Would having a real-time fuel mileage display change your driving habits?

[Charlie]

Would having a real-time fuel mileage display in your car encourage you to drive in a more fuel-efficient manner? Post your thoughts.

Thanks,
Charlie

[davidsky]

It might make me drive in a more fuel efficient manner :usa:
It would more likely make me crash my car :dizzy:

[ToledoEngineer]

I mostly find that I only watch the Instant MPG calculator when I'm accellerating from a stop light or have the cruise set. I used to watch it all the time, but I found that it didn't improve my mileage all that much. I have a heavy foot regardless.

[AuraDrvr89]

I really enjoy an instant MPG readout.. I wish my Aura had one. :|

[FrozenPilot]

I've had them in several rental cars. Unfortunately all they've done is confirm that driving smoothly and steadily is the safest and most efficient way to drive. Its rather useless for fine tuning your driving style. Engine load and fuel flow would be needed, and not many people can take all three and make sense of them.

Its a neat little toy; for example, did you know the 2.4L Pontiac G6 gets 9mpg during normal acceleration? I tried slightly more or less throttle with no display change from the instant readout.

[luvme2tymes]

About a month ago I switched my odometer over to the tripometer fulltime. Now I watch my gas mileage vs. where the needle is on my fuel gauge.

I know when I get to the 3/4 mark the mileage better be higher than 100.

My driving isn't as hard now since I've made a game of averaging 38+ mpg. :cool:

[CarNut]

...Its a neat little toy; for example, did you know the 2.4L Pontiac G6 gets 9mpg during normal acceleration? I tried slightly more or less throttle with no display change from the instant readout.

Which is why a bristle when I hear all these fuel saving driving tips encouraging prople to creep away from stoplights. All you do is spend more time and distance under low mpg conditions. And the odds of hitting more stop lights seem to increase, thereby wasting more gas idling. Ideally you'd drive a manual transmission, open the throttle up fully and shift at low rpm. Unfortunately more throttle means higher shift points on an automatic. With all the electronicly controlled automatics I can't believe no one has come up with a fuel economy mode that would lower shift points and allow more throttle while staying in high gear when cruising.

A fuel computer that lets you easily and accurately test economy from point to point is wht we really need. Slight variations in grade, wind, and speed make it difficult to draw meaningful conclusions from instanteous readings. Then you could test different acceleration rates and speeds on frequently driven routes to determine the best combination for your vehicle and route.

[froggy81500]

I installed an OTIS I bought from another intrepid owner for my intrepid (before I traded it) and I liked watching the instant MPG. It was interesting and helpful. I miss having that feature.

[1994Saturn]

I would love it!, My 89 cougar has that... (Full digital dash) and it works well still!!! I want to get a scanguage2, but 159$.... Ah i dont know...

[BobbyP]

Having the ScanGauge set to "today" for mileage you can see how your driving measures up daily.

This is much more useful than a real-time or by the tank readings.

[froggy81500]

one thing that can be said for sure, if more cars had them more people could make use of them. I think right about now, more people wished they had them. Unless they drive an SUV and would rather not know how bad it really is.

[OnDaGround]

I'm with kermit on this one... But I personally don't think so. If anything I'd prolly turn it off.

[love099]

definitely changed my driving habits after i installed my mpg calc in my car... i kinda missed driving fast but it's kinda helpful...in a way...

[bc3tech]

i do have a real time readout (dashhawk) and it DOES change my driving habits. best thing about the DH is that the whole screen changes color from Green (+/- 20% of your average) to Yellow, to Red depending on where your instant MPG is from the running average. gets you to pay attention to your foot a lot more.

[Biohzrd1]

it might but i doubt it

[first amendment]

yes, I think so, especially if I were driving trying to obtain better fuel economy.

[Warren]

Since installing my Scanguage II, I have slowed down on the highway and certainly stopped all jackrabbit starts. It just floors me when you see the difference in mpg or litres per hundred when you increase your speed from 110 kph (70 mph) to 120 kph (75mph). On the highway, I find now I can extend my distance between service stations by about 20 to 25 miles. I have no measurement for city driving as being retired I rarely travel the same route in order to come up with a meaningful measurement.
I guess what I am saying is knowing the real-time fuel mileage display certainly has affected my driving habits.

[adventureoflink]

If only I can get mine to work right I'd probably change some of the things I do

yeah my scangauge keeps reading out all these crazy values like 50, 75, even sometimes I had 105+mpg and some of these crazy numbers were when I had it in cruise going @ 70mph and I KNOW you don't get 50mpg when you go 70 (personally I've gotten ~32.5mpg)

[Señor Ramos]

My father owns a Lincoln Continental with the instant MPG (or KPG!) readout. I have to press the menu button a few times to get to that readout, but when I do, it's usually out of curiosity when I'm on the open road or in really bad traffic. I just like to see what the extremes of the car can be in terms of fuel efficiency. Turns out that it can get up to 27mpg on the highway after some regular maintenance. A V8, no less. If my SL1 had an MPG readout, I would constantly be having a joygasm as I watch the number not slip below 30. :D

[adventureoflink]

My father owns a Lincoln Continental with the instant MPG (or KPG!) readout. I have to press the menu button a few times to get to that readout, but when I do, it's usually out of curiosity when I'm on the open road or in really bad traffic. I just like to see what the extremes of the car can be in terms of fuel efficiency. Turns out that it can get up to 27mpg on the highway after some regular maintenance. A V8, no less. If my SL1 had an MPG readout, I would constantly be having a joygasm as I watch the number not slip below 30. :D

That's because it's due to a highly tuned/geared transmission. I also want to say that it's because it's got the mustang engine in it, but I'm not swearing to anything (unless you said Town Car instead :p)

that said, typically V8s in cars do get that kind of fuel economy (when it's used in a (pickup) truck, van, or (S)UV application you typically expect to see less.) I've read about a couple people getting ~30mpg in even a grand marquis :eek:, the secret is that the engine is running at 1700RPM and in a higher gear.

EDIT: If your Continental was a '95-2002 model, it had a 4.6L modular engine in it, which happens to be one of the Mustang engines (psst find a K&N kit for it, get one for a equivalent year Mustang if you can't find one for the continental. it should just fit right in :D).. suprising that the oldschool Continentals had V8s that are over 6 and 7 liters :eek:

[Señor Ramos]

That's because it's due to a highly tuned/geared transmission. I also want to say that it's because it's got the mustang engine in it, but I'm not swearing to anything (unless you said Town Car instead :p)

that said, typically V8s in cars do get that kind of fuel economy (when it's used in a (pickup) truck, van, or (S)UV application you typically expect to see less.) I've read about a couple people getting ~30mpg in even a grand marquis :eek:, the secret is that the engine is running at 1700RPM and in a higher gear.

EDIT: If your Continental was a '95-2002 model, it had a 4.6L modular engine in it, which happens to be one of the Mustang engines (psst find a K&N kit for it, get one for a equivalent year Mustang if you can't find one for the continental. it should just fit right in :D).. suprising that the oldschool Continentals had V8s that are over 6 and 7 liters :eek:

Not to hijack, but I love my dads' car. It's a 1996 with the 245BHP 4.6L V8 Mustang engine. I would LOVE to throw the intake on there, but my dad is a stock man. He likes things to look factory clean and unmodified.

[adventureoflink]

Not to hijack, but I love my dads' car. It's a 1996 with the 245BHP 4.6L V8 Mustang engine.
That's what I thought. ;) I know your dad wouldn't approve, but FYI, you'd need either the Mustang GT or Mustang SVT Cobra kit. I'd go with the later, since the '95-2002 continentals share the same engine as the SVT Cobra Mustang.

In the end though, I dunno if the Air intake sensor would've fit on or not.. it's one thing for something to fit all across the board, but you gotta take into consideration the vacuum (or whatever that little hose is that connects the engine to the intake (example is on the saturns, there's a hose that comes out of the part that says TWIN CAM 16 VALVE and hooks into the side of the intake) and/or the IAT sensor.

I would LOVE to throw the intake on there, but my dad is a stock man. He likes things to look factory clean and unmodified.

Eh, guess in the end ya can't really blame him. after all, it's his car so..

EDIT: Now if only they made this (http://www.knfilters.com/search/product.aspx?Prod=57-2523-2) for Saturns.. ;)

[saturnsl293]

seeing that I probably drive city more then highway I'd probably see what to do and hopefully not be in a major hurry (ie get out of work late and trying to get to school on time). really I think I'd probably use it more for road tripping so I can try to keep filling up to a minimum especially if I'm not trying to keep up with others (going somewhere with more then just yourself). Realistically it may not be too viable for me unless I can get one super cheap as I probably wouldn't use it much unless its a built in feature.

[mudawg]

if I saw good results probably

[DynamicEntry]

I think it would merely serve as a reminder to me to go easy on the gas, I could just as easily put a sticker on my dash reminding me of the price at the pumps, or something like that. Having said that, yeah, it would influence my driving habits.

[AquaRegia]

My dad used to have Thunderbird that had this feature, and I loved it. I think it really gave me a better understanding of how cars use fuel.

Lately, I've made an effort to drive more gently (I coast more and brake less) and I've seen a significant increase in my gas mileage - from 35 to 38+ mpg in my SL2.

[MikeNW]

YES!
similar to luvme2tymes, if I am on a trip, the odometer must read 250 miles or more by "half" a tank.

Instantaneous MPG readout should be standard on future cars. Period. Seeing 9 mpg during acceleration would be sobering to most people.

[In the Woods]

Well now on the seven Saturn and this one is a joy 34.7 mpg first tank. I was watching the instant thing at first but after 18mpg on the 2006 Vue this is pure joy!