How to compute mileage (mpg)?

It may seem like a superfluous question, but what is the best way of
calculating what mmg yuor vehicle is getting? I have my miles reading
of course, and I can record how much gas I put in, but there was some
gas already there in the tank, and how do I know what was traveled on
how much gas? If you have a good system, please share!

Newbie" > wrote in message
...
> It may seem like a superfluous question, but what is the best way of
> calculating what mmg yuor vehicle is getting? I have my miles reading
> of course, and I can record how much gas I put in, but there was some
> gas already there in the tank, and how do I know what was traveled on
> how much gas? If you have a good system, please share!

You have to do it over a long period of time (many tank fulls) and then
estimate the beginning fuel level the very first time. Any error in
estimating the beginning fuel level the first time will be minimized when
looking at 10 or more tanks of gas to calculate the mileage.

1. Fill Tank.
2. Record mileage.
3. Drive car till near empty.
4. Fill tank again. Use same pump at same station. Let the auto shutoff
system work. (Do this on initial fillup too. Record gallons to fill
5. Record mileage.
6 mpg= (mileage step 5-mileage step 2)/gallons used step 4.

Erich


"Mark A" > wrote in message
...
> Newbie" > wrote in message
> ...
> > It may seem like a superfluous question, but what is the best way of
> > calculating what mmg yuor vehicle is getting? I have my miles reading
> > of course, and I can record how much gas I put in, but there was some
> > gas already there in the tank, and how do I know what was traveled on
> > how much gas? If you have a good system, please share!
>
> You have to do it over a long period of time (many tank fulls) and then
> estimate the beginning fuel level the very first time. Any error in
> estimating the beginning fuel level the first time will be minimized when
> looking at 10 or more tanks of gas to calculate the mileage.
>
>

What if he is traveling cross country?


mike hunt



Kathy and Erich Coiner wrote:
>
> 1. Fill Tank.
> 2. Record mileage.
> 3. Drive car till near empty.
> 4. Fill tank again. Use same pump at same station. Let the auto shutoff
> system work. (Do this on initial fillup too. Record gallons to fill
> 5. Record mileage.
> 6 mpg= (mileage step 5-mileage step 2)/gallons used step 4.
>
> Erich
>
> "Mark A" > wrote in message
> ...
> > Newbie" > wrote in message
> > ...
> > > It may seem like a superfluous question, but what is the best way of
> > > calculating what mmg yuor vehicle is getting? I have my miles reading
> > > of course, and I can record how much gas I put in, but there was some
> > > gas already there in the tank, and how do I know what was traveled on
> > > how much gas? If you have a good system, please share!
> >
> > You have to do it over a long period of time (many tank fulls) and then
> > estimate the beginning fuel level the very first time. Any error in
> > estimating the beginning fuel level the first time will be minimized when
> > looking at 10 or more tanks of gas to calculate the mileage.
> >
> >

"Kathy and Erich Coiner" > wrote in message
news:byhve.1095$4M1.107@trnddc07...
> 1. Fill Tank.
Correct.

> 2. Record mileage.
Correct.

> 3. Drive car till near empty.
Sorta. Drive as long as you want and refill the tank anytime you want.

> 4. Fill tank again. Use same pump at same station. Let the auto shutoff
> system work. (Do this on initial fillup too. Record gallons to fill
You make this much more difficult than it needs to be. All that is needed is
to fill the tank where ever it is convenient to get gas.

> 5. Record mileage.
Correct.

> 6 mpg= (mileage step 5-mileage step 2)/gallons used step 4.
Correct. Repeat from Step 3.

On Mon, 27 Jun 2005 10:32:04 -0700, "Jeff Strickland"
> wrote:
>"Kathy and Erich Coiner" > wrote in message
>news:byhve.1095$4M1.107@trnddc07...

>> 4. Fill tank again. Use same pump at same station. Let the auto shutoff
>> system work. (Do this on initial fillup too. Record gallons to fill
>
>You make this much more difficult than it needs to be. All that is needed is
>to fill the tank where ever it is convenient to get gas.

Well, it /is/ slightly overkill - but if you want a little more
accuracy on your fill (let's say you are doing an economy run test for
a magazine or newspaper article, or just want to get more accurate
numbers on each fill) it's a simple and logical way to get it.

Using the same gasoline pump means you will use the same fill
nozzle, and are parked at the same level (or not level) attitude on
the pavement. Oh, and you want to use the same fill speed setting on
the nozzle, usually the slowest speed.

Gasoline nozzles will vary a bit between different ones exactly when
they trip the automatic shutoff, but the same one will probably kick
within a quart from fill to fill. This will get you a slightly more
accurate fuel mileage reading than using any old pump at any old
station.

The only way to get better numbers would be to install a temperature
compensated calibrated fuel tank with a fill view port on the car,
like the ones your local County Weights and Measures guy uses to check
the calibration of the gas pumps. (Megabucks, and a waste of effort.)

--<< Bruce >>--
--
Bruce L. Bergman, Woodland Hills (Los Angeles) CA - Desktop
Electrician for Westend Electric - CA726700
5737 Kanan Rd. #359, Agoura CA 91301 (818) 889-9545
Spamtrapped address: Remove the python and the invalid, and use a net.

"Bruce L. Bergman" > wrote in message
...
> On Mon, 27 Jun 2005 10:32:04 -0700, "Jeff Strickland"
> > wrote:
> >"Kathy and Erich Coiner" > wrote in message
> >news:byhve.1095$4M1.107@trnddc07...
>
> >> 4. Fill tank again. Use same pump at same station. Let the auto shutoff
> >> system work. (Do this on initial fillup too. Record gallons to fill
> >
> >You make this much more difficult than it needs to be. All that is needed
is
> >to fill the tank where ever it is convenient to get gas.
>
> Well, it /is/ slightly overkill - but if you want a little more
> accuracy on your fill (let's say you are doing an economy run test for
> a magazine or newspaper article, or just want to get more accurate
> numbers on each fill) it's a simple and logical way to get it.
>
> Using the same gasoline pump means you will use the same fill
> nozzle, and are parked at the same level (or not level) attitude on
> the pavement. Oh, and you want to use the same fill speed setting on
> the nozzle, usually the slowest speed.
>

A variation of a half gallon or so on 300 miles isn't going to have a
significant effect on the mileage.




> Gasoline nozzles will vary a bit between different ones exactly when
> they trip the automatic shutoff, but the same one will probably kick
> within a quart from fill to fill. This will get you a slightly more
> accurate fuel mileage reading than using any old pump at any old
> station.
>
> The only way to get better numbers would be to install a temperature
> compensated calibrated fuel tank with a fill view port on the car,
> like the ones your local County Weights and Measures guy uses to check
> the calibration of the gas pumps. (Megabucks, and a waste of effort.)
>
> --<< Bruce >>--
> --
> Bruce L. Bergman, Woodland Hills (Los Angeles) CA - Desktop
> Electrician for Westend Electric - CA726700
> 5737 Kanan Rd. #359, Agoura CA 91301 (818) 889-9545
> Spamtrapped address: Remove the python and the invalid, and use a net.

In article >,
"Mark A" > wrote:

> Newbie" > wrote in message
> ...
> > It may seem like a superfluous question, but what is the best way of
> > calculating what mmg yuor vehicle is getting? I have my miles reading
> > of course, and I can record how much gas I put in, but there was some
> > gas already there in the tank, and how do I know what was traveled on
> > how much gas? If you have a good system, please share!
>
> You have to do it over a long period of time (many tank fulls) and then
> estimate the beginning fuel level the very first time. Any error in
> estimating the beginning fuel level the first time will be minimized when
> looking at 10 or more tanks of gas to calculate the mileage.

Just ignore the first tank. Fill up the tank and note the mileage. After
that, so long as you fill up and note the mileage each time, the amount of
fuel it take to fill up is the amount used since the fill up, so simply
divide the miles since the last fill up by the amount it took to fill up
the tank and you have your miles per gallon.

As Mark says, do it over many fill ups to get an accurate average. I
usually note whether the driving between fill ups is local or highway, as
there will usually be a distinct difference in MPG between the two.

Merritt

You are just kidding this guy right?

mike hunt


Mark A wrote:
>
> Newbie" > wrote in message
> ...
> > It may seem like a superfluous question, but what is the best way of
> > calculating what mmg yuor vehicle is getting? I have my miles reading
> > of course, and I can record how much gas I put in, but there was some
> > gas already there in the tank, and how do I know what was traveled on
> > how much gas? If you have a good system, please share!
>
> You have to do it over a long period of time (many tank fulls) and then
> estimate the beginning fuel level the very first time. Any error in
> estimating the beginning fuel level the first time will be minimized when
> looking at 10 or more tanks of gas to calculate the mileage.

On Sat, 25 Jun 2005 12:33:33 -0600, "Mark A" >
wrote:

>Newbie" > wrote in message
...
>> It may seem like a superfluous question, but what is the best way of
>> calculating what mmg yuor vehicle is getting? I have my miles reading
>> of course, and I can record how much gas I put in, but there was some
>> gas already there in the tank, and how do I know what was traveled on
>> how much gas? If you have a good system, please share!
>
>You have to do it over a long period of time (many tank fulls) and then
>estimate the beginning fuel level the very first time. Any error in
>estimating the beginning fuel level the first time will be minimized when
>looking at 10 or more tanks of gas to calculate the mileage.

Uh huh.

Or, you could simply fill the tank, then reset your mileage counter,
then when you fill it next time you do a little thing called division.

If you wish, you can do this multiple times. You could even write it
down. You could then decide to average the average, or do running
averages.

Life is so simple with a little basic math.