Bad gas mileage

[endofdays89 5,000+ posts]

I drive a mercury tracer thats supposed to get 37 mpg on hwy and 30 city, but i only get 230 miles with a full tank. Doesn't make any sense. I drive slow most of the time to, because i listen to the music.

 

[Fusion_FREAK 10+ year member]

is it true that you get less mpg if you ride on e the whole time?

What?

Depends on the car's ECU ... Generally speaking, you usually get better MPG on E as you're carrying less weight and your vehicle's ECU may attempt to maximize fuel economy so you don't run out of gas.
Of course, your fuel meter, which is terribly inaccurate, may say otherwise.

No idea, my car is almost never empty.. I use my car for work, which involves driving all day and night ( I repo, and check my addresses for cars with my car, rather than the truck because it only gets ~10mpg.

My gas gauge only works when it's full or around half tank, I judge how much gas I have by how many miles are on the odometer.

 

[simpsonbuck 10+ year member]

I keep my tires inflated 6psi below what the max psi rating is. Your tire will wear faster but you will get better gas mileage.

Do not stomp on the gas from a sit still and do not wait till the last minute to stop.

On the highway going 65 can give you 10-15% better mileage than going over 70. Cruise control(if you have it) is your friend.

Also, weight reduction. Try not to ride around on a full tank of gas. I take the risk of getting a blow out so I take out my spare tire.

Aside from that, everyone has pretty much hit the nail on the head. Run a fuel injector cleaner(I use Lucas) every oil change, change fuel filter about every 15,000 miles, get a K&N drop in filter, and keep the lead foot at home.

 

[Fusion_FREAK 10+ year member]

I drive a mercury tracer thats supposed to get 37 mpg on hwy and 30 city, but i only get 230 miles with a full tank. Doesn't make any sense. I drive slow most of the time to, because i listen to the music.

How big is the tank? Do you drive with the A/C on all the time? Have you done all the maintanence and such? (Plugs, cap and rotor, fuel filter, etc.)

 

[simpsonbuck 10+ year member]

nm

 

[simpsonbuck 10+ year member]

Almost forgot.....try to get gas at Exxon, Texaco, Shell, etc...

Stay away from mom and pop and discount gas station and gas retailers such as race trac, qt, wal-mart, etc.....

The gas they carry has more ethanol than say...Shell.

If you can find a BP(British Petroleum) station go there. It's worth the extra 5-7 cents per gallon.

 

[endofdays89 5,000+ posts]

How big is the tank? Do you drive with the A/C on all the time? Have you done all the maintanence and such? (Plugs, cap and rotor, fuel filter, etc.)

dude, ac is kickin full blast all the time. The tank is 14 gallons. Divide that and its like 16 mpg, that is really, really low.

But, no i haven't done much maintenence to it.

 

[simpsonbuck 10+ year member]

When I had my Civic the a/c killed my gas mileage.

 

[Fusion_FREAK 10+ year member]

THATS WHAT IT WAS!!!! Seafoam. Best $7 you can spend on your car. The can is one pint. Add 1/3 pint to your intake, SLOWLY (don't want to hydrolock your motor), turn the car off if it hasn't already choked out, sit for 5 minutes, start her back up and go around the block at a high rpm, and it will clean out the top end, injecters, everything. There's also going to be a shit-ton of smoke. You will notice a lower, steadier idle, and less bogging when you accelerate.

Add another 1/3 of the can to you crank case (oil), and it will clean the junk and sludge on the lower end, and finally, add the remainder of the can to your gas. It was clean the fuel lines nicely.

SEAFOAM FTW!!!!

 

[endofdays89 5,000+ posts]

When I had my Civic the a/c killed my gas mileage.

estimate on the percentage?

 

[simpsonbuck 10+ year member]

THATS WHAT IT WAS!!!! Seafoam. Best $7 you can spend on your car. The can is one pint. Add 1/3 pint to your intake, SLOWLY (don't want to hydrolock your motor), turn the car off if it hasn't already choked out, sit for 5 minutes, start her back up and go around the block at a high rpm, and it will clean out the top end, injecters, everything. There's also going to be a shit-ton of smoke. You will notice a lower, steadier idle, and less bogging when you accelerate.
Add another 1/3 of the can to you crank case (oil), and it will clean the junk and sludge on the lower end, and finally, add the remainder of the can to your gas. It was clean the fuel lines nicely.

SEAFOAM FTW!!!!

Seafoam is a good product......if you have a high mileage car or your fuel lines are really bad.

I have 7k on my car....Lucas for the win.

 

[simpsonbuck 10+ year member]

nm

 

[simpsonbuck 10+ year member]

estimate on the percentage?

Maybe 10-12 percent.

 

[Fusion_FREAK 10+ year member]

I'll use my A/C sometimes, like getting into the car in the daytime when everything is hot as shit, but only for a couple minutes. Or I'll use it on the highway because I hate the wind noise, but I honestly put gas in the car so much I don't notice. I'd say about 4-500 miles a week is normal. A/C is coming out soon though. Unless I want to spend $700 for an equal length turbo manifold, the turbo won't clear the **** A/C condensor.

 

[simpsonbuck 10+ year member]

I'll use my A/C sometimes, like getting into the car in the daytime when everything is hot as shit, but only for a couple minutes. Or I'll use it on the highway because I hate the wind noise, but I honestly put gas in the car so much I don't notice. I'd say about 4-500 miles a week is normal. A/C is coming out soon though. Unless I want to spend $700 for an equal length turbo manifold, the turbo won't clear the **** A/C condensor.

How much boost do you have?