Getting pretty good gas mileage in my Malibu..

[Everglades W68]

[2.8 Bird]

Re: Getting pretty good gas mileage in my Malibu..

That's not accurate.

[Docta]

Re: Getting pretty good gas mileage in my Malibu..

And this is why computers aren't smart..

[pace2006]

Re: Getting pretty good gas mileage in my Malibu..

Actual average or instantaneous mileage? The '09 Malibu I had as a rental got decent mileage getting around, but that and power suffered when dealing with the hills around here.

And to the two posts above... computers are generally accurate, but can be easily manipulated (ie. coasting, out of gear, low acceleration, etc). It wouldn't look good if they always displayed the low numbers people are getting while accelerating up to cruise speeds.

[OneEightSeven]

Re: Getting pretty good gas mileage in my Malibu..

Computers are perfectly accurate tools for any practical purposes that apply to 99.9% of our tasks. Computers only work with what you give them. That means that any inaccuracies are the fault of humans. Basically true inaccuracies start to apply with complex tasks typically in scientific applications.

Humans must use their smarts and assign proper programming and interpret the data properly. Sure you can trick a computer by doing something it's programming does not expect in order to get it to do something it's not designed to do. This is what hacking is. So if you're tricking your computer into showing you wrong or inflated MPG data then you're sort of hacking, albeit in a real boring way.

Furthermore sometimes tasks assigned to computers are based on sensor data or a method that is inherently inaccurate to complete a particular task. For instance look at all those g-tech gizmos. Computers that power them are accurate, it's just the methods that are implemented to output performance data are inaccurate and the poor computer is just working with what the designers gave it. Those accelerometers are inherently an inaccurate way to generate "dyno numbers". This means no amount of computing power is going to give you an accurate number. It's likely the same is true for the methods used to calculate MPG.

That being said most of the built-in MPG calculators tend to be fairly precise, meaning I can drive the same way (behavior wise) tank after tank and get roughly the same number. While that number may be inaccurate the presence of precision means I could at least see how changes in my behavior alter that number. I won't ever know my true MPG from that tool, but I'll know if I'm driving more economically than I was before.

[Blizzard242]

Re: Getting pretty good gas mileage in my Malibu..

Nerd.

[12secondv6]

Re: Getting pretty good gas mileage in my Malibu..

[Docta]

Re: Getting pretty good gas mileage in my Malibu..

Actual average or instantaneous mileage? The '09 Malibu I had as a rental got decent mileage getting around, but that and power suffered when dealing with the hills around here.

And to the two posts above... computers are generally accurate, but can be easily manipulated (ie. coasting, out of gear, low acceleration, etc). It wouldn't look good if they always displayed the low numbers people are getting while accelerating up to cruise speeds.

He just got gas. Assuming he resets it at that point. And no, computers are not "easily manipulated"; they do what they are programmed to do, no more no less. You can't blackmail a computer, they don't pick sides, they run code. I drove an 01 GP GTP for nearly two years before I got my Camaro, same thing... it's dividing a small amount of gas used by a smaller time... just a flawed code. They should have it run a minimum time before displaying, that way people get accurate readings the entire time it displays.

And sorry for the rant, I just got woken too early on my day off. :cry:

[kristen]

Re: Getting pretty good gas mileage in my Malibu..

he!l if i fill up at this one gas station by my house and cost right down the hill in my malibu i can get 99.9mpg...doesn't read any higher than that lol

[pace2006]

Re: Getting pretty good gas mileage in my Malibu..

He just got gas. Assuming he resets it at that point. And no, computers are not "easily manipulated"; they do what they are programmed to do, no more no less. You can't blackmail a computer, they don't pick sides, they run code. I drove an 01 GP GTP for nearly two years before I got my Camaro, same thing... it's dividing a small amount of gas used by a smaller time... just a flawed code. They should have it run a minimum time before displaying, that way people get accurate readings the entire time it displays.

And sorry for the rant, I just got woken too early on my day off. :cry:

I'm well aware of how it works. I have a mid-80s Nissan with an instantaneous mpg meter (along with a positive/negative accel gauge) and had an older car beforehand with a sweeping mpg gauge. It's not new technology and is very easy to manipulate (manipulate as in to change an independent variable that is taken as one of the readings to yield the results displayed on the MPG meter, not the common derogatory term for taking advantage of someone). Those displayed results can be also easily changed (read "manipulated") by independent variables other than the primary, throttle position, by coasting or taking the car out of gear, both of which will yield inflated results.

So yes, it may be what you call a "flawed code" or missing some information, but it is easy to manipulate. Like I said earlier... who would want to drive a car that only showed the lower numbers achieved under positive acceleration?

[DAS BOOT]

Re: Getting pretty good gas mileage in my Malibu..

You guys are taking his post too serioussly.

[Everglades W68]

Re: Getting pretty good gas mileage in my Malibu..

I wonder if someone could re-set the average MPG while coasting and then snap a cellphone picture?

[pace2006]

Re: Getting pretty good gas mileage in my Malibu..

I wonder if someone could re-set the average MPG while coasting and then snap a cellphone picture?

Mine gets better gas mileage than yours while coasting :P

[Everglades W68]

Re: Getting pretty good gas mileage in my Malibu..

Mine gets better gas mileage than yours while coasting :P

I can get 99.9 MPG if need be...

BTW, filling up the tank is irrelevant...

[FirebirdGT]

Re: Getting pretty good gas mileage in my Malibu..

Even better, my Impala SS gives 2mpg when I stuff my foot into the V8 throttle! That readout is a blast to watch. LOL
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