Hey Folks,

Just took my '03 D2 S from SF to Tahoe and back for the weekend (about ~400 miles round trip). I zeroed the average fuel mileage for my UltraGauge, and at the end of the trip, it told me that my average fuel mileage was 18.3 mpg. Wow!

Now...the driving is about 70% relatively flat highway going at 70mph, and 30% up and down steep mountain grades, maintaining 50-60mph. Car was loaded with three people and a weekend's worth of ski gear.

My D2 is mostly stock, with the exception of full synthetic Royal Purple 75w/90 in the diffs and TC, and Michelin LTX MS2 tires. Recently changed the oil with Rotella T5 15w/40 with Mola's Brew from Bob Is The Oil Guy, the truck has 73K on it...and that's about all that I think could be relevant.

Thoughts?

Adam

 

Well, my 01 with a lift and BFG ATs would get 12-13 mpg for similar driving conditions. Were you driving downhill with a tail wind both directions?

 

I don't think that is too out of line. I did a trip to Sacramento from here in Reno, and I zeroed my trip meter when I filled her with gas in Reno, and then when I got to Sac and filled her up, calculated my MPG for the short trip and it was 21.something. Granted, once you get over Donner pass, it's all downhill But I was still pretty happy. My truck was pretty much stock at that point.

Doing a trip to SF in about a month, and now I have a 2" lift with 32" tires. Probably not going to be as good

Also, did you calibrate the distance and actual gas used on your UG? Those can make a big difference too...

 

I'd go by old school gallons and miles and math, the UG is calculating based on air mass going past MAF, assumes that a 14.7:1 stoichiometric ratio is taking place, etc.

 

OK, Savannah Buzz - great suggestion! Doing the math with gallons used and miles driven, I end up with a much more realistic 14.5 mpg average for the trip. Still not terrible given the mountains and the fact that my foot was in the throttle quite a bit.

That's a pretty large delta between the UG and the actual. May have to dive into the manual to see if there is a way to calibrate.

Thanks!

 

You need to calibrate the distance first. Actual miles driven vs what the odometer says. Usually not too far if you're running stock. Larger wheels though will make a difference. Completely stock, mine was showing I was driving about 1.2 miles for every 1 mile on the odometer.

Also, for a couple fill-ups, calibrate the actual amount of gas used.

By doing this, your UG will be much more accurate.

 

I got 17.4 using the fill the tank up and zero the odometer.
From Boulder CO to Seattle WA.

I added up all the gas receipts with gallons and filled the tank when I got to Seattle.
17.4 2001 D2 with 97,000 miles on it then.

 

Get the Mileage Keeper app for your phone, fill in the blanks and it does the rest.