Gas log
 

I'm thinking about keeping a gas log for each time I fill up my car (I've only filled up once :eeps:). I'll record mileage, average MPG, average speed, gallons purchased, and make a note of the type of driving conditions. What other relevant information should I keep track of that might be useful in the future?

Sounds like an awful lot of work to me.

I keep logs in all my cars that include overall miles, miles on that tank, date, brand/location of gas station, how many gallons, and $/gal. In cars with trip computers, I also include the OBC MPG and average MPH for that tank. I don't note anything else (driving conditions, weather, etc). In a separate log, I track maintenance and repairs. Every so often, I merge it all together.

What to track depends on what you want to do with the info.

I used to do that for my cars. For about 3-4 years I kept meticulous records at every single fill up. It was something simple and small, 8.5x11" paper folded in quarters and kept in the glove box with a pen.

The categories:

date | milage | gallons | price/gal | notes


About every 1-3 months I'd enter the data into an Excel spread sheet and this was my maintenance log, too. Simple formulas could be set up to calculate the MPG based on the milage and gallon data. I might have had a formula to figure total fill up cost. The key was to top off the gas tank at each fill up to get accurate MPG calculations later. Which wasn't a big deal for me since I figured I'd burn up the gas eventually so I might as well top off.

In the "Notes" category would be anything of note such as any maintenance or repairs (and their cost) that were performed during that tank of gas (usually 250-ish mile interval). I figured that was good enough accuracy for my records.

Anyways. It was interesting looking back and seeing fluctuations in gas prices and such. Or the 10 mpg drop in fuel economy where I was having some fun on California Hwy 1 on a road trip.

Eventually I stopped doing this about the time I got the BMW. But for about 3-4 years I kept it up.

Don't forget that it must always be done with the same pen. :)

:eeps:

I want to have a record of averages my car is getting, and if in the future I think I see any decreases I can look it up, especially for MPGs per tank and compare it to similar conditions (i.e. not comparing normal city/highway to a track day). I keep service/maintenance items on a separate list.

:+1

I did this for awhile with teh MINI. It didn't take long to realize it was a comletely useless effort for me. Sort of like saving bill statements. After 10 years of never needing any of them, you start to wonder why you waste the time filing.

Good luck with whatever you decide to log. Make sure any other drivers know what you are doing to avoid any missed data. That can drive you batty.

I never saw the value in that.