MPG puzzle - Who can figure it out?

[LazyDay]

I live in Michigan and get a consistent 15 mpg around town using 87 octane gas. I travel to Utah to visit the family during Christmas and average 13 mpg on the freeway. I get to Utah and get 17 mpg using 85 octane gas and I'm at a higher elevation. Change a bad PFE sensor (PRessure feedback EGR sensor) in Utah and continue to get 17 mpg on 85 octane. Drive back to michigan and go from 17 mpg in Wyoming down as low as 11.6 mpg in Illinois. What the heck is going on!

 

[V]

MPG

I drove from Iowa to Florida last fall (1500 mi.), and averaged over 20 MPG. We got our worst milage in Illinois(18 mpg), and our best milage in the hills of Tennessee and northern Georgia (21-22 mpg). The only thing I could figure out is that the must put in different additives in different patrs of the country. I also paid the most in Illinois ($1.59), and the least in Georgia ($1.27). We used 87 octane regular unleaded.

 

[mtuck]

Were you using "oxygenated" gas in any of these various states? In Arizona we have oxygenated gas from October through March and I notice a drop in gas mileage during those months, although not as severe as you experienced.

 

[Chav]

When I had my explorer (93 xlt 4.0 ohv 4 door 4x4) I got exactly 15 mpg no matter if it was city or highway even with the intake, headers, highflow cat, and cat back. It had 3.27 gears and 30x9.5 goodyear at/s. I couldnt figure out what was going on.

-Chav

 

[COMMOCOZY]

Originally posted by LazyDay
I live in Michigan and get a consistent 15 mpg around town using 87 octane gas. I travel to Utah to visit the family during Christmas and average 13 mpg on the freeway. I get to Utah and get 17 mpg using 85 octane gas and I'm at a higher elevation. Change a bad PFE sensor (PRessure feedback EGR sensor) in Utah and continue to get 17 mpg on 85 octane. Drive back to michigan and go from 17 mpg in Wyoming down as low as 11.6 mpg in Illinois. What the heck is going on!

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In Illinois we have to have some special additive in our fuel to make it burn cleaner. This is also why fuel here is almost the highest in the country, well that and all the tax on gas 5 or 10 % per gallon i think! I think the additive in the gas is called Ethanol... i know on all the gas pumps it says there could be as much as 10 % per gallon!

hope this helps understand silly A$$ IL

 

[V]

MPG

COMMOCOZY

I do recall filling up with 87 grade ethanol when we gassed up in Illinois. All the gas had ethanol in it. I try not to burn that stuff, cause it decreases my milage by about 2mpg.