Tanks 254 & 255 + One for the Minivan

I refueled the mighty Corolla twice this month, but the car was taken
off to a weeklong class in Lynchburg before I could get the fuel economy
data. It worked out pretty good, as the week the mighty Corolla was
gone was a week where it was not driven by me, and got the worst mileage
since March 2009!

The last tank I drove went 447.4 miles on 11.527 gallons, making for
fuel economy of 38.81 mpg, but the very next tank, driven primarily by
an adult living in my house who is not me, went 406.8 miles on 11.934
gallons- 34.09 miles per gallon!

Meanwhile, during the switcheroo week, I drove the minivan, taking it
418.4 miles on 17.551 gallons of gas, which was a mileage number of 23.8
miles per gallon. When I got the minivan, it had gone about 50 miles on
the tank and the trip computer indicated a fuel economy to that point of
about 18 mpg. When I refueled about 375 miles later, the trip computer
indicated 23.7 mpg. Normally this number is about 20 - 20.5 mpg, but
honestly it was almost all highway miles as I drove it to work for the
week.

The driver does make a difference in fuel economy. But we all knew
that!

Bernoulli will be happy to learn that I used my bike pump to add more
air to one of the mighty Corolla's tires as it was leaving for the week.

Tank 253 - 20 September 2K10

Yesterday took about 90 minutes to get to work in the rain from what was
known as Tropical Storm Nicole. I suspect it was spelled "Nikkole" so
as to not offend as many actual people named "Nicole." However, I
didn't ever see the name printed, so I can't say for sure how it was
spelled.

Irregardless, I refueled at a Wawa in Woodbridge with 11.555 gallons
after going 426.6 miles. My mileage was a mere 36.92 miles per gallon.

Screw Bernoulli. The FREE AIR AT WAWA is easier to use than my bike
pump. Although I admit the bike pump in my garage is usually closer to
the car than the air pump at Wawa.

I will pass 99,000 miles on this tank and will likely roll past 100,000
miles before Halloween.

Tank #252 - 22 September 2K10

It's supposed to be like a thousand degrees outside today, so I sneaked
out of the office at 7:00 a.m. to refuel at the mighty Exxon of
Woodbridge. The car had gone 447.7 miles and I put in 11.345 gallons,
which made for a fuel economy of 39.46 miles per gallon, the highest so
far this year, and the first tank over 39 mpg since Labor Day weekend.

I believe this was due to several factors, someo fo which were byond my
control.

First, I checked the tire pressure and made sure they were all at 40
psi. They all were close to 40 but not quite. So harder tires = better
mileage. Second, I actively sought drafting and coasting opportunities,
and drove less than 70 mph on the highway. Third, traffic has been
surprisingly light over the past week, particularly on my way home.

There were two times (one on the way to and one on the way from fork)
that heave traffic caused me to drive slowly in stop-and-go conditions,
so I imagine that if those days had lighter traffic, my mileage would
have been even better.

This was my 34th tank this year. Last year, my 34th tank came on 2
November. But miles traveled over those 34 tanks is similar: 14,209 in
2009 and 14,394 this year. Cost is about 20% more.

Tank 251 - 14 September 2K10

Refilled yesterday afternoon at the Wawa in "Central Park" with 11.910
gallons of gas, after going 446.2 miles on this tank. This made for
fuel economy of 37.46 mpg. And at 14 days between tanks, this was the
longest I went between fillups since 13 July, although this was most
likely due to the timing of the Labor Day weekend.

I have spent $993.36 on gas so far this year. Last year I spent $979.15
over the entire year.

Last year gas averaged $2.189/gallon, and this year it's averaging
$2.630/gallon, about a 20% increase in price. But I guess since it's
still less than $3.00 people haven't really noticed or something.

Tanks 248 and 249 - August 2K10

Last week I managed a pitiful 36.66 mpg, so I made an effort to drive
closer to 65 than to 70 on my highway trips, and today I ended up
reaching 38.17 mpg, after going 447 miles on 11.711 gallons of gas.

It is a remarkable difference, driving just about 5 mph slower. I still
was with the flow of traffic, indeed I was passing a few cars throughout
the tank.

Also, it probably didn't hurt that for about 50 miles I was able to
draft behind tractor trailers.

This is the best mileage I have gotten since I took that class in
Maryland back in May.

For the year, my average fuel economy has been 36.97 miles per gallon on
422.2 miles per tank.

Tank 246 - 3 August 2K10

Yesterday I refueled at an Amoco station near Aquia Harbor, and put in
12.149 gallons of gasoline (10% ethanol, as always) after going 424.3
miles. This made for a fuel economy of 34.92 miles per gallon. Had I
not done the squeeze after the first shutoff click, I'd have been over
35 mpg. Still, it's lower than average.

However, due to a weeklong vacation, it made it 13 days between fillups.