On Sat, 22 May 2004, David Brodbeck wrote: > Well, here are my reasons for keeping track: > > - I'm a geek. I like numbers. > - If I see a decline in gas milage with no obvious explanation, I know > that something's probably wrong -- the engine needs attention, a > brake is dragging, etc. > - I can experiment and see how my driving style affects fuel economy. > When gas gets expensive, this can become a way to save money. > - Knowing what kin do fuel economy I get helps with budgeting for > trips and planning fuel stops. What I get is almost never the same > as the EPA number. I agree fully with the last two points. My Audi has a broken odometer (could I expect less from genuine VDO instruments?) and its trip computer is thus doubly useful to guess mileage. With premium fuel scraping $2.35 a gallon, I've been watching it closely to see how much mileage I can squeeze out of it with careful driving. Engine braking in town is your friend -- I got 29.4mpg out of one 60-mile half highway/half traffic jam trip (typically get 23 or so). Partly by letting it coast down in gear for a while on approaches to stop lights, thus using no fuel for those stretches. Idle fuel cutoff is a feature enjoyed by Digifant (maybe digijet?) Vanagons as well. I'd be curious to see if Digifant-based Golf/Jetta trip computers could be coaxed into working on Digifant vans. ian Butler / ian@bluemoon.hplx.net '88 Audi 5000S quattro '88 VW Scirocco 16v '77 Mercury Marquis, for sale (and sitting unused through the second or third gas crisis in its lifetime) |
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