[rbarrios]

OK. Gassed up the tank- went to Starbucks- 3 miles later we hit the highway. From here to Carpinteria, CA. Just shy of Santa Barbara.
On the way there- mostly 61-65 MPH. No AC.
few parts we slowed down to about 20 mph-- but nothing major.
Once we got to Carpinteria- I snapped this on the offramp.

We drove around some of the city streets while we found our destination- and then it dropped to 27.5.
On the way home around Ventura- we hit some traffic- due to an accident- then we had to climb some big hill back into the LA region-- here I got in the slow lane- and got behind a motorhome... no need to over-rev the engine- just follow the slow car up the hill--- by here it had dropped to 26.8 MPG.
But once back on more normal terrain- it eventually creeped back up..
By the time I pulled into my driveway- I had this.

So here comes the interesting part.
Once we unload- I go gas up so I can see what a hand calculation will show..
I drive to the gas station...fill up until it clicks off- --- 7.09 gallons shows the gas pump.....- the trip meter now shows-- 215.1 miles
215.1/7.09= 30.3 MPG


the DIC now shows- Gal used- 7.9 and 27.2 MPG.

Interesting huh....Either way- I Like both numbers.
In the past my DIC had been very close to my actual pumped...
normally see .1 to .5 difference between pumped and DIC reported fuel used.

There was 5 of us.
me- 169 lbs
her- 155 lbs
grandma-136
great grandma-115
baby 20 lbs.

extras-- car seat, stroller, baby bag, and about 12 bottles of water.....and a fire extinguisher.
I never exceeded 70 mph on this trip.

 

[rbarrios]

by the way-- in case people dont believe----
heres a pic of the fill up receipt-- in the background- my log book...

on the right hand side-- the 2 colums are DIC MPG and Hand Calc MPG.

Other rows are date, odometer, trip, DIC gal, Gal pumped, $/gal, $, DIC MPG, Hand calc MPG
Most of the miles are weekly mileage- to and from work- street/highway. .... the jumps occur when I take highway trips.

 

[bobg1951chevy]

82* on your DIC and no a/c ????

I got 27. whatever on my trip out west and north, but the a/c was in motion.

Bob

 

[rbarrios]

Funny how temps drop.
we get there- and it was 65. head back here- over the hill and temp hit 86- then settled on 82...
It would get hot if the windows were closed.. but
crack all 4 windows about 3 inches--- and you have nice windflow inside as youre doing 65.

 

[bobg1951chevy]

In my neck of the woods, the humidity is so very high, I would not attempt to ride without the a/c. Too hard to be comfortable with high humidity readings.

I'm anxiously waiting for fall !!

Bob

 

[AA/78U-Blue Gold]

#3.11/gallon

Anyway; how ironic you bring this up. I went and filled the Acadia last night. The DIC said I used 5.5 gallons, but when I filled up the pump said I put in 6.38 gallons (and no I didn't top it off) which is a .88 difference between the DIC and the pump.

 

[rbarrios]

#3.11/gallon

Anyway; how ironic you bring this up. I went and filled the Acadia last night. The DIC said I used 5.5 gallons, but when I filled up the pump said I put in 6.38 gallons (and no I didn't top it off) which is a .88 difference between the DIC and the pump.

Yeah- It had held steady at $3.07 for weeks... and within the last day- I saw most stations go to $3.14- 3.11.... and this is the regular stuff.

 

[quantum]

Great mileage. We are getting similar results with our Traverse on mostly highway trips. The last hwy trip was about 120km round trip, we averaged 27.3MPG with the A/C on, and 2 adults and 2 kids. But after that, since the tank was mostly still full, my wife used the Traverse the rest of the week in town, and by the end we were down to 21.7MPG.

I find the warm-up time in the morning always knocks off the MPG pretty good...waiting for the RPM's to drop.

The only margin of error I can see in you calculations is the fact that you don't know with 100% accuracy if the pump shuts off at the same point every time.

I notice at the gas station where I fill up, sometimes I can add up to 2 gallons after the first shut off, before I see the fuel in the filler neck, and other times only 1.5 gallons after the initial shut off.

But regardless, those are some great numbers, and I'm happy to be getting similar numbers here too. But once winter hits there goes any decent mileage.

 

[bigtallvandy]

#3.11/gallon

Anyway; how ironic you bring this up. I went and filled the Acadia last night. The DIC said I used 5.5 gallons, but when I filled up the pump said I put in 6.38 gallons (and no I didn't top it off) which is a .88 difference between the DIC and the pump.

I find consumption is always higher than what the DIC says was the avg. economy. Likewise for the amount pumped versus 'fuel used' stat on the DIC. For the Canadians in the crowd, it seems to be around .9L/100KM higher consumption versus what the DIC says was your avg economy. This is a *BIG* reason why I don't rely on the 'range' to get me to the gas station when you're practically running on fumes. Too much margin for error.

I would think that even if you fill at the same pump/hose all the time, you're still going to have correction issues due to temperature differences from one day to the next. But the DIC isn't such a bad thing... once you get your comfort level between the actual consumption/economy and what the DIC says, you can learn to trust it and just *adjust* for the differences in what you learned on the actual figures.

 

[rbarrios]

so what do you guys think is a better predictor... ...the DIC or hand calc. 27.2 or 30.2?...
maybe the average of the 2... 28.7-- :cheers:

 

[bobg1951chevy]

so what do you guys think is a better predictor... ...the DIC or hand calc. 27.2 or 30.2?...
maybe the average of the 2... 28.7-- :cheers:

I'll vote for the hand calc. every time.

Bob

 

[rbarrios]

I guess since I didnt use AC-- that would make more sense...
:hyper: 30.2 MPG.

 

[quantum]

I find the consumption to be pretty close. Although, I always do hand calcs, but never write it down. I just do the calcs to make sure that mileage isn't suddenly dropping.

 

[bobg1951chevy]

I guess since I didnt use AC-- that would make more sense...
:hyper: 30.2 MPG.

I can understand mileage being better with no a/c, but, keep in mind, mine was producing 27+ MPG at 65 MPG with a/c on. 3 MPG better with no a/c .... sounds like too much of a difference.

True, we only had 2 folks in the car, but her luggage certainly added to the GVW. My WalMart bag of clothes didn't add squat. LOL

Bob

 

[Narg]

I've done way too much short run driving lately, and the temp has been well over 100 the past couple of weeks. My DIC currently shows 14.4 MPG. YUCK! :eyebrow: Hopefully it will cool off soon.

 

[rbarrios]

well, we just made the trip again- out to Carpinteria. (and Buellton).
Same passengers. Practically same load.

This time- the freeway involved mostly 70-75. A bit of 80.
AC was used more..
Was not on all the time.
From my house- to the location- temps vary so much- even within a few miles--- I saw temps go from 74 to 94.
74 to 82, to 88, to 94, to 92, to 88, to 76--- simply by going over a hill away from the valley to the coast.

This time- the DIC reported 23.3 MPG.
I think I like going 60-65 better... as it reports in the 28 MPG....

 

[2LT AWD]

This is very good news , excellent gas mileage, engine rpm must have been around 1700-1900 I'm guessing :thumb:

 

[rbarrios]

yes around that range.
We were in no hurry-- but I was curious to see the MPG that I got at the faster speed.
And at almost 5 MPG LESS-- I think I really like traveling at 60-65 better.
For a trip like this-- Ill stick to 60-65.

 

[quantum]

I think a lot of times, people under-estimate how much speed influences your gas mileage. I too am a firm believer of sticking to 100-105km/h. It just makes for a hassle free drive, and the fuel mileage is a nice plus!