[JimmyD]

I am a bit of a stats geek but it also helps me keep track of my cars. I record every tank of gasoline purchased on my current car, but I have a new Volt arriving and am trying to figure out the best way to record usage. I realize that the volt offers way more in the way of stats than my current car, but it's now a matter of recording it in a methodical and useful manner.

Basically my goals are to calculate mpg and mpge regularly (this helps me figure out driving style issues and occasionally mechanical issues). I also like to track total cost, so I can calculate an average cost per mile.

I had two thoughts:

1. Still record only with each full tank, and ignore electricity usage. Cons being that mpg is essentially useless since that matters more on how much I drove off electricity rather than measuring the efficiency of the car. This also might be spaced out many months, and not give enough resolution for my interests.

2. Regularly record "trips" and keep track of kWh and gas. I just don't know how best two do this, I don't want to record literally every trip I take, but could do it weekly or bi-weekly. I am going to have to add more columns to to my chart But which would be most useful?

I can't post a link to my current spreadsheet setup since I am too new to attach it. But currently I have columns for Date, Location, Gallons of gas, $/gal, Total Cost, Octane, Ethanol, trip distance, odometer, and that gives me mpg, $/mi, and mi/year

 

[V0ltastic]

I am a bit of a stats geek but it also helps me keep track of my cars. I record every tank of gasoline purchased on my current car, but I have a new Volt arriving and am trying to figure out the best way to record usage. I realize that the volt offers way more in the way of stats than my current car, but it's now a matter of recording it in a methodical and useful manner.

Basically my goals are to calculate mpg and mpge regularly (this helps me figure out driving style issues and occasionally mechanical issues). I also like to track total cost, so I can calculate an average cost per mile.

I had two thoughts:

1. Still record only with each full tank, and ignore electricity usage. Cons being that mpg is essentially useless since that matters more on how much I drove off electricity rather than measuring the efficiency of the car. This also might be spaced out many months, and not give enough resolution for my interests.

2. Regularly record "trips" and keep track of kWh and gas. I just don't know how best two do this, I don't want to record literally every trip I take, but could do it weekly or bi-weekly. I am going to have to add more columns to to my chart But which would be most useful?

I can't post a link to my current spreadsheet setup since I am too new to attach it. But currently I have columns for Date, Location, Gallons of gas, $/gal, Total Cost, Octane, Ethanol, trip distance, odometer, and that gives me mpg, $/mi, and mi/year

I'd save yourself a lot of time and just register on https://www.voltstats.net/ The car does all the math for you and reports it to Onstar. The Volt Stat page has an agreement in place for the basics of that information which may or may not be granular enough for you. If inclined, there is an app called Fuelly that others have used to manually track their fuel. Feel free to download it and crunch the numbers yourself: http://www.fuelly.com/

 

[Loboc]

MPG and MPGe (gas and electricity) aren't the main cost points. Cost of the car itself, insurance and car washes use more $$ than gas or electricity in my use case. Since Cadillac rolls maintenance into the cost of the car, I don't have much to record.

I use an app called RoadTrip to keep track of all expenses. I currently ignore electricity use because my roomie pays for electricity. But I know I use about $30/month. Last time I filled up with gas was on Mar 12th when I bought 6.966 gallons. Before that was Jan 20th.

Starting in November, my company instituted a policy of working remotely (from home) for two days/week. This has substantially changed my statistics. I used to fill up once a month. Now it's about once every two months.

 

[RoadDogg]

Buy this: OBDII Bluetooth Scan Tool

Install scanner in car and pair with your phone or tablet.

Then install this on your phone or tablet: My Green Volt or Torque Pro

You'll have more data, stats, and graphs than you'll know what to do with. Using Torque Pro requires additional setup and is not nearly as intuitive as My Green Volt App.

 

[loborojo]

I use 'My Cars' app which makes gas/charging entry pretty easy. It allows you to track 'trips' as well as cumulative data. I mainly use this as a cost tracker so I do not enter my free charging but you can enter zero. I also use it to track weird things like charge door freezing shut. You can also download data but I have never done it.

 

[jbakerjonathan]

I sent you a PM.

 

[JimmyD]

I sent you a PM.

Thanks I responded to you.

I am also looking at several apps to see if they can do what I want.

 

[Coppersnowboarder]

I keep a standard automobile log on a daily basis. I record each day of electricity use by KwH, about 6 KwH to 8 KwH. Then, I also record my gasoline purchases, generally about once a month. I purchased 98 gallons of gasoline last summer to travel 4,000 miles from Colorado through the Canadian Rockies with no opportunities to charge the battery pack. My lifetime statistic now stands at 85 MPG, kept by the Volt computer.