Along with "What year?", "How fast?", and "How much is it worth?", the question of fuel consumption is one of the most common. So I've installed a logbook in my touring, just like my daily driver, to keep a record of miles, gallons, mileage, cost, price, and location. I started this in 1973. It's interesting to go back and see the changes over the years.
So I started the new book when I filled up on V.E. Day. The miles on the odometer then read 80.2. This morning I filled up again. The miles were 193.5. I put in 7.4 gallons. That works out to 15.3 mpg. That was mostly town driving with lots of stops for shopping and errands. I'll have to do a couple of long drives and see how that goes.
Steve, I look forward to you posting your results. I plan to fashion a small gas tank just to measure my fuel consumption. Perhaps I could just cut a notch in my fuel stick.
When asked the same question, I usually tell people that it is supposed to get around 20 mpg.
Without exception I usually get a "REALLY??? the technology hasn't improved has it".
To which I reply, "you ain't comparing apples to apples."
I may get 20 mpg but I have no:
Heat
Air conditioning
Power steering
speeds above 50 mph
brakes (by modern standards)
front brakes (at all)
seat belts
air bags
air filter
oil filter
fuel pump
oil pump
water pump
electric starter (actually I do)
Speedometer
oil pressure gauge
temperature gauge (actually I have a motometer but why spoil the fun at this point)
My gas gauge is a wooden stick, my turn signal is permanently attached to my body and I and my passengers "are" the shock absorbers.
Why would I want to drive such a thing?
It's the most pleasurable driving experience that I have ever had.
That's the most question I get too, aside from "what year is it".
The bicycle speedometer is hand for that.
At my last "fill" (120 miles) the mileage was 19.5 mpg. I was quite surprised.
I know the coupe mileage isn't that good.
I kept track when we drove the T to the Model T Centennial in Richmond in 2008. Don't know how the spreadsheet will come come through, but let's see:
GAS
$.............0.0
22.18......72.0....5.5......13.2
24.35.....166.8....6.0......15.8
26.89.....256.9....6.6......13.7
22.75.....350.9....5.5......16.9
34.50.....454.0....8.4......12.2
27.50.....557.8....7.1......14.6
36.30.....689.9....9.2......14.4
29.80.....821.2....7.6......17.2
19.00.....901.6....5.1......15.8
34.12...1,046.2....8.7......16.7
21.07...1,145.4....5.4......18.3
298.46..1,145.4...75.2......15.2
Forum software didn't like the tabs. I'll try it again with spacers. First column is amount spent per fill-up, second column is cumulative mileage, third column is gallons and fourth column is mpg for that stretch. Looks like my mileage wasn't too good. I may have been running a little rich.
You forgot aerodynamics, Michael. Pretty complete list, otherwise.
You will definitely get better fuel economy with a Stromberg OF.
That brings up another question. Has anybody tested various carburetors for mileage on the same car over the same course?
In my case, I know the NH on mine needs a total rebuild as everything in it is sloppy. I know the mileage will improve as well as warm starting when it is right. I get around 15 from the rule of thumb we have done so far. O
When I drove my '15 Touring to Richmond and back (1,800 mi.) for the Centennial, I got 17 mpg overall. This was with a newly-rebuilt pretty much stock engine except with increased compression, a Holley G, Stipe 250, and a KC Warford. I used overdrive in the Warford quite a bit through IL and IN, otherwise not much at all.
I get 25 miles to the gallon. I have used a GPS several times and drove 100 miles and filled it up. Did the eighth grade arithmetic and it always comes out at 25 miles to the gallon.
Frank,
You have far less parasitic (or induced) drag that a regular T. But the number is most interesting, at least to me. It says what the drive train is capable of if some attention is given to body efficiency.
Steve
Front fenders are a huge drag on an early car.
Does drag really matter that much at 35mph?
I know mileage drops significantly in a modern car when speeds exceed 60 mph, due to the drag Coe.
MPG is not important--
It's all about SPM!
Smiles Per Mile
I get more SPM in town than I do in the country.
Smiles per mile.
Today we have had a holiday in germany and made a trip with friends for a picknick...we got a lot of SPM :–)
Michael, it's 2e Pinksterdag in Holland, so I assume the same in Germany. Today is also a holiday in the U.S. - Memorial Day, when we remember those who have died in war.
michael, we need pictures.....pictures.
Ein foto bitte?
I agree that SPM is more fun, but would like to relate an experience dealing with air resistance.
I volunteer with our high school's engineering class where we built three small cars to compete at the Shell Eco Marathon held in Houston this past March. We won the diesel class, place second in battery electric, and third in gas. The cars are tiny streamliners; adding the driver doubles the weight. The best strategy is to run and coast - have to average 15 mph. We try to accelerate to 20 mph and coast down to 12 and repeat. We have tried running faster, but the difference between running to 30 and 20 was huge for us. So, yes, for us air resistance at low speeds is important.
Just to give you an idea, our diesel car got 1290 mpg over a 6 mile course on Houston streets.
Regards,
Larry Pletcher
Wawasee High School, Syracuse, Indiana
I have forgotten how fast a '33 Ford V8 would go, but without the front fenders they would do 100 MPH.
My old Camry wagon would get 26.5 at best on the freeway at normal speeds but would get 33 minimum on crooked country roads at never over 45 MPH.
A VW bug had more wind resistance than a VW square back wagon (type 3).
A Renault Dauphine would go much faster with the windows closed than with them open.
Opening the tail gate on some full size pick ups will decrease MPG. On most open trailers it will increase by a bunch.
BMW proved that accelerating quickly from a stop instead of slooooowly will get you better gas mileage. I guess driving there half way in low gear doen't help the gas mileage situation much.
Good for you, Larry. That's outstanding!
A 1911 Franklin Speed Car set a long standing record of 83.5 mpg in a AAA sanctioned test on Long Island.
Kenworth did a study years ago about increasing fuel mileage. The big question was aerodynamics and they compared a flat front cabover to a traditional. They found not much difference when comparing square inches of the front of the trucks, but they also found the best way to achieve better mileage was to decrease speed to 55.