44.2 MPG on first tank! Too good to be true?
#1
07-19-2007, 08:35 AM
44.2 MPG on first tank! Too good to be true?
Hi!
I am new to Green Hybrid, so im still trying to learn the ropes of this forum!
I have a question for all you people out there; is it possible to get 44.2 on the first tank of gas? The car had 87 miles on the odometer when i reset the mileage, leaving the dealership. The average is 32 for most people, now i admit i am driving extremely carefully, but still, i was shocked. The onboard Navi said 38.3MPG, but when my father and I manually calculated some numbers after we gassed it up, it came out 44.2MPG... ill show u
1.87miles (exactly) on the odometer
At the gas station it read 638.3 Miles on the odometer
638.3 - 87 = 551.3 Miles on the odometer
The tank said it had 30 miles to E, but when i filled the tank, (NOT TOPPING OFF) it only took 12.471 gallons of gasoline
The Tank was filled by the dealership (past the F on the gauge) when we first got it less than a week ago. The driving has been a mix of highway but more City, and some of my techniques are as follows
-Be in EV alot
-SLOW accelerations
-Highway speeds at 55 - 58 mph, --> RPM's at 1.5
To sum it up, is this too good to be true?!
Thanks!!
- Eric Ricci
(if the above pic of the reciept doesnt work, use this link)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/10233165@N05/852597806/
I am new to Green Hybrid, so im still trying to learn the ropes of this forum!
I have a question for all you people out there; is it possible to get 44.2 on the first tank of gas? The car had 87 miles on the odometer when i reset the mileage, leaving the dealership. The average is 32 for most people, now i admit i am driving extremely carefully, but still, i was shocked. The onboard Navi said 38.3MPG, but when my father and I manually calculated some numbers after we gassed it up, it came out 44.2MPG... ill show u1.87miles (exactly) on the odometer
At the gas station it read 638.3 Miles on the odometer
638.3 - 87 = 551.3 Miles on the odometer
The tank said it had 30 miles to E, but when i filled the tank, (NOT TOPPING OFF) it only took 12.471 gallons of gasoline
The Tank was filled by the dealership (past the F on the gauge) when we first got it less than a week ago. The driving has been a mix of highway but more City, and some of my techniques are as follows
-Be in EV alot
-SLOW accelerations
-Highway speeds at 55 - 58 mph, --> RPM's at 1.5
To sum it up, is this too good to be true?!
Thanks!!
- Eric Ricci
(if the above pic of the reciept doesnt work, use this link)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/10233165@N05/852597806/
Last edited by JRicci8996; 07-19-2007 at 08:42 AM.
#3
07-19-2007, 10:36 AM
Re: 44.2 MPG on first tank! Too good to be true?
Eric,
Welcome to GreenHybrid! It is certainly possible to get a 44mpg tank, but very uncommon. I'm guessing the high number is due to the fact that the dealer topped it off when they filled, but since you didn't, the math shows you using less gas than you actually did. Like livvie said, see if your tanks down the road are of similar numbers.
One way or the other, 551 miles on a tank of gas is awesome. Keep up the good work!
Welcome to GreenHybrid! It is certainly possible to get a 44mpg tank, but very uncommon. I'm guessing the high number is due to the fact that the dealer topped it off when they filled, but since you didn't, the math shows you using less gas than you actually did. Like livvie said, see if your tanks down the road are of similar numbers.
One way or the other, 551 miles on a tank of gas is awesome. Keep up the good work!
#5
07-19-2007, 03:15 PM
Hybrid and Ethanol Expert
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: All over the Central U.S.
Posts: 3,616
Re: 44.2 MPG on first tank! Too good to be true?
Sounds good by any means. However, of important note is the Ford Escapes have an 18 gallon tank. YES REALLY. However, there is a built-in design of 3 gallons of air space, so the owner's guide lists 15 gallons as "nominal".
By parking on a slope, and/or rocking the car to "burp" some air out, I have physically pumped in 17.8 gallons, and GaryG had put in 17.5 gallons.
So while 40MPG is not too surprising, 44.x is, for a new car & driver.
If the first fill was on a downslope, it could have been 16 or 17 gallons.
Then, the second fill on a slight upslope could have only fit 12.5.
Now that's the extreme, but you can see just how much error there can be, hence most of us have started monitoring the display in the car, more than the pump. The pump can easily be off 2 gallons, and sometimes, four.
Good Luck!
But yes, 44 MPG is possible! I can do it in nice weather, but it's not easy!
-John
By parking on a slope, and/or rocking the car to "burp" some air out, I have physically pumped in 17.8 gallons, and GaryG had put in 17.5 gallons.
So while 40MPG is not too surprising, 44.x is, for a new car & driver.
If the first fill was on a downslope, it could have been 16 or 17 gallons.
Then, the second fill on a slight upslope could have only fit 12.5.
Now that's the extreme, but you can see just how much error there can be, hence most of us have started monitoring the display in the car, more than the pump. The pump can easily be off 2 gallons, and sometimes, four.
Good Luck!
But yes, 44 MPG is possible! I can do it in nice weather, but it's not easy!
-John
#6
07-19-2007, 03:53 PM
Re: 44.2 MPG on first tank! Too good to be true?
thanks guys for all your help! im alittle confused about the filling it on a slope? the gas station i go to has a flat concrete platform ... the vehicle seems completely level to me ... does that information alter anything u guys just came up with ?
... does that information alter anything u guys just came up with ?
#7
07-19-2007, 04:59 PM
Re: 44.2 MPG on first tank! Too good to be true?
I would be leery of a calculated MPG that is more than 15% higher than the navi mpg. I think most of the time the navi MPG reads a couple of percent ltoo high. Also note that your navi MPG and cluster MTE shows that the car thought you had about 2 gallons left in the tank, if it works the same as the earlier models. Also, did you keep a mental note of the navi MPG throughout the tank? Perhaps some good readings scrolled off....After 4 or 5 fill-ups, the true results should show up, maybe you are a born hypermiler!
#8
07-19-2007, 05:32 PM
Re: 44.2 MPG on first tank! Too good to be true?
hahah thanks desert dog! i did keep a mental range, it had around 41.5 at its highest, and has now leveled (for about 400 miles) at 38.X (anywhere from 37.9 to 38.3mpg... ill keep you guys posted on my future fillups!
#9
07-19-2007, 09:34 PM
Re: 44.2 MPG on first tank! Too good to be true?
Possible, during the summer, with ideal conditions with an '08? Sure. However, you did mention that you didn't fill it up full, and the dealer did, that probably caused a bit of a calculated bump when done by hand.
#10
07-20-2007, 08:31 AM
Re: 44.2 MPG on first tank! Too good to be true?
Under the old style fuel mpg testing, the 08 FEH would have been rated at 41/32.
The car that we traded in (a 2002) was right on the money as far as the window sticker and the OLD testing methods. I think it is more of an under promise and over deliver with the new methods.
It will be VERY interesting to see how the other 08 model releases deal with the new mpg numbers, especially in advertising and comparison tests to the 08 FEH.
The car that we traded in (a 2002) was right on the money as far as the window sticker and the OLD testing methods. I think it is more of an under promise and over deliver with the new methods.
It will be VERY interesting to see how the other 08 model releases deal with the new mpg numbers, especially in advertising and comparison tests to the 08 FEH.
