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What is your gas mileage?
- Thread starter Midget78
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bill_powell
Jedi Trainee
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Well, in my case I'm out in the boonies, and the Midget is my daily driver, so her mileage is something I do pay attention to.
My 1275 with a mild cam, pertronix ign, HIF6, LCB, and Datsun 5-speed seems to average, in the city, high 20s mpg, give or take the weight of my right foot. Hwy is high 30s. My standard drive of mostly hwy, some mixed city is averaging a 175-180 mile range per stuffed tankful.
Gratuitous photos, just for the heck of it:
My 1275 with a mild cam, pertronix ign, HIF6, LCB, and Datsun 5-speed seems to average, in the city, high 20s mpg, give or take the weight of my right foot. Hwy is high 30s. My standard drive of mostly hwy, some mixed city is averaging a 175-180 mile range per stuffed tankful.
Gratuitous photos, just for the heck of it:
kcbugeye1275
Jedi Knight
Offline
Highly modified 1275, with a driver that can't keep his foot out of it, 26 to 28 in a mix of city and highway driving, how many have a toy to play with that gets that kind of milage. It's fun. So, its not the milage, its the fun.
Bill Powell, very nice midget. I like the yellow. I drive mine as a daily driver except the crappy weather days. With that gas gauge not working I have to know that mileage. I have that extra gallon in the trunk but my luck she will run out when Im in a really busy area so I top it off when Im getting close to the E side of the tank.
aeronca65t
Great Pumpkin
Offline
I know I use about 6 gallons per hour in the Spridget race car.....whether it's Lime Rock or Watkins Glen. :laugh:
That's with Sunoco GT 100 unleaded race gas (about $6.50 USD / gallon).
Just for reference, my '69 MGB gets about 25 mpg on mid-grade fuel. Our '00 Miata is close to 30 mpg on mid-grade fuel.
That's with Sunoco GT 100 unleaded race gas (about $6.50 USD / gallon).
Just for reference, my '69 MGB gets about 25 mpg on mid-grade fuel. Our '00 Miata is close to 30 mpg on mid-grade fuel.
tony barnhill
Great Pumpkin - R.I.P
Offline
Has nothing to do with carb.......you're loaded with emissions equipment that clog it down; you're carrying 100 pounds of extra weight in your bumpers; you've got a terrible manifold setup; you're running an old British tractor motor....your car isn't designed to compete with the 1275 in gas mileage numbers.tweety said:
Sorry
tony barnhill
Great Pumpkin - R.I.P
Offline
Why not just fix the gas guage?Midget78 said:
bthompson
Jedi Warrior
Offline
Nigel doesn't have emissions, doesn't have bumpers, and doesn't have a terrible manifold. (Welll, okay, it's a Weber with a Pierce manifold, so it's bad, but not <span style="font-style: italic">that</span> terrible)
Must be the tractor motor. I'm still only getting 25mpg average.
Must be the tractor motor. I'm still only getting 25mpg average.
EVSpriteGuy
Freshman Member
Offline
Why is the car in the picture below smiling???
Because it does not have gas! :lol:
(nor does it need any gas since it is electric)
The down side is that it doesn't sound as cool as all your cars!
I do agree with Tony's comment about it being a sportscar. That is the way I drive mine.
Because it does not have gas! :lol:
(nor does it need any gas since it is electric)
The down side is that it doesn't sound as cool as all your cars!
I do agree with Tony's comment about it being a sportscar. That is the way I drive mine.
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RickB
Yoda
Offline
Well Mark, I think you can figure out how many "mpg" you get by taking the cost of batteries and the cost of charging them over the life of the batteries divided by the miles you travel (per the life of those batteries) to get to a cost per mile. Then divide the cost of a gallon of gas by your cost per mile and you should come to an approximation of the relative "mpg" you get.
Clear? :wink:
So, estimating your batteries cost $2000 and it costs $2 per day to charge them up and you drive 60 miles per day and your batteries last 1000 days...
$2000 + $2000 = $4000
$4000 / 60,000 (miles) = $.07 per mile
If gas = $2.30 / gallon then:
$2.30 / .07 = 32.86 mpg
(mostly wild guesses)
Hopefully the batteries are not that expensive and the charging of them is cheaper and the numbers work better. When the price of gas increases or the batteries last significantly longer your relative mpg definitely looks better. If the cost of charging or the cost of batteries increases (they don't last as long or actually cost more to buy) then the numbers look worse.
Clear? :wink:
So, estimating your batteries cost $2000 and it costs $2 per day to charge them up and you drive 60 miles per day and your batteries last 1000 days...
$2000 + $2000 = $4000
$4000 / 60,000 (miles) = $.07 per mile
If gas = $2.30 / gallon then:
$2.30 / .07 = 32.86 mpg
(mostly wild guesses)
Hopefully the batteries are not that expensive and the charging of them is cheaper and the numbers work better. When the price of gas increases or the batteries last significantly longer your relative mpg definitely looks better. If the cost of charging or the cost of batteries increases (they don't last as long or actually cost more to buy) then the numbers look worse.
EVSpriteGuy
Freshman Member
Offline
Hi Rick,
Your wild guesses end up with a pretty close final cost to what I am seeing.
I have been averaging about 20 miles per day, at about 2 cents a mile for charging. I have a meter that tells me the cost for each charge. Since I only use about half my charge between charging, the batteries should be good for 1600-1800 cycles. The battery pack cost me $1800. Using your method of calculating that would be:
$1800 + $640 = $2440
$2440 / 32000 (miles) = $.076 per mile (assuming 1600 cycles)
That is with me driving it like a sportscar!
Right now Idaho has some of the lowest power rates and gas prices are usually above the national average, so I should be okay for the near future.
But, the whole reason I did this project was just to have fun and have a unique fun vehicle to drive. Building an electric car has been a dream of mine since I was a teenager growing up during the gas crisis of the '70s.
Sorry to sidetrack this thread!
Your wild guesses end up with a pretty close final cost to what I am seeing.
I have been averaging about 20 miles per day, at about 2 cents a mile for charging. I have a meter that tells me the cost for each charge. Since I only use about half my charge between charging, the batteries should be good for 1600-1800 cycles. The battery pack cost me $1800. Using your method of calculating that would be:
$1800 + $640 = $2440
$2440 / 32000 (miles) = $.076 per mile (assuming 1600 cycles)
That is with me driving it like a sportscar!
Right now Idaho has some of the lowest power rates and gas prices are usually above the national average, so I should be okay for the near future.
But, the whole reason I did this project was just to have fun and have a unique fun vehicle to drive. Building an electric car has been a dream of mine since I was a teenager growing up during the gas crisis of the '70s.
Sorry to sidetrack this thread!
RickB
Yoda
Offline
Right, I remember lining up at the gas station and being told they were "out" before I got to the pump.
I meant to add that the "mpg" thing surely couldn't be the main focus and looking at your car it's obvious that it isn't. You gotta have fun is what I always say.
Interesting that my guesses were so close, but I've thought about this and researched a bit.
I meant to add that the "mpg" thing surely couldn't be the main focus and looking at your car it's obvious that it isn't. You gotta have fun is what I always say.
Interesting that my guesses were so close, but I've thought about this and researched a bit.
EVSpriteGuy
Freshman Member
Offline
Hey Zimmy,
What if you add in oil changes, coolant changes, spark plugs, air and gas filters, etc, for that same 32000 miles? If you do the work yourself, probably not a big factor.
But then again, I will go through brakes and tires faster due to the added weight and no compression braking.
But then again, I would not use up the clutch as fast since I don't shift as much, or idle at stops (I actually don't need to use the clutch at all, but it is more fun to use it!).
The bottom-line is am sure that with either gas or electric, our reward vs. cost (smiles per mile) will always be great as long as we are driving these fun little cars!!! :thumbsup:
What if you add in oil changes, coolant changes, spark plugs, air and gas filters, etc, for that same 32000 miles? If you do the work yourself, probably not a big factor.
But then again, I will go through brakes and tires faster due to the added weight and no compression braking.
But then again, I would not use up the clutch as fast since I don't shift as much, or idle at stops (I actually don't need to use the clutch at all, but it is more fun to use it!).
The bottom-line is am sure that with either gas or electric, our reward vs. cost (smiles per mile) will always be great as long as we are driving these fun little cars!!! :thumbsup:
RickB
Yoda
Offline
Personally I think the "oh wow" factor has to be remembered.
There are a lot of things that are just plain cool about transforming any gas driven car to all electric.
You did it without actually harming a "real" Bugeye sprite...
"No Bugeye Sprites were harmed during the making of this car"
however your car is instantly recognizable as a classic and then seeing it take off without any gas is inspiring.
I have a large family with lots of kids and nieces & nephews and all their friends. They are all pretty confused about the whole "save the planet" thing right now as they are being told a lot of differing things by teachers, mentors, media and their parents. What I point out to them is that there is no free energy, and anything we do "harms the planet" in some way.
Using solar energy seems like a great way to "save the planet" until you examine the way PV cells are made, what goes into them and the process and then of course what happens to them when they are eventually discarded or recycled.
Are they better than some of the other ways we are powering our homes and businesses? Of course. Are they pollution free?
No.
Same goes for use of batteries. Or any of the other alternatives.
The trade offs have to be closely examined before an intelligent choice can be made. Knowing the long term results from use of a new technology isn't possible, unfortunately we will just have to live with whatever we produce. Hopefully we will get smarter.
There are a lot of things that are just plain cool about transforming any gas driven car to all electric.
You did it without actually harming a "real" Bugeye sprite...
"No Bugeye Sprites were harmed during the making of this car"
however your car is instantly recognizable as a classic and then seeing it take off without any gas is inspiring.
I have a large family with lots of kids and nieces & nephews and all their friends. They are all pretty confused about the whole "save the planet" thing right now as they are being told a lot of differing things by teachers, mentors, media and their parents. What I point out to them is that there is no free energy, and anything we do "harms the planet" in some way.
Using solar energy seems like a great way to "save the planet" until you examine the way PV cells are made, what goes into them and the process and then of course what happens to them when they are eventually discarded or recycled.
Are they better than some of the other ways we are powering our homes and businesses? Of course. Are they pollution free?
No.
Same goes for use of batteries. Or any of the other alternatives.
The trade offs have to be closely examined before an intelligent choice can be made. Knowing the long term results from use of a new technology isn't possible, unfortunately we will just have to live with whatever we produce. Hopefully we will get smarter.