Have I been doing it wrong all these years?

N-Trouble wrote:

Terryallan wrote:

fj12ryder wrote:
The main thing to remember is that the MPG reading is a lie. If you really want to know your MPG, keep track of mileage and amounts added to the tank, over several tankfuls you'll get your pretty accurate MPG.

Let me understand. You trust your computer to tell you the number of miles you traveled. You trust your computer to tell you how fast you are going. You trust your computer to tell you the amount of time you traveled. You trust your computer to tell the engine what your foot wants it to do. You trust your computer to mix the correct amount of fuel with air, to allow the engine to run correctly.
But you don't trust your computer to be able to use all that information to figure your MPG? Instead you trust a hand held computer, and a simi accurate computer on a random gas pump on a simi level concrete pad to figure your MPG. Oke Doke!

Ok so on the flip-side if we assume my truck MPG readout is accurate than your implying every tested and certified gas pump Ive filled at is off by the same amount???

My truck always reads 6-7% above hand calculated numbers. This is directly attributed to “fuel used” value the computer tries to calculate. It is always 6-7% less than what the pumps say. These trucks have no gauge/meter to physically messure how much fuel the truck has actually burnt. Its all “calculated” numbers based on MANY engine parameters. A best guess estimate...

Some trucks are near spot on while others can be greatly off. Whichever you have will likey be consistent over the life of the truck.

Now back to the OP we all know nobody truly gets 15MPG towing a 30ft 5er out WEST. So just another datapoint that shows his computer numbers are BS.

Just saying. You use the computer generated miles to do your calculations. And you use a random gas pump, that may or may not have a level pad for the vehicle to sit on and if the one you used for the first fill did not have a level pad, or if the pad the vehicle sits on leaned slightly the opposite way. You are not getting a accurate reading.

For me. The computer is close enough. It has all the information needed to calculate MPG to a acceptable level.