I'm very glad I decided to attend. I had a good time, and I got to know my Insight. We introduced some of the more race-oriented AMEC members to hypermiling, and I gave someone a piece of coroplast to play with.
I think most of us were suprised how low the MPGs were. Nobody posted triple digits this time. Just like Hobbit's Prius, my Insight got only 25% better gas mileage than an Insight on the old EPA Highway cycle (88.5 instead of 70mpg for me, 63.9 instead of 51 for Hobbit).
I had a hearty laugh when we all came to a red light at the end of an uphill onramp near the end of the course. It was totally quiet, because my engine was in Auto Stop and nobody else's was running. The light turned green, and you heard three or four starter motors turning, then each of the cars rolled backward a little when they took off, because everyone had a stick shift. Why isn't a scene like that commonplace?
I came up with a list of mods that I need to have for next time: engine kill switch, hot air intake, full engine bay undertray, streamlined tail extensions. I actually left the engine idling whenever I was coasting in neutral, which used about 0.20 gal of gas. Running on brand-new tires also carries a rolling resistance penalty. I also hauled around some tools and extra fluids, a floor mat, a full interior, and one of my winter tires for a spare.
I snapped this picture at the halfway point.
Although my battery says it's at ~60% state of charge, it's more like 10%. My battery is sick. There were a few times where I had to use the friction brakes because the battery wouldn't accept a charge.
I'm looking forward to next year's Green Grand Prix. Maybe I'll show up there prepared with a well-modded, lightened Insight.
