Vehicle Gas Mileage

[MN Fisher]

5 hours ago, throttleplate said:

Being you and your wife drive the tesla and dont pay a tax for fuel which goes to fix the roads what does california have up their sleeve to tax the electricity you put into your tesla?

My main issues with electric cars are two.

1: Is there more coal/oil/natural gas being burned at the electric plants? Hydro is pretty much at capacity, tree-huggers pretty much nixed nuclear even though overall it's the cleanest, and wind/solar are still in their 'infancy'. How are the electric companies generating the additional power needed for all these electrics?

2: The power grid is pretty much at it's max capacity now...when all these electrics are being charged, how many rolling outages are going to happen as sections of the grid get overloaded?

 

We can't go all electric until those two problems are taken care of...it's nice that you personally aren't adding to the pollution...but is that being washed-out by the generating plants having to produce the extra power needed for your charging requirements?

[TnRiver46]

On 8/12/2022 at 8:34 AM, gimruis said:

It might dip down close to $3/gal by Labor Day in some parts of the country.  The wild card will be if any major hurricanes knock out platforms or refineries.  Hurricane season will be reaching its peak in the next month here.

Those hurricanes are just an excuse to gouge the price. People think it matters, and they can jack it up based on fear of consumers 

1 minute ago, MN Fisher said:

My main issues with electric cars are two.

1: Is there more coal/oil/natural gas being burned at the electric plants? Hydro is pretty much at capacity, tree-huggers pretty much nixed nuclear even though overall it's the cleanest, and wind/solar are still in their 'infancy'. How are the electric companies generating the additional power needed for all these electrics?

2: The power grid is pretty much at it's max capacity now...when all these electrics are being charged, how many rolling outages are going to happen as sections of the grid get overloaded?

 

We can't go all electric until those two problems are taken care of...it's nice that you personally aren't adding to the pollution...but is that being washed-out by the generating plants having to produce the extra power needed for your charging requirements?

Yep. Electric = burning fossil fuels. 6 one way, half dozen the other 

[gim]

10 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

Those hurricanes are just an excuse to gouge the price. People think it matters, and they can jack it up based on fear of consumers 

They certainly can!  But a major storm that knocks platforms or refineries offline most definitely has an affect on production supply.  Similar to the infant formula shortage although not nearly as severe.

[Deephaven]

On 7/13/2022 at 8:26 AM, Sam said:

I have been noticing a difference in the MPG among different brands of gasoline.

Hmm, mine is more dependent on the weight in the car.

 

When either or both of my sub-100 kids are in the car, my car will get 16-18mpg.  When my light wife drives she gets over 20.  The strange thing is when I drive alone it is much closer to 11.  Seems that adding weight while I drive improves it, but when the lightest person drives it is the best.

[Fallser]

I just picked up a full size spare for 2019 Nissan Rogue Sport.  The guy at the dealership mentioned I'd probably lower my gas mileage because of the extra weight.  I've been getting a combined 23 mpg since I brought it back in February.  Best so far on the highway with just me in the car has been 30 mpg.  I heading to Canada in less than 2 weeks.  I'm curious as to what type of mileage I'll get with my buddy and I in the car, along with all our gear.  It's all highway driving.

[desmobob]

If your Nissan's fuel economy is measurably affected by the difference in weight between packing a full-size spare vs. the original space-saver,  I'd be very, very surprised!

 

I think weight, to a point, is much less of a fuel economy factor than aerodynamic drag, especially in flatter country.  In other words, 300 extra pounds of cargo in an added roof rack might have a noticeable effect on MPG where 300 extra pounds inside the vehicle without the roof rack might not.

 

Maybe in very mountainous terrain this might not be the case?

[Deephaven]

6 hours ago, desmobob said:

I think weight, to a point, is much less of a fuel economy factor than aerodynamic drag, especially in flatter country.  

Nope.  You missed the sarcastic undertones of my post.  The defining factor is not the gas, not the passengers, but the weight.  The weight of the right foot causing acceleration to happen.  Alone my car has terrible gas mileage as the less passengers the more my foot weighs.

[desmobob]

12 minutes ago, Deephaven said:

You missed the sarcastic undertones of my post. 

 

Oops.  I'm a little slow some times.  (And I'm really slow other times.)  

 

Another thing about me... I'm a gearhead and love going fast.  I used to road race motorcycles in WERA in the '80s and have a Ducati now.  I used to love downhill skiing and I also have a snowmobile.  But if I don't watch the speedo in the car, I'll hold up traffic by puttering along at 53MPH.  Never any worries about my lead foot destroying my MPG...

 

I'm blaming it on getting older.

[Darth-Baiter]

On 8/13/2022 at 12:18 AM, throttleplate said:

Being you and your wife drive the tesla and dont pay a tax for fuel which goes to fix the roads what does california have up their sleeve to tax the electricity you put into your tesla?

just be careful and dont fall off your bike.

They tax EV’s at registration each year.  There is no free lunch. 

I believe Carl Sagan said, him saving and recycling aluminum cans isn’t going to save the planet.  I imagine same goes for EV cars. 

[slonezp]

So I ran 2 consecutive tanks of corn and just filled up with 87. First tank was city driving and I already reported the #'s. I put 300 highway miles on this weekend. With a very heavy foot, I got 8.75 mpg and the computer reported 11.1 mpg.

 

Done with corn and I don't trust Ford math.

[Hammer 4]

19 minutes ago, slonezp said:

So I ran 2 consecutive tanks of corn and just filled up with 87. First tank was city driving and I already reported the #'s. I put 300 highway miles on this weekend. With a very heavy foot, I got 8.75 mpg and the computer reported 11.1 mpg.

 

Done with corn and I don't trust Ford math.

GM math isn't any better, I can assure you of that.

[throttleplate]

2 hours ago, Darth-Baiter said:

They tax EV’s at registration each year.

My ice car gets taxed by registration also. I am paying at the pump a certain amount of $ to pay to fix the roads.

How are electric cars going to pay that road tax?

Electric cars are very heavy due to the weight of the battery and electric motors.

In this chart showing weights the ev should be paying more for road tax than an ice engine small coupe or sedan because just like big dump trucks, tractor trailers, they damage the road more from their weight.

Here are all of Tesla’s current models sorted heaviest to lightest:

• 5,390 lbs – Model X Plaid
• 5,185 lbs – Model X Long Range
• 4,766 lbs – Model S Plaid
• 4,561 lbs – Model S Long Range
• 4,416 lbs – Model Y Long Range/Performance
• 4,065 lbs – Model 3 Long Range/Performance
• 3,582 lbs – Model 3 Standard Range Plus
• 2,723 lbs Gen. 1 Tesla Roadster

[Darth-Baiter]

8 hours ago, throttleplate said:

My ice car gets taxed by registration also. I am paying at the pump a certain amount of $ to pay to fix the roads.

How are electric cars going to pay that road tax?

Electric cars are very heavy due to the weight of the battery and electric motors.

In this chart showing weights the ev should be paying more for road tax than an ice engine small coupe or sedan because just like big dump trucks, tractor trailers, they damage the road more from their weight.

Here are all of Tesla’s current models sorted heaviest to lightest:

• 5,390 lbs – Model X Plaid
• 5,185 lbs – Model X Long Range
• 4,766 lbs – Model S Plaid
• 4,561 lbs – Model S Long Range
• 4,416 lbs – Model Y Long Range/Performance
• 4,065 lbs – Model 3 Long Range/Performance
• 3,582 lbs – Model 3 Standard Range Plus
• 2,723 lbs Gen. 1 Tesla Roadster

Right now? Life isn’t fair.  Sure EV’s are not paying the fair share.  Why stop there?  We can darn near illustrate the same point a myriad of ways.  
 

however CA is currently studying and implementing an equitable program where drivers pay buy how often the use the roads.  It’s started in some places.  It will take some infrastructure mods, but it will happen.  The State wants their vig. 

[TOXIC]

Funny story, when the hybrid/electric vehicle craze started here in Virginia, politicians wanted to give the industry a boost so they allowed them to use the HOV (High Occupancy Vehicle) lanes on Route 66 going into DC.   We regular commuters started calling it the Prius Lane and sales were through the roof.  Funny thing was that the Prius’s are designed for city driving and when on the highway it operates more in gas mode.  Add to that it took about 5 years for the same politicians to revoke the HOV status and left the owners fuming.  

[gim]

11 hours ago, throttleplate said:

How are electric cars going to pay that road tax?

Electric cars are very heavy due to the weight of the battery and electric motors.

 

That's a valid point.  Technically more weight would cause more wear and tear on a road, just like semi-trucks do.

[Darth-Baiter]

As a civil engineer that works on our infrastructure.  roadway design is very robust.  it is really the commercial traffic beating up the roads.   but having said that, yea..i would like to see the burden carried equally amongst the users.

 

but life isnt fair.  i pay lots of taxes on my home to pay for schools.  i dont have kids.    it is what it is.  hahaha...

[TnRiver46]

We were supposed to have flying cars years ago 

[slonezp]

8 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

We were supposed to have flying cars years ago 

People can't drive without texting on 4 wheels. Could you imagine the free for all happening above our heads? It would be raining car and body parts. 

[TnRiver46]

1 minute ago, slonezp said:

People can't drive without texting on 4 wheels. Could you imagine the free for all happening above our heads? It would be raining car and body parts. 

George jetson lied to me 

[slonezp]

13 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

George jetson lied to me 

The self driving cars have been in hundreds, maybe thousands of accidents. As much as I despise the distracted drivers, they have to be safer than the self driving cars

[Sam]

Just got home from a 330 mile round trip in our 2019 RAV4 and the gas mileage was 37.1 for the trip.

Not bad for averaging around 70MPH on the Interstates and then having to drive slow in Morrisville area to locate the clinic and Subway for a late lunch.