Which Vehicle for Short Distance Drives?

[IBrakeForNobody]

I have a choice between two vehicles...an 8 cylinder 5.4L black F-150 with an EPA estimate of 13/17 (when I got it in '99) and 12/15 (now), or my brand new 2008.5 white Mazda3 with a 2.3L 4 cylinder with a 5 speed automatic, EPA estimate of 22/29. I sometimes have to do short trips (less than five miles) in a vehicle (normally I bike), so I was wondering which vehicle I should take.

The F-150 is parked outside in the sun, and right now, it's averaging 100 degree daytime highs. The Mazda3 is parked in the garage where it's about 80 degrees or less. The hood of the F-150 is about 160 degrees, and the engine compartment is about 120 degrees. So my question is, would it be more efficient to take my F-150 for less-than-three-mile drives rather than the Mazda because the engine is essentially half-way preheated?

[NeilBlanchard]

Hi,

I would drive the Mazda -- warm up time is proportional, and I'm pretty sure you'll use less gas with the Mazda; no matter what the length of the trip.

[whokilledthejams]

Originally Posted by NeilBlanchard

Hi,

I would drive the Mazda -- warm up time is proportional, and I'm pretty sure you'll use less gas with the Mazda; no matter what the length of the trip.

I agree. That seems to be the common-sense answer. A scangauge could provide a definitive answer, however.

[azraelswrd]

How long/far does it take for the Mazda to warm up?

I know in my xA that it doesn't take very long to go from the mid 80s to the optimal 184F in warm daytime hours, but it does use a "forced" anti-OD that prevents it from downshifting until its warmer than 140F. Grill blocking accelerates the warming as well.

[SVOboy]

Seems like you got my biking suggestion pre-covered,

I would take the mazda.

[Red]

I'd take the Mazda

[slurp812]

Mazda, I would use the truck when its necessary to haul something, otherwise it would be parked...

[Z man]

Originally Posted by azraelswrd

How long/far does it take for the Mazda to warm up?

I know in my xA that it doesn't take very long to go from the mid 80s to the optimal 184F in warm daytime hours, but it does use a "forced" anti-OD that prevents it from downshifting until its warmer than 140F. Grill blocking accelerates the warming as well.

Yeah I hate the cold engine not upshifting!


Mazda3's are awesome, use it.

[cfg83]

IBrakeForNobody -

Mazda (again). Can you park it outside in the sun? Hmmmm, I guess I wouldn't want to if my car were new.

If you had an old beater, maybe painting the hood black would help warm it up a bit.

CarloSW2

[IBrakeForNobody]

Mazda it is. I just ordered a ScanGuage, so it'll be interesting to see any differences.

Cfg- yeah, I always park my new car in the garage. The only time I park the car outside is if I drive somewhere, come home, and I plan on driving somewhere else in the same day. Then I don't park in the garage so I don't have to use the electricity to open and close the garage door (I found out that sometimes I'd go in and out of the garage 8 times a day), and more so that I don't have to get a new spring for the garage door mechanism. I used to open and close the garage so much that a spring lasted about 1-2 years before it would wear out and snap.

[azraelswrd]

Wow, I must have been really tired... I meant I couldn't upshift if my engine was cold.

[IBrakeForNobody]

My ScanGuage is in! But, I have another question but I didn't think it was worth a new thread...

My sister and I have to go on a 170 mile drive in the next week. I have to drive my truck because I'm helping her move, and she has to drive her car because she's...moving. But anyway, we are already going to do a 2-for-1 deal and I'm going to set it on cruise at about 58MPH and she is going to draft behind me.

But, would it be more efficient to fully load my truck or to split the load evenly between the two vehicles? My F-150 can hold 1150lbs in the bed and 900lbs in the cab, while my sister's Mustang can only old 870lbs cargo and people combined. So I was thinking of fully loading my truck and having my sister drive her car empty since the weight would be less significant on my truck than the Mustang.

[TestDrive]

My best guess would be load up the F-150 and drive the Mustang empty.

Better yet, (provided the Mustang has a manual transmission) borrow a tow bar and pull the Mustang behind the loaded pickup!

[Will]

Originally Posted by TestDrive

My best guess would be load up the F-150 and drive the Mustang empty.

Better yet, (provided the Mustang has a manual transmission) borrow a tow bar and pull the Mustang behind the loaded pickup!

I'm for that one, but if it's not possible I would load the truck and drive the Stang empty. You know, save little sis some coin.

[IBrakeForNobody]

Her car is an auto but we were considering to rent a tow dolly and I'd pull her car backwards on the dolly and she'd ride in the truck with me, but it would cost more to rent the dolly ($100 one-way) than for the gas to drive her car. Plus, the idiots at the U-Haul center where I live said I cannot tow her car with my truck because a 1/2 ton F-150 doesn't "weigh enough" to pull her 3500lb car, even though it's rated to tow 8000lbs (I got the heavy-duty tow package and the 5.4L V8 engine in my truck).

But anyway, when I mean empty, I mean she is going to drive her car EMPTY. I was going to put her trunk liner, spare tire, jack, all the stuff that she normally keeps in her car as well as unbolting the front passenger seat and putting everything in my truck. With all the stuff that we are already going to load, I estimate that I'll get 10-12MPG on the freeway, while she could easily get 30+ MPG drafting behind me. Her 'Stang is a V6 by the way.

Anyway, thanks for the suggestions...I'll report back after the move with the MPG numbers.

[azraelswrd]

Actually, for the most savings per bang it would make more sense to get the truck more efficient than the car (since it probably has the lower MPG between the two). But that's just splitting dollars and gallons.

I would split the load evenly and have each driver maximize their vehicles using ecodriving techniques (which are more effective/cheaper/immediate than any mods). Do you have to cruise at 58mph? I guess this is your "sweet spot"? Otherwise I would dial it down a notch or two to 55mph just to reduce the drag on your truck (which probably catches wind like any good parachute ).

[IBrakeForNobody]

Sorry it took so long for a reply, but I've been caught up with a bunch of other stuff lately.

Anyway, I helped my sister move earlier this month. She ended up having so much stuff that I was crammed into the driver's seat of the F-150 and her car was pretty much bottoming out, but we made it! I was getting an average of 20MPG going 60-65, my best being 22MPG on a slight downhill doing minor pulse-and-glide, and my worse being 5.5MPG going up one of three mountain ranges I had to cross over.

We stopped about midway so my sister could get gas and so we could trade off the SG. Although it wasn't equal terrain, my sister averaged 30MPG doing the same speed as me while also drafting behind me, and keep in mind this is in her near fully loaded V6 Mustang. Funny thing is, on one leg of the trip, we kept up with the speed of traffic (70-80) and my sister was still averaging 30MPG!

The only incident that occurred is on the final turn into her new place. I made a right turn, and this basket full of clothes and other stuff my sister put on the passenger seat on top of some blankets fell into my lap and a bunch of pants fell onto the floor and my foot slipped while trying to apply the brakes along with almost loosing control when the basket hit my arms on its way down.

And just as a recent achievement, I got EPA highway MPG while driving my Mazda in the city! I averaged 29.9MPG on three recent in-town trips, up from 25MPG on similar ventures. The things I did different is now I shift into neutral while pulling up to a red light and I do minor pulse and glide on the downhills instead of being on-power all the time.

I only shift into neutral when I know I'm going to come to a complete stop so I can shift 'er back into drive when the car is stopped, but I've been thinking about shifting into neutral on the freeway after I summit a mountain pass since it's about 2 miles of straight 7% downhill, but I don't want to screw something up by shifting from neutral to drive while the car is traveling at freeway speeds, so I'll hold back for now.

In the meantime, my goal is to get 25MPG average in the F-150, but that'll be kinda hard. Even with all my hypermiling, the only time I see a number greater than 22 freeway is when I'm coasting downhill.