Tank 172 - 31 October 2008

This is some treat-- I paid SIXTY TWO CENTS LESS PER GALLON this tank
than last!

Apparently, the BJ's near my place of work sells gas. So I went there
and waited in a line to fill up, which I haven't done in a very long
time. But gas there was $2.199 per gallon. Ten days ago I paid $2.819
per gallon.

Not too shabby.

I went 427.2 miles on 10.990 gallons, making for fuel economy of 38.87
miles per gallon.

It's been a while since I looked at my historical numbers, and I am
surprised to report that fuel economy for 2008 is lagging behind the
average fuel economy from 2007, 37.42 vs. 37.87. But I still have two
months to see if I can raise that average for 2008 up a bit. Last year,
I had four refills in November and December. I don't expect that'll be
enough to make much of a change for the rest of 2008, but we shall see.

Tank 171 - 21 October 2008

410.4 miles on 10.665 gallons = 38.48 miles per gallon.

This is pretty good, and my last five tanks have averaged 37.31 mpg.

It had been just 7 days since the last tank, which is quicker than
average. My average days between tanks had been slowly increasing due
to my carpooling, but I recently have been doing that less than I would
like, due to life getting in the way of coordinating driving times...

Since gas prices have eased up a bit, I think I am noticing more
aggressive drivers on the roads again. It's most likely just in my
head, but it seems that more people are back to driving with the lead
foot and cinderblock brakes.

I don't understand why some people just always want to speed up to
tailgate right behind the next car, or speed over to the red light. And
I laugh when I catch up at the light, or at the tail end of the same
traffic.

Tank 170 - 14 October 2008

Today I filled up my gas tank at the slowest gas pump on the planet. I
mean, if I didn't keep track of my mileage so retentively, I'd have
stopped and left with 1/4 tank full. I'd rather pay ten more cents a
gallon than stand there and. Wait. For. The. Pump. To. Move. Another.
Tenth. Of. A. gallon.

When it was all over, I had gone 397.8 miles on "10.400 gallons." I use
the term loosely this time because I figured it was filling up so slowly
that the first click plus a small extra squeeze would be enough. So my
fuel economy of 38.25 may be slightly inflated due to my impatience.

I have spent about $180 more on gas so far this year, or about $6.00
more per tank. This is a little misleading because I have also driven
about 1800 fewer miles over the same period as well, which translates
into about 4.5 tanks or about an additional $170.00 or so.

Still, worst case would be an additional $12.00 more per tank in 2008
for an equivalent number of gas tank fillups.

That's about $12.00 per week. With all the hullabaloo over gas prices
just killing the American family, if $12.00 a week is pushing people
into financial ruin, then maybe these American families ought to
reconsider their priorities.

Tank 169 - 2 October 2008

Another tank, another 36.50 miles per gallon. I refueled last October
3, and on that day last year it was my 34th tank of gas. This year on
the 2nd, it was my 29th tank of gas. I had driven about 1800 more miles
at this pint last year, yet spent almost $200.00 less on gas.

So to summarize, I have driven less this year and spent more on gas to
do it.

What a breakthrough discovery.

Recent Tanks and Other Updates

Oh, I am having a rough time updating this with my economy numbers. I
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.

28.78 Miles Per Gallon- A New Low!

Well, tank 164 took 26 days to use up. In that 26 days, the car went
345.1 miles and was refueled with 11.992 gallons (at $3.339 per gallon),
making for a crappy fuel economy of 28.78 miles per gallon.

This is my worst fuel economy number of all time, and the most gasoline
I have ever pumped into that car.

But, it raised my "days between tanks" average to 10.71 days between
refills. It was also my 24th tank of gas this year. In 2007, the 24th
tank of gas happened on July 16, more than a month sooner than this
year.

Granted, I did not have back surgery that laid me up for 2 and a half
weeks, but still, I must celebrate good things where I can.