NOTE TO SELF: Rent one and drive it around Sen. Lott's home towing a big sign, "NAAAA NA NA NAAAAA NAAAAA!!!" on one side and "How do you like your Katrina remodled home!"

(Still bitter about Lott showing the Smart Car as why we should not raise CAFE standards!!!!)

Bob Wilson

Operation Iraqi Oil Freedom:

Automatic, stock, project car.

My other 1500 cc car:

Automatic, stock, backup car.
Free speech, dialog and knowledge thrives without the poison of SPAM.

Oh that was Lott. Yeah, haha "funny" guy. Good idea, Bob!

2008 Mercedes-Benz B 200
2005 smart fortwo cdi pulse cabriolet
1966 Peugeot 404 Coupé Injection
1989 Peugeot 405 DL

After reading that I decided to do the same. I've only tanked four times in the past 1,428 miles and I've been tracking everything, including price paid at the pump, so I added a column to my spreadsheet: Savings. Took the [number of miles driven per tank / 26] (my avg MPG for the 99 Honda Prelude), multiplied that by the [price paid/gallons (to get the price per gallon) plus .10 (for the 89 octane to 91 octane difference)], then subtracted that from the amount spent. I saved from $12-$22 per tank, totalling $68.51 so far! My spreadsheet keeps a running total for me, and though it's somewhat inaccurate (prices at the pump vary more than entered since my Prelude would've stopped more often, plus I didn't consistently get 26 mpg), it gives me a good idea of AT LEAST how much I'm saving every day, and that's not including maintenance costs & insurance, which also dropped.

Makes you feel good to see proof that you're saving money. If anyone wants a copy of the spreadsheet, let me know. I carry it on my PDA phone so it's always with me and I can enter all the stats I need.

As mentioned in another forum, I'm also tracking how many miles go by before each fuel bar disappears in the gauge. Rather a large disparity, but it's interesting to see the pattern.

Yes, I'm a geek...

Change what & how I drive, not who I am. Rack 'em up.

My plan is to parse out the dates from the HTML of my fuel usage from GH. Then using the Dept. of Energy, weekly gasoline numbers, do the same calculations compared to our alternative vehicle, a Scion xB using city or highway rates based upon average trip duration. By rough calculations, I've saved in excess of 100 gallons, well on the way towards my target of at least $300/year. Because I bought a used 03 Prius, my hybrid premium is a little over $800.

Bob Wilson

Operation Iraqi Oil Freedom:

Automatic, stock, project car.

My other 1500 cc car:

Automatic, stock, backup car.
Free speech, dialog and knowledge thrives without the poison of SPAM.

A guy in the gym mentioned the possibility of a diesel Smart later on...



Relative size compared to a Honda Insight - more at Candid Camera - Again

61.5mpg lifetime - 82mpg in recent months

Best Run >
www.cleanmpg.com

"fanatic" is what the lazy call the dedicated

That sounds like the kind of data I would love to collect (geeks of the world, unite!) but would constantly be losing track of, so nothing would ever come of it. I'd have to pay SO much attention to the fuel gauge to notice exactly when it switches from six bars to five, etc., and try to write it down while driving, or whatever- I'd probably have an accident. Too bad you have a Prius instead of an HCH, or I'd totally be bugging you for that data. Even so, I'm interested. Let us know how the pattern turns out. Rough estimate would be lots of miles for the first few bars, and fewer towards the bottom of the tank, or at least that's my general observation, despite how counterintuitive (weight of the fuel, etc.) that seems. Thanks!

You'd think so, huh? Well, after 6 tanks, the first five have a definite pattern:
105-165 miles for the first bar
20-40 for the second
10-25 for the third
10-30 for the fourth
20-50 for the fifth
10-50 for the sixth
20-60 for the seventh

Only spoiler is the current tank, which dropped almost immediately, at 50(?!?), then the rest from 25-55. The only way to get a real idea, though, is lots of tanks, so I'll keep tracking this.

BTW, I generally just glance down when I check my speed to see the bars, and if it dropped, I round down to the nearest five miles. I remember the number, then when I stop, note the number in my PDA phone.

Change what & how I drive, not who I am. Rack 'em up.