First thought is since you're driving in km/hr and getting fuel economy
> in mpg, Imp g's at that, your poor computer is just simply confused. And
> they think WE'RE crazy south of the 49th with OUR measuring systems!
Nah, I just did the conversion to mpg ahead of time for you guys, since I know you definitely won't understand our litres/100km gas mileage rating system. In that system, it's better to have lower numbers for better gas mileage. You should be able to understand km/h vs. mph, and imperial vs. US gallons easily though -- at least in relative terms.
But when the last cup of coffee of the day kicks in, it will reveal that
> has nothing do do with it, and you may actually have benefited from any
> number of things. Was this trip during some of the recent heat wave?
If anything, this trip was during a cooler period. The heat wave had just ended the week before. It's not cold yet, but it's milder than during the heat wave period.
Higher temps = thinner air for less wind resistance. They also cause the
> tires to run warmer, effectively raising the pressure. Higher pressure
> usually = better mpg. Maybe there was a change in wind. Maybe, since I
> once experienced a similar thing (long trip, small town gas station, out
> of both low and med grades, had to fill up on the 'spensive juice) when
> my Loyale, that was very consistent at 27-29 mpg on similar trips, and
> only rarely broke 30 with a light foot and careful adherence to a
> slightly lower speed than usual, turned in 38 mpg despite no respect for
> a particular speed, we were fully loaded, and a coupla other "mileage
> killer" factors were in play. I wrote it off as a total fluke, cuz it
> never did anything like that again. Later experiments w/ higher grade
> fuel showed it to be a false economy for that car. As the others have
> said, one trip doesn't tell enough of the story to rely on.
Judging by the various responses here, there seems to be something to this higher mileage for more expensive gas thing. Maybe the oil companies can't legally claim you'll get better gas mileage with higher octane fuels because they may not be able to guarantee it in all conditions, but there may be some conditions where this holds true.
Yousuf Khan