Zero on Y axis

[notsnot]

Could we get a zero on the Y axis of the Recent Fuel-ups chart?

I think the chart would be more informative if it had a zero-point. Currently, the chart makes the max and min on the y-axis the max and min of the last ten fuel-ups. For my main car, this represents a four MPG spread. However, that's +/-2 MPG around my 35 MPG average. Consequently, it looks like I'm all over the map, when I'm actually keeping within a pretty narrow range.

My engineering "technical communications" class taught me to make sure I always *with a few exceptions, of course) showed the baseline - in this case, zero.

Other than that little OCD thing, great site!

[pb]

Interesting idea. I think it'd make comparing graphs across the site better, but it I bet it would flatten most of them considerably. Might be harder to spot small changes in your MPG that way.

It might be worth putting together some samples to see how things would change with a zero baseline.

[bfrank81]

This is a great site!

I like the idea that you could turn that feature on/off. I agree it would make small changes hard to spot but it would add value. Also I would love to be able to graph different date times. Say 1 week, 2 weeks, 1 month, 6 months, 1 year, 2 years, all. Something like that. A custom option would be great but not 100% needed.

[joeyproulx]

Is there a non-super-technical way to make this adjustable based on user preference?

I graph data for a living, and much prefer zeroing out the y-axis, even if it means I don't catch minor blips in the data. After all, I can catch minor blips by looking at the numbers. I'd like the graphs to only show me major trends over long periods of time, not "huge" artificial shifts due to the axis range.

I understand everyone wants different stuff though, so I'm not advocating a site-wide change. Just looking for more adjustability.

Love the site, keep up the great work!

[pb]

No, there's no easy way to make this a site preference. It will require some serious retooling. In the meantime, you might pull the data into your favorite graphing program with our data export feature--not as handy as having it in-site, but then you can have complete control over the graphs.