Ran out of gas... ran the numbers
 

I ran out of gas today on the way to the gas station, so I thought I'd take the time to run the numbers for fuel economy.

I filled the tank completely last time and reset the trip meter. In the last week and a half, I clocked 266 miles from the gas station until my tank ran dry.

Let's see... 266 miles divided by 18.5 gallons equals... 14.378 miles per gallon. That's pretty dismal.

Factors to consider:

1) I drive mostly in town, though not bumper-to-bumper (small town) there are plenty of stop signs and a few traffic lights.

2) My transmission slips pretty bad from 2nd to 3rd gear sometimes.

3) It's snowy here, meaning much less traction and more wheelspin.

Does that sound right to you guys & gals? I mean, it's a 92 with less than 100,000 miles on it. I was expecting around 18mpg; am I on crack?

That mileage sounds unusually low, even while considering the factors you mentioned. I average around 19. My driving is mostly highway, but I drive extremely aggressively. On long trips, I've gotten as much as 24, even at 90+ MPH!

I got 24.5mpg ONCE and that was at a steady 80mph with almost no stops and no uphill or downhill.

Most of the time I get around 21. In the winter I'll get around 17, sometimes 15mpg.

= Rob

Re: Ran out of gas... ran the numbers
 

If you don't get the transmission brake band adjusted right away, you will be walking to work.:(
A lot cheaper than a transmission replacement.

Harvey.;)

In town
 

That seems about right. Both of my 92s have rotten gas performance in the city... stop, go off on...
Then I get out on the freeway and I'm up around 25-27mpg.. :D

also if it is cold you let your car start a little in the morn? mine has plumeted too in the winter. i get about 15-16 mpg in the winter, not all city driving and almost 20 normally during the summer

Thanks for the input. Yeah, I'll be having the tranny looked at ASAP. Just waiting on a few more responses from places like smallcar and level10, so I can decide what I'm going to do about it...

ouch
 

I've never gotten that low. I average around 20mpg. My lowest being 18.5. My best was about 26. My average is what I get during regular driving which is about 25% HWY the rest is around town with the majority of it speeds below 45MPH. The 26 was a 1AM drive from Williamsburg, VA to Baltimore, MD with an average speed of 95MPH on all HWY. Top speed was around 110. there isnt allot of traffic between Williamsburg and Baltimore at 1AM on a Sunday morning.

i dont know if you saw my thread but im getting like 10 or 11 mpg right now in similar conditions. dont feel so bad.
my X really likes the juice.

the thing with mine, it doesnt read accurately until it gets cold. the needle consistently drops noticably while im sleeping and reads much lower in the morning then when i left it for bed.

My last 3 tanks I got about 14 MPG still under 53,000 miles Tranny feels like new, But my drives are all most all short, verry little highway & that power light seems to be on a lot. :D
But you know what 14 MPG ;) as they say Jimmy cracked corn & I could give a damn . One thing i could care less about is MPG I got no squeeks rattels or funny noises & she runs like NEW so I will give her all the Chevron Super She wants . ;)

I wouldn't be complaining if the rest of my car were functioning as it should. Could be worse though; all that needs fixing is my left fog light wiring, trunk release button, CD player, oh and my tranny...

i discovered in the past hour i may need an alignment now. this will make it take longer to fix my timing.
*sigh*

Well.....not to make y'all feel bad ...BUT...I avg. 30 mpg (highway) with my 92 LS-L ---273 miles on 8.8 gal @ 75+ mph (2700rpm).....I get similiar mileage with my 94 LSi...!!!

Hey RAMSVX, What's your secret? That's great gas mileage. :)

Destiny, I think the low mileage is due to a cold transmission. It takes about 30 minutes for the tranny to warm up. If you operate less than that your mileage will be poor. Does anyone sell an auto-tranny heater similar to a block heater?

I was also very disapointed about the SVX's fuel consumption when I fist got mine. Since then, I've been doing weekly non stop 160 miles back and forth (Montreal-Quebec, Quebec-Montreal) at a very steady 69 mph, and the very best I've ever gotten was 25 mpg. In the city, it's "oh so horrible"! I can barely do a lousy 10 mpg... could it be my amazing Bosch Platinum 4's? Those were the best available plugs at our famous Canadian Tire. If so, how could these plugs perform relatively well on the highway while being so mediocre in the city?

By the way Nemesis, why wait until your gas tank is empty to find out what your fuel consumption is? Fill it up to the top, reset the odometer, drive around a bit, refill it to the top, look how many gallons you've put in and do the math. I know it's obvious (please don't throw me a bone), just don't understand why no one has pointed it out yet.