What's an effective method to measure miles per gallon?

I have a 2000 Camry CE. I believe it's doing poorly on mileage.
Somewhere between 15 to 20m/G. The gauge shows the oil by a needle
indicator. So not very accurate. What's an accurate way to measure
how many miles my car does on a gallon?

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Fill the tank and write the mileage or (easier) reset the Trip Meter.

The next time the tank needs to be filled, fill it -- fill it, not $10, or
whatever. Then divide the number on the Trip Meter by the amount of gas you
buy. Keep a log, and repeat this a few times. Then take an average -- add
several log entires together and divide by the number of entries. This will
give you an average consumption rate for the typical kind of driving you do.
In the future, if you notice the consumption changes, try to figure if you
spent more time in the city on that tank of gas, or if you were on the
highway. City driving will drive the mileage down -- it takes more gas to
drive a mile in the city than a mile on the highway.

You can likely improve the mileage by going a bit lighter on the pedals.
Avoid quick starts, and coast to the next red light or Stop sign that you
know is coming up anyway; why stay on the gas when you know you will be
stopping soon anyway? If you get off the gas when the light turns red
instead of staying on the gas until the last possible moment will save lots
of fuel, alternatively, mashing the pedals as hard as you can will cause the
car to suck lots of gas. Try not letting the tach go over 2500 -- except on
the freeway -- and see what happens.




"mp3lover" <mp3lover@post.com> wrote in message
news:laj9q1tk4jq62u9ff1a3g1ppr5mn0av8uf@4ax.com...[color=blue]
>I have a 2000 Camry CE. I believe it's doing poorly on mileage.
> Somewhere between 15 to 20m/G. The gauge shows the oil by a needle
> indicator. So not very accurate. What's an accurate way to measure
> how many miles my car does on a gallon?[/color]

On Sat, 17 Dec 2005 21:53:03 -0500, mp3lover <mp3lover@post.com>
wrote:
[color=blue]
>I have a 2000 Camry CE. I believe it's doing poorly on mileage.
>Somewhere between 15 to 20m/G. The gauge shows the oil by a needle
>indicator. So not very accurate. What's an accurate way to measure
>how many miles my car does on a gallon?[/color]

Fill the tank at your regular gas station - the same pump and the
same filling method gets you the best accuracy for a fill. If you use
a different pump, if the nozzles are the same brand and model they
should act pretty much the same. Myself, I fill on the fast setting
till it clicks off, wait 10 seconds, and then fill on the slow
automatic setting till it clicks again. That should get you the same
level pretty reliably, within a quart/liter or so.

Then it's some simple division by the miles driven.

Remember, any one tank is only a rough estimate, because the fills
can vary depending on how level the fuel station island pavement is,
which way you parked, the temperatures, and other variables. But if
you average out the mileage figures you get over 4 to 10 tank-fulls,
that should get you a pretty accurate number.

If you are looking to raise the mileage, same suggestions as
elsewhere: Clean out as much dead weight from the car as you can
(within reason - you should have some emergency supplies), avoid
carrying stuff on the roof rack and adding wind resistance, keep the
tires at the high end of the acceptable pressure range.

And the most important thing is to drive smarter. Learn the "sweet
spot" for your car - some get great fuel mileage at 65 to 70, push it
harder and the mileage goes to heck.

Let someone else jump out ahead at the light and take the lead - he
can be the one that gets the speeding ticket. Besides, if he's not
driving smart, all that "rabbit" driver is doing is racing to stop
again at the next red light.

(See Exception Note Below)

You (being the smarter driver) will be looking ahead a mile or so,
and will time it so the next signal goes green as you approach. And
while Mr. Rabbit is dashing ahead again only to mash on the brakes at
the next red signal, you just keep cruising along at an even, safe and
very fuel efficient pace.

And when the officer asks, it wasn't tailgating - you were drafting.
(The follow-up is "That's my story, and I'm sticking with it.) ;-P

--<< Bruce >>--

Exception being if Mr. Rabbit is trying to pass on the right
shoulder, or a third lane that's normally a parking lane but "NO
STOPPING" during restricted hours, and it isn't those hours.

If there are convenient parked cars ahead in the third lane [or
better yet a transit bus picking up passengers] it's permissible to
waste some fuel and play "Stuff The Guttersnipe" once in a while.
You've been driving easy, so he won't expect you to stand on it.

Bonus points if you complete the cut-off and he leaves skid marks
getting stopped or dropping in behind you, and you win the Jackpot if
he didn't leave himself enough room for "Plan B" and rear-ends a
parked car or that transit bus. Serves him right...

"Line Forms To Rear. Wait Yer Turn."

--
Bruce L. Bergman, Woodland Hills (Los Angeles) CA - Desktop
Electrician for Westend Electric - CA726700
5737 Kanan Rd. #359, Agoura CA 91301 (818) 889-9545
Spamtrapped address: Remove the python and the invalid, and use a net.

To which I can only add: Drive like there was an uncooked egg between
your
foot and the throttle.

Karl


Bruce L. Bergman wrote:[color=blue]
> On Sat, 17 Dec 2005 21:53:03 -0500, mp3lover <mp3lover@post.com>
> wrote:
>[color=green]
> >I have a 2000 Camry CE. I believe it's doing poorly on mileage.
> >Somewhere between 15 to 20m/G. The gauge shows the oil by a needle
> >indicator. So not very accurate. What's an accurate way to measure
> >how many miles my car does on a gallon?[/color]
>
> Fill the tank at your regular gas station - the same pump and the
> same filling method gets you the best accuracy for a fill. If you use
> a different pump, if the nozzles are the same brand and model they
> should act pretty much the same. Myself, I fill on the fast setting
> till it clicks off, wait 10 seconds, and then fill on the slow
> automatic setting till it clicks again. That should get you the same
> level pretty reliably, within a quart/liter or so.
>
> Then it's some simple division by the miles driven.
>
> Remember, any one tank is only a rough estimate, because the fills
> can vary depending on how level the fuel station island pavement is,
> which way you parked, the temperatures, and other variables. But if
> you average out the mileage figures you get over 4 to 10 tank-fulls,
> that should get you a pretty accurate number.
>
> If you are looking to raise the mileage, same suggestions as
> elsewhere: Clean out as much dead weight from the car as you can
> (within reason - you should have some emergency supplies), avoid
> carrying stuff on the roof rack and adding wind resistance, keep the
> tires at the high end of the acceptable pressure range.
>
> And the most important thing is to drive smarter. Learn the "sweet
> spot" for your car - some get great fuel mileage at 65 to 70, push it
> harder and the mileage goes to heck.
>
> Let someone else jump out ahead at the light and take the lead - he
> can be the one that gets the speeding ticket. Besides, if he's not
> driving smart, all that "rabbit" driver is doing is racing to stop
> again at the next red light.
>
> (See Exception Note Below)
>
> You (being the smarter driver) will be looking ahead a mile or so,
> and will time it so the next signal goes green as you approach. And
> while Mr. Rabbit is dashing ahead again only to mash on the brakes at
> the next red signal, you just keep cruising along at an even, safe and
> very fuel efficient pace.
>
> And when the officer asks, it wasn't tailgating - you were drafting.
> (The follow-up is "That's my story, and I'm sticking with it.) ;-P
>
> --<< Bruce >>--
>
> Exception being if Mr. Rabbit is trying to pass on the right
> shoulder, or a third lane that's normally a parking lane but "NO
> STOPPING" during restricted hours, and it isn't those hours.
>
> If there are convenient parked cars ahead in the third lane [or
> better yet a transit bus picking up passengers] it's permissible to
> waste some fuel and play "Stuff The Guttersnipe" once in a while.
> You've been driving easy, so he won't expect you to stand on it.
>
> Bonus points if you complete the cut-off and he leaves skid marks
> getting stopped or dropping in behind you, and you win the Jackpot if
> he didn't leave himself enough room for "Plan B" and rear-ends a
> parked car or that transit bus. Serves him right...
>
> "Line Forms To Rear. Wait Yer Turn."
>
> --
> Bruce L. Bergman, Woodland Hills (Los Angeles) CA - Desktop
> Electrician for Westend Electric - CA726700
> 5737 Kanan Rd. #359, Agoura CA 91301 (818) 889-9545
> Spamtrapped address: Remove the python and the invalid, and use a net.[/color]

mp3lover wrote:[color=blue]
> I have a 2000 Camry CE. I believe it's doing poorly on mileage.
> Somewhere between 15 to 20m/G. The gauge shows the oil by a needle
> indicator. So not very accurate. What's an accurate way to measure
> how many miles my car does on a gallon?[/color]
Here ya go,
[url]http://www.pureenergysystems.com/store/ScanGauge/index.html[/url]