Fuel consumption

[Elric]

so I went to Boston (170 miles and back = 340 round trip + 30 miles city driving) with the highway speed of 65 mph @ 2,500rpm (cruise control). It appears that 380 miles is the max I can get on a vehicle with 5,000 miles of total mileage. I read a thread where somebody made 400 mile out of a tank but I can't figure out how to make 22.5 gallons into 20 mpg field trip

P.S. I lived in Boston before and oh god roads suck in the city, pot holes as if tank division paraded through Newbury street (local hot spot) ... roads in Moscow are much better for that matter ))

[Joe_Black]

380 miles on a tank is pretty good with mixed driving. Every Isuzu Trooper and VehiCROSS I've owned has the 22.5 gallon tank and the elusive 400 mile trip is like the holy grail of Isuzu SUVs. LOL! I managed it once with my '93 Trooper RS (3.2L 5-speed) and the '88 Trooper LS (2.6L auto). It can be done, but all the planets need to align in addition to a good tailwind for your down-hill travels.

[Raque Thomas]

I'm jealous - you're shooting for 400 miles to the tank - I can't get 300!!!!
95% highway 75mph = 280-290 miles to the tank. Can the extra 10mph make THAT much difference in mpg? Don't think I could drive 65mph, even if it did make that kind of difference. My low fuel light is usually on at about 265 miles

[VehiGAZ]

Hey guys, total miles per tank isn't a good way to compare mileage from one driver to the next, because everyone fills their tank at a different point. You've got to calculate the mileage you get per tank for it to be a meaningful comparison from one driver to the next. Even if two people say they fill up "once the light comes on," that still doesn't mean much, because the sensors are not particularly precise from one to the next, and one of those two people may fill up at the first station they see once the light comes on, while the other may run another 20-40 miles before they actually fill up, which will make a pretty significant difference.

With that in mind, I have averaged as low as 13.5 mpg on a tank of gas in the coldest winter with my Yakima cargo box on the roof (running 80-90 mph on the highway up to VT for the weekend), and as high as 18 mpg in the summer with nothing on top and driving backroads all day at 50 mph. Assuming a "tankful" is 21 gallons, you can translate those numbers into a per-tank range of 280 - 380.

That said, I have NEVER gone 380 miles beofre filling up - it is very seldom that I run it down to that point. 19-20 gallons is the average fill-up, and I've only gotten 18 mpg twice.

And yes Raque, once you exceed the "sweet spot" around 50 mph, then your mileage will start dripping noticeably. Wind resistance increases logarithmically (if memory serves) with velocity.

[VCAMILO]

With city driving I usually get 200 mpg. Highway driving with all the stars aligned right I can get 350-60 mpg. I have the 3" lift and bigger tires. Ever since the gas prices when up I have been driving my VX less.

[PeteVX]

13 to 14 mpg mixed highway and city driving never varies.

[Joe_Black]

10mph make THAT much difference in mpg?

Drag is a funny thing and actually increases exponentially after it hits its design limit. Plus with all our ground clearance we've got quite a bit of undercarriage drag as well to add.

I've found 70MPH seems to be the "economy" ceiling for highway cruising. Above that you may get there quicker but at the expense of extra fuel.

[Ruflyf]

little off topic, but.....anyone ever measure how (approx) how many miles you can still go once the fuel dummy light comes on? I have had it come on a few times, but it being new and all to me, I hate to test its limits

[SuperDave]

I get about 12 mpg in sport mode and 17 in utility mode. All city.

[MZ-N10]

With city driving I usually get 200 mpg. Highway driving with all the stars aligned right I can get 350-60 mpg. I have the 3" lift and bigger tires. Ever since the gas prices when up I have been driving my VX less.

mpg=miles?

[Raque Thomas]

I usually get 200 mpg. Highway driving with all the stars aligned right I can get 350-60 mpg. .

Now I'm really jealous!!! 350 - 360 mpg!

[SuperDave]

Now I'm really jealous!!! 350 - 360 mpg!

He must have the hybrid fuel cell mod that takes up the whole cargo area behind the front seats.

[blacksambo]

For what ever it's worth, my wife and I each have stock '99's and routinely get 17 to 20 mpg in mixed driving conditions. I don't know how we are doing it, given what others are reporting? (They both have 75 to 80 k on the clock and run 29lbs of air in the tires.)

[VehiGAZ]

It just goes to show you that there is a LOT of car-to-car variation on ANY performance measure, whether its mileage, engine power, or whatever. One VX engine may be producing 230 hp, another may be producing only 190.