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gas prices have soared (right now i'm
paying about $3.50 for premium) and thank
goodness i don't have a fondness for SUVs! i've never been more
interested in calculating mpg than i am now. 2001 new beetles get
from 24 / 31 (city / highway) mpg average, and i am curious to see
how mine fares. in iowa, we have
ethanol blended fuel; some gas
stations have ethanol in all blends, some only 89 octane. i've heard
that ethanol can affect mpg, so i am doing a little testing. plus, i
am curious to see how many miles per gallon my new beetle gets in
town.
to calculate mpg (miles
per gallon), i used the following formula:
To calculate fuel economy, start with a
full tank; note the odometer (odometer #1) reading. Drive the
vehicle normally and note the use mix (city, highway, or
city-highway mixed). When the fuel gauge reaches approximately
¼, refill the tank and note the odometer (odometer #2) reading.
Subtract odometer #1 from odometer #2; divide the result by the
number of gallons purchased. One significant decimal place is
sufficient. Examples: Odometer reads 30,455 when the tank is
first filled. The vehicle is driven until the fuel gauge reads ¼
; the odometer reads 30,723. It took 12.7 gallons to fill the
tank again. Subtract the 30,455 from 30,723 and divide the
result by the 12.7. [30,723 - 30,455 = 268] and then [268 / 12.7
= 21.1 MPG] --
click here for source.
i
will be logging my results each time i
fill up. please see below for other fuel-related information.
|
date |
gallons purchased |
brand |
octane / type |
price / gallon |
odometer reading |
miles traveled |
city / hwy |
MPG |
total fuel cost |
|
10/05/05 |
13.71 |
shell |
89 ethanol |
$ 2.89 |
88,949 |
357 |
80% city |
26.0 |
$ 39.63 |
|
10/21/05 |
12.50 |
bp amoco |
87 regular |
$ 2.60 |
89,278 |
329 |
100% city |
26.3 |
$ 32.48 |
|
11/04/05 |
11.84 |
bp amoco |
93 premium |
$ 2.39 |
89,565 |
287 |
100% city |
24.2 |
$ 28.30 |
|
11/19/05 |
12.77 |
shell |
87 ethanol |
$ 2.04 |
89,890 |
325 |
100% city |
25.5 |
$ 26.03 |
|
05/27/07 |
11.33 |
bp amoco |
87 regular |
$ 3.40 |
102,315 |
12,425 |
100% city |
24.7 |
$ 38.52 |
something i didn't know about fuel consumption:
"While each vehicle reaches its optimal fuel
economy at a different speed (or range of speeds), gas mileage
usually decreases rapidly at speeds above 60 mph. As a rule of
thumb, you can assume that each 5 mph you drive over 60 mph is
like paying an additional $0.21 per gallon for gas." source:
www.fueleconomy.gov
so that explains why my a trip to the des moines area left
me disappointed with my mpg! i drive about 75 mpg and my friend
casie was driving close to 80 mpg. i could have sworn my mpg was
mid-20s when i calculated it in my head.
i've never spent too much thinking about the price of gas, brand,
octane rating or ethanol blends, but i've now reached that point. i
recently came across a website that lists local gas prices and i've
starting using it, a lot:
www.quadcitiesgasprices.com.
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