Better Gas Mileage

[tonycondon]

with the help of some math, i thought, 'what if i had spent $20,500 for a 30mpg car instead of $500 for a 15 mpg pickup' With gas at $3.18 (current wichita price), i'd have to drive about 94,000 miles to make up the difference. So far i have driven about 50,000 on Ol' Blue. Plus it pulls my glider trailers happily all over the middle of the country.

 

[Ted]

As usual, Tony has hit it on the head.

 

[Ted]

Michael, it's not a ****ing contest, it's a statement based on what I believe to be good data. You pointed out you have more years on this planet - which is true. I simply pointed out that doesn't necessarily much a lot, and why. Like with flying, I was driving on a professional level - and maintaining cars professionally.

 

[Sac Arrow]

That is the problem with the alcohol in our gas, the Smart on gas I drove in Europe got 55mpg and the TDI one got 72mpg.

I wonder if it isn't something else, maybe emission related. Ethanol blend gasoline accounts for roughly 10% of the mileage hit, but still that isn't great mileage even with that factored in.

 

[steingar]

with the help of some math, i thought, 'what if i had spent $20,500 for a 30mpg car instead of $500 for a 15 mpg pickup' With gas at $3.18 (current wichita price), i'd have to drive about 94,000 miles to make up the difference. So far i have driven about 50,000 on Ol' Blue. Plus it pulls my glider trailers happily all over the middle of the country.

If you can buy a car for 0.5 AMU's and keep it running for an extended period, more power to you. You dah Man. That's way more than I can do.

 

[tonycondon]

Ol' Blue has been a good truck. beside normal stuff like tires and oil changes i've done a little muffler work, chased what turned out to be a crack in the intake manifold gasket. The good thing about that goose hunt was that i ended up replacing a lot of the cheap electronic bolt on stuff in the engine compartment, along with spark plug wires and plugs and stuff that gets old. The only major failure was the fuel pump which my crew (not Leah that trip thankfully) and I changed the next day. Not bad for 281,000 miles. Will probably be over 282,000 after this weekends glider adventures.

 

[Henning]

with the help of some math, i thought, 'what if i had spent $20,500 for a 30mpg car instead of $500 for a 15 mpg pickup' With gas at $3.18 (current wichita price), i'd have to drive about 94,000 miles to make up the difference. So far i have driven about 50,000 on Ol' Blue. Plus it pulls my glider trailers happily all over the middle of the country.

So, what do the numbers work out at when I spend $750 on a car that gets 35mpg? Heck, my old 76 Honda Civic 1200 got over 50mpg. You don't have to buy new or spend $20k+ to get decent gas mileage. Besides, if you would have got the Ford truck with the 300 6cyl, you'd get another 10mpg and tow your glider just the same even though a Toyota Corolla would pull your glider just as well.

 

[MAKG1]

I wonder if it isn't something else, maybe emission related. Ethanol blend gasoline accounts for roughly 10% of the mileage hit, but still that isn't great mileage even with that factored in.

Maybe, but a TDI is a turbo Diesel. Diesel has higher specific energy than gasoline (slightly more than jet fuel), and doesn't have ethanol additives.

Oxygenate additives like ethanol and MTBE are largely inert. They take up space but don't deliver additional energy. So, the loss in mileage isn't really all that significant; it's an artifact of weighting by volume rather than by energy density (or carbon). There also isn't much benefit, and some risks to fuel system integrity, so it's not the best thing to use. Gotta support Iowa corn farmers, I guess....

I have a $1300 30 MPG VW, and an $800 1972 four wheel trash can (Chevy C-10). The Chevy sits most of the time because it's a PITA to drive and gets terrible fuel mileage. But for the rare time I need it or its 7:1 low gear, it's there.

 

[Sac Arrow]

Maybe, but a TDI is a turbo Diesel. Diesel has higher specific energy than gasoline (slightly more than jet fuel), and doesn't have ethanol additives.

Yes - I was not arguing Henning's observation on the TDI. I don't think there is a TDI option here for the Smart Car. I think it would make more sense though.

Oxygenate additives like ethanol and MTBE are largely inert. They take up space but don't deliver additional energy. So, the loss in mileage isn't really all that significant; it's an artifact of weighting by volume rather than by energy density (or carbon). There also isn't much benefit, and some risks to fuel system integrity, so it's not the best thing to use. Gotta support Iowa corn farmers, I guess....

That's just it - a 10% ethanol blend takes up about 10% more space for roughly the same energy content on a volumetric basis. It does make a difference in mileage - I've observed it, comparing oxygenated blends and non oxygenated gasoline. The difference in observed mileage has been about 10% pretty consistantly across the board for the cars and the motorcycles I've owned.

 

[NineThreeKilo]

Seriously!

A Chevy can go that fast?

My Chevy built vette can go over twice that.


One thing I dont get about GM, they sure know how to build a car, look at the engineering in something like the vettes, fiberglass body, read mounted tranny, AWESOME suspension, over 400Hp right up to 200mph, but will still do 30mpg at 80+ and well behaved for daily duties.

(not my car)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bU5yKVygKU


But.. on the other hand they also makes turds like the aero lol

Go figure.


As for the Alfa comment, yea, have nothing better to do with my time then wrench on a stupid Alfa Romeo.

Only 4 bangers I would rock would be a Subie (Turbo WRX or Sti WRX) or the last generation of MR2s, very fun cars.

 

[Geico266]

If you can buy a car for 0.5 AMU's and keep it running for an extended period, more power to you. You dah Man. That's way more than I can do.

I have 310,000 miles on my truck.

Pulls better today than when I bought it. Of course I had to have a custom tranny installed and chipped the hell out of the EECM.

Man I love that truck.

Oh, and when I am not pulling a trailer of gravel I am moving Bobcats, tractors, hay, cattle, and hauling farm equipment. I don't use it as my daily driver.

 

[Ted]

One thing I dont get about GM, they sure know how to build a car, look at the engineering in something like the vettes, fiberglass body, read mounted tranny, AWESOME suspension, over 400Hp right up to 200mph, but will still do 30mpg at 80+ and well behaved for daily duties.

(not my car)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bU5yKVygKU


But.. on the other hand they also makes turds like the aero lol

Go figure.

The Corvette is a decent car. GM interiors tend to leave something to be desired - Ford does a better job there. What GM definitely has right is they understand that you can get good power, good efficiency, low weight, and lots of torque with pushrod engines. Ford's switch to overhead cams starting in 1991 resulted in a 4.6L engine that weighed as much and was as large as the previous generation 7.5L engine

As for the Alfa comment, yea, have nothing better to do with my time then wrench on a stupid Alfa Romeo.

Only 4 bangers I would rock would be a Subie (Turbo WRX or Sti WRX) or the last generation of MR2s, very fun cars.

The comment was in reference to something being good to drive, not reliable. But it's worth noting that reliability on those little 4-bangers really isn't any better these days - people just think it is.

What Alfa does do well are interiors. I drove an Alfa 156 a few years ago, and was absolutely awestruck by the interior for what amounted to a European equivalent of a Ford Taurus.

 

[olasek]

My personal car on the other hand, a C7 vette,

Did you mean to say C6?
Per my understanding Corvette C7 is still a year or so away.