efseiler Posted July 13, 2011 Share Posted July 13, 2011 Hello all, I have a 2.2L '98 OB (standard) and I was wondering what kind of mileage is typical on these vehicles. Upon fillup I drove an astonishing 360 miles (click to light) whereas when driving a '96 automatic OB I would be lucky to get 280 miles out of a fillup. My first question is: what is the tank capacity for this model, and, does it differ much from other Outbacks from year to year? I can't trust readings at the pump b/c it differs from station to station, pump to pump and also from hour to hour (nowadays that the ratios are controlled remotely via satellite by speculators who are into 'skimming off the top'). What also wreaks havoc in obtaining accurate mileage stats is the fact that nowadays there is typically ethanol/methanol in fuels (among other substances) and sometimes they mix in water as well. --Damien Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goof_ball Posted July 14, 2011 Share Posted July 14, 2011 Tank capacity is 15.9 gallons. I get 375 miles/tank on the highway in a 96 5 speed. Fill ups take just over 12.5 to 14 gallons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted July 14, 2011 Share Posted July 14, 2011 there's no typical mileage. it varies much with driving conditions/speed. miles per tank isn't that accurate for calculating. tank is 15.9 gallons and the light comes on with about 2.9 gallons left in the tank - so roughly 13 gallons difference. all of that is in the owners manual. if you don't have one, they're very helpful for fluid types, amounts, tons of other useful info. if you assume that's accurate at all you're at 27 and change or round up to 28mpg. that's about normal depending on driving. my 02 OBW auto 6 cylinder will get 28 if i cruise at 55 mph which we do on one trip we frequently make. decreases quickly at higher speed. if you drove straight highway at 60mph you'd get over 30 mpg. it decreases quickly the faster you travel or obviously with city/stop and go trips. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
efseiler Posted July 14, 2011 Author Share Posted July 14, 2011 well I guess I'm getting about par then...cuz for me it's about 50/50 'city' v. 'highway' driving. Around here Shell gas seems to be the quality stuff (I don't think my nose is lying to me). I usually gas up every 'click to light' but the fuel volume read at the pump has varied by as much as 3 gallons... Cheers! --Damien Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
efseiler Posted July 14, 2011 Author Share Posted July 14, 2011 I guess one would have to take into account tires and tread depth as well as that impacts odometer readings.... :-\ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tmb9862 Posted July 14, 2011 Share Posted July 14, 2011 I filled up my 96 Outback 2.2l 5spd last night and got 22.5 and that's about 50/50. All highway at 65mpg I get about 28, all city 19-20. I guess I'm low for some reason. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted July 14, 2011 Share Posted July 14, 2011 I guess one would have to take into account tires and tread depth as well as that impacts odometer readings.... :-\speedo's/odo's tend to be off by more than tread depth would affect it. on XT6's i've found the speedo/odom to be more accurate with larger tires. haven't spent time calculating newer gen stuff but someone with a GPS could maybe help. my 1996 Legacy LSi is the most accurate speedo/odo i've had. there are a few gas mileage threads if you wanted to compare what others are getting. my mileage in flatland is far better than traversing the interstates through the mountains which i often do. my 4 banger auto gets 32 on flat ground but gets pummeled by the mountains - 25 or 26 tops if i keep speeds down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jboymechanic Posted July 14, 2011 Share Posted July 14, 2011 I average 27 or 28 with my '96 Brighton (stick) but only 23 or 24 with my '95 Legacy L with auto. Same routes, same driver, same everything. Close mileage on the cars too, both just had head gaskets and all the same work done. My '95 does need exhaust work though, could be hurting me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted July 14, 2011 Share Posted July 14, 2011 well I guess I'm getting about par then...cuz for me it's about 50/50 'city' v. 'highway' driving. Around here Shell gas seems to be the quality stuff (I don't think my nose is lying to me). I usually gas up every 'click to light' but the fuel volume read at the pump has varied by as much as 3 gallons... Cheers! --Damien The gas lights on these are notoriously inaccurate. I've had mine come on with close to 1/4 tank still showing on the gauge. Other times I can peg the needle against the stop and not get a light at all. I tend to fill up when the gauge gets to the E line. Usually around 12.5 gallons. About 240 - 250 miles in my 96 2.2 5 speed sedan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigMattyD Posted July 14, 2011 Share Posted July 14, 2011 The reason the gas pump reads differently even though you always fill it up when the low fuel light comes on is not because the pumps are that inaccurate, rather that the low fuel light in your car is inaccurate. As another poster stated, the low fuel light can come on under various different situations. It is not an accurate measurement of how much fuel is left in the tank, just that it is "getting low." A perfect measurement might be to run it completely out of fuel because then you know for pretty sure that it's a reliable measurement, but there is no point in doing that. If you start with a full tank, and divide the miles driven by the number of gallons it takes to refill the tank the next time, you will get a good measurement. If you want to be a little more accurate, you can add up the results from a number of different fill ups so that you can minimize the effects of the variables you listed, like methanol concentration, impurities, slightly incomplete fill-ups, over fills, wind speed, hills, other driving conditions, etc. Matt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
efseiler Posted July 14, 2011 Author Share Posted July 14, 2011 I don't know....thinking that pump readouts are that consistent and accurate across brand and station and that planet earth is devoid of...you know...fraud and/or embezzelment schemes would be entirely too inconceivable. Esp. nowadays when there's a hot war going on over who actually controls the product and the income derived there of. With me it's gas quality...and nose guy knows. I have a tendency to trust the gas light...but I've found when it's cold (below 40 degrees) it comes on when the level is still lower. Cheers! --Damien Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1-3-2-4 Posted July 15, 2011 Share Posted July 15, 2011 The reason the gas pump reads differently even though you always fill it up when the low fuel light comes on is not because the pumps are that inaccurate, rather that the low fuel light in your car is inaccurate. As another poster stated, the low fuel light can come on under various different situations. It is not an accurate measurement of how much fuel is left in the tank, just that it is "getting low." A perfect measurement might be to run it completely out of fuel because then you know for pretty sure that it's a reliable measurement, but there is no point in doing that. If you start with a full tank, and divide the miles driven by the number of gallons it takes to refill the tank the next time, you will get a good measurement. If you want to be a little more accurate, you can add up the results from a number of different fill ups so that you can minimize the effects of the variables you listed, like methanol concentration, impurities, slightly incomplete fill-ups, over fills, wind speed, hills, other driving conditions, etc. Matt I have a program I got on my phone called Acar and I use this almost every time I fill up it's pretty cool tracks gas prices and my avg MPG and how much fuel I've put in the tank so far total. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tmb9862 Posted July 15, 2011 Share Posted July 15, 2011 I don't know....thinking that pump readouts are that consistent and accurate across brand and station and that planet earth is devoid of...you know...fraud and/or embezzelment schemes would be entirely too inconceivable. Esp. nowadays when there's a hot war going on over who actually controls the product and the income derived there of. --Damien I don't know about the rest of the country but in NY we have a couple people who actually go around and check it out. They have this weird tank in the back of their pickup that measures how much gas is going in. They just drive around and cover probably 20 gas stations a day each testing the accuracy of the pumps. But... If you do the math the odds are in favor of you not getting caught. 40 stations a day of probably 5,000 in the state is a .008% chance of being caught. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1-3-2-4 Posted July 15, 2011 Share Posted July 15, 2011 Another thing is dont top off the tank it just goes back into the storage tank but you pay for it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
efseiler Posted July 16, 2011 Author Share Posted July 16, 2011 But... If you do the math the odds are in favor of you not getting caught. 40 stations a day of probably 5,000 in the state is a .008% chance of being caught. Hmmm...patroling pickups policing petrol pumps... Overall the automobile economy is something that gets 'levelized' ultimately. Strict accounting would be impossible anyway... Cheers! --Damien Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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