How many miles should I be getting on a full tank?

I am getting 300km or 187miles, how bad is that? tx

 

Doesn't look very good to me. City or highway?

 

We're not mind-readers here. If you want a meaningful answer to that
question, you're going to have to tell us what kind of car you drive,
and the conditions in which you drive it.

 

I drive a Saturn SL1 2002, with 65000miles. We drive city and
highway about 50/50.
If anyone else has a saturn, I would like to know how many miles you
get on a full tank, to give me a rough idea (also weather its city or
highway and the year of your car). tx

 

.... it all depends .. radio ON or OFF .. ?

 

.. there ya go !
I have a 2002 SL1 auto. 120k km.
I keep fairly careful gas mileage data.
I drive like an old grandpa.
Mixed driving, summer - about 40 miles per Imperial gallon.
Mixed driving, winter - about 37 miles per Imperial gallon.
Best conservative highway driving - abour 45 miles per I Gal.
note : Imperial gallon is a whole lot bigger than little measly
USA gallons ... but it costs a whole lot more too.
.. I do not run to fuel warning light level - almost never -
if I did ... probably about 550 km range per tankful.
Your 300 km per tankful seems quite poor, to me.
jt

 

Wow, that sucks.

We have two Saturns: 96 SL2 with 125K miles, 99 SL2 with 92K miles. Fuel
mileage is very similar: 27 mpg city, 32 mpg highway with my wife
driving, and about 2 mpg more with me driving.

Assuming that the tank in your 02 SL1 is the same size as in my 96 and
99 SL2s, you're only getting about 15 mpg. You should be getting 30.

 

yeah, that's really pretty bad... I have an '06 Vue SUV (4cyl, 5 speed
stick) that I'm now getting 31-32mpg, which is higher than the EPA rating.
But you really have to base it on your MPG, not how many miles you're
getting from a tank, because who's to say I don't run mine down as much as
the next guy, therefore I would get less miles out of a tank than he did...I
used to run it down to empty and have to put 14-15 gallons in (16 gallon
tank) and would get about 340-350 miles out of it...Now, if I ran it down
that far, I'd get a little over 450. I fill up every Thursday at lunch (pay
day) and that lasts me a week. When I used to fill up I'd be at empty (like
I said), now I still 3/8 of a tank left....(although it still costs me the
same)

IYM

 

Real bad. Your car has problems.

My 1997 SW2 5 speed gets 39MPG = 468 miles per tank

My 1999 SW2 auto gets 32MPG = 384 miles per tank

And my wifes 2002 SW1 auto gets 36MPG = 432 miles per tank

Steve

 

Well... I'm running a 1992 SL1 with 530,000 km (330,000 miles) and I'm
getting about 700 km out of a tank here.
Still tickling with the advertised fuel consumption and it hasn't
changed since the day I bought the car almost 17 years ago...

Alex

 

That depends. If you're driving a Vespa scooter, I'd say you're doing pretty
good.

If you're driving my Avalanche with a 26 gallon tank (for which I usually go
between 450 and 550 miles), I'd say you're having an issue.

What are you driving?

 

on a 2002 SL1 , which has a 12.5Gal tank, you should be properly achieving
between 300 and 400 miles per tank (US gallons). 187miles (US ) on a tank of
gas is really bad.

 

Everything else aside, the formulation of the gas is a big factor. Ethanol
has, as I recall, only 60% of the energy that a gallon of 'traditional'
gasoline has. As they increase the ethanol content in fuels, the MPG will
decrease.
If you wish to check this out, look up BTU of various fuels.

Seems that 300-400 miles on a tank is a design standard. My lw300 gets 300+
city and about 400 miles highway per 16 gallon tank. I generally refill when
the warning light comes on (equal to two gallons remaining). Lately, I've
been very light on the gas pedal, keeping to 55 mph and putting it in
neutral to coast on downgrades. Picked up a good 10% in mileage. I'm toying
with how to put an override on the transmission control to shift manually
and control the lock up torque converter. Seems tuned for power rather than
economy and I don't get the feeling that the Saturn techs really know how to
retune. Heck, they could never figure how to keep the speed control from
downshifting two gears and rocketing up to 6000 rpm on a slight upgrade. I
figured it more simple to just turn off the speed control when approaching
an upgrade.
Oppie

 

Oppie, you could always look into one of those performance control modules,
they run abuot $300. and you can tweak and tune fuel, throttle, shift
points, timing etc...

I have seen them used on Mustangs and IONs, very effective once you learn
how to use them. Seen em on Autoanything.com

--
marx404

_________________

 

Good tip, will check it out.

 

That sounds bad no matter what model. I just got a 2001 SC2. Around town,
I'm at 28 mpg typically. This last tank I went down to 24 mpg somehow.
Maybe somebody siphoned off a few gallons. On my only long highway trip
with it, I got 38 mpg. This is with the automatic transmission so I'm
pretty happy with the highway mileage.
I keep trying to tell my friends, if you drive like me, you'll get good
mileage. I don't launch from every stop sign. Hardly ever get the tack
over 2,500. Coast up to stoplights and stop signs. I see other people
racing around here like gas is 89 cents a gallon. Maybe they can afford it.
Keep the car tuned, tires up to recommended pressure and a light foot on the
gas and your gas mileage will surely go up.
Tom