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1923 DB Roadster Gas Mileage
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Author:  JackBennett [ Wed Mar 08, 2023 12:41 am ]
Post subject:  1923 DB Roadster Gas Mileage
I am to the point that I am running the four cylinder, vacuum fuel tank and Detroit Lubricator carburetor fed engine in my 1923 DB Roadster for longer and longer periods of time. The car is a pleasure to own and a joy to drive, and runs perfectly. Since the Stewart carburetor has no air fuel adjustment, and the only other two adjustments are the fuel enrichment setting, and there is no wiggle room between it being properly adjusted, and the idle speed, I’m relatively sure there is no other adjustments to be made. Again, the engine starts with a single finger push on the starter button, and cranks before it completes its first full revolution. I disconnected the fuel line between the vacuum tank and the fuel tank, and ran the engine with the tube routed to a half gallon juice bottle filled with gas. At a fast idle the engine drank the gas so fast it could be watched emptying the bottle in less than ten minutes. Curious about what gas mileage I should expect from this engine, I done an internet search of several of the antique car collectors forums. While I could not find a average mileage for a DB four cylinder, the consensus for a four cylinder Model T ranges between 8 and 14 MPG. The eight MPG sounds in the ball park for my engine considering that it would take a whole gallon of gas to make a eight mile trip, of sixteen to 18 minutes driving time at thirty MPH. Has anyone else looked at this, and if so, can you give me a ball park guesstimate of what the planning mileage should be for my roadster before I take any long drives?

And, since this is a forum for Dodge fans, I want to give a huge thumbs up for a man who has “Dodge” for a middle name.
Rodger “Dodger” Hartley has been an advisor and mentor to me during the three year restoration of my roadster, and his advice and hands on help has been invaluable…….Thanks Rodger……!
Author:  DougWalters [ Wed Mar 08, 2023 3:31 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: 1923 DB Roadster Gas Mileage
I think 8 to 10 is about all you can expect from a DB. Glad you are on the road.
Author:  JackBennett [ Thu Mar 09, 2023 2:22 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: 1923 DB Roadster Gas Mileage
Thanks Doug. In more modern cars gas mileage is an indicator of engine health. I seem to go through a terribly high amount of gas while using this engine and can’t seem to find out why. So long as it is the nature of the beast, and not a compression or mechanical issue, I guess I’ll continue driving my KIA for business and the DB for fun.
Author:  DougWalters [ Thu Mar 09, 2023 6:49 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: 1923 DB Roadster Gas Mileage
It has to do with gears. Instead of an overdrive transmission it's 1 to 1. The rear end gears are way low compared to modern cars.
Author:  natbradshaw [ Sun Mar 19, 2023 9:26 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: 1923 DB Roadster Gas Mileage
12-16 MPG is what the manual suggests.
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