Amen, I have been waiting for someone to say that. Of course mods after fuel mileage [/quote]

how do you guys measure your MPG?

Fill the tank until the nozzle shuts off automatically. Reset the trip meter.
Drive until it'* time to fill the tank again.
Fill the tank until the nozzle shuts off automatically.
Divide the current trip mileage by the number of gallons filled.
The resulting number is the MPG.

Uh, for starters, I never just put a few dollars in the tank, I always fillup to the stop, and then top off to the nearest dollar.

Then I set the trip every fillup, and take the miles I travelled and the gallons I used.

Example. Last fillup, I did 464 miles on 15.2 gallons (I have the reciept still as it was last night) which works out to be 30.52 Miles per gallon.

Is there some other new age way to work out miles per gallon ? I thought there was only one way :?

"Along": There'* only 1 way to calculate it - miles traveled / gallons used.
What gas brand and octane rating do you use?

Here in So. Ca., super unleaded is 91 octance, and that'* what I always use. I buy Arco, Chevron, or Exxon, but stay away from Mobil, Shell, and no-name brands.

My wife and I drive our Bonnies gently. Should we drive them like bandits instead?

Was your last trip a long one at freeway speeds with little or no traffic on a flat road with the wind behind you?

We never take trips like that...I drive to and from work on freeways with mild to moderate traffic. My wife takes lots of short trips with our 2 toddlers; most trips are only a few miles each way. We're not large people, and the trunks are empty.
Did we buy 2 lemons?

If I could find out what I could do to get better fuel economy, I'm all ears!

Well, heres another long winded answer - sorry, its the way I am sometimes

I 'WAS' using Shell exclusively, but after some problems with fuel pumps and some information from DeathRat about Shell gas in Canada, I decided to stop using Shell. I now buy gas from high volume places, like Speedway and Flying J. Generally I try to buy from truckstops as they have high turnover and fresh gas I avoid the gas that has 'additives' in it.

I always use Premium gas in both cars, even in my SSE which doesnt require it. It seems to run better in that car.

I wouldnt say I drive gently, but I dont hammer it either. Just normal round town driving, with the occasional Rice Machine and Dodge Intrepid wastings, but thats about it. I do most of my driving on the highway/freeway.

I commute 140 miles a day, and most of it is 2 lane highway speed, with the last 20 miles on Indianapolis Interstates in traffic. But most of the way I am doing between 65 and 75 Mph. Not too much stopping, maybe about 8 sets of traffic signals each way.

Well, my driving sounds similar to yours. We dont have that much weight in our cars, and we dont carry around junk in the trunk. I dont think you bought lemons. I have seen Bonnies that get 30Mpg, and some that get 23Mpg and I cant explain why.

I was just thinking that the last time I got bad economy was when it was really humid and had just rained a lot for a few days. I think I got about 26Mpg on that tank. I was shocked.

Maybe theres a humidity issue that causes economy to drop. Is there a sensor that measures humidity or adjusts the mixture based on air pressure ? Maybe we have a few cars out there that need new sensors or something. That could explain it...

Doesnt California have some different emission guidelines for cars, and maybe different gas formula'* ? Maybe that will affect the economy ?

Anyway, I'd love to hear other thoughts or comments, cos my 97 Supercharged gets way better economy than my 92 SSE, and I would love to fix the old girl to get better gas mileage.

Cheers,

Andrew

Yep, we have strict EPA regulations here in California, and the gas is specially formulated but I have no idea what'* different about it...the additives that make the news are the ones they add and then later claim to cause cancer and birth defects when they find it in the ground water...but that'* another topic.

Maybe the difference is the gas?

Have any of you had a drop in fuel economy and found and fixed the cause (other than an O2 sensor)?

One thing some of you with lower mileage that are wondering why aren't considering mods. People generally think that mods reduce gas mileage. This is not exactly true. If you open up the air intake, the engine can breathe better and will get better gas mileage. If you open up the exhaust, the same will happen. If you run different spark plugs it could increase or reduce your gas mileage. The octane gas you run has an effect, usually you will get better mileage on higher octane gas. There are a LOT of variables, not just how you drive.

I have an update on my MPG, and those of you that are getting low MPG are gonna hate me.

This fillup I did 281 miles on 7.5 gallons.

Hmmm - 37.4 MPG ?????????? No, i'm not on drugs, they are real figures.

So what gives ??? I filled up the same as usual. The last couple of days driving has been pretty easy, cruising at about 65/70 Mph.

Its also been cooler here, about 80 degrees with low humidity. Maybe thats the difference.

But 37 Mpg ????? I am in shock right now, thats my best ever

Oh yeah, I forget. It was the first time I have used Amoco Premium gas in a long time. Maybe that helped. :?