I've always been afraid of having the gas tank less than 1/4, just because something in me doesnt trust them - so when it hits 1/4 of a tank left, I fill it.

Usually out of the 3/4 of the tank, I'm anywhere from 200-230 miles on the trip odometer. That sounds horrible to me, like I'm getting horrible gas mileage. Anyone else have any opinions on this?

It's a 2002 M6, 40% highway driving, 60% city. On the highway, 6th gear, around 65-70mph constant. In the city, I try to conserve gas like nuts, on rare occasions where I'm going 40-45 constant I'll have it in 5th and barely above idle it coasts along. Dont worry, wont lug my engine though, if I need to accelerate it's going in a lower gear.

I just hit 3500 miles even on my way home. This is alot of $ put into gas. Does this sound normal, or should I have it checked into?

Also, some person claimed my car was running rich after hearing me rev it. I asked how he knew, claimed he can tell by the sound. Does this sound like BS, and/or would this affect my gas mileage? Any recommendations on improving this in general?

 

did you see my MPG post?
Try and figure out how many Gallons you have left and get and avg of the miles you are getting per gallon.. That may help you.

Since you have a 2002 I will safely state that the check engine light comes on with 3 gallons left.. when that light comes on, figure if what your average is then multiply it by 3 and you will have an idea of how far before you are pushing..


I actually trust this one much more than my LT1 and am very happy with my gas mileage.

 

Come'n guy, use a little sense here. Gauges are inaccurate. Do a quick gas mileage check by doing the following.

Fill up the tank and before driving away reset the trip odometer. Drive until your down to a quarter tank and fill up again. Note the mileage driven (what's on the trip OD) and the gallons of gas you put in to fill it.
Divide the mileage by the gallons. example:

246 miles divided by 9.86 gals = 24.94 miles per gallons

That's your fule economy, you should be getting over 20 miles per gallon, which is great for a high perfomance car.
If you want fantastic fuel econemy you should have bought a Honda.

 

I take it a step further...

I take 16.8 - x so in the example above, it would be
16.8-9.86=6.94 gallons left in tank at time of fillup.

but since I am really a control freak about my gas mileage, I keep mine on a spreadsheet and log every gas purchase.

 

I went to Minneapolis this sunday for the bills-vikings game, and i drove 780.5 miles. I got 24.2 mpg over the whole trip. I was running 75+ the entire time, and in Minn I ran 80+. Then there was the stop and go traffic after the game, and a couple 100-110 mph blasts trying to get home to get a couple hours sleep before going to work monday morning. Not bad for an auto with 3.23's.
we have small gas tanks, i was down to 1/4 after about 240-250 miles.

 

I am still trying to get the cruise control custom done.. once I find that, I think 30mpg is a possibility..

 

All cars run rich on a stock tune. Chevrolet would rather you burn more gas then blow up your motor, especially when you're still under warranty. And as far as being able to tell if a car is running rich, unless your car is blowing black smoke (un burned fuel) then it's probably just a guess on his part trying to sound intelligent. Popping in the exhaust is an indication of a rich mixture, but if it's popping when it down-revs thats really not an indication of anything. Oh yea and as far as increasing your gas mileage, keep your foot out of the gas, and use 6th gear more frequently. There doesn't sound like there is anything at all wrong with your car. Heck you're getting more miles to a tank then me, but i drive my car like i stole it.

 

I use CAGS, and am in 4th until I get to 40-45 then I go straight to 6th..

If I were to have a usage indicator on my gears, it would be roughly in this order:
1st Have to use it all the time to start off.. well dont have to.. but i do..
4th usually shift straight to this gear after 1st...
2nd on occasion I will go into this gear after 1st
6th usually go into this gear after 4th
3rd rarely go here unless I hit second and was to keep going otherwise i go from 2nd to 4th
5th hardly ever use this gear at all.. I havent ran my car all out yet