MPG uhhh...really?

[zebra]

Originally Posted by Carver1

Sarcasm does not compute.

[suplex]

My average MPG is bad also, but it's because I only drive 3 miles each way to work. Once in a while I take it on a long trip (about half an hour away and half an hour back) and I can actually watch my MPG go up while I am driving.

If I ever took it on a really long drive (like driving through a couple of states for example) I am certain I would hit numbers in the high 20's or even low 30's.

It's just that I don't "daily" drive it a lot due to working close to where I live. In fact, a tank of gas lasts me about a month.

[Cajun8]

Originally Posted by SM0KE

The next time you go to fill up, write down your actual mileage.
Drive normally on a tank of gas.
Then the next time you go to fill up, write down your new mileage.
Figure out how many miles you drove on that tank of gas.
Divide that number by how many gallons of fuel you put in the car.
Wow I must be old

Me too. I thought he was joking at first.

[GnyaTek]

Originally Posted by CamaroKid300

What do you think the car just leaks gasoline when it isn't running?

My car oozes power, so this may actually be true.

[zombi]

I am getting 24 MPG and I get on it all the time to hear my new exhaust.

[ckaram]

Every time I fill up I reset mileage and odometer number 1 in the DIC. Throughout the tank I periodically check mileage to see how I'm "doing". Simple math like many have indicated.

If your foot is always in it, you're in stop-and-go traffic, and/or average mph is low (21) your mileage will suck.

Filled up the SS last night. Put about 15 miles on it and I'm at 17.5 mpg:

-Country roads with fewer stops
-Higher speed and lower RPM range
-Shifted earlier than I "prefer" since I had my teenager in the car

[IROCanSS]

The OP answered his own questions and the root cause of the low MPG is hidden in all the here.

1. He has a low average speed which which computes out to a lot of time sittling and going slow which causes low MPG.

2. He admitted to driving too fast which uses some more fuel than driving slower

...BUT, the kicker is #3...

3. He admitted to punching it off the line A LOT... This right there is why. He is dumping a TON of fuel to it all the time, killing his MPG.

My suggestion to the OP:

First, go to the gas station and fill up the tank until the nozzle clicks off. DO NOT PUT ANY MORE IN.

Next, go into the car and select trip A or trip B and reset it to zero. If you don't know how, read the manual.

Third, drive the car in a way the is more socially acceptable. Don't punch it at all, just accelerate away from stops nomally. Try to keep the car at or below the speed limit on the highway. Most cars get the max MPG in 6th gear (if equipt, which all Camaros are) at between 55 and 65 mph. If your going 80... its killing your MPG.

Once you are down to 1/4 a tank, stop at the gas station.

Fill up the car until the nozzle clicks of... DO NOT TOP IT OFF.

Write down the number of GALLONS you put in, its on the pump under the dollars.

Go in the car and above that number write the number of miles driven from the trip you reset.

DIVIDE the numper of MILES by (per) number of GALLONS = MPG! You can use your calcaulator.

Now reset the trip again and repeat this process for a few weeks. I bet you will see a steady increase in your MPG.

As far as the DIC goes, they are not that accurate. I use them as a guide. My 2006 Ram is consistantly 3 mpg off... calculated is lower than the DIC says. My 2012 Civic is pretty close, usually with in 1 MPG.

My Camaro average is about 20 MPG but i drove it 300+ miles to PA, set the cruise at 70 and the best I got was 28

[Infinite-T]

I agree with a lot of the folks here about HOW you drive has a lot to do with what kind of MPG you get.

These engines also have a pretty big swing between city and highway driving.

If you want to see what I mean, get on the freeway, reset your fuel tracker. Drive like you normaly would. Watch the MPGs. Once you get off the freeway and start driving around town, sitting at lights, etc, watch how fast it drops. This could be like you trip to school.

The next day, do the same thing, once on the freeway, reset the counter. Set your cruise control at like 65 (if your speed limit allows). Be mindfull of how you drive, accelerate smoothly, stop smoothly. Try to avoid pedal tapping, get to a smooth, constant speed and just cruise. When I do this I get a good constant 26-28 mpg on the highway, ive even seen it tickle 30. Again, in the city driving, mind how you drive. Do always be gunning it, accelerate and stop smoothly.

The DIC fuel tracker may not be 100% accurate, but it will give you a pretty good, instant illustration how different driving conditions and your driving habbits can hugely affect your milage.

Aggresive driving habbits are the biggest killer of fuel milage. Abviously, driving these kind of cars we all like to get on it from time to time, but driving a bit more conservatively during daily drives can save a bit of $ at the pump.

[NavyDood]

Originally Posted by zebra

bologna!! the only way to check fuel consumption is to see what the computer in the dash tells you! i can't believe you actually think "miles per gallon" refers to how many miles you've driven using so many gallons of gas. sheesh... old timers

Sarcasm much?

[eastwoodisme]

Originally Posted by jrhaus76

As far as the DIC goes, they are not that accurate. I use them as a guide. My 2006 Ram is consistantly 3 mpg off... calculated is lower than the DIC says. My 2012 Civic is pretty close, usually with in 1 MPG.

They are actually extremely accurate. But first, I'm not trying to be rude but re read that post. Your spell checker fell asleep. If your trying to be bombastic then it kills the effects.

The calculator is based on your engine running (not necessarily your vehicle moving). What this means is if your someone like me and you actually let those 8+ quarts of synthetic warm up before your commute then that will actually bring your MPG down. The term Miles per Gallon SHOULD be taken as literal considering it is the most pronounced way of judging a vehicle ability to efficiently consume gas throughout the entire power band and gearing of the transmission. This also means that if you leave your vehicle running on hot days while you walk back inside the house real quick, it will also kill you MPG. The DIC Average MPG module is thus extremely accurate in consideration of the above.

For example, let's say that the Camaro at idle sucks a god awful amount of gas. At a stop light in the "City" bracket of the EPA the car takes lets say 4 gallons of gas per minute (stop yelling at your computer it's an exageration for the sake of argument). This would mean that any stop light that you came to you were guaranteed to spend 4 gallons of fuel... The average MPG of the Camaro in it's City EPA Projection would be extremely low (as would your MPG calculator in your DIC). The only reason that the MPG calculator will show different from the pump calculation (old method) is in consideration of how much idle time your vehicle has (with added due consideration of start up consumption). Remember your mileage will NOT reflect your idle and start up consumption levels, the MPG Calculator will.

You did state that the one in question of being inaccurate was a different make and model (this almost directly represents my reasoning consider your ram consumes more at idle and start up than the Honda), but I stand behind Chevrolet in their impeccable technology of computation of Miles Per Gallon in their Driver Information Center. As do I with their nearly impossible scientific creation of the Oil Life Calculator's precision.

To the OP: the most influential burdens of MPG are idle time, acceleration and speed maintenance. This means that if you do not let your car idle for 20 minutes inside the car wash, at the store, etc. (most detrimental in a v8), try and keep your RPM's under 3,000 through any gear and reach your terminal speed and hit cruise, you will see in increase in both your DIC's representation of your MPG and your pocket's. You can always reset your MPG while you going down the highway with the cruise control on (most accurate way considering the injection method) and see what your at before it changes as the Camaro does not have an Instant MPG feature.

Good Luck!

[blackSSRS]

not reading all that. my mpg goes down if i idle. so you are probably just sitting alot with the engine running, either in driveway red light etc. reset it from point A to B then check it

[TJ91]

how are you driving it?
When I first got my car, I was averaging exactly the same driving like a granny. SO then I said F It and literally began driving it like I stole it and my MPG went up. Took over a year to get good MPG.
I was pretty pissed when all my buddies with SSs were getting better MPG

[TJ91]

Originally Posted by suplex

My average MPG is bad also, but it's because I only drive 3 miles each way to work. Once in a while I take it on a long trip (about half an hour away and half an hour back) and I can actually watch my MPG go up while I am driving.

If I ever took it on a really long drive (like driving through a couple of states for example) I am certain I would hit numbers in the high 20's or even low 30's.

It's just that I don't "daily" drive it a lot due to working close to where I live. In fact, a tank of gas lasts me about a month.

i go through $80 a week driving about 300km (not sure how many miles)

[DarkneSS]

Is it manual or auto?

If you want good mpg dont go over 55 mph on the freeway, set he cruise at 55. Also around town dont floor it to accelerate, try to keep it below 2,500 rpms at akll times.

If its manual you may need to get used to it more, youre probably using way too much gas to get her going. The 4.4 1st gear ratio will punish you for that also. When I first got mine I couldnt get better than 17-18 in the city because I was getting used to it. Now I can get up to 22 in the city with a stock car.

Anyways if you consciously try not to go over 2,000 rpms, 2,500 max, you should see a huge improvement.