Why do people talk about how many km they get on a tank?!

[370Z]

Genuinely curious why some people talk about how many km they they get on a tank.

Drives me nuts because every car's gas tank is a different size. My wife's Juke gets maybe 400 km but it's only a 40 liter or so tank, my old Pathfinder gets about 550 but it's an 80 liter tank.

Was there a time in the olden days when all gas tanks were the same size?

This is even worse, my mother in law likes to ask "How much does it cost to fill up?"... what a goddamn stupid thing to ask.

[rage2]

I get 600-700km a tank these days.

[JRSC00LUDE]

I get different results depending on which vehicle I drive.

[C4S]

LoL ...

Typical Chinese grandmom question....
Wait, my mom won't even ask that....lol

[killramos]

I get 600-700km a tank these days.

Yea I am only really like 350 on the C63. Jeep is close to 550 though which is nice.

Range is the only thing that matters, how many litres I have to fill up is irrelevant as it takes the same amount of time.

When I plan a trip, all that matters is how many cities can I pass before I need a fillip.

[Twin_Cam_Turbo]

225-600km per tank in my car, 330-600km per tank in my truck.

[lilmira]

at least use bananas for scale FFS

[Twin_Cam_Turbo]

at least use bananas for scale FFS

Sorry my bad.

750000-2000000 bananas per tank in my car.

[ExtraSlow]

because people are bad at math.

[JRSC00LUDE]

My car gets forty rods to the hogshead and that's the way I likes it.

[Jlude]

I get 350 klms to a charge :rofl:

[Sugarphreak]

...

[Mitsu3000gt]

I think the average person cares way more about how far they can go between fill ups for the convenience factor, rather than how much it costs to fill up, as that ends up being a totally insignificant cost for most unless you do a ton of driving in an extremely inefficient vehicle.

If someone is bragging about it or something though, they probably just don't understand how mileage calculations work haha.

The dumber question is "how much does it cost to fill up", because the answer is exactly the same on a per liter basis as everyone else aside from the slight price difference in fuel grades.

[Tik-Tok]

Apples to Apples efficiency is moot and pointless to talk about

The important thing is how far you can go on a Tank. Why? It is tied to how far you can go during a natural disaster or apocalypse. Additionally, fuels like diesel are sought after because of their longevity and ability to find sources in unexpected industrial areas.

Movement is survival.... I feel bad for people that can only go 400km or so. The zombie horde will catch you and consume your family.

Older Gen diesels are better. You can run jet fuel in almost anything pre-2007.There will be way more jet fuel to be found than diesel.

Unless the Trashcan Man blows up all the airport holding tanks.

[speedog]

734km on my last tank, best I've ever seen. Mostly highway miles but it needs to be noted that triple digit liters were involved. I see it as a way to know how much distance I have left in a tank as well as it can indicate how heavy I've been with my right foot.

Now back when I had a street bike, knowledge of average km per tank was essential when on some road trips as fuel stops had to be planned. Do remember coasting down the north side of Crater Lake, Oregon with the engine off to conserve fuel as the fuel stop we had planned to fill up was unexpectedly closed unbeknownst to us. Note that this well before the days of smart phones or even cell phones for that matter - paper maps don't cut with respect to whether a business is open or closed.

[01RedDX]

.

[Maxt]

I really enjoy seeing 999 on the DTE readout.

[ThePenIsMightier]

because people are bad at maRth.

Fixed that for you.

[Darell_n]

There are as many truck owners that care about total range more than mileage, including myself. I fuel up 2 or 3 times a week for work, more range more better.

[spikerS]

I really enjoy seeing 999 on the DTE readout.

ditto. I get about 1050 to a tank city, and about 1200 straight highway. I also have 136L tank.

[Misterman]

Genuinely curious why some people talk about how many km they they get on a tank.

Drives me nuts because every car's gas tank is a different size. My wife's Juke gets maybe 400 km but it's only a 40 liter or so tank, my old Pathfinder gets about 550 but it's an 80 liter tank.

Was there a time in the olden days when all gas tanks were the same size?

This is even worse, my mother in law likes to ask "How much does it cost to fill up?"... what a goddamn stupid thing to ask.

Might have something to do with people wanting relevant information? What do I care about MPG? I don't want to do math to figure out how far my vehicle can go. And I'm not in some nerd competition with friends or family to see who has the most fuel efficient vehicle.

[Masked Bandit]

It's all about the range. We used to have a CR-V and while it was a great little car to boot around the city in it had a small fuel tank and would only get 450 KM on the highway, I hated that. Two of the vehicles in our house now exceed 700 KM highway range so that means only one stop between here & my furthest normal driving destination. You can't make good time if you're always pulling over for fuel.

[dirtsniffer]

Cause range matters. If I had to pick between a 70L tank and. A 120 L tank who wouldn't pick the bigger one? I just drove from Regina to virden and back and it was nice that only had to fill the rental before I returned it.

A coworker bought a diesel f350 with a 80L tank and he gets like 350km range when towing. The 120L version would go almost 600, which is reasonable enough that you're not stopping in every town.
I don't know why your friends would use range of discussing fuel economy..

[rage2]

I’ll derail the thread.

86254

[ThePenIsMightier]

I still remember the erections I would get dreaming about getting over 1,000km per tank on the first generation TDI's... Too bad I couldn't afford one at the time. I'd probably still have it. Half a million kilometers and a crusty steering wheel due for a third replacement.

[infamous]

in addition to also hating trying to figure out gas mileage, I also don't care enough about the price of gas to worry about saving a buck or two when I fill my tank. my best friend always talks up Costco as the only place to get gas because it is cheaper than anywhere else, but i'm not about to start wasting time out of my day to drive farther than I have to for gas.

[jwslam]

Movement is survival.... I feel bad for people that can only go 400km or so. The zombie horde will catch you and consume your family.
That's only valid assuming everyone runs at 100% full all the time. In reality there are NE drivers who fill up $20 at a time after the light goes on.

[Mostwanted]

in addition to also hating trying to figure out gas mileage, I also don't care enough about the price of gas to worry about saving a buck or two when I fill my tank. my best friend always talks up Costco as the only place to get gas because it is cheaper than anywhere else, but i'm not about to start wasting time out of my day to drive farther than I have to for gas.

Only reason i gas up at costco is to fill up on premium since it seems to be cheaper than anywhere else

[Twin_Cam_Turbo]

But really I’m annoyed my truck only has a 96L tank. Sometimes I only get 350-400km range when towing into the wind. If only slip tanks weren’t so pricey and didn’t eat up box space.

[LilDrunkenSmurf]

I think the average person cares way more about how far they can go between fill ups for the convenience factor, rather than how much it costs to fill up, as that ends up being a totally insignificant cost for most unless you do a ton of driving in an extremely inefficient vehicle.

If someone is bragging about it or something though, they probably just don't understand how mileage calculations work haha.

The dumber question is "how much does it cost to fill up", because the answer is exactly the same on a per liter basis as everyone else aside from the slight price difference in fuel grades.

Pretty much this. What the range of the tank is, essentially means "How often do I need to go to gas stations?"

[Misterman]

in addition to also hating trying to figure out gas mileage, I also don't care enough about the price of gas to worry about saving a buck or two when I fill my tank. my best friend always talks up Costco as the only place to get gas because it is cheaper than anywhere else, but i'm not about to start wasting time out of my day to drive farther than I have to for gas.

Oh man, I hear people getting hard ons over 3 cents difference and going out of their way. Like fuck that, that's less than 2$ of savings on the average car. I probably should use Costco myself, it's a 10 cent per liter savings, and it's directly on my path of travel every day. Mainly I just refuse to go because I can't collect credit card points there.

[mzdspd]

Truck owners are probably the worst for this.. "My truck gets 1200k to a tank.. It is better on fuel than your truck that gets 700k to a tank.."

Also seems like most truck owners exaggerate their mileage.. Somehow half the people I know with trucks are getting <10 L/100k with their KM to a tank..

[revelations]

My brothers ex wife would drive their truck like a drunken sailor and get 14mpg average plus 1 speeding ticket a month.

I borrow the vehicle and get 18mpg on average (mixed driving).

Even with the same vehicle, the gas tank range can vary considerably.

[rx7boi]

Personally I like to know mileage and how efficient other cars are just because it's a fun tidbit for myself. Way too many variables (driving habits, city/highway, etc.) though.

My weekly schedule is pretty routine so knowing how many KM's I typically get is just added info. Other than that it's pretty moot; if I'm empty, I have to fill up.

[nismodrifter]

miss my TDI's. I think my record was 1440km on a tank. Calgary -> Kelowna, drove around Okanagan -> return trip to Calgary.

[Isaiah]

I think the average person cares way more about how far they can go between fill ups for the convenience factor, rather than how much it costs to fill up, as that ends up being a totally insignificant cost for most unless you do a ton of driving in an extremely inefficient vehicle.
A friend of mine who's a Western Canada account manager for Snap-on just 'upgraded' from a fuel-efficient SUV to a massive pickup. He does a ton of driving in a (now) extremely inefficient vehicle.

[msommers]

miss my TDI's. I think my record was 1440km on a tank. Calgary -> Kelowna, drove around Okanagan -> return trip to Calgary.

Holy f*ck that's incredible!

The highest I've ever gotten out of my 4R was ~600Km. I think I had a tail wind and was going downhill to get that high :rofl: 80L tank

[Sugarphreak]

...

[Mitsu3000gt]

Holy f*ck that's incredible!

The highest I've ever gotten out of my 4R was ~600Km. I think I had a tail wind and was going downhill to get that high :rofl: 80L tank

That area is mostly 90-100km speed limits (or way less if a camper is in front of you) if I am not mistaken, which helps quite a bit with economy.

We took a TDI Golf to Colorado and back and we got 1100 or so KM to a tank at 80-90MPH average so I could definitely believe 1400km at more efficient speeds and especially if you ran it down to the low fuel warnings.

The Civic is OK but definitely not as good as the TDI. It'll do over 800KM on the highway which is somewhere around 5.5L/100km and about 600km with city/mixed driving. Some people claim to get over 1000km to a tank on the highway but I would never run it that low.

[killramos]

Agreed that driving 90-100 makes a dramatic difference in Fuel economy. Less wind and rolling resistance, and puts most cars at a substantially lower RPM. Going faster is really an exponential penalty.

High rpm at 120-130 is a big part of why my C63 never gets good highway mileage(10.5L/100+). I bet the new 9-MCT’s Get way better highway mileage.

[rage2]

High rpm at 120-130 is a big part of why my C63 never gets good highway mileage(10.5L/100+). I bet the new 9-MCT’s Get way better highway mileage.
Gearing helps a ton. Cruising 100-110 on my chart where I'm getting around 6L/100km in 9th. Doing 120-130 I'm in the low 7's with minimal hybrid help.

[ThePenIsMightier]

Oh man, I hear people getting hard ons over 3 cents difference and going out of their way. Like fuck that, that's less than 2$ of savings on the average car. I probably should use Costco myself, it's a 10 cent per liter savings, and it's directly on my path of travel every day. Mainly I just refuse to go because I can't collect credit card points there.

You can of you get a Costco Capital One MasterCard. $0.03/L rewards, tap to pay and the card is your Costco membership card. Annual fee is simply the executive membership fee.

[370Z]

Oh man, I hear people getting hard ons over 3 cents difference and going out of their way. Like fuck that, that's less than 2$ of savings on the average car. I probably should use Costco myself, it's a 10 cent per liter savings, and it's directly on my path of travel every day. Mainly I just refuse to go because I can't collect credit card points there.

Funny, my mother in law who is also a smoker is always the first one that complains about 5 cent raise in gas prices. Keep also in mind she drives a stick shift Honda Fit and drives about 25km a week lol

[Mitsu3000gt]

Funny, my mother in law who is also a smoker is always the first one that complains about 5 cent raise in gas prices. Keep also in mind she drives a stick shift Honda Fit and drives about 25km a week lol

The price of her fill-ups would fluctuate by less than $2 haha.

[Tik-Tok]

Funny, my mother in law who is also a smoker is always the first one that complains about 5 cent raise in gas prices. Keep also in mind she drives a stick shift Honda Fit and drives about 25km a week lol

Yeah, but that 5c is costing her 2 packs of smokes a year!

[mr2mike]

I get about 19,685,039" per tank so I'm not too worried on fill up costs.

[KrisYYC]

I get about 850,000,000mm per tank.

Roughly 6000ml/100000000mm

Mostly just commuting on Deerfoot at off peak times.


in addition to also hating trying to figure out gas mileage, I also don't care enough about the price of gas to worry about saving a buck or two when I fill my tank. my best friend always talks up Costco as the only place to get gas because it is cheaper than anywhere else, but i'm not about to start wasting time out of my day to drive farther than I have to for gas.

I know what you mean. So many people I know rave about Costco gas prices and go out of their way to get gas there. With the extra driving and lost time it's probably not really much of a savings for a lot people. The Costco closest to me is the one at Deerfoot Meadows and it's an absolute shit show at any given time of day. I can fill up at Superstore or Esso which are both right down the street from me and I get PC Optimum points for gas there too. Plus I value my time more than saving $2 out of an entire fill up.

[Sugarphreak]

...

[spikerS]

I can go 3 months on a tank

I don't know why you are even on a car forum... LOL

[ExtraSlow]

Come off it. This hasn't been a real car forum for years.

[spikerS]

Come off it. This hasn't been a real car forum for years.

Sarcasm detector broken sir? ;)

[Sugarphreak]

...

[ExtraSlow]

My truck gets about four months to a tank in the winter.

[SKR]

I get 218,000 fathoms on a tank. My tank holds 95 quarts. That converts to 83 nautical miles per Winchester bushel of diesel, which isn't bad I don't think for a truck that weighs almost 32,000 newtons.

[never]

It isn't how many miles you get on a tank... it is how many weeks you can get out of it! Haha

I’m at 8 months and the same tank of gas in one vehicle...suck on that!

[Neil4Speed]

OP: I am in 100% agreement. Everyone tank size is different.


Gearing helps a ton. Cruising 100-110 on my chart where I'm getting around 6L/100km in 9th. Doing 120-130 I'm in the low 7's with minimal hybrid help.

Do you know how one could find the "optimal" speeds for fuel economy based on gearing? I feel that I often get better mileage at 90 vs. 70.

[Misterman]

OP: I am in 100% agreement. Everyone tank size is different.



Do you know how one could find the "optimal" speeds for fuel economy based on gearing? I feel that I often get better mileage at 90 vs. 70.


I didn't save the link, but I came across one before that listed best speed for fuel mileage. I thought the information was available because manufacturers are required to test it IIRC. But don't quote that, it was a long time ago when I saw it.

But in general for most cars optimal speed is around 55mph, which is why they set the speed limit there during gas shortages all those years ago.

[Tik-Tok]

"Best speed" varies widely due to aerodynamics, gearing, engine displacement, tire rolling resistance, weather conditions, road surface etc. etc. etc.

You would need a wind tunnel and a dyno to figure it out.

[Mitsu3000gt]

To set an optimal speed for all cars or even most cars would be extremely difficult. It would even be different for 2 of the same cars with different tires.

You can usually identify the point where your mileage falls off a cliff though, so if you stay below that you are probably within the realm of not caring if you're getting 6.2 vs 6.6 L/100km or whatever.

I think for most people though, arriving sooner far, far, outweighs any fuel savings if they value their time.

[lilmira]

You can see current gas mileage on most newer cars no? It's pointless for stop and go traffic but on highway I'm sure you can use it to optimize efficiency if you choose to.

[Sugarphreak]

...

[Mitsu3000gt]

I usually find there are two cases that signify that point where it falls off a cliff;

1) When you start getting into the higher engine rev's on the highway

2) When you are pushing the gas down and nothing happens anymore

I had Jeep XJ with the high output 6cyl for a while... on the steeper highway hills you could either run it at high revs in 3rd, or just bury your foot in 4th.... it did't have enough power to push it up a hill in 5th at all. It would just drink fuel like a pig in both situations... and then overhead and boil over. Good ol' Jeeps, haha.

I'd be curious to know how much the revs matter because you can get very high revs with very low throttle input. It's certainly a factor, but I'd be curious to know how much. On turbo cars especially, you can have high revs with little to no spooling, but as soon as you put a load on the motor or use heavy throttle input, it spools right up along with your fuel consumption.

I think your #2 point is more the case when passing or going up hills, and yeah if you bury your foot and nothing happens (Like my previous Civic haha), all you're doing is wasting lots of fuel. That's where it seems most noticeable anyway.

I feel like most cars around 120-140km/h start to fall off that efficiency cliff, probably mostly due to drag and having to feed it a really noticeable amount of throttle to maintain the speed rather than just barely touching the pedal. The big German sedans don't seem to care though, they aren't even working doing 2,000 RPM at 150km/h and I can't imagine they are that much less efficient there than at 120 Km/h. I remember being on the Autobahn in a BMW 760Li and you feel like you're doing 50km/h at 200 Km/h haha.

[Sugarphreak]

....

[Tik-Tok]

the Hummer on the other hand was just grossly underpowered.


Also having a drag coefficient and frontal area of a semi-truck