First long trip - 49.7mpg from an xB!

[brickinthewind]

Hey all,
I've owned the car since 2004 when they first came out and my previous best mpg for a long trip was about 35mpg. Stock tires, cold air intake and exhaust, lowered 1.75". On my first hypermiling long distance trip yesterday I got 49.7! That's like $3.15 gas at the old mpg! Did the following:

1. Inflated tires to max psi of 44 at about 65 degrees F
2. Left early for Bay Area to Santa Barbara trip, about 4:30am to miss traffic
3. Drafted larger trucks where applicable, but not excessively
4. Did P+G, often pulsing up to trucks and gliding back. Max speed probably 75, min speed 40 for the entire trip, usually 50-70mph.
5. Did some EOC on some of the longer hills
6. Shoes and socks off of right foot for better pedal feel.

I'll see what I get on the way back!

[ankit]

Woot! Great numbers. How much FE did you earn by the exhaust? I can only imagine what a member on here with the xA would be able to achieve on the same trip.

[brickinthewind]

not sure, heh. I just started really logging mpg for the first time in years. I assume that by putting cold air in and freeing up the exhaust it helps mpg as well as performance. Could be less backpressure, though, with a larger exhaust, so not as good at low rpm? The manual tranny on the xB spins pretty high in 5th gear on the highway, so I imagine the better breathing exhaust helps!

[Daox]

Congrats on the mileage! Feels good eh?

Cold air intakes and larger exhausts usually hurt FE. The exception to the rule is a turbocharged engine which benefits from a larger exhaust.