20MPG at 60MPH in an 80? (2 Viewers)

[JCruse]

To those of you with the Ultragauge, how accurate are they on MPG?

I drive nearly every day lately on a long straight and level highway - a good ten miles with no hills and no turns - and my UG is telling me I'm getting 19-20 MPG at 60MPH. Today it was reading right around 22.5 at 50. And most of the time I've had the AC on! Can an 80 get 19 to 22 miles per gallon??

 

[Stevesnj]

Did you calibrate it for MPG? It will read incorrect until you tell it what to look for as our ECM's don't relay that to it. It has to be calibrated manually per the included instructions.

 

[JCruse]

Well I started reading the manual when I got the thing but it's all just gibberish to me.

The 9141 and KWP2000 protocols are very in
efficient. The more engine specific gaug
es displayed on a page, the slower the
page will update. This can be witnessed by watching the health indicator beat rate. For all other protocols, the health indic
ator
beats about once each second.
With 9141 and
KWP 2000 the update rate can be
as long as 2.2 seconds.
With this setting, the update rate for some 9141/KWP vehicles may be improved. By default the value of this setting is 100,
which corresponds to the most compatible setting. As this va
lue is reduced KWP/9141 performan
ce and the display refresh rate
increase. Some vehicles function without issue with a setting
of 1, while others require the slowest setting of 100

I'm from way before consumer computers. I don't know a protocol from a waterfall.



.

 

[Corbet]

Can an 80 get 19 to 22 miles per gallon??

Only with say a 60 MPH tailwind. You need to calibrate.

 

[JCruse]

How do you calibrate?

 

[cruiserruf]

i get 35 MPG.....calibrated

 

[BrotherRob]

Only downhill with a 60 MPH tailwind. You need to calibrate.

Fixed.

Seriously, I've hit ~18 on long, flat highway stretches. I've heard a few claim as high as 20 in similar situations. 20 is doubtful but plausible, 22 is inconceivable.

 

[NLXTACY]

Fixed.

Seriously, I've hit ~18 on long, flat highway stretches. I've heard a few claim as high as 20 in similar situations. 20 is doubtful but plausible, 22 is inconceivable.

I'm calling Shenanigans.

260 miles on a full tank if its Frwy miles. Most ever, when I purposely ran out of gas, was 310 miles. We have a 26 gallon tank. The math doesn't add up.

AND it's a rebuilt motor with 33s. My 60, with also a rebuilt motor, gets ~220 miles per tank but I've got 35's.

 

[BrotherRob]

I'm calling Shenanigans.

260 miles on a full tank if its Frwy miles. Most ever, when I purposely ran out of gas, was 310 miles. We have a 26 gallon tank. The math doesn't add up.

AND it's a rebuilt motor with 33s. My 60, with also a rebuilt motor, gets ~220 miles per tank but I've got 35's.

IIRC, the EPA rating is 16 hwy. For some reason mine's always done slightly better. Under the right conditions, 18 is possible.

Yours prolly sucks because of all the electronic s*** you have packed in there.

 

[NLXTACY]

IIRC, the EPA rating is 16 hwy. For some reason mine's always done slightly better. Under the right conditions, 18 is possible.

Yours prolly sucks because of all the electronic s*** you have packed in there.

That would be 416 miles per the EPA specs back in 97. But at 20mpg that would mean you would be pulling 520 miles out of a single tank and it NOT being diesel. There is no way for either numbers to be accurate...and I drive like a grandma.

I've had my 97 since brand new, always averaged between 220 and 260 miles per tank. It never hit 300 miles until I wanted to see how far I could get on absolute empty.

And what electronics s***?

 

[BrotherRob]

That would be 416 miles per the EPA specs back in 97. But at 20mpg that would mean you would be pulling 520 miles out of a single tank and it NOT being diesel. There is no way for either numbers to be accurate...and I drive like a grandma.

I've had my 97 since brand new, always averaged between 220 and 260 miles per tank. It never hit 300 miles until I wanted to see how far I could get on absolute empty.

And what electronics s***?

I've gone over 300 a few times, and I typically fill up before the light comes on, so rarely put more than 20 gallons in. Are you adjusting your mileage for the tires?

 

[IronCladLou]

One lone data point from the wilderness: I just bought a totally stock LX450 a couple of weeks ago and filled it up right after I bought it (used car places seem to have all of their vehicles running on fumes). Anyway, I had to fill it up yesterday after about 90% city/10% highway miles and I got 269 miles out of the tank and it took right at 18 gallons to fill it up (the light wasn't on yet, but I'm trying to get a feel for exactly how much fuel is left when it drops below 1/4 tank).

Anyway, I have to admit that I was pleasantly surprised at almost 15 mpg.

 

[jeffro109]

Most I have ever gotten is 19.xx MPG, easy highway driving up to about 65 MPH. That was basically stock with an ARB front bumper added on rolling on some old and hardened BFG AT tires (33" size).

With more goodies added on and Duratrac tires (still 33" size) I can get up to 17 MPG, around 14.5 MPG combined town/highway typically.


Edit to add---my tire correction using my GPS is 5% (my speedo reads 5% low, my odometer too), so I take my trip meter times 1.05 and divide by the gallons at fill up.

 

[bonze]

Running premium with Lucas gas treatment every 3rd fill up and I'm getting 17.5 average. Now my O2 sensors have coded and most likely the rig is running on "safe" mode.

 

[Gun Runner 5]

I have always averaged ~12.5 mpg (city) and ~ 15.5 (highway) and I drive at speeds my grandmother would have considered conservative.

 

[taccruiser97]

I have hit 20mpg with my 97, utilizing the tailwind and pretty much coasting, coming down out of the mountains. Otherwise, pretty much 14-15 mpg no matter what.

 

[thatcabledude]

I've had my 97 since brand new, always averaged between 220 and 260 miles per tank. It never hit 300 miles until I wanted to see how far I could get on absolute empty.

And what electronics ****? ************

That sucks. I'm usually right at 300 when light comes on. The light comes on with approximately 5 gallons left in the tank. On a recent HWY trip running 70 mph I got to 310 miles when the light came on. So easily over 300 on an entire tank. Not to many big hills here though.

That said, I don't play the "MPG" game with my 80 because it is pointless..... I'm going to drive it regardless.

 

[John E Davies]

Well I started reading the manual when I got the thing but it's all just gibberish to me.

I dunno - it is pretty straight forward and I have had no issues. I use a gps to measure the miles rather than mileposts, and I drive five or more miles. If you haven't done any of this stuff, you are driving in Fantasy Land.

Calibrate Distance

MENUVehicle Setup ..Calibration..Calibrate Distance

Use this menu item to calibrate all Distance Gauges. This calibration also directly affects the accuracy of all Speed, MPG and DTE gauges. This calibration is especially necessary for vehicles which no longer have the stock wheels, tire sizes, transmission, or rear-end differential.. This calibration will also compensate for inaccuracies in stock speed sensor and the vehicle’s distance measurement system. Perform this Calibration prior to all other calibrations.

To perform the distance calibration follow this procedure:

Align front tire with first mile marker

Reset the trip gauges: MENUGauge MenuZero All Trip

Travel to the next mile marker, aligning the front tire to the mile marker Select: MenuVehicle SetupCalibrationCalibrate Distance. Change the value shown to 1.00 miles*, using the UP and DOWN keys

Press Menu to save and set the calibration

Once saved, the calibration factor will be displayed at the bottom of the display.

Many roads will have mile markers, but avoid roads that are not straight. Generally more markers will improve accuracy. The greater your speed between mile markers the better the accuracy of the distance calibration

*If you chose to travel several mile markers, then enter in the number of miles actually driven, for example, 3.00 miles.

NOTE: Unplugging UltraGauge after calibration will not cause loss of calibration.

NOTE: Using the vehicle’s odometer to perform this calibration is pointless since the odometer and UltraGauge receive distance information from the same source.

Calibrate MPG/Fuel

MENUVehicle Setup ..Calibration..Calibrate MPG/Fuel

This calibration is used to fine-tune UltraGauge to accurately measure fuel usage. This calibration is critical, especially for vehicles which use a MAP sensor, diesels and alternative fuels.

 For vehicles that use a MAP sensor*, see the menu section on Adaptive Volumetric Efficiency before proceeding.

 Prior to this calibration, consider performing the distance calibration. See the section: Calibrate Distance The gauges that depend on fuel usage will not be accurate until this calibration is complete. To perform calibration, please follow these steps.

1. Fill up the fuel tank. Once filled, press and hold the UP key to cause UltraGauge to recognize the fill-up

2. Zero the Average MPG. MENUGaugesZero Ave MPG, G/H.

3. At the next fuel fill-up, note the number of gallons used (pumped). Select MENUVehicle Setup..Calibration..
Calibrate MPG/Fuel and enter the fuel used. Press MENU when complete to set and save the calibration. Use the same Gas station and pump for best results. Alternatively, record and add the actually gallons used over several fill-ups to improve accuracy.

4. The Calibration factor will be displayed at the bottom of the screen. Congratulations, you have successfully calibrated UltraGauge to your vehicle.

Make note of the calibration factor. If you should ever need to clear your configuration, the calibration factor can be used directly to set the calibration. Simply jump to step #5 and increase or decrease the reported gallons until the calibration factor matches.

 

[Funner]

I'm calling Shenanigans.

260 miles on a full tank if its Frwy miles. Most ever, when I purposely ran out of gas, was 310 miles. We have a 26 gallon tank. The math doesn't add up.

AND it's a rebuilt motor with 33s. My 60, with also a rebuilt motor, gets ~220 miles per tank but I've got 35's.

I think this is a result of that special California gasoline that burns cleaner but is less efficient .
On a side note, it's less efficient so more gallons of fuel are used and therefore pollution levels don't change, but more gallons sold = more tax revenue. But hey, it's California and it doesn't have to pass a logical test as long as it said to be environmentally friendly.

 

[Corbet]

No way anyone is seeing 20 or more regularly with any mods.

I got 18 HWY when mine was BONE stock and kept it under 70

That dropped to 16 with 33's. then 14.5 with a lift. And finally 13 with 35s and an empty vehicle weight around 6500lbs. Today 10 pulling the camper with the family. At least gas is cheap in Taos.

Typed poorly from my iPhone using IH8MUD