what is the best way.to figure out,the gas mileages on a car,if you don’t have a manual.
Whether someone has an Owner’s Manual or not, the only way to determine gas mileage accurately is to fill the gas tank, note the number of miles that were driven since the previous fill-up, and divide that mileage figure by the number of gallons purchased. That will provide the mpg achieved on the previous tank of gas.
If you reset your trip odometer each time that you pull into a gas station, it makes the process a bit easier. For a really good idea of a vehicle’s gas mileage, it is a good idea to average the results achieved from three fill-ups. I use my mpg figure as a basic diagnostic tool. Since my typical driving patterns do not change from week to week, my mileage tends to be very consistent. If I suddenly see a drop in mpg (and if I wasn’t stuck in a traffic jam on that tank of gas), I know that something is amiss and I can look further for the possible cause.
Incidentally, Owner’s Manuals can be ordered for virtually any car, and the majority of the information contained in those manuals is ultimately a lot more important than how to figure out one’s gas mileage. If you don’t have a manual, order one!
All of the above is sound advice. If it is still not clear to you, see a step-by-step example over here:
I can only emphasize that a single fill-up will not give you an accurate figure for your mpg. You should really start your calculations from your record-keeping (essential) of at least five fill-ups. It is an excellent idea to keep a log book, entering the data each time you buy gas.
I’m curious. If you had an owner’s manual, how would you measure your gas mileage then?
Maybe our new friend thinks that someone put out a manual that tells you how to figure out gas mileage. If that’s the case, bedrock, I’m not aware of one. Here’s a web site that might serve as your manual:
https://www.fueleconomy.gov/mpg/MPG.do?action=calcMPG
It’s just what VDCDriver told you to do, and you can refer back to it if you bookmark it. If I’m correct, don’t sweat your lack of knowledge. Everyone should learn sometime.
I was wondering the same thing. What does an owners manual have to do with Gas Mileage?
It’s important not to try to top up the tank completely; when the nozzle shuts off, don’t try to get more in. If you practice this at every fillup and tank at the same pump, you will get accurate mileage. But it is important to average several fillups, since your driving pattern will vary.
GO BACK TO SCHOOL or use your Cadillac computer read-outs on older Cadillac?s!
Or, Count the time between fuel pump pulses, if you know how fast you?re going, and how much fuel is delivered with every pulse of the fuel pump, in Real Time.
Or, if you know how to add, subtract, and divide, keep track of how much fuel you add to fill the tank and compare it to the miles you traveled between ?fill-ups?. Your odometer might help you determine the miles you traveled, since you filled-up last, if you keep accurate records, unless it reads only kilometers. Then, you might have to ask a German friend to do the math for you.
But, be sure you insert your gasoline from a known, accurate, measured container. Since, most Gasoline Pumps are known to give you too much fuel, if they run very slow, or may give you too little fuel for your money, if they run at top speed!
And, when the average person finds this out, the fuel lines may get longer, until oil companies reduce prices, hire pump attendants, or sell their Gasoline in measured containers!
The ERROR in all Flow Meters is called “slippage”.
So, ask any Gas Station owner about his monthly “slippage” problem.
It could be 10% to 25%. And, some government checkers may demand or expect bribes.
Or, would he like a better gas pump invention that only has 3 speeds and has less slippage?
In Oregon, it is illegal to pump your own gasoline for Safety (or for Profit) Reasons.
So, will California and other states supply attendants at $5 per gallon, where each gallon might be “too much” by as much as 25%?
Gas pumps are regularly checked for accuracy and the stations can be fined if the pumps are tampered with. I highly doubt this is true.
And what does “free gas” have to do with calculating gas mileage anyway?
GO BACK TO SCHOOL or use your computer!
Using a computer is a lot more complicated then figuring out gas mileage.
Gas pumps are regularly checked for accuracy and the stations can be fined if the pumps are tampered with.
While that is true, there is an allowable margin of error. Also, those inspections don’t demand the pumps shut off consistently when your tank is full. If one pump shuts off earlier than another when the car’s tank is full, you will have inconsistent measurement of fuel economy. If one pump does a better job of capturing gasoline fumes than another, you will get inconsistent measurements. The trick to accurate calculations is the elimination of variables that could affect the calculations. State testing of fuel pumps may keep you from getting ripped off, but it doesn’t ensure the elimination of variables so you can accurately measure fuel economy.
The ERROR in all Flow Meters is called “slippage”.
Ask any Gas Station owner about his monthly “slippage” problem.
Is it 10%? or 25%? And, does his government checkers demand or expect bribes?
Or, would he like a better gas pump invention that only has 3 speeds and has less slippage?
In Oregon, it is illegal to pump your own gasoline. (For Safety or Profit Reasons?)
So, will California and other states supply attendants at $5 per gallon, where each gallon might be “too much” by as much as 25%? (For Safety or Profit Reasons?)
Jeremy, I know there’s a margin of error in these inspections, and I wasn’t implying that all pumps can be measured against each other for calculating gas mileage. I’m well aware that the shutoff points may vary. My point is that I’m pretty sure the state is not fudging the test results to allow gas stations to get away with pumping less gas for the same price. I don’t believe that the government is as corrupt as Windyfuel seems to think it is. And I really don’t think there’s some secret conspiracy to rip off the people pumping gas quickly.
I did a Google search on what Windyfuel claimed, and I didn’t find much. People seem to think you get less gas if you pump quickly because it creates more vapors that are recovered by the gas station’s recovery system (theoretically losing gas you paid for), but I really doubt a noticeable amount of fuel is being lost compared to the vapors already recovered by pumping slowly. I’m positive you’d save more money on gas by driving more slowly than you would by pumping gas slowly.
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