I finally broke down and bought a new buick, 05 LeSabre, and got rid of my
old car with more miles than I care to think of.

I just picked up the new one and drove from Florida to MA, a trip I've taken
at least 20 times with 4 different vehicles. The milage has ALWAYS been 1245
+/- 10 miles. Most times it's within 2-3 miles (a creature of habit I guess.
Same places for gas, same hotel, same restaurants).

The new car read 1321 miles and when I spoke with the local dealer up here
says he hasn't heard of any problems like this.

Anybody heard of similar problems with GM products ? I'd like to have some
info before it goes into the shop.

Thanks,

BW

"BW" wrote in message
...
I finally broke down and bought a new buick, 05 LeSabre, and got rid of my
old car with more miles than I care to think of.

I just picked up the new one and drove from Florida to MA, a trip I've
taken at least 20 times with 4 different vehicles. The milage has ALWAYS
been 1245 +/- 10 miles. Most times it's within 2-3 miles (a creature of
habit I guess. Same places for gas, same hotel, same restaurants).

The new car read 1321 miles and when I spoke with the local dealer up here
says he hasn't heard of any problems like this.

Anybody heard of similar problems with GM products ? I'd like to have some
info before it goes into the shop.

Thanks,

BW

oem tires? perhaps they're the wrong size than the odometer was calibrated
for.

BW wrote:

I'd like to have some info before it goes into the shop.

Different tires than stock?

Nick
--
Motormodelle / Engine Models:
http://www.motor-manufaktur.de
Ellwe 2FB * VTM 87 * DLM-S3a * cubic
more to come ...

Nope. Stock car but it does have the handling package which is a GM option.
It does come with the 16" wheels. I'll have to check this out but GM should
have taken this into account.

BW
""Nick Müller"" wrote in message
...
BW wrote:

I'd like to have some info before it goes into the shop.

Different tires than stock?

Nick
--
Motormodelle / Engine Models:
http://www.motor-manufaktur.de
Ellwe 2FB * VTM 87 * DLM-S3a * cubic
more to come ...

"BW" wrote in message
...
Nope. Stock car but it does have the handling package which is a GM
option. It does come with the 16" wheels. I'll have to check this out but
GM should have taken this into account.


For the odometer to read more miles, that would mean smaller tires, not
bigger don't ya think?

In my neck of the woods, there are places on the interstate that have
odometer milage signs for checking your odometer. Seen any where you live?

Lane

"BW" wrote in message
...
Nope. Stock car but it does have the handling package which is a GM
option. It does come with the 16" wheels. I'll have to check this out but
GM should have taken this into account.

BW
""Nick Müller"" wrote in message
...
BW wrote:

I'd like to have some info before it goes into the shop.

Different tires than stock?

Nick
--
Motormodelle / Engine Models:
http://www.motor-manufaktur.de
Ellwe 2FB * VTM 87 * DLM-S3a * cubic
more to come ...




Another idea is to find a reputable speedometer shop and ask them if they've
seen problems with cars similar to yours.

Lane

Realize that the difference between 1245 and 1321 is only 6%.

What is the accuracy rating of the spedometer? Yours may be running on
the high side.

You can calibrate it by comparing its reading with the milepost spacing
on Interstate highways.

Harry C.

Ah ha !! Now I know how they get the better "gas mileage numbers"
on the new cars !! Check the odometer yourself -- most of the
freeways have the mile markers on a small post along the side of
the road (and most have finally figured out how to use that for the
exit number which makes sense). Anyway, do 20 or 30 miles
down the freeway and note how your numbers compare to the
freeway markers. (you can also check the speed easily at
60 mph -- 5 miles = 5 minutes etc.)

mikey

"BW" wrote in message
...
I finally broke down and bought a new buick, 05 LeSabre, and got rid of my
old car with more miles than I care to think of.

I just picked up the new one and drove from Florida to MA, a trip I've
taken
at least 20 times with 4 different vehicles. The milage has ALWAYS been
1245
+/- 10 miles. Most times it's within 2-3 miles (a creature of habit I
guess.
Same places for gas, same hotel, same restaurants).

The new car read 1321 miles and when I spoke with the local dealer up here
says he hasn't heard of any problems like this.

Anybody heard of similar problems with GM products ? I'd like to have some
info before it goes into the shop.

Thanks,

BW

Ah ha !! Now I know how they get the better "gas mileage numbers"
on the new cars !! Check the odometer yourself -- most of the
freeways have the mile markers on a small post along the side of
the road (and most have finally figured out how to use that for the
exit number which makes sense). Anyway, do 20 or 30 miles
down the freeway and note how your numbers compare to the
freeway markers. (you can also check the speed easily at
60 mph -- 5 miles = 5 minutes etc.)

mikey

"BW" wrote in message
...
I finally broke down and bought a new buick, 05 LeSabre, and got rid of my
old car with more miles than I care to think of.

I just picked up the new one and drove from Florida to MA, a trip I've
taken
at least 20 times with 4 different vehicles. The milage has ALWAYS been
1245
+/- 10 miles. Most times it's within 2-3 miles (a creature of habit I
guess.
Same places for gas, same hotel, same restaurants).

The new car read 1321 miles and when I spoke with the local dealer up here
says he hasn't heard of any problems like this.

Anybody heard of similar problems with GM products ? I'd like to have some
info before it goes into the shop.

Thanks,

BW




PLUS.... your mileage warranty runs out sooner.....
Ken.

On Wed, 20 Jul 2005 18:00:09 -0400, "BW"
wrote:

I just picked up the new one and drove from Florida to MA, a trip I've taken
at least 20 times with 4 different vehicles. The milage has ALWAYS been 1245
+/- 10 miles. Most times it's within 2-3 miles (a creature of habit I guess.
Same places for gas, same hotel, same restaurants).

They put the big-tire speedometer cable drive gear in the trans, and
small tires on the car. The dealer parts counter can sell you a
replacement drive gear for the transmission with one or two more (or
less) teeth, which will correct the error. (Or at least get it a
whole lot closer.)

Or a good speedometer shop can sell you a little gearbox that goes
inline behind the speedometer head, and drops the cable speed going to
the speedometer by whatever gear ratio you need to get as close to
dead on as possible - someone said 6% for your car.

They are made for people running road rallies, where having the
odometer dead-nuts accurate is very important.

And then you change tire brands or change the tire size slightly
(and the running road-contact OD of the tires) and knock the
calibration off again.

-- Bruce --

--
Bruce L. Bergman, Woodland Hills (Los Angeles) CA - Desktop
Electrician for Westend Electric - CA726700
5737 Kanan Rd. #359, Agoura CA 91301 (818) 889-9545
Spamtrapped address: Remove the python and the invalid, and use a net.

Speedometer cables and gears haven't been used for a couple of years
now. There is a sensor that picks up the shaft speed, and the computer
converts it to a speed. The dealer can recalibrate the computer.

Bruce L. Bergman wrote:
On Wed, 20 Jul 2005 18:00:09 -0400, "BW"
wrote:

I just picked up the new one and drove from Florida to MA, a trip I've taken
at least 20 times with 4 different vehicles. The milage has ALWAYS been 1245
+/- 10 miles. Most times it's within 2-3 miles (a creature of habit I guess.
Same places for gas, same hotel, same restaurants).

They put the big-tire speedometer cable drive gear in the trans, and
small tires on the car. The dealer parts counter can sell you a
replacement drive gear for the transmission with one or two more (or
less) teeth, which will correct the error. (Or at least get it a
whole lot closer.)

Or a good speedometer shop can sell you a little gearbox that goes
inline behind the speedometer head, and drops the cable speed going to
the speedometer by whatever gear ratio you need to get as close to
dead on as possible - someone said 6% for your car.

They are made for people running road rallies, where having the
odometer dead-nuts accurate is very important.

And then you change tire brands or change the tire size slightly
(and the running road-contact OD of the tires) and knock the
calibration off again.

-- Bruce --

--
Bruce L. Bergman, Woodland Hills (Los Angeles) CA - Desktop
Electrician for Westend Electric - CA726700
5737 Kanan Rd. #359, Agoura CA 91301 (818) 889-9545
Spamtrapped address: Remove the python and the invalid, and use a net.

I made my own measured mile by driving another car with a good speedo along
a local road, and noting the location of 2 landmarks. Then I drove the car
in need of calibration alond the measured mile and noted any differences.


Tony

"BW" wrote in message
...
I finally broke down and bought a new buick, 05 LeSabre, and got rid of my
old car with more miles than I care to think of.

I just picked up the new one and drove from Florida to MA, a trip I've
taken
at least 20 times with 4 different vehicles. The milage has ALWAYS been
1245
+/- 10 miles. Most times it's within 2-3 miles (a creature of habit I
guess.
Same places for gas, same hotel, same restaurants).

The new car read 1321 miles and when I spoke with the local dealer up here
says he hasn't heard of any problems like this.

Anybody heard of similar problems with GM products ? I'd like to have some
info before it goes into the shop.

Thanks,

BW

BW wrote:
I finally broke down and bought a new buick, 05 LeSabre, and got rid of my
old car with more miles than I care to think of.

I just picked up the new one and drove from Florida to MA, a trip I've taken
at least 20 times with 4 different vehicles. The milage has ALWAYS been 1245
+/- 10 miles. Most times it's within 2-3 miles (a creature of habit I guess.
Same places for gas, same hotel, same restaurants).

The new car read 1321 miles and when I spoke with the local dealer up here
says he hasn't heard of any problems like this.

Anybody heard of similar problems with GM products ? I'd like to have some
info before it goes into the shop.

Thanks,

BW



I started thinking maybe low tire pressure and a smaller rolling radius.
And then my brain kicked in and realized it's the circumferance of the
tire that matters, and with belted radials that won't change much at all
with tire pressure, will it, or am I "smoking the drapes" again with that?

Interesting to hear that a dealer can recalibrate the car's computer to
correct things like that. I wonder if there are two separate
corrections, one for indicated speed and another for milage.

I've noticed that my GM car doesn't know whether it's going forwards or
backwards. Moving in reverse still makes the odometer increase and the
speedometer inticate a positive speed number. G

That kind of calibratable odometer would have been nice to have back in
the early '60s when the first SWMBO and I went sports car rallying
nearly every Sunday for several years. We had to calculate and
incorporate a "correction factor" to match our odometer to that of the
"Rallymaster" who set up the event, by driving over a their measured
distance at the start of each rally.

I still have the Curta calculator we used for those rallies, and (metal
content here) the motorized drive I built to crank it through it's
bottom. It snapped around one full turn each time a microswitch geared
down from the speedometer cable clicked off another hundredth of a mile.

Thanks for the mammaries, and don't laff at the '55 Chrysler in the
photo link below. Superior technology helped us beat out the teams in
the real "sporty cars".

http://home.comcast.net/~jwisnia18/temp/rallying.jpg

Jeff

--
Jeffry Wisnia

(W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)

"Truth exists; only falsehood has to be invented."

"Jeff Wisnia" wrote in message
...
I still have the Curta calculator we used for those rallies, and (metal
content here) the motorized drive I built to crank it through it's
bottom. It snapped around one full turn each time a microswitch geared
down from the speedometer cable clicked off another hundredth of a mile.

Thanks for the mammaries, and don't laff at the '55 Chrysler in the
photo link below. Superior technology helped us beat out the teams in
the real "sporty cars".

http://home.comcast.net/~jwisnia18/temp/rallying.jpg



She drove?

BW wrote:
The new car read 1321 miles and when I spoke with the local dealer up here
says he hasn't heard of any problems like this.

Do you have a GPS or a friend with one? If so, take a drive with one
(after it gets locked in) preferably on a not too twisty stretch of
road. On a decent day you can expect accuracy of a few yards over
virtually any distance. For the very best accuracy, get a (free) copy
of G7toWin from
http://www.gpsinformation.org/ronh/
and download your track. It will give you an accurate milage travelled.

BTW, you can easily check the spedometer as well.

Ted

jtaylor wrote:
"Jeff Wisnia" wrote in message
...

I still have the Curta calculator we used for those rallies, and (metal
content here) the motorized drive I built to crank it through it's
bottom. It snapped around one full turn each time a microswitch geared
down from the speedometer cable clicked off another hundredth of a mile.

Thanks for the mammaries, and don't laff at the '55 Chrysler in the
photo link below. Superior technology helped us beat out the teams in
the real "sporty cars".

http://home.comcast.net/~jwisnia18/temp/rallying.jpg




She drove?


Like Juan-Manuel Fangio she did...

Not to brag, but we were SCCA Northeast region rally champs for two
years running..

Jeff

--
Jeffry Wisnia

(W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)

"Truth exists; only falsehood has to be invented."

jtaylor wrote:

She drove?

Women can better drive than read maps.

Ni-SCNR-ck
--
Motormodelle / Engine Models:
http://www.motor-manufaktur.de
Ellwe 2FB * VTM 87 * DLM-S3a * cubic
more to come ...

I made my own measured mile by driving another car with a good speedo along
a local road, and noting the location of 2 landmarks. Then I drove the car
in need of calibration alond the measured mile and noted any differences.

So now you have two sources of error. How do REALLY know your benchmark
car has an accurate speedo? It could be reading a couple percent off in
one direction and the other car a couple percent in the other direction
and you really don't have a problem at all. You need to use a known
standard. ie Mile marker signs on the expressway or borrow a GPS.

Chuck Sherwood wrote:

I made my own measured mile by driving another car with a good speedo along
a local road, and noting the location of 2 landmarks. Then I drove the car
in need of calibration alond the measured mile and noted any differences.

So now you have two sources of error. How do REALLY know your benchmark
car has an accurate speedo?

I immediately thought the same thing but on a reread of the post I think he said
he essentially got the same mileage with four vehicles. (Probably the odd man
is out.)


It could be reading a couple percent off in
one direction and the other car a couple percent in the other direction
and you really don't have a problem at all. You need to use a known
standard. ie Mile marker signs on the expressway or borrow a GPS.

So now you have two sources of error. How do REALLY know your benchmark
car has an accurate speedo?

I immediately thought the same thing but on a reread of the post I think
he said he essentially got the same mileage with four vehicles.
(Probably the odd man is out.)

He is reporting about 6% error. I have checked car speedometers with
a GPS and finding them 2-3 MPH off at 50-60MPH is very common.
(and about the same error). It would be interesting to know the
tolerance on car odometers, but I suspect it not much better than that.

So I still don't think comparing the odometer readings is very useful
because you really need a known standard to calibate something.

The only way to do this right is to compare the obometer to a known
standard such as milemaker signs or a GPS.

Chuck Sherwood wrote:
So now you have two sources of error. How do REALLY know your benchmark
car has an accurate speedo?


I immediately thought the same thing but on a reread of the post I think
he said he essentially got the same mileage with four vehicles.
(Probably the odd man is out.)


He is reporting about 6% error. I have checked car speedometers with
a GPS and finding them 2-3 MPH off at 50-60MPH is very common.
(and about the same error). It would be interesting to know the
tolerance on car odometers, but I suspect it not much better than that.

So I still don't think comparing the odometer readings is very useful
because you really need a known standard to calibate something.

The only way to do this right is to compare the obometer to a known
standard such as milemaker signs or a GPS.

According to the shop manual I had for my 96 Plymouth breeze the amount
of error for the odometer and speedometer varied. There was a table
that listed the accuracy range at several speeds. I don't recall the
name of the table, I ran across it by accident and later couldn't find
it again.
Joe

On Fri, 22 Jul 2005 01:00:00 GMT, Ted Edwards
wrote:

BW wrote:
The new car read 1321 miles and when I spoke with the local dealer up here
says he hasn't heard of any problems like this.

Do you have a GPS or a friend with one? If so, take a drive with one
(after it gets locked in) preferably on a not too twisty stretch of
road. On a decent day you can expect accuracy of a few yards over
virtually any distance. For the very best accuracy, get a (free) copy
of G7toWin from
http://www.gpsinformation.org/ronh/
and download your track. It will give you an accurate milage travelled.

BTW, you can easily check the spedometer as well.

Ted


I'd be interested to know if the odometer & speedometer share the same
error percentage. Also, do speed traps take this into account on the
speedos' that under-read?

A decent GPS system would verify this easily.