For all you MPG nuts and risk takers

[powerboatr]

We made it back from teh sunshine state, what perfect weather. 65F what a breath of fresh air compared to cold north alabam

anyway enough BS

Why o why do i get better MPG (15.3) in north alabama than i do in flat florida on I-10 (14.9) same speed ... dare i say 2700 rpm's
same fuel load

and then on the return trip I fueled up in north florida at lake city and was getting 14.9 then on the same fuel in dothan and montgomery we were pumping out 15.3.

now hold on
later in the evening as we passed out of montgomery to bham, we throttled up to near 2900 rpm and were getting 15.4 on the dash meter

i know its pretty close to accurate, I fill up till it it clear up to the neck and usually get 110 or so miles till she drops to full. i went over 120 this time
this is on cruise. and she pulls 800 f and 20 pounds climbing the mountains
maybe its the clean mountain air

 

[jvencius]

I'd bet it's the fuel--different stations, different blends, and different additive packages can make quite a difference in mpg...

 

[JohnBoyToo]

up hill versus downhill ?
wind direction ?
following versus leading ?

cooler air IS denser than hotter air, so to an extent it should burn the fuel betta

TOO many variables - and then there's the lie-o-meters suspect calculation matrix

 

[powerboatr]

JV
I thought about that, but i purchased fuel all three times at murphy/walmart
surely they would be that different? but thats the only variable i could stick with

and WOW i hate running that motor at 3k rpm, and with the 430 gears she is spinning at 80
but it felt smooth and like a cheetah, the 7.3 was not near as smooth at those rpms.

 

[rgdillon]

JV
I thought about that, but i purchased fuel all three times at murphy/walmart
surely they would be that different? but thats the only variable i could stick with

Sure they could - most stations use whatever local supplier to get thier diesel from. I'm not talking large truck stops now - cause I have never seen them getting fuel deliveries.

Only the Amoco/BP stations are ones that I seen Amoco/BP trucks deliver diesel. All the others around here - Mobil, Shell, Texaco - etc - use local. Therefore a big difference in cetane rating.

Ron