Gas mileage king?

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And I've gotta say:

I (for one) will surely let you know when I'm looking for advice on how I should ride MY bike. Thanks, anyway.

Sincerely,

Pathetically Swinging Dick
Thank you FredW. There is a time and place for dragging pegs, there is a time and place for enjoying the scenery. Knowing the difference is part of being a mature rider.

The example I gave was of a specific instance that was very out of the ordinary for me, it is not often I am running 50 mph for over 250 miles on a limited access road. I thought it would be beneficial to the discussion to give some mpg figures from that situation. Of course, having something useful to add to the conversation is not really a requirement here...Fortunately for me!

 
I can't figure this one out: I ride the freeways at steady speeds, I get about 40mpg on average. I go up nasty grades in the mountains, albeit slower than freeway speeds, but I'm gunning the gas a lot more while riding the twisties, and I get well over 50mpg riding more aggressively at slower speeds.
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That is a bit strange. Mine got 50 at 55-60 mph in Putt Mode. 42-44 rippin' up the mountains. I was quite pleased with all results.

 
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I can't figure this one out: I ride the freeways at steady speeds, I get about 40mpg on average. I go up nasty grades in the mountains, albeit slower than freeway speeds, but I'm gunning the gas a lot more while riding the twisties, and I get well over 50mpg riding more aggressively at slower speeds.
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That is a bit strange. Mine got 50 at 55-60 mph in Putt Mode. 42-44 rippin' up the mountains. I was quite pleased with all results.
HIs freeway speeds are most likely a bit higher. And his mountains are most likely a bit higher.

I always get better fuel mileage in the mountains. During a trip to southwest Colorado last summer my 04 FJR was getting between 52-54 mpg over several hundred miles.

 
I tried to read this whole thread buy another factor could be that the FJR does not have to try as hard to run the speed limit as other things like a goldwing which helps with the gas Mileage. For example I watched Top Gear and they compared the gas mileage of a prius to an BMW 3 series and the BMW got better gas mileage because the prius had to push a lot harder then the BMW around the track they where running them on.....

 
Why would we listen to someone who thinks that fuel pumps don't go bad?

 
Here's another item. Even the slightest headwind makes a difference. Often when we ride, we don't notice the prevailing wind much. But riding in two different directions on the same highway has netted me a difference of 10 mpg in the hybrid (again... I use this for an example because of the accuracy of its fuel mileage gauge) Just for the hoot of it, it looks like this:

toyota_camry_hybrid_4_door_sedan_2009_dashboard_instrumentcluster_zps34d81229.jpg


So when I'm in the car, I find myself checking the exact mileage I get during all kinds of different conditions. Most of the time: traveling in different directions on a level road at the same speeds nets EXACTLY the same mileage. And though all this checking tells me nothing about the FJR, I learn plenty about just WHAT causes changes in mileage. What have I've learned? A vehicle gets slightly different mileages at any speed based on two factors that I can't gauge very well most of the time. First, as I said, is wind. Sometimes I'm heading into a slight headwind... I'll notice my "normal" gas mileage is running about 3 mpg low. Then I'll turn around, head back the other way, and sure enough, traveling downwind, the mileage is 3-5 mpg higher than usual. The only difference I can see: the wind. Other times I'll be traveling up a slight incline. Mileage is running lower than usual. Again, I'll turn around, head back the other way, and note that the mileage is higher than usual. The only difference I can see: the slight incline. Most drivers don't notice changes in mileage due to things like this. But in the hybrid, I find myself watching it all the time. Here's another factor: Mileage changes based on temperature. It it's in the 40's - mileage runs maybe 3 mpg below what I get in the 70's. Now here's the deal: Sometimes these factors add up. For example, traveling up a slight incline, with a slight headwind, at cooler temps, could easily add up to 10 mpg below the average, and for me, unless I've got access to equipment that can gauge changing wind or altitude, it's a guessing game. But what I DO NOTE is the huge change in mileage. WHY is sometimes a combination of many things, none of which have anything to do with the performance of my vehicle. I'm guessing that these same factors might be the reason that several of us have noted huge mileage differences as we check it under varied conditions.

However, there is one thing that's always constant. Once I reach about 50, the faster I go, the poorer the mileage. Below that, not much difference at all. At 50 I might get 47 mpg. At 85... 30 mpg or so. That's a huge difference. And it's caused by only one thing: wind resistance.

Gary

 
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Yeah, my company has forced me to take a PHEV as my company car. I had the options of a Chebby Volt, Toyota Prius or Ford C-Max Energi. I chose the latter because the interior dimensions were the roomiest, and the range of EV plus fuel tank was the greatest.

This stupid EV car is causing me to become (even more of) a NERD (than I normally am). The stupid dashboard graphical displays are mesmerizing. It's like a real life video game to see how many mpgs you can get on the road. The kicker is: I don't even pay for the gas (it's all on the company) but I still am playing the game. My current run rate over the past two months, if anyone is the least bit interested, is around 45 mpgs and my 12 gallon fuel tank range ends uprds of 550 miles.

Before anyone starts dissing me for being a Greenie Weenie, I'll say right up front here: I definitely do not think this car is ready for the American public (or vice versa). The EV range after being plugged in and fully charged overnight is just 16 miles. When on EV you (obviously) are getting infinite MPGs, at an electric cost something less than the cost of gas, but not many of my round trips end up being less than 16 miles. If you never plugged the bugger in, you'd still end up with around 40-42 mpgs, which ain't bad on a 5 passenger car (with very limited trunk space), but I don't think this is what people are hoping for when they thing of Electric Vehicles.

 
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I agree with the idea that watching the MPG readout can affect your driving habits. I know I accelerate more gently when I have that display on in the truck. I installed a Boost Pressure Gauge and an Exhaust Gas Temp Gauge on my Duramax. Every little change in wind direction and road incline are instantly seen on those two gauges. I can tell when I am drafting another vehicle, and when another vehicle is drafting me, the movement of these two gauges is surprising. If I don't look at them there is absolutely no noticeable difference in the sound or feel of the engine unless it is really under a load. Curiously, a cross wind has almost as much effect on these gauges and my mpg as a headwind.

 
One has to wonder why crosswinds affect the mpg so much. Increased steering input? Other types of wind resistance? It will add up after a while and make sense. Now who's the engineer that will figure this one out?

 
Here's another item. Even the slightest headwind makes a difference. Often when we ride, we don't notice the prevailing wind much. But riding in two different directions on the same highway has netted me a difference of 10 mph (me thinks you mean mpg here?) in the hybrid (again... I use this for an example blah......blah.......blah..............

Gary
You should get a POS Gen II or SD-POS Gen III Gary then you could play with the instantaneous mpg gauge though it doesn't cycle fast enough to be very instantaneous.

All those factors you mention, headwind, tailwind, cold temps all boil down to AIR RESISTANCE!!!! Cripes, I am starting to sound like a broken record. Except of course incline/decline which should make perfect sense why mpg goes up and down with those.

Getting back to air resistance, besides major swings in temperature (say 50 degrees to 80 degrees) the other thing I notice has major impact on my FJR's fuel mileage is riding in heavy traffic where without trying, I am basically drafting off the vehicle in front of me. That can make a difference of 10mpg or more. Of course it all comes down to that pesky AIR RESISTANCE!

And as for you hyper-mileage cage nerds - you're late to the party. Though it lacks the fancy-schmancy- video game dash my 2001 VW Golf TDi has been getting 45mpg for almost 12 years now. Once I got 57mpg over 700+ miles on a single tank during winter months on a trip to Colorado. So there! https://www.fjrforum.com/forum//public/style_emoticons/default/****.gif Of course it is boring as hell to drive that under-powered POS which explains why I put 45k miles a year on my FJRs, and 2-3k miles a year on the VDub.

 
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Hey, skooterG?........

calm the **** down. It's a never ending pointless thread......can't we all get along?

by the way.....bite me.

 
Hey, skooterG?........

calm the **** down. It's a never ending pointless thread......can't we all get along?

by the way.....bite me.

Calm down? I am not even on any caffeine yet. I haven't even begun to get started.........

And I don't like Eskimo. Tastes too much like chicken. So unfortunately I will have to decline your offer.........

 
Hey, skooterG?........

calm the **** down. It's a never ending pointless thread......can't we all get along?

by the way.....bite me.

Calm down? I am not even on any caffeine yet. I haven't even begun to get started.........

And I don't like Eskimo penis. Tastes too much like chicken. So unfortunately I will have to decline your offer.........
Umm.... hey dip shit?? Ya left yerself wide open..
lol.gif


 
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Hey, I just had a thought! I think the biggest factor might be ....Wind/Air Resistance. I know, I know, it sounds odd. But, you know after reading through all these posts, that seems to be the only conclusion. It bothers me that no one else noticed this. I am surprised that nobody else ever mentioned this.
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I am enjoying the conversation though. And it is a NEPRT thread so we don't have to stop and we don't have to make sense.

 
Don't resist the air friends.. It contains oxygen an you will die without it.

EMBRACE air and live..An deal with moving at a snails pace because of it.

 
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