The gauge is not incredibly accurate. Learn to calculate gas mileage, is not difficult.

http://www.mistupid.com/automotive/mpg.htm

 

^^^ great link! [thumb]

 

for some reason i obsesed with mpq...
i reset my odo every time i fill the tank and track the mpg my car is giving me...

 

Nothing wrong with that PIO, I actually never really checked mine but I know it's consistant. I get a good week of travel and my work week is very consistant.

Not bad, I should check and see sometime but I got another odometer obsession, I reset it exactly at 1000 kms so that the top number matches and turns exactly at the same time as the bottom one. Yes I know it's a problem, at least I admit it...lol

 

I always change my odo after each fill up. This helps b/c that way I know when it is about time to get my oil changed, b/c I'll get 30mpg then when it's time for an oil change I'll be getting something like 26-27 mpg.

 

Well the range is not super long on the Focus. About 220 miles if you are town driving. Also look at it this way... Its probably in the top 80% for getting the best gas miallage for cars. What I think though is it is your driving habits. Drive nice and you will make that gas miallage go a lot farther... Before I got cams for my ZX3 I was getting 35mpg on the freeway. So there is something to live for. HAHA

 

I always change my odo after each fill up. This helps b/c that way I know when it is about time to get my oil changed, b/c I'll get 30mpg then when it's time for an oil change I'll be getting something like 26-27 mpg.

Something is very wrong here. Fuel economy should not drop, at ALL, as you approach the time for an oil change. Unless you are leaving the oil in there for a ridiculously long time.

Dropping from 30mpg to 27mpg is 10% and you are suggesting that this is happening due to dirty oil. Stated another way, a 10% drop in fuel economy caused solely by increased engine friction. If that's really true, your motor is well on its way to the junkyard already.

 

I should also mention that I have the car warm up in the winter so my mpg is not going to be the same, and also my driving should be taken into account for the lower mpg. And for your information I go maybe 200-300 miles and about a month at most past due for an oil change. Also how many miles are on your car? Cause I have an 01 with just over 66,000 miles on it.

 

I should also mention that I have the car warm up in the winter so my mpg is not going to be the same, and also my driving should be taken into account for the lower mpg. And for your information I go maybe 200-300 miles and about a month at most past due for an oil change. Also how many miles are on your car? Cause I have an 01 with just over 66,000 miles on it.

My car is an '03 PZEV with 21K miles. My overall average fuel economy (recorded every time I fill up, religiously) is 28.14 mpg. Of course I see variation from that, which is always explained by either a change in driving habits (long trips, it goes up) or by change in temperature. Cars, in general, get worse mileage in the cold. I change my oil right on the 5000 mi interval per the owner's manual, within a couple hundred miles. I cannot detect even the slightest drop in fuel economy as I approach the 5K mark.

 

I get 30+ all the time. 70% highway, 30% street driving.

When I fill up, I also reset the trip odometer.

Usually, after about a 100 miles, the fuel indicator is at 3/4 full, then at 200 miles, about 1/2 a tank and at about 300, a little below or at 1/4 tank.

 

I should also mention that I drive about 80% city driving. So for me getting 28-30 mpg is pretty good. If I would put on some double plat's spark plugs and better plug wires would that increase my mpg?

 

i'm kinda obsessed with kpg too (go canada lol)

for some reason i find it off that im "only" getting 500k off a full tank.. my buddy's mazda6 he says gets 700!!!

 

I should also mention that I drive about 80% city driving. So for me getting 28-30 mpg is pretty good. If I would put on some double plat's spark plugs and better plug wires would that increase my mpg?

My two cents:

$.01) If your car is presently running like crap and it's because your plugs are past their useful life, then hell yeah, you'll see better mpg if you replace them. But if there's nothing wrong with the existing setup, you'd need to calculate your MPG to the second decimal place to see any improvement simply because you went to the double plat's. Stick with Motorcraft or Autolite in any event.

$.02) "Better" plug wires, generally, are better because they have a lot thicker insulation which means they are capable of containing higher voltages, which you probably don't need. It also means they last longer, which is nice. They don't conduct electricity all that much better, at least not enough to detect.

 

The best I have ever got was 360 miles on a tank of gas. Now I on average get around 275 to around 300 miles to a tank (depending on my driving and time of year for the differences in gas milage) Would synthetic oil help increase the mileage of the car?

My ma's '03 Focus has gotten an amazing 415 miles on 11.7 gallons (35 mpg) this was 95% highway mileage. She can easily pop out over 300 miles to a tank on a regular basis.

 

I commute to college and I get about 24-30 mpg. The fluctuation in my average comes from my driving conditions.

A fast way to get fuel economy is: miles traveled / gallons used for traveled miles

Averaging fuel economy can be somewhat tedious because if the range of mpgs does not show consistency, your average may seem obscure. I think a better way to determine economy is to use the mode of the range of mpgs. The EPA says 31 highway. This cannot be right as an average. Granted, a focus can do this and probably better. However, 31 mpg highway does not seem consistent. Consumer guide placed 24-26 as an average, this seems more realistic. Ranging in the 30’s is possible, but there are so many variables involved, ie. depending on where and how you drive, you may rarely see this number or you may see it often...

 

The best I have ever got was 360 miles on a tank of gas. Now I on average get around 275 to around 300 miles to a tank (depending on my driving and time of year for the differences in gas milage) Would synthetic oil help increase the mileage of the car?

blueoval, are you trying to get back to that 360 miles per tank? My advice is to carefully consider what was going on when you got that mileage. Were you taking it easy because the car was new, or, new-to-you? Was it under driving conditions that are abnormal to you, such as a long highway trip? What was the weather like? Were you driving at a higher altitude? (believe it or not, cars tend to get better MPG at higher altitude... that's a long story)

Synthetic may get you a small increase in fuel economy but I doubt it would be enough to notice.

My ma's '03 Focus has gotten an amazing 415 miles on 11.7 gallons (35 mpg) this was 95% highway mileage. She can easily pop out over 300 miles to a tank on a regular basis.

So is it safe to say your Ma drives a bit lighter on the gas pedal than you? I hope you realize that is the biggest difference of all - driver habit.

 

I get somewhere around 220 mpg and I usually fill it up at around an 8th of a tank. I'm not too easy on the gas pedal, either, so it could be a whole lot better.

 

I get somewhere around 220 mpg and I usually fill it up at around an 8th of a tank. I'm not too easy on the gas pedal, either, so it could be a whole lot better.

That's pretty freakin' amazing. I get 28mpg myself.

 

Well the range is not super long on the Focus. About 220 miles if you are town driving.

Wow, that low for a regular non-SVT Focus? I get about 220 and am still just barely above E in my SVT, and I'm not easy on the revs. I would have thought a non-SVT Focus would do much better around town!

 

My 05 ZX4 ST has about 5000 miles on it (in 2 months) and it gets 31-32 highway but when I beat it up it gets around 20 mpg!!! The thing is hard to drive under 70 mph. Easy driving I'm getting around 340 miles per tank. The fuel gauge is whacked - it goes from full to 3/4 after
25 miles. Use the tripmeter.

 

EPA estimates are usually BS.

Driving at 55 vs. 60 mph highway will make a huge difference. Tire pressure makes a big difference, manual tranny makes a big difference, oil will not make any noticable difference.

Front skirts and lowering the car also increase highway mileage. Alot of under-car drag is caused by the Focus' excessive height.

 

I get about 400kms per tank! work out to be around 30mpg! it get this kind of mpg until the winter comes~

 

I usually get around 30 mpg or more from my car and i have a ATX. 50/50 city/hwy. my gas milage went up after the new coil and wires, went up when i put on my intake/exhaust, and went up again when i switched to synthetic oil.