Back again with my fuel consumption?

[svxistentialist]

Originally Posted by maxg765

Hello All,

So here's my update.

I filled it to the top and reset the trip counter.

After 200 miles in snowy conditions here in Montreal with mixed highway and city driving I got to what I thought was the end of my tank. The needle was just below the E mark. I have however never seen that so called low fuel light come on that I am suppose to have. I decided today not chance it any further and fill up. To the top with some squeezing in after it stopped only allowed me to put in 55.4 liters or 14.6 US Gallons. From what I was told last time the tank holds 70 Liters or 18 US Gallons.

I guess my gauge is some what off and thats why the low fuel light has yet to come on. I also think that its still getting poor millage as I think at that rate even if the gauge was fixed and I was able to have a more true reading I would only have gotten another 50 miles. That would still only yield a total of 250 miles on a tank. I feel thats low.

Regards

Max

Max

How's it going man?

You are dealing with two separate issues here Max; one, the pessimistic or inaccurate fuel gauge, which generally shows empty, even though the tank usually has quite a bit more fuel in there; and two, heavier fuel consumption than you think is normal.

Regards the first issue, your gauge is behaving like most of them do, so you should just accept it. I got in the habit with mine of resetting the trip each time I filled, and assessing my need for a refill by the miles covered, once I knew my average.

Regards the second issue, if 200 miles is the correct mileage covered, and your previous fill was "squeezed in" also, this indicates you have achieved about 13.5 mpg, which with our bigger gallons would be 16.5, and I would consider this to be high consumption, possibly higher than normal.

The absolute worst my claret car ever returned was 18 mpg [UK galls, not US] and that was with a failing slipping gearbox. 20 was more usual round town.

However, before you get to worrying about this too much, there is a number of factors at play here that would normally lead to high consumption, so don't panic just yet.

1) You are driving in snow. This will increase fuel use a good bit.
2) You are driving in cold weather. If you use the aircon to defrost like I do, this can increase your consumption by as much as 25%. Turn it off when the engine warms up.
3) Cold weather starts may mean you are warming it up more, or you may be warming it up for longer. This will increase consumption.
4) If your commute or use of the car means short runs of less than maybe 5 miles, then the engine is mostly warming up and never gets to efficient running temperature. This is made far,far worse by severe cold weather.

Max, there is a number of things you can do to ensure the car is "right", and you should check these if you have not already done so.

Make sure the engine has good oil and is in tune.

Make sure you are using a new good air filter.

Drive on tyres that are inflated about 4 lbs harder than it says on the door shut.

Make sure your brakes are good and working properly.

This last one is the most important of the lot. If your calipers need a service, and I would suspect the rears but check all four, then your pistons may not be letting off when used, and you will be dragging that wheel. Make absolutely sure your dust seals are doing their job, buy a new set if in doubt. Service the calipers by dismantling carefully and polishing the outer surface of the pistons till they slide easily in their sockets. If they won't slide easily then you can't expect them to retract from the disk after letting off the pedal.
Ensure also that your pads are good and the shims and clips allow the pads to slide in and out as designed.

Remember the 3.3 six engine has such an amount of torque available low in the revs that you could be "pulling" the brakes and not realise it. Make 100% sure your brakes are free and working properly. Remember that although your car has only 45K on the engine the running gear esp brake calipers has gone through 11 winters on salty roads. I strongly suspect your brakes are lightly holding the pads to the disks.

[If you dismantle the brakes for a look and find the pads have worn unevenly, this is a sure sign the pads are unable to slide in and out, particularly out, in an even fashion like they should. In other words they are not letting off properly. Make sure they can slide in and out to the disk with no resistance. If you use copaslip to help this, absolutely ensure no lubricant gets on the disk or pads. Use an angle grinder or a file if you have to. The shape of the metal on after market pads is not always 100% accurate.]

I hope this helps.

Joe

[gbianchi]

Originally Posted by SoCal LS-L

At least your guys gauges just lie to you, mine likes to be a total jerk and drop from just over a half tank to E in about 30 seconds. It will do this off and on until I hit about 1/4 an actual tank then register ok. I about had a fatal heart attack the first time, on the way to Reno when it did that 25 miles past the sign that said "Next gas 65 miles". I think maybe the sending unit is going but I havent ruled out my SVX is just screwing with me

ditto on the gauge being a jerk, filled mine up drove 20 miles used half a tank, I think not, I just ignor it and use the trip meter. 1st mileage check showed 23.5mpg thats OK for this nice of ride.......G