Fuel Economy, Hypermiling, EcoModding News and Forum - EcoModder.com - View Single Post

JETZcorp · 05-14-2013, 06:19 AM

Good news everyone!

Well first, some bad news. According to the info thing in my Ecomodder garage, I've passed over 53 gallons of gasoline through the Dakota's filler neck since I joined here. A 50gal fish tank can dominate a living room, especially when it's full of gasoline.

The good news is, on my last tank I got a smidge over 18mpg out of that pig. Given that this thing is what it is, and that this tank included a noticeable amount of WOT operation (I had a bad day, and the V8 makes a cool noise), I am stunned.

What did it, was the relaxing drive I took today. In spite of the fact that cruising aimlessly in a Dakota R/T is the kind of activity that normally catches the attention of OPEC and Al Gore, it just felt like the thing to do. So I wandered around Vancouver for a while, coasting up to stoplights and antagonizing some dentist in his Ferrari 355 Spyder (all I had to do was be in a red V8 thing and it was ON!) After he displayed the full fury of the world's least reliable 13-second car, I headed off into some more country style roads, maintaining a steady 50 or so, even when the signs said the corner was 35-or-certain-death. When I got back to the home Chevron, I had about 35% left in the tank, and the calculator told me I'd done 18.02mpg. I stared at it for a while.

I have made a couple conclusions from this. First, fuel consumption in the Dakota must be proportional to the CUBE of vehicle speed. This explains how I can get 15mpg commuting on the freeway, and 18 loping around town playing head games with Ferraris. Second, we can conclude that the Dakota is SO inefficient in normal operation, that putting the hammer down and taking a freeway interchange like Richard Petty at Daytona, does not significantly affect fuel economy. Even when, as I'm ashamed to admit, the motor was a quart low on oil.

I'm going to bed now, so that I can get up early enough to slowpoke my way to work tomorrow. Maybe I'll even manage to annoy another Ferrari.

05-14-2013, 06:19 AM	#1 (permalink)
JETZcorp EcoModding Lurker Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: United States Posts: 34 The Dakota - '99 Dodge Dakota R/T 90 day: 16.4 mpg (US) The Honda - '88 Honda CRX DX 90 day: 47.43 mpg (US) Thanks: 0 Thanked 5 Times in 5 Posts	Accidentally Hypermiling a Dakota R/T Good news everyone! Well first, some bad news. According to the info thing in my Ecomodder garage, I've passed over 53 gallons of gasoline through the Dakota's filler neck since I joined here. A 50gal fish tank can dominate a living room, especially when it's full of gasoline. The good news is, on my last tank I got a smidge over 18mpg out of that pig. Given that this thing is what it is, and that this tank included a noticeable amount of WOT operation (I had a bad day, and the V8 makes a cool noise), I am stunned. What did it, was the relaxing drive I took today. In spite of the fact that cruising aimlessly in a Dakota R/T is the kind of activity that normally catches the attention of OPEC and Al Gore, it just felt like the thing to do. So I wandered around Vancouver for a while, coasting up to stoplights and antagonizing some dentist in his Ferrari 355 Spyder (all I had to do was be in a red V8 thing and it was ON!) After he displayed the full fury of the world's least reliable 13-second car, I headed off into some more country style roads, maintaining a steady 50 or so, even when the signs said the corner was 35-or-certain-death. When I got back to the home Chevron, I had about 35% left in the tank, and the calculator told me I'd done 18.02mpg. I stared at it for a while. I have made a couple conclusions from this. First, fuel consumption in the Dakota must be proportional to the CUBE of vehicle speed. This explains how I can get 15mpg commuting on the freeway, and 18 loping around town playing head games with Ferraris. Second, we can conclude that the Dakota is SO inefficient in normal operation, that putting the hammer down and taking a freeway interchange like Richard Petty at Daytona, does not significantly affect fuel economy. Even when, as I'm ashamed to admit, the motor was a quart low on oil. I'm going to bed now, so that I can get up early enough to slowpoke my way to work tomorrow. Maybe I'll even manage to annoy another Ferrari.