Cars We Drive! - Page 549

Seems like a 2.0 of this


I know Ford and Lexus etc. have something similar.

Just filled up my car and HOLY SHIT my MPG is 14.2!

This is mixed highway and city driving (70% city, 30% highway) and yes I do have a lead foot, but 14.2 MPG? That's freaking V8 territory..

Good thing I only fill up once a month on average.

Dude, what do you actually drive? I have no idea. I get 18+ on a V-12 and 20+ on an S54 ///M I-6 that sits at >3krpm on the highway and has a propensity to hit 7k with a disturbing propensity when not.

Edited by Huntsman - 1/19/13 at 6:21pm

an e46 330i!

how the f do you get 18 mpg with a v12?

and you mean inline 6

wtf, do you even drive?

Not when I'm on the road 4 days a week.

Duh. That may have been the stupidest thing I've ever said on SF.

 

The e46 is nice. Quite honestly, if my mileage was that bad and I had not spent hours and hours at idle, I would think something was wrong with my car. I got better mileage from my 3500lb '79 Dodge with a 318cid (5.2L) V-8. The 25 year old 5.3L Jag V-12 does 16-18mpg pretty easily, so I'd be a little concerned. Or maybe your math/computer is off a tad.

 

~ H

The math is definitely correct, as I simply divided the miles on my odometer by the # of gallons I pumped. But you're right, it's very, very low. I normally get ~20 MPG, and even then, I think that's low for a straight six. It's probably just my driving habits . I'm of the belief that it's better (read: more fun) to accelerate with your pedal to the metal until you hit cruising speeds. Then I ease off the gas.

Can't wait to see what kind of mileage I get once I drive a V8.

The only way you're getting that mileage is if you idle in traffic for hours, or you only drive on the dragstrip

That car was supremely unreliable. If I recall it was not afraid to catch fire. Or was that the Muria?

I was about 10, I'll never forget once seeing a red 308 (Magnum PI) broken down with the back engine bay open. I idealized those cars, so the notion of a breakdown had no frame of reference. Note this was the era of the Crysler K car and Lee Iaccoca if we need a measuring stick for what you'd normally see on the side of the road.

I would check the tire pressures first. If that's ok then change air filter, clean maf, check spark plugs. I averaged about 22 mpg in my old e46.

if all that fails replace dmtl pump

I really don't think any of that would account for an 8pt drop in mpg. Maybe all of it together, but still -- running that rich would have to be noticeable. More likely, the last fill-up didn't top off the tank, thus, the miles driven on this tankful was far less since it wasn't a tankful.

 

GF, do you keep a running log? My father quite literally keeps a notebook in his car and has recorded every fillup/maintenance, etc., over the life of each of his cars. Since it is tied to date and odo reading, he has a running MPG tally -- localized errors due to the above are notable as a sharp MPG drop that does not recur.

 

~ H
 

I use the Gas Cubby app on the iPhone. that way you can just update on the spot when you fill up.

I get OCD when I know I'm going into a great MPG situation and will fill up before a trip and immediately after. For instance I just got back from a hike at Sterling Forest (upstate NY 50miles from brooklyn). total trip I was averaging almost 50mpg but then got stuck in traffic at the FDR/SoHo/Williamsburg Bridge then drove around queens for dinner and went back down to 41mpg.

I have to be OCD though (I take pictures of all the gas receipts) because any mistake in filling up with bad diesel could result in HPFP failure (a near $10,000 repair) which might not be covered by warranty if not proven to be bad diesel.

"I have to be OCD" sounds exactly like what you would say if you were OCD. It has a certain beautiful circularity. I presume you drive a VW TDI? Having to document my fillups in order to shift liability in case of pump failure would drive me nuts.

 

~ H