My average is 11.3 mpg in town, always (1 Viewer)

[Spike555]

Depending on location most cities have bulk storage depots. Sometimes they are owned by the big refiners like shell etc. Sometimes they are operated by larger conglomerates you likely have not heard of. The fuel comes to the depot by pipeline , ship, truck depending on volume and location. The depot is also where the fuel trucks come in to load. Depots can serve several customers like Chevron, BP, shell etc. When truck hauling a Chevron load comes in and hooks up to load the additive is directly injected into the fuel while loading by computer system. The next truck could load a completely different customer next with a different additive package injected. They may all use the same base stock fuel. Some companies lease tank space and bring in their own product but that is pretty rare. Most bulk stock comes in on pipeline so having a unique fuel is almost impossible.

There are fewer and fewer refineries so unique base stocks is really not an option. We see a bunch of marketing hype making us think we are getting a unique product. I do agree that all addative packages are different to some extent and some are better.

Here in Michigan Marathon Petroleum has their own refinery and distrutbution center, trucks, etc. They use STP additives. They only cover MI and the surrounding area, so I think getting fuel from them it is going to be theirs and theirs alone.
But I get what you are saying and I think you are correct. Octane, cleaners, etc. are added to the truck and any extra left in the truck after deliveries is sold at a discount to the no name discount who knows what you're getting gas stations.
I have heard of gas stations loosing their franchise because they had gotten a fuel delivery of the wrong brand.

I know with motor oil the base stock is all the same (except for true full synthetics) and the additive package is what makes the oil's different.

 

[JayM]

so which gas is better? Costco or BP? didn't mean to open

I would just track your mileage on costco then the BP. If you mileage is the same then it is very possible that costco is getting supplied from BP as they have held the contract for costco in my area before. Run a tank of Chevron or Shell for a control base line as well. From my experience Chevron and Shell have unique detergent packages that work very well. BP I have no clue. I would drive by BP and Costco simply becuase if have seen quite a bit of other peoples data on mileage being reduced running Costco fuel. I followed one guys data and he averaged 4 mpg less on Costco. Now, in fairness different vehicles may be more sensitive to the fuel type and different location etc. Be your own judge and post up the result here it would be interesting.

 

[benc]

I have to respectfully disagree with you on this one.
There are many more factors involved here. A perfectly aligned vehicle with proper tire pressure is going to wear uneven on the steering tires. Every time you turn your wheels your geometry is changed, every time your suspension cycles geometry is changed, this is what causes uneven wear. Improper alignment or tire pressure will make things much worse but rotations are necessary either way, especially on a lifted 6000lb ifs vehicle.

The whole tire rotation thing was because of bias ply tires, they did not wear evenly. Quality was not very good and tire life span was extremely short.

With modern radial tires quality is top notch and as long as your tire's are properly inflated and your alignment and suspension components are good all four tires will wear evenly.
I am NOT saying you should not inspect your tires for uneven wear, you should. This tells you if something is wrong with your car.

But taking a perfectly good set of tires and moving them to different positions does nothing other than make you sit in a waiting room as the tire store tries to sell you stuff. It is all about the upsell. Once the tires have been bought and you leave the tire STORE you are no longer a source of revenue for the tire STORE.
Including your spare tire in the rotation? Now you need to buy 5 tires instead of 4. Remember, stores need to sell things to make money.
Rotate your tires yourself? Cool, no sitting in a waiting room with bad coffee and snotty kids that aren't yours. Wouldn't you rather be watching Netflix? Spending time with your family? Napping? Hunting? Fishing?
"Only takes an hour..." my time is better well spend doing other things.

On front wheel drive cars, the rear tires will last twice as long as the fronts. Why? Because the rear tires only hold up the back of the car and provide some braking.

Do you think they rotate tires on semi's? Trucks that drive 100k/yr and tires are $500+ each would want to get maximum life out of those tires right? They do not rotate them. Why? Because tire rotations are not needed.

What causes tire wear? Stopping, starting and turning. Don't do jack rabbits starts at every stop. Don't wait until the last minute to stop. Don't fly around curves on two wheels. You'll save gas, your tires and brakes will last longer too.

Everyone can do whatever they want. This is what I do and have always done.

 

[jwbc84]

I'm with you on this one too Ben but we are really deviating from the OPs question on mpg!

I have to respectfully disagree with you on this one.
There are many more factors involved here. A perfectly aligned vehicle with proper tire pressure is going to wear uneven on the steering tires. Every time you turn your wheels your geometry is changed, every time your suspension cycles geometry is changed, this is what causes uneven wear. Improper alignment or tire pressure will make things much worse but rotations are necessary either way, especially on a lifted 6000lb ifs vehicle.

 

[SouthJerseyJim]

More infinite wisdom from Spike lol.....Next we will find out from him we dont need to change oil..total waste of time.

 

[jlm43]

For reference, I have a stock 2005 with Goodyear Trailrunner AT tires. I was averaging 16.5 mpg with an 8 mile commute with one blinking light travelling around 45 mph for 7 miles of it. I have since moved and now I am averaging around 15.5 mpg. The commute is still 8 miles or so but now I'm travelling around 35 mph, going through 2 stop lights, and dealing with a bit more traffic. I was surprised to see the 1 mpg hit. 11ish mpg is REALLY low but if you're getting 16+ on the super slab, you may not be too far off.

As for the tire debate, Ben is spot on. With this mentality, why not just rotate the tires and get 90k out of all of them? And technically speaking, our 100's are not AWD, they are full time 4wd so it's nearly impossible to know which tires are doing the work. I don't disagree with Spike in an ideal world, but there are way too many variables contributing to tire wear that having them all wear evenly over the course of 50k is impossible for me. If I was doing 98% of my miles going straight on the freeway with no traffic to slow down for, then sure, it could happen.

My distinction with FWD cars is that the front tires do all of the work, they wear when you accelerate and they wear when you stop. The rear tires hold up the back of the car so they free wheel and do little actual work, much like a trailer tire. Therefore they last twice as long as the fronts. So you get 60k out of the fronts and 120k out of the rear tires on a FWD car.

 

[shoboat90]

I've been wondering about my mpg since I got the vehicle in March however didn't want to post anything since most, if not all, would agree that we don't buy these for good mpg. That said, based on what I'm reading in this thread..mine seems to be 'off'
2001 LC with 106,000 miles bone stock with exception of SCS F5 wheels (lighter than stock wheels) and 265/75/16 Falken WildPeak AT SL rated. My last tank, all around town...4miles to work, kids to school, sports, etc......10.3mpg. Tank prior had about 100miles of freeway driving, got 11.3mpg out of that one. Cleaned MAF, no difference. Haven't done plugs, will do and hope that helps. Thoughts? Thanks in advance.

 

[Couvi]

How many miles are you getting out of a tank? You’re right, these trucks aren’t known for fuel economy, but I usually get at least 300/330 miles per tank averaging around 14/15 mpg with mixed driving.

 

[shoboat90]

The most I’ve ever got is around 250. Total mileage out of a tank isn’t indicative of mileage though, right? I just always reset my trip meter and then just do the math when I fill up.

 

[Couvi]

Right, but I use it as a ballpark figure.

 

[CloudCity]

I'm with you on this one too Ben but we are really deviating from the OPs question on mpg!

I don't mind one bit, these side topics are rather interesting!

 

[Spike555]

For all of you haters out there...

BMW says to not rotate my tires, but the tire manufacturere says different. Who should I believe?

 

[J1000]

For all of you haters out there...

BMW says to not rotate my tires, but the tire manufacturere says different. Who should I believe?

But thats a RWD car with 50/50 weight distribution, not a front heavy AWD.

 

[planomateo]

For all of you haters out there...

BMW says to not rotate my tires, but the tire manufacturere says different. Who should I believe?

Who pays for tire rotation...

 

[fooldall1]

I figured out pretty quick (Even owned a Sequoia before this) that the MPG SUCKS. But that's not why I drive it, I just know regardless of MPG I'll probably get there in this safely.

That said, because the MPG sucks regardless, I use 87 in town with a good UCL product (Lucas) every 1k miles or so. That saves as much as I can. It would be great to get more than 13-16MPG, but it'll never happen. On long trips or, if driving at elevation, I will use the high Octane fuel.

The other thing would be using highway radials, like the old trusty Michelin LT/S, and you might eek out one more MPG.

 

[CloudCity]

I figured out pretty quick (Even owned a Sequoia before this) that the MPG SUCKS. But that's not why I drive it, I just know regardless of MPG I'll probably get there in this safely.

That said, because the MPG sucks regardless, I use 87 in town with a good UCL product (Lucas) every 1k miles or so. That saves as much as I can. It would be great to get more than 13-16MPG, but it'll never happen. On long trips or, if driving at elevation, I will use the high Octane fuel.

The other thing would be using highway radials, like the old trusty Michelin LT/S, and you might eek out one more MPG.

I do wish to clarify that my original intention wasn't to try and get more mpg out of the truck just for economy sake, I knew what I was getting into, I just thought the slightly lower than normal mpg might be an indication of something that needed attention tho I am realizing I'm not that far off so these tests that have been proposed will help me gain a slight amount or accept that I'm within standard range. It is climbing slightly from little things like airing tires up a bit.

 

[J1000]

if driving at elevation, I will use the high Octane fuel.

Just curious why you do this. As altitude is increased, the density of the air decreases. This effectively lowers the compression ratio of the engine, lowers the volumetric efficiency, etc. Because of this a lower octane fuel is fine.

In addition, the fuel itself reacts differently to changes in altitude. Gasoline becomes less and less prone to detonation as altitude increases.

In summary, you could get away with lower octanes at higher altitudes and save money. You will lose HP regardless compared to sea level.

 

[CloudCity]

Following up here since another thread has popped up with the same topic... just as an FYI I did end up using the Fuelly app and its easy to use, and it confirmed that my mileage shown on the computer is dead accurate to what the app calculated. I've mentioned elsewhere that I've also started driving with the PWR button pressed and there is no change in MPG, so I'm enjoying the new found power of this rig and getting to know the folks who run the gas station pretty well (no joke, I've even met their kids now). lol

Also note that Portland is very hilly and lots of inclines so varies from those living in flat land areas.

 

[Pyrenees]

CloudCity, what computer? I have an 01 LX, was that added later or something?

 

[CloudCity]

CloudCity, what computer? I have an 01 LX, was that added later or something?

This is a pic from the web but mine is the same except that this looks like a RHD-market vehicle with buttons on the other side and in metric units. It's in the Nav screen and found under the "Info" hard button on the left, then selecting "Trip Info" from the screen on these later cars. I usually drive around with mine running when I don't have the map on. I'm a bit surprised there isn't an older variation of this like in a basic LCD screen that you cycle through, on other cars the Mode button does this or it may be an option on the button that shows you things like temperature and remaining fuel, etc. Nothing like that on earlier rigs?