is a longer stretch of travel for all the folks out there who will say the above (and the OP) only captured a short amount of travel.
And if you want to see a long period of travel across a few tanks. This is with roughly 80% highway and 20% city. This is pretty typical of the kind of mileage I get on an ongoing basis:
For me, I do manual calculations as well and it has pretty much always matched the MID computer within 1 mpg.
Last edited by jhumbo; 05-18-2012 at 03:01 PM.
05-18-2012, 03:09 PM
#56
Team Owner
I did my master's thesis on atomic-based magnetometers (google SERF magnetomers if you're interested. We worked with the team from Princeton). I then worked at Draper Laboratory (in Cambridge, MA) for ~7 months on an accelerometer program to potentially be used for missile guidance.
I recently moved out to CA and now do stress analysis at Boeing, which is about as far from instrumentation as you can get... I would like to get back into it in the future though.
I recently moved out to CA and now do stress analysis at Boeing, which is about as far from instrumentation as you can get... I would like to get back into it in the future though.
05-18-2012, 06:59 PM
#57
That sounds like an awesome career! I would love to do something interesting and important for a living. My only involvement with something like Boeing was helping my tranmission guy when he was sending parts to Boeing to be stress tested (broken lol), improved upon and then tested again. That's small stuff compared to what you're doing. How are you liking Culver City/LA?
I honestly am a much more hands-on kind of person so preferred a lot of the work I was doing at my last job over the analysis I'm doing now. Because these planes have been around for so long, a lot of the software and analysis packages you're using have been around for 20+years. Most work involves entering numbers and having the program do the calculations for you. While a lot of it is interesting, I can see myself moving to a smaller company or a start-up in the future so I can become involved in more aspects of the engineering.
And after living in Boston for the last 7 years, LA is definitely a different planet. Still taking some getting used to (I used to be able to walk to work in Boston) but there are also a lot of positives (not to mention the car culture here vs. the east coast).
05-18-2012, 11:23 PM
#58
i have a tl-s too and pretty much drive all city and according to my mid i'm getting 24mpg and about 300 miles per full tank
05-19-2012, 12:31 AM
#59
Team Owner
You're averaging 25mph. Your mpg is about right for that mph. Average mph is the biggest influence on mpg with weight being a close second especially in city driving.
When I average only 11-12mph which happens in city driving around here, I average 13mpg. Nothing wrong with the car or the driving style, it's just the way it is. I still get 28-29 on the freeway driving normal and 31-33 if I try to get good mileage.
This is why I repeat in every MPG thread, "city" means absolutely nothing as a description. One person's "city" average might be 35mph and one person such as myself might average 10mph. One will get 26mpg+, the other will get 11mpg. I literally have a 21-22mpg swing from one extreme to the other.
You use about the same hp and fuel to normally accelerate the TL's 3,500lbs from a red light as it requires to maintain a steady state 120-130mph on the freeway plus you're only averaging 20-30mph while using all of this fuel. Accelerate too easy in an auto and you get out of the converter's efficiency range which likely won't hurt mpg but it's not going to help much either. An internal combustion engine is most efficient with the throttle wide open so slightly more throttle in a higher gear for the same acceleration rate (within reason and only in the 6mt unless the 5at's converter is locked) will help a little but again, it's mostly weight and average mph.
Try it if you have a safe stretch of road. From a dead stop, accelerate as you normally do from a red light but don't lift off the pedal and see at what speed it stops climbing.
I'm too tired to think anymore, I hope this makes sense in the morning.
When I average only 11-12mph which happens in city driving around here, I average 13mpg. Nothing wrong with the car or the driving style, it's just the way it is. I still get 28-29 on the freeway driving normal and 31-33 if I try to get good mileage.
This is why I repeat in every MPG thread, "city" means absolutely nothing as a description. One person's "city" average might be 35mph and one person such as myself might average 10mph. One will get 26mpg+, the other will get 11mpg. I literally have a 21-22mpg swing from one extreme to the other.
You use about the same hp and fuel to normally accelerate the TL's 3,500lbs from a red light as it requires to maintain a steady state 120-130mph on the freeway plus you're only averaging 20-30mph while using all of this fuel. Accelerate too easy in an auto and you get out of the converter's efficiency range which likely won't hurt mpg but it's not going to help much either. An internal combustion engine is most efficient with the throttle wide open so slightly more throttle in a higher gear for the same acceleration rate (within reason and only in the 6mt unless the 5at's converter is locked) will help a little but again, it's mostly weight and average mph.
Try it if you have a safe stretch of road. From a dead stop, accelerate as you normally do from a red light but don't lift off the pedal and see at what speed it stops climbing.
I'm too tired to think anymore, I hope this makes sense in the morning.
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