The MPG calculator is based on a few things, if you leave it and never reset it the car will settle into a pretty consistent MPG even though one tank may be worse, another may be better. It's doing an average of miles/gallons the more miles and the more gallons it does the more even the rating will be. If you reset it every tank it will change pretty drastically every time. At the end of the day it's just a calculation. The fuel level is based on a sensor (usually a float of some sort) that reads the level. Change the angle of the car and it changes the float level and throws off the calculation because the car thinks there is less fuel in it.
You can calculate it yourself by dividing the number of miles driven by the amount of gas you put in, you'll find it's pretty close. But even your numbers will be off a little bit because you will never put the exact same amount of fuel in every time. Nobody pulls over instantly the 50mile warning comes on and fills up the same way every single time, sometimes you fill the fuel neck all the way up, sometimes halfway, sometimes your in a hurry and let out the first time the pump clicks. It's always going to vary a little...
Simply really once you think about it...
I settle into about 17-18mpg mixed hwy/city driving. I enjoy spirited driving and I have 3.73's, so honestly I could care less about mileage. I enjoy the h*** out of my car. I did a trip to Ft. Lauderdale recently and averaged 20mpg running 85mph. I actually got 300 miles out of that tank of gas which I thought was great. Normally about 225-250 and it's time for fuel. If I want mileage I ride my motorcycle, it gets 38mpg...
You can calculate it yourself by dividing the number of miles driven by the amount of gas you put in, you'll find it's pretty close. But even your numbers will be off a little bit because you will never put the exact same amount of fuel in every time. Nobody pulls over instantly the 50mile warning comes on and fills up the same way every single time, sometimes you fill the fuel neck all the way up, sometimes halfway, sometimes your in a hurry and let out the first time the pump clicks. It's always going to vary a little...
Simply really once you think about it...
I settle into about 17-18mpg mixed hwy/city driving. I enjoy spirited driving and I have 3.73's, so honestly I could care less about mileage. I enjoy the h*** out of my car. I did a trip to Ft. Lauderdale recently and averaged 20mpg running 85mph. I actually got 300 miles out of that tank of gas which I thought was great. Normally about 225-250 and it's time for fuel. If I want mileage I ride my motorcycle, it gets 38mpg...
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