Mileage concerns
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Cargo Master
Joined: Oct 2015
Posts: 2,745
Likes: 72
From: West Virginia
Mileage concerns
Everybody is concerned about fuel mileage. More accurately everybody is concerned about accurately tracking fuel consumption, it seems.
I see a lot of threads concerning this topic and the consensus appears to be the mileage indicator and DTE indicator are wildly inaccurate.
I don’t think that’s the case.
I believe that since fuel tanks are designed to only utilize 80% of their capacity and different fuel pumps have different sensitivity to the back pressure that shuts off the nozzle, hand calculated fuel mileage is more likely to be incorrect than a device that measures actual fuel delivered to the engine.
Heck, even the time of day can affect the density of the fuel being pumped into your plastic fuel tank. And speaking of plastic, a warm tank will swell more and therefore hold more than a cold tank.
It appears to me that hand calculated fuel mileage is a highly variable yardstick.
The fact that we trust fuel stations to accurately measure and report the fuel they dispense but not the useage meter in our own truck strikes me as rather odd. We trust the odometer, speedometer and every other measuring device to be accurate, why not the fuel mileage and DTE?
For how I use it, my meter is perfectly accurate. If it is “low” I’m either accelerating too hard or driving into the wind, or any number of other possible things are occurring. If it is “high” life’s good. I avoid driving until the DTE indicates 5 miles ‘til empty, though I admit I have gotten pretty low due to poor planning.
There you have it - my take on the fuel mileage kerfuffle.
What’s yours and the reasoning behind it?
I see a lot of threads concerning this topic and the consensus appears to be the mileage indicator and DTE indicator are wildly inaccurate.
I don’t think that’s the case.
I believe that since fuel tanks are designed to only utilize 80% of their capacity and different fuel pumps have different sensitivity to the back pressure that shuts off the nozzle, hand calculated fuel mileage is more likely to be incorrect than a device that measures actual fuel delivered to the engine.
Heck, even the time of day can affect the density of the fuel being pumped into your plastic fuel tank. And speaking of plastic, a warm tank will swell more and therefore hold more than a cold tank.
It appears to me that hand calculated fuel mileage is a highly variable yardstick.
The fact that we trust fuel stations to accurately measure and report the fuel they dispense but not the useage meter in our own truck strikes me as rather odd. We trust the odometer, speedometer and every other measuring device to be accurate, why not the fuel mileage and DTE?
For how I use it, my meter is perfectly accurate. If it is “low” I’m either accelerating too hard or driving into the wind, or any number of other possible things are occurring. If it is “high” life’s good. I avoid driving until the DTE indicates 5 miles ‘til empty, though I admit I have gotten pretty low due to poor planning.
There you have it - my take on the fuel mileage kerfuffle.
What’s yours and the reasoning behind it?
Senior User
Joined: Apr 2015
Posts: 402
Likes: 26
From: Anywhere USA
I don't really put too much thought into any of it. When towing the fiver I try to see what type of mileage I'm getting more out of curiosity and the need to preplan where/when I might need to fuel up again. When driving daily I don't even notice my mpg and fill up as needed wherever it's cheapest. GasBuddy is my friend.
Tuned
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 449
Likes: 40
I guess it also depends on how you are looking at the number, if you are looking at the accuracy of the MPG shown and/or calculated or the percentages. One MPG difference can be significant or insignificant depending how you look at it. 10 mpg to 11 mpg is a 10% change, 5 to 6 is 20%, at 30 to 31 it's 3.3%.
I like to tell people I average high 20's to low 30's when I am asked when they see me filling up. The look on their faces makes my day. I try to skew the number based on what they are driving, the 20 - 30 is good for prius drivers. People who drive larger, suv's and pickups, then i go with a honest answer.
I like to tell people I average high 20's to low 30's when I am asked when they see me filling up. The look on their faces makes my day. I try to skew the number based on what they are driving, the 20 - 30 is good for prius drivers. People who drive larger, suv's and pickups, then i go with a honest answer.
Senior User
Joined: May 2018
Posts: 430
Likes: 2
From: Texas, near San Antonio
I like to tell people I average high 20's to low 30's when I am asked when they see me filling up. The look on their faces makes my day. I try to skew the number based on what they are driving, the 20 - 30 is good for prius drivers. People who drive larger, suv's and pickups, then i go with a honest answer.
Elder User
Joined: Jun 2017
Posts: 685
Likes: 4
I've hand calculated once or twice to verify the trucks fuel economy meter and they're so close that it's not worth hand calculating. The computer knows how much fuel is being fed to the motor at any given time. If tenths of one hundredth fuel economy would bother me I sure as **** wouldn't be driving a super duty, even more so towing heavy loads with it. BTW with mixed driving, more city than highway, my truck averages 14.5 mpg which includes towing 14k plus loads here and there. Not bad for a 9000 LB sled. Am I concerned about mileage, yes in a way, as this is one important indicator to the health of the motor.
Tuned
Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 400
Likes: 25
From: Queen Creek
I like to keep an eye on mileage but really don't hand calculate it. It give me a better feel for how the truck is performing over time. It mileage suddenly drops, could be a sign of other issues. It also helps me to plan my stops when traveling. Aside form that, MPG had zero impact on my purchase.....I knew it would be low but, I only use it to tow and run errands around town. 6 Months old now and i have a whopping 1700 miles on it. Not my daily driver.
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Logistics Pro
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 4,795
Likes: 47
I like to reset my dte computer and see the new numbers while I’m coasting down a hill....makes me feel good for awhile
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Postmaster
Joined: Jan 2019
Posts: 3,422
Likes: 20
I hand calculated mine after 3 different 1100 mile trips. The trips were solo trips so I only had to stop for fuel. I filled up before I left and filled up when I got back. Once in between. The hand calculated MPG was within 1% of what the truck said. DTE is what I don’t believe. Supposed to have a 34g tank and I’ve only been able to put in 28g. That DTE doesn’t matter for fuel mileage calculation. Plus, you should never run your tank down to below 6g.
My wife makes fun of me because I’m that “old man” now that likes to track my mpg. Lol
Im using MPG even though I am Canadian and we use Litres per 100km. Lower the better for us. I usually average 13.5L/100km on the highway over greater distance. That would be about 17.5mpg at an average speed of 65mph. (I drive 75mph but the average drops over the course of 1100 miles due to slowing down through cities/towns/construction etc)
My wife makes fun of me because I’m that “old man” now that likes to track my mpg. Lol
Im using MPG even though I am Canadian and we use Litres per 100km. Lower the better for us. I usually average 13.5L/100km on the highway over greater distance. That would be about 17.5mpg at an average speed of 65mph. (I drive 75mph but the average drops over the course of 1100 miles due to slowing down through cities/towns/construction etc)
Postmaster
Joined: Jan 2019
Posts: 3,422
Likes: 20
This truck is a pig. I fill up everyday. I work for the government and the government pays the fuel bill. I told them I needed a car but they insisted on this $90,000 truck.
Hotshot
Joined: Oct 2015
Posts: 19,718
Likes: 12,858
From: Wyoming
I like to tell people I average high 20's to low 30's when I am asked when they see me filling up. The look on their faces makes my day. I try to skew the number based on what they are driving, the 20 - 30 is good for prius drivers. People who drive larger, suv's and pickups, then i go with a honest answer.
I like it.
Elder User
Joined: Jun 2017
Posts: 685
Likes: 4
any car that makes a comment about fuel at the pumps, this is my answer. (I am Canadian and I hate Justin Trudeau)
This truck is a pig. I fill up everyday. I work for the government and the government pays the fuel bill. I told them I needed a car but they insisted on this $90,000 truck.
This truck is a pig. I fill up everyday. I work for the government and the government pays the fuel bill. I told them I needed a car but they insisted on this $90,000 truck.
More Turbo
Joined: Mar 2018
Posts: 737
Likes: 13
My biggest concern isn't MPG, it's DTE, especially when I'm towing the fiver. I wouldn't be as concerned if I had a diesel, but with the gasser, being able to get in and out of a gas station with the fiver is always something that takes pre-planning. I pretty much rely on the truck's readout for DTE. Even if it's a bit off, it tends to be off to the safer side, and hasn't told me that I can go further than I actually can, so I trust it for that. I do use Fuelly for tracking my MPG though. Not to cross check with hand calculating, but more for monitoring trends. I like to be able to look back and see if my mpg is failing over time as an indication when the engine isn't performing as well.
Senior User
Joined: Apr 2015
Posts: 402
Likes: 26
From: Anywhere USA
My biggest concern isn't MPG, it's DTE, especially when I'm towing the fiver. I wouldn't be as concerned if I had a diesel, but with the gasser, being able to get in and out of a gas station with the fiver is always something that takes pre-planning. I pretty much rely on the truck's readout for DTE. Even if it's a bit off, it tends to be off to the safer side, and hasn't told me that I can go further than I actually can, so I trust it for that. I do use Fuelly for tracking my MPG though. Not to cross check with hand calculating, but more for monitoring trends. I like to be able to look back and see if my mpg is failing over time as an indication when the engine isn't performing as well.
