It really saves gas and gives power!

[Volgrrr]

KEWROCK, simply because you can't get 33 mpg does not by any means that other people can't. If you have read over this entire site then you have read countless threads about people getting 30+ mpg.

And you are completely overlooking the number of people claiming they don't get anything of the sort!

Is your car at stage 0 yet?

There would be no point in doing this if Volvo manufacture vehicles with such a wide disparity in performance.

Do you have proper tire pressure? Are you running 87 or do make the extra effort to get higher octane fuel? How old are your spark plugs? Are they gapped correctly? What kind of air filter are you using? What kind of oil? Are your calipers dragging?

If I was KEWROCk I would take offence at you having the gaul to suggest he is a complete mechanical nincompoop. My vehicle has all those things done to it - and more, and I still don't get anywhere the mileage you claim to get.

There are an infinite number of things that you may be doing differently then we are.

Are you saying all the high milers do these things - because I bet not all of them do, just the same as a number of people who do do these things don't achieve these fantastic mileages.

As a result you can't get 30+ mpg while we can. You can accept it or not, but we are happy ....

And that makes me deleriously happy for you.

..... knowing that we can do something you believe to be impossible.

Me, yep and a few others, and quite possibly the Volvo car company too.

[jblackburn]

Just putting it out there...I have a Turbo model, and if I'm nice to it (cruise or maintaining speed gently at 65-70), and on flat highways I have seen (and maintained) up to 33-34 mpg for 100-200 miles. It can be done. Normally, though, I'm a bit of a leadfoot passing trucks on the mountainy interstate up here, and normally get ~28-29. Even that's pretty good if you ask me. On a trip from NC to PA last year, stuffed to the gills with my family and luggage, I still managed 29 mpg for the first leg of the trip (NC to Maryland) at ~75 mph.

City mileage sucks though, I'm too impatient with slow drivers. There are far too many Priuses around here.

I use 89 gas, have a K&N filter, run synthetic Mobil-1, no additives, and other than that I have done almost zero Stage 0 maintenance to my car since I bought it besides what has broken. It's my theory that dirty sensors or leaky vacuum lines can account for significant drops in mileage that some of you experience. A STEADY FOOT ON THE GAS will do wonders...my cruise control is a complete nuisance on hilly roads.

[polskamafia mjl]

Volgrrr, I don't follow. There most certainly are an infinite number of things that lead to a certain mpg. I'm glad you're happy for me, although I think you're being just a tad sarcastic.

[Volgrrr]

Volgrrr, I don't follow. There most certainly are an infinite number of things that lead to a certain mpg. I'm glad you're happy for me, although I think you're being just a tad sarcastic.

Polskamafia mjl my old buddy, I've come to the conclusion it must surely be an American thing.

The point I've tried to make repeatedly is, the mileage some owners in America claim to get is, basically, not matched anywhere else in the world that I can see except from, maybe, one guy in Estonia.

Some claims appear quite acceptable while others, when calculated (converted) in Imperial gallons, become nearly laughable.

Unless my mathematics is wrong (and I don't claim to be a mathematician), where fuel consumption is listed in m.p.g (U.S gallons), to calculate what fuel consumption the very same vehicle would get per Imperial gallon, the U.S mileage needs to be multiplied by a factor of 1.3

For example, where it is claimed a Volvo achieves 35 m.p.g (U.S gallon), then this is the same as saying that very same vehicle would achieve nearly 46 miles per Imperial gallon.

I've scanned through most of the non-U.S boards and I can't find any posts where a person claims their petrol engined Volvo 850 achieves this figure (i.e. 46 m/Imp gal). Maybe you can find some that will prove me wrong.

So I guess that beings me back to my original point - as I said - it must be an American sort of thing (i.e. the air, better road surfaces, better maintained vehicles, better quality vehicle polish, Volvo install a more economical engine in their U.S. vehicles, etc.) although common sense tells me this is complete BS.

P.S. I'm not really influenced by people who take photos of their instrument panel readout displaying very light fuel consumption as proof their vehicle actually achieves the indicated fuel consumption. Unfortunately, these readouts are easily obtained and, if a person wants to cheat to prove their point they only have to;

(1) reset the computer before coasting down a long gradient then;
(2) raise both engine revs and road speed to make it appear the vehicle has been travelling along at normal road speeds then;
(3) photograph the instrument panel when the average fuel consumption figure displays the desired fuel consumption figure.

[polskamafia mjl]

I see what you are trying to say now. I don't attribute it to the American roads being better, lol. I don't really now what to say, but maybe I'll try to explain the conditions under which I get 33mpg. This summer I spent most of my time doing really long road trips, mostly from Hummelstown, PA to Pittsburgh PA. The trip is just over 200 miles. I made that trip quite a few times and each time I drove 200 miles on 6 gallons of gas. That comes out to 33mpg. I also made a road trip down to Jacksonville, FL from Pittsburgh, PA. I can't remember how long the trip is but once again I was averaging 33mpg. However, now that I am back at school I drive almost exclusively in the city where I get about 15mpg, I use about 18 gallons of gas and drive between 200-300 miles per fill up. Is it possible that to achieve 33mpg one has to do a very long trip, maybe around 200 miles? Perhaps it would make sense for everyone who doesn't believe in the fabled 33mpg to try just that, drive 200 miles in 1 direction and see what kind of mileage you get. I assure you that I am not making this number up.

[code-man850]

I recall a night out driving with a group, mashing on the peddal pretty well, not all out but having fun. I had decided to try this gas additive (Lucas Oil Octane Boost). I had reset the avg. mpg on my 850 Turbo computer. At the end of the night I avg. 26mpg. What I usually get with 91 pump gas on a hilly highway. Tried it from So. Cal to Oregon and got 33 avg. mpg. I'm sold!

[Volgrrr]

However, now that I am back at school I drive almost exclusively in the city where I get about 15mpg, I use about 18 gallons of gas and drive between 200-300 miles per fill up.

And I find that a bit puzzling - the worst I've ever got out of my T5, no matter how hard it was driven, is about 20 m.p.g (oops, just sudddenly realised that's about the same as 15 m.p.g converted from Imperial to U.S gallons).

Perhaps it would make sense for everyone who doesn't believe in the fabled 33mpg to try just that, drive 200 miles in 1 direction and see what kind of mileage you get.

I've just got back from a 600 kilometre return trip (i.e. 360 miles) and the T5 averaged slightly over 25 m.p.g (i.e. 19 m.p.g U.S) even though it must be pointed out on the way back the vehicle encountered a long, steep gradient which it had to grind up as the freeway wound up through a mini-mountain range halfway between Melbourne and where we live.

I assure you that I am not making this number up.

And I'm not saying you don't. I'm just saying "Good luck to you." for getting the fuel consumption you get - I just wish I did.

[micah861]

How large is an Imperial gallon compared to a U.S. gallon? (just curious)

[jblackburn]

1 imperial gallon = 1.2 US gallons

[polskamafia mjl]

Wait I just realized something that might clear things up.

33mpg = 33miles/1USg to convert 33m/1g into ?m/Imp.g we do:

[33miles/1USg] X [1.2USg/1Imp.g] and we get 39.6miles/imperial g.

If anyone has ever done factor label method in a chem class then you can confirm this number for me.

Does 39.6 miles per imperial gallon make more sense?