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Talk about the tools we use to give GREAT mileage on engines.
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TOPIC: How do you track fuel mileage?

How do you track fuel mileage? 14 Jul 2013 13:32 #1

  • Juan Reyes
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Hello fellow Gadgetmen! I'm just looking for good ways to track fuel mileage for my future customers and my own personal vehicles. Currently I've been using fuelly.com.

What do you use? If you can share what you use with everyone else on the Gadgetman Groove, network I think that will be helpful.

I like the new list of vehicles that work or don't work with the Gadgetman Groove. I've noticed in the last column the percentage improvements for the vehicles listed. How is that calculated? Is there a spreadsheet that can help me see the percentage improvements?

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How do you track fuel mileage? 14 Jul 2013 18:48 #2

  • Rino Stoof
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Hi Juan

That's an interesting site (fuelly.com), it will be great to compare our vehicle against others, cool!

I find a simple and quick way to get mpg is to use the OBD2 connection, if the car has one that is..
A cheap sensor like this one in combination with a program like this on your android phone or tablet will enable you to get a quick mpg by taking the car for a 5 minute spin before and after.
You can get the apps for apple phones and laptops as well.
The programs allow you to set up multiple cars and it will keep records over time so you can see changes and true averages.

There is likely to be a margin of error but it will be the same on both trips giving a fairly good idea to what the improvement is.
Unfortunately it will sometimes take up to a few tanks of fuel to get the full effect but then you can do it again after that has been done.
It's also very useful to check error codes and resetting them so the dashboard engine light turns off.

This can be quite impressive to the customer and obviously useful to us :-)

Don't forget to remove the sender when you're finished! It's easy done. Tie a colorful ribbon or something onto it..

To calculate the percentage gained, deduct before from after (24mpg - 18 mpg = 6mpg gained)
Then calculate the gain using the original mileage and the gain i.e. 6 / (18/100) = 6 / 0.18 = 33.33333 % mileage gain.

I see someone has put in a car since I put the first lot in, very cool!
It only takes a minute to do and will be really helpful for everyone so please, pop them in!

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How do you track fuel mileage? 15 Jul 2013 01:31 #3

  • Ken Bittle
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I use a pencil, a piece of paper and drive the same route as the before test, filling up both times at the same pump. Its been accurate for me in the past, simply dividing the miles driven by the fuel I used. The new gadgets are great, but with my experience in what we are doing to change the engine I don't trust the computer on the other side of the obd2 port.


Ken

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How do you track fuel mileage? 18 Jul 2013 15:32 #4

  • Tracy Gallaway
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A quick note: Ron has stated before: what's the most impressive sounding--5 miles per gallon gain, 20 percent gain, OR--one hundred more miles Per Tank?

When a vehicle shows gains, and it's been calculated, the extra Miles Per Tank is most impressive expression of that Gain, should it exist in my Opinion.

Tracy G
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Gadgetman Reno, NV

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How do you track fuel mileage? 04 Dec 2014 13:35 #5

  • GregK
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I've been using 2 apps on my iPhone to track mileage.

First, I got an OBDii monitoring app called EngineLink. It will give you a long term average, as well as instantaneous average while you're driving based on what the ECU reports in terms of air intake and fuel delivery vs speed and distance travelled. Imagine my surprise at seeing my instantaneous mileage go up to over 100 mpg...when depressing the clutch into neutral and coasting off the highway on a downhill off-ramp!
***UPDATE: EngineLink Support people were very quick (<24hr turnaround) to reply to my email with PID additions to the app that are part of OBDii but not normally monitored by the app, injector timing (PID 015D) and Open/closed loop status of the ECU (PID 0103). Once I determine how my truck's intake manifold vacuum is measured by/reported to ECU, I'll hit them up again.

Second, I got an app called Gas Manager that goes by the odometer and input. (It also gives you some other metrics that are interesting to me, but they may be useless to you).

EngineLink has more data than Gas Manager does so far, but the two averages are coming together...and ballpark is close enough for me in this game. Real world is what matters most, as opposed to the same route, same pump, one click, yada yada...right?
Greg Kusiak
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Last edit: by GregK. Reason: Update info

How do you track fuel mileage? 04 Dec 2014 13:58 #6

  • Tracy Gallaway
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It's interesting to be able to see real-time metrics like that, as conditions change. I must admit when I did that 50 mile "Orange test" drive last summer and used a calculator to run the numbers, I was blown away, and let out a shout! I ran the #'s 3 times to check, same result, almost 72 MPG.
But conditions were ideal, late evening, no wind, prob. around 80 deg. F, no traffic, straight level road. Held speed to 60 MPH, down to 55 for about 7 miles speed limit. Long ways from real-world conditions.

In the real world, $$ savings are from having longer range per fill-up, every trip/drive is different even on same route. If you know your vehicle, you can tell when it's doing better. Little things add up!

Tracy G
Tracy Gallaway
Founder and Constant Aide to Gadgetman
Gadgetman Reno, NV

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