80 mph at 3 grand.....156 miles- Burning too much gas?
 

Hey people- I drove my car to the beach this past weekend and noted these readings:
80 mph at 3 grand and I drove a total of 156 miles almost from the point I got on the highway to the point I got off...1 mile to get the highway and 1 mile when I got off and got to my girlfriends grandparents house...used up half my tank of gas!

Question: Am I burning up too much gas or that seems about right?

I was just wondering, would appreciate it if someone answered this thread :)

The tank is about 16 gallons so your looking at about 20mpg. I'd say your doing alright.

when was the last time you changed your plugs, wires ? air filter , and checked your timing. what about your tps is it in spec? tires properly inflated? windows up or down when driving on the freeway? I know it will reduce fuel economy when you drive on the freeway with windows down..

roatry#10 is right about having the windows down. its creates a parachute effect and increases drag. in some cases, it wastes more fuel than rolling with the windows up and a/c on.
changing/adjusting all those things stated above will increase your mpg slightly, but not drastically.
the best thing for most mpg would be to roll with your windows up and a/c off. and with it being ridiculously hot these days, youll sweat a couple of pounds off.
so its a win win situation. :icon_tup:

I'm not so sure...assuming the 20MPG figure is correct, that seems low to me.
I leave tonight for a 1000 mile jaunt to Chicago, so I'll chime in tomorrow and see what I got.

A year ago, during the same trip I averaged just over 26MPG- and that included a lot of "window down" driving (it was bloody hot!).
This time it's much cooler, so the windows should be up most of the time but the air is denser...it'll probably be a wash.
We'll see.

Got 23 MPG driving ~300 miles at 80 MPH highway with very hard city driving. Am waiting to measure out what it comes to when I'm driving the usual 65-70 while being softer on the throttle. I drive with the windows up, a/c off.

hey people- i really appreciate all the replys! went to the beach with my window down and the sunroof open but my passenger side was up ("the wind is keeping me up!") w/e she says right lol but wires havent been changed on the car in about 8 months but the plugs were changed about 3 months ago- also the guy who put in the plugs put in 93 fd plugs and I JUST REMEMBERED ABOUT THAT- IS THAT A BAD THING? so 3 months with those spark plugs- maybe 5,000 miles on them! should i go back and get the same plugs or the one specifically for my 87?

OK, as promised (if anyone cares), the first leg of the journey is finished- 1000 miles straight through from Denver to Chicago.

Conditions this trip were somewhat different than usual, I left at @ 10:30 PM (hoping to make good time through Nebraska- which I did) but hit rain all the way through Iowa and most of Illinois.
This meant that for the entire trip the headlights were on and I have to believe that the comprimised aerodynamics affected the gas consumption.

Anyway, the average for the entire trip was 23.9MPG, which, given the conditions- bat out of hell through Nebraska, followed by intermittant intense rain the rest of the trip- isn't too bad.
Trip took 13.5 hours, not too bad but not a personal record.

The next three legs of the journey are about 350 miles each and should be made under better, more mileage friendly conditions.

I got 28.9mpg on my way to Vermont from Georgia.

FD uses the same plugs, no worries.