think last time we left off, I had just returned from back surgery and
was appalled at the 28.78 mpg on tank 164, but was happy it took 26 days
to achieve that.
Since then, I have refueled a couple times.
Tank 165, on 2 September provided me with 35.53 miles per gallon, and
most recently on 11 September I filled up with 10.753 gallons after
going 400.9 miles, making for a more respectable 39.35 miles per gallon.
What is odd is that this last tank, where I got 39.35 mpg, I was
consciously driving much faster than I ordinarily drive.
I do not believe that driving 75 and 80 miles per hour is more fuel
efficient. So I fall back on my theory that different gas pumps shut
off at different levels of full, and this explains why some tanks are
more fuel efficient than others.
With a small gas tank such as mine, a little difference of half a gallon
can have a notable difference on fuel economy.
Pair this belief with my recent pattern of getting gas at stations all
up and down the Interstate, and the wild variations almost make sense
here.
So here we are in September. Last September around this time, I has
pumped 32 tanks of gas into the Corolla, had driven 12,557 miles, and
had spent $826.94. This year I have pumped in just 26 tanks of gas,
driven 10,473.2 miles, and spent $934.63 on gas.
I attribute my fewer miles driven to two things: first, my lack of a
66-mile commute for about three weeks due to my back surgery, and
second, my carpooling arrangement where I am driven to work by my
coworker a couple days per week.
Still, with the gas prices spiked significantly from last year, I have
spent over $100 more on gas so far this year, or about $4.00 more per
tank. Which really isn't that much in the scheme of things.
