I have a '93plymouth sundance 4banger. 4door. To me, it gets really crappy fuel mileage for what it is. I had its sister, the '93 2door dodge shadow with the same engine. It got between 320-350miles per a 12-13gal tank of gas. Im lucky to get 250miles on a full tank of gas with this clunker of a sundance. I run a paper route that runs about 77miles per day. I hane to fill up every two days compared to filling up the shadow every 4-5days. Tell me whats wrong this picture. Should i set fire to this clunker and try to collect the insurance or is there something i can do to correct this rice-burner. Maybe i should be using rice rather than gas! One thing for sure, it’s burning my wallet!
First, the way you’re determining mileage is impossible to use with any accuracy.
Second, if you’re using this car to drive a 77 mile per day paper route you cannot expect to get more than rotten mileage. Constant stop and go for long distances is the absolute worst scenerio for mileage.
Under your operating conditions mileage will vary wildly between vehicles depending on variations in the engine and drivetrain setups. The fact that it’s an old vehicle makes it even worse.
All you can do is make sure the car is tuned up and running properly and the tires are properly inflated and aligned. Once that’s been determined, then whatever you get on your paper route is what you get. There’s not much more you can do.
When was the last oil change, spark plug and wire change, air filter, fuel filter… ?
How does it drive? How many miles on it? What is the repair history?
How about doing a real mileage check. Days per tank is not a very meaningful number You need miles per gallon.
mtnbike pretty much has it nailed down.
I’d only add to also check your thermostat and coolant temp sensor to make sure they work within specs.
Then - stop guessing about mpg according to something vague about miles per tank. Fill the tank - drive the car - fill the tank and divide miles driven by gallons used. Do that for a few tanks on your paper route. Then fill it up and take a really really long drive on the highway at constant speed and look again. Compare.