The way a lot of folks drive, I figure they see a red light and say to themselves (with great determination), "Must get there first!"

 

What's the general definition of 'city driving'?

I'm on my 3rd fillup on my new xB. Some 520 miles total after 2 1/2 tanks used, I calculated around 16-17 mpg. This was almost entirely in town driving (in cold NE weather) consisting of 5-8 mile hops. I'm a very conservative driver, avg 35-40 speeds and break more than I accelerate. Should I be concerned that others are getting high 20's for 'city driving'.

 

If you're braking more than you're accelerating, you're wasting fuel. I know it's not always possible to coast everywhere (folks get cranky when you're doing 20, then 15, then 10, then 5...), but you should coast as much as you can and brake as little as you can get away with.

Make sure you're tire pressure's at least up to factory spec, if not more.

OTOH, cold NE weather, winter gas, and lots of short trips are just going to reduce your fuel efficiency, period.

When I'm just putzing around town, with traffic signals every 5 - 15 blocks, my ScanGauge tells me I'm getting in the low 20s.

 

I'm not a 'car guy' (to me its 4 wheels, takes gas & oil and get me to from A to B). So what does everyone mean by winter gas?

 

im getting 31... =)

 

used to get 29.5 mpg on 18's

now i have 15's and i get 32 mpg

i also have CAI, does that make a difference?

 

We've been having cold weather this winter here in Anchorage AK.
On my last tank of gas the temps in the morning when I started up were on average 0 degrees. Ranged from -15F to 10above. I was parked outside and it was cold enough that the gear shifter was tougher to move. My communte to work is about 8 miles of city traffic. There is about 6-10 traffic lights depending on my route. If I adjust my driving and get through lights and drive smooth, coast and avoid stopping as much as safely possible I am managing 35mpg. This winter has been pretty cold since November. We've had several times where the temp was below zero for a week or two straight. Now the temps are getting up to about 20F in the afternoon but still close to 0 or below at night.
IMO what has helped is: driving style (and help of scan gauge), maintaining tire pressure ( I run between 37-40psi), and better planning of errands. If I'm running a short errand somewhere, I try to do it when it's close to another trip and the engine hasn't completly cooled off.
Can't wait till this summer! I just pulled the snorkel tube, I'm going to get a K&N drop in filter and go for 40+ mpg!

Oh and I forgot to mention, I get better mpg in city than hwy.

 

Most areas of the country use a special formula of fuel for the winter time. It is not as good as the fuel you get during warmer months so you get bad fuel mileage during the winter time because of it.

 

all right, i have a serious mpg problem lately.
when i first got my box i was averaging 28 mpg mostly highway.
now i am averaging 20 mpg mostly local driving.

i changed the air filter on my injen s/r
i changed the spark plugs
i changed the oil
i checked tire pressure

but still at 195 miles on the trip the light comes on for fuel.
and when i fill up it took 9.6 gallons.

i want to take it to the dealer cause the warrenty runs out in may.

will they say it is beacuse of after market parts?
any suggestions?

injen s/r intake
strup axelback

 

quick question.

Our tanks are said to be 11.9 gallons.

As soon as my gas light went on I filled up my tank, reset my trip meter, and waited until that tank cleared. That was about 320 miles later. divide that by 11.9 and thats 28mpg on that one trip. Im gonna do it 2 more times and average that (see how much my driving habits affect it)...

But what am asking is, if I include the miles between 2 empty tanks, is that accurate? Or should I have looked at how many gallons I actually put in there? I just dont know if the reserve tank is part of the 11.9 and how much that is...?

 

The light comes on when there is still a reserve of gas in the tank to keep driving on. So you used less than 11.9 gallons and your actual mpg was higher than 28. That is not a way to calculate mileage, and it is not safe for you to be running so low on gas.
Just keep filling up the tank whenever convenient, writing down the gallons and miles, and doing the division. After a few fillups, you will have a good accurate idea of your mpg.

 

Okay cool. I used to have this program for my PDA that used to calculate my mpg, it just got annoying cause I'd forget to write it down sometimes, or I'd forget to print out a receipt so I'd go home not knowing what I put in and how much etc, then it would throw everything off (if I took a guess). When I was using my program (before I got my CAI) I was getting a solid 33mpg. But now I moved up here to the east bay with different traffic and commutes + a CAI so I'll do it that way instead...

 

I just write down total miles for that tank on the fuel reciept and figure out the mpgs later. My big problem is remembering to reset the odo each time I fill up. lol

 

30

 

How Do You Average The MPG??

 

1st: Fill your tank
2nd: Reset your trip A indicator
3rd: Drive like you normally would till your near empty
4th: Fill your tank again.
5th: Before leaving gas station write down your miles that you got on that tank. That will be your trip A milage. Now write down how many gal you put in your car.
6th: divide gal into your miles
example : 300mi @ 10 gal= 30 MPG
250mi @ 10 gal = 25MPG

get it????

 

I'm getting 30. I do mostly city driving. all stock basically w/ MT.

 

Now I'm getting 33.3
29 psi, unmolested airbox

We'll see what no snorkle and 32 psi will do...

 

I just filled up today. I got a little over 24 mpg out of this tank. My box is dropped on Eibach pro's. I have light rims. 205/50/16. That's it for modding. I use the air all the time(I live in Arizona)! And yet that's all I get out of this thing. I got anywhere from 27 to 29 during the winter without the air. Oh... it's an automatic. I use mobil 1 changed every 5000 miles. And I use a wix air filter. I'd like to know how the hell anyone is getting more than 30 mpg.

 

Sounds like you have a problem with it. (leaky injector) or something causing it to run overly rich.
I get 29/30 mpg all day long with my heavy TRD 18's. When I'm on steelies it goes up over 34 mpg.