Sudden (apparently) decline in gas mileage?

[circmand]

The only other difference I can think of is fuel quality/octane -- as mentioned. Do these people getting 300-400miles/tank live in other countries/areas where fuel is just WAY better?

Also, I looked around again. It seems consistent that the stoimetric point of ethanol is 14.1 (vs 14.7 for gas). That means, for 1 part fuel, it takes 14.1 parts ethanol for complete burn. 14.7 parts gas for complete burn.

Switch that around and it takes 14.7/14.1....about 1.0425 (4.25%) more ethanol than gasoline. But that doesn't count for energy difference (and the amount of throttle) necessary to roll the vehicle along. IIRC, Jerry Lemond was saying 10% loss -- which I thought was a little exaggerated. 5% is what calculations imply. If it's less than 2%, none of us should be getting much less than the 15-19mpg that was the EPA measure for the VX.

Actually 22gals x 19mpg = 418 gallons possible for a tank of gas. Obviously, that would be for a highway trip. It seems pretty bad that many of use are in the 250mpg range, don't you think?

Sorry for the ramble....

The government mpgs have very little to do with what you can expect. They allow you to add mpgs for a hybrid that you will never see. A lady recently sued Toyots because she never saw half the mpg the government allowed them to claim. I think the tank is 21 gallons. Also I don't know about you but I never get the tank completely empty before I refuel.

[89Vette]

The government mpgs have very little to do with what you can expect. They allow you to add mpgs for a hybrid that you will never see. A lady recently sued Toyots because she never saw half the mpg the government allowed them to claim. I think the tank is 21 gallons. Also I don't know about you but I never get the tank completely empty before I refuel.

I saw the story about the successful complaint against Toyota. Bravo!

The tank is 22.5gal according to this forum's knowledgebase...
http://vehicross.info/modules.php?na...warticle&id=29

How low (much) fuel you burn before refilling is a good point. Because of these goofy, bouncing gas gauges, some might consider it empty at 1/4 tank. Others might blow it til fumes.

Mine has 16" wheels w/31" (street) tires -- which I thought would raise mpg. Maybe it doesn't. 4:30 gears seem awfully steep for optimal MPG.