Road Trip gas mileage

[jsfbmw]

so this past weekend went on a trip from central NJ to Buffalo, NY and back. put on about 850 miles in two days. this trip was on snow tires, in the cold, and I drove in a spirited manner. mileage was about 29mpg. this summer I did the trip on summer tires, nice weather, and drove conservatively. mileage was about 32mpg. have to say that, despite the snow tires, this trip was more fun for just a 10% "penalty". the ZHP (stock) can growl pretty good.

[onepercent]

It sounds like you were mostly on freeways, right?

[jorbon]

Been watching the combined mileage- happy to see that all in, I'm at 24 mpg average over the last 3 tankfuls. (an an average speed of something like 32 mph.) Better than I figured it would be-

[llll1l1ll]

I once squeezed 435 miles out of a full tank. I was so proud.

[jsfbmw]

It sounds like you were mostly on freeways, right?

Yes, I should've mentioned that. That was the overall trip mileage. Around the local Buffalo area mileage was in the mid-20's (my local commute where speeds average around 35 and not many lights I get around 26). During the very rural stretches in PA and NY the car was just itching to go.

[jayjay_dee]

mine is at 21.9 mpg, i need to stop driving in DS mode :)

[Hermes]

mine is at 21.9 mpg, i need to stop driving in DS mode :)

Hahaha... You would die if you had my mileage. I'm lucky to break 20. Long trips (all freeway) I get in the mid-20s. My car likes to run hot, that's what I taught her

[jayjay_dee]

Hahaha... You would die if you had my mileage. I'm lucky to break 20. Long trips (all freeway) I get in the mid-20s. My car likes to run hot, that's what I taught her

lol... i mean, im not complaining, i dont really worry about my mileage, i love to have fun driving my ZHP every so often...

[danewilson77]

I worry about my gas mileage, as I feel MPG (Whatever is normal for your car) is a good ruler to gage "Overall Car Health"

[LivesNearCostco]

If I don't hit traffic and try to average 75mph with windows closed and no A/C, my highway mileage was between 27-28 mpg with the roof rack base bars on and 300lbs of cargo (plus driver). Typically I'd drive North to a track (slightly more uphill) and get 27mpg, then get 28mph driving back (slightly more downhill). If I hit traffic mileage would drop to between 23 and 25 mpg. Now that the roof rack is off, I'm curious what I got on my last (no traffic) drive South, but I haven't refilled the tank yet.

[az3579]

I worry about my gas mileage, as I feel MPG (Whatever is normal for your car) is a good ruler to gage "Overall Car Health"

Hmm...

My car must get very sick on the track (11mpg) and then be perfectly healthy on the way home after that (30mpg). :biggrin

[danewilson77]

Hmm...

My car must get very sick on the track (11mpg) and then be perfectly healthy on the way home after that (30mpg). :biggrin

Yeah. You know what I mean. Normal for the manner in which it is driven.

HTC Thunderbolt+TT

[WOLFN8TR]

I usually get around 23 mpg mostly freeway driving some city. When I compare it to my 13 mpg Duramax Diesel it pretty dam good. :thumbsup

[Pip]

I'm getting around 19-20 mpg with an average speed of 36 mph. Sound normal? I'm thinking of doing the MAF sensor cleaning and a new fuel pump because I don't believe it has been changed and I'm currently at 65k miles. It needs to be done.

[Rovert]

It's funny how MPG can change with the same route and same style of driving. I've gotten 26MPG on my way home from the office at 2am with none on the road, and 30-32MPG on the way home at 7pm with traffic on the road. Not sure how that works. The air pressure must be a big deciding factor!

[Daddyoh]

I'm usually around 23 combined, which would include mostly in-town.
Tuesday I had a 300 mi. roundtrip to Landcaster, mostly interstate, and got a little over 31 mpg. Overall, I'm very pleased. AND, a great car to drive - any time, any way! :rockon

[edlvrt]

It's funny how MPG can change with the same route and same style of driving. I've gotten 26MPG on my way home from the office at 2am with none on the road, and 30-32MPG on the way home at 7pm with traffic on the road. Not sure how that works. The air pressure must be a big deciding factor!

Remember that the air pressure/resistance increases exponentially as your velocity increases. So, about those 2am runs with no one on the road.... Hehehe.

One of my better interstate trips resulted in a little over 28mpg after 400 miles, averaging 79mph. That was mostly open road, but I did pass through some cities which slowed me up some.

[Rovert]

Remember that the air pressure/resistance increases exponentially as your velocity increases. So, about those 2am runs with no one on the road.... Hehehe.


Haha...no, even at 2am I cannot afford another ticket. All my driving is like speed limit now with spurts here and there in very safe areas. But when I come home from the office what keeps me awake is trying to get the best mileage every time...not how fast I can make it home. I'm getting an average of 450 miles/tank now!

The gov't has made driving in my country much less kick-arse than it was only 5 years ago. 25MPH over the speed limit here can result in my car impounded for 2 weeks, my license suspended, and heavy fines. They have the power to do worse if they think you were doing it on purpose in a negligent manner. That's our gov't trying to save everyone's life while making lots of money for that good deed. Whooops....caught myself preaching a rant....I'm done! LOL

[jsfbmw]

450 miles/tank is great. sheesh, that's tough enforcement. when I drive outside the NJ/NYC area I always slow down from the norms around here since I don't know how strict enforcement will be elsewhere. On this last trip a minivan zoomed past me and a car I was following. about 20 minutes later saw him pulled over by a NY State police car. the road supported the speed, but not the reality.

[Gordo_GT]

It all depends on the type of trip taken and the mix of highway to streets. I took a trip from Sacramento to Oakland on a Friday evening (~9pm) at a steady 70mph and i got 28.3 mpg round trip. I took a trip to Sonoma from Sacramento and I got 23.5 mpg mainly due to driving spirited. Under normal commuting I average 18.5 mpg. My work is 1.5 miles away and if I do some highway driving, I drive about 18-40 miles roundtrip about 2-4 times per fill-up. I fill-up every 2-3 weeks. I expect to get 260 miles/tank at a minimum and 350 at the maximum. I find that the longer I go between filling up, the lower the mpg and the faster I go between fill-ups the higher the mpg. It seems to average out I imagine but the temperature of your engine greatly influences the mpg achieved.

[ryankokesh]

...but the temperature of your engine greatly influences the mpg achieved.

^This.

[LivesNearCostco]

Filled up and measured... drive from Lancaster (CA) Costco to my home then to local Costco: 144 miles, 5.006 gallons, 28.77 mpg. That's about the best I've ever had and it was near-ideal conditions with 95% freeway driving, almost zero traffic, and no roof rack. I did go over some hills but they were on average more downhills than uphills (descending from 2,359 feet to near sea level). Driving uphill to the destination last weekend I got 25.4 mpg. I suppose if I put on all season tires instead of summer rubber and didn't have 250 lbs of extra stuff in the car, mileage would get a little better. Or if I averaged 70mph instead of 75.

Of course at the track I only got 13mpg.


If I don't hit traffic and try to average 75mph with windows closed and no A/C, my highway mileage was between 27-28 mpg with the roof rack base bars on and 300lbs of cargo (plus driver). Typically I'd drive North to a track (slightly more uphill) and get 27mpg, then get 28mph driving back (slightly more downhill). If I hit traffic mileage would drop to between 23 and 25 mpg. Now that the roof rack is off, I'm curious what I got on my last (no traffic) drive South, but I haven't refilled the tank yet.

[M0nk3y]

Highway trips (200 miles) I get around 24 MPG. I got 27 once but that was because I was following a rabbit and the wind was with me.

City, oh jeez let's not talk about that.

Auto-X...lol it never gets above 5.9 (where the MPG counter doesn't go any lower).