Anyone keep track of elevation changes and mpg?

[Keen4Green]

I have this iphone app MotionX Drive and I noticed it also shows approximate elevation/altitude as well. I live in Ca. I never realized that I live at around 995 ft. above sea level. I also discovered that when I commute to work or to my mother's house (near sea level), I'm traveling "downhill" by several hundred feet. Conversely, I'm heading mostly "uphill" when I return home from work, visiting family, etc.

I see the effects of these travel patterns on my mpg - I can easily get 66-72 mpg when first starting out from home. This drops off once I head through local hills, but I usually get to my "downhill" destinations easily at 55-60 mpg. But on the way home, I often struggle to reach 50-52 mpg.

Anyone else notice the effect of changing elevations and your mpg? Anyone know if Google maps or other software/apps can give elevation points for a given locality? It would be really helpful to see the variations in elevation for the cities and areas I travel through in between destinations.

[RahTX]

Originally Posted by Keen4Green

Anyone know if Google maps or other software/apps can give elevation points for a given locality? It would be really helpful to see the variations in elevation for the cities and areas I travel through in between destinations.

Google Earth can show the elevation of wherever your mouse is pointing.

It would be nice if it could automatically give elevation data on waypoints when making a route (rather than checking manually with the mouse), but if it can be done, I haven't figured it out....

[Willie Williford]

Use a GPS or install an altimiter in your vehicle.

Willie