Calculating your fuel mileage, or mpg, can help you budget.
In today's trying economic times, with jobs and money scarce and fuel prices rising, knowing your car's fuel economy can help you determine a more accurate budget. Regular monitoring can also help you track how adjusting your driving style, such as driving more conservatively or on major highways, affects your overall fuel economy. Calculating your car's miles per gallon, or mpg, is a straightforward procedure.
Instructions
1. Fill up your gas tank completely.
2. Record your odometer mileage. It will look something like 32500.5. If you have a trip odometer, i.e., one that is easily reset to zero, push the button to reset it.
3. Drive as normal until you have to refill again.
4. Refill the tank again completely and record the number of gallons required to fill up your tank. Also record the new odometer or trip odometer reading.
5. Calculate the number of miles you've driven. If you used a trip odometer, the number you read is the number of miles. If you read the main odometer, subtract the first value from the second value. As an example, if you read 32500.5 the first time and 32800.5 the second time, you traveled 300 miles.
6. Calculate your fuel economy, in mpg, by dividing the miles driven between fill-ups by the gallons of gas required to refill your tank. As an example, if you drove 300 miles and only needed 10 gallons to refill you tank, your gas mileage is 300 miles divided by 10 gallons, which equals 30.0 mpg.
Tags: fuel economy, trip odometer, your fuel, your tank, Calculating your, gallons required