Unexpected HUGE fuel economy gain.
Thread Starter
|
Professional
Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 187
Likes: 0
RageGuy, you have a 5.9L and you are getting 500K out of a tank of gas, the equivalent of roughly 341 miles?! Do you do mostly highway driving? I have a 5.9L and the other day I got record mileage out of a full tank which was 290.5 miles. I usually average around 260 miles to a full tank, which is about 11 mpg. I have a CAI with a clean filter and I never stomp on the gas or anything really. I usually drive 12 miles to work and back averaging 40-55 mph. Does anyone else get this bad of fuel mileage or is this something I need to change on my truck that is killing the gas mileage? By the way, I always fill up with unleaded 89 (not sure of the ethanol content) and lately I've been adding in fuel injector cleaner in every tank.
Champion
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 3,015
Likes: 8
From: Western NY,
cb performance did an article on this when building a mileage motor for an AC beetle... They found that one particular chain in Texas where they were testing, netted almost 5mpg more than the others consistently and when poured into a glass it was even a different color than the others... this was actually before the ethanol push...
Champion
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 3,015
Likes: 8
From: Western NY,
octane shouldnt do anything special in a vehicle designed and running properly on 87.....if you have pinging yes it can help but otherwise?
Also keep in mind some places might still have been dumping the last of the winter blend fuels which net poor gas mileage...the those of you transitioning to the summer blend should see an improvement.
Champion
Joined: May 2012
Posts: 3,065
Likes: 1
From: Renton, WA
running the higher octane fuel will hurt your peak hp slightly. but it will also help keep your injectors cleaner. higher octane has a higher boiling point, so when you shut your engine off it wont boil inside your injectors and lines leaving residue. it is also slower burning which means you might see a power decrease on the dyno but nothing too noticeable unless you have a smaller engine. My S-10 hates premium fuel. I ran premium a couple tanks back to back to clean up the injector, and the damn thing almost didn't start on a cold day...took like 3 minutes to get it started. on 87 octane it fires up in 5 seconds ice cold.
as for alcohol in the fuel, ethanol definitely hurts fuel economy. methanol does do. In the winter time they put a lot of methanol in our diesel fuel to keep the fuel from gelling up when it gets cold, and it drops our fuel economy by a good 2-5mpg.
gasoline is same way, more alcohol = less energy in the fuel. less energy = lower MPG's
as for alcohol in the fuel, ethanol definitely hurts fuel economy. methanol does do. In the winter time they put a lot of methanol in our diesel fuel to keep the fuel from gelling up when it gets cold, and it drops our fuel economy by a good 2-5mpg.
gasoline is same way, more alcohol = less energy in the fuel. less energy = lower MPG's
Professional
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 170
Likes: 0
As far as I know Sheetz is just a Pennsylvania thing. A couple guys at work claim sheetz gas has a lot of ethanol in it. Another friend of mine switched gas in his golf and says his gas mileage went up 6mpg.
I've been using sheetz gas since I've been 16 (now 24) and wished i would have switched sooner.
I've been using sheetz gas since I've been 16 (now 24) and wished i would have switched sooner.
Professional
Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 189
Likes: 0
From: Canada
The fuel injector cleaner will actually hurt MPG performance while using it since it dillutes the gas.... I net between 275 and 300 miles per tank it seems now and this is the best I've seen with my 35" mud tires and 4.56 gears...
octane shouldnt do anything special in a vehicle designed and running properly on 87.....if you have pinging yes it can help but otherwise?
Also keep in mind some places might still have been dumping the last of the winter blend fuels which net poor gas mileage...the those of you transitioning to the summer blend should see an improvement.
octane shouldnt do anything special in a vehicle designed and running properly on 87.....if you have pinging yes it can help but otherwise?
Also keep in mind some places might still have been dumping the last of the winter blend fuels which net poor gas mileage...the those of you transitioning to the summer blend should see an improvement.