Quote:
Originally Posted by ecomodded
I want to compete against the Prius's , to put them in their place as the prince of mpg's not the king !
|
Sounds like a great idea. Go ahead but I'm sponsoring prizes for the gas-only, Prius drivers and owners.
If anyone fails to meet the rules requirements, I'll reply they are disqualified and there will be no prize. Then I might send a note to the moderators about 'this troll' or just put them on my ignore list.
Now if you would like to sponsor another make and model:
- Copy the rules changing from Prius to whatever you want.
- Find or self-sponsor equivalent prizes but do not include my name.
- Publish your contest rules in whatever forums are likely to find interested participants.
Understand this, I am sponsoring gas-only Prius awards: one prize to one vehicle, any of the gas-only Prius, . . . a limit of 10 unless I can find other Prius sponsors. I do not have time nor interest in other models. You will have to find someone to sponsor prizes for other vehicles.
GOOD LUCK!
Bob Wilson
Huntsville, AL 35802
ps. As a practical point, TDI vehicles tend to have lower MPG at slower speeds. As they go slower, their fuel efficiency suffers. For example, the 2014 Jetta TDI is listed as 30 city and 42 highway and a range 493 miles, 14.5 gallons. To be competitive with the Prius that has auto-off built into the control laws, the TDI driver would have to stop and bump-start the engine for a whole tank, 986 miles.
Now I'm OK with those who choose to drive their TDI by forcing the engine-off, coasting, and then bump-starting. But for 986 miles, twice the EPA range, it would be unpleasant. Perhaps if someone used a microcontroller to handle the auto-stop and restart during coasting (i.e., clutch-in, accelerator off,) it might work, but this is not a trivial technical problem.
In contrast, the Prius has auto-stop built into its control laws at speeds under 42 mph and 46 mph for the more recent models. So as the Prius runs slower, lower drag energy losses, the Prius is able to exploit low-speed drag. For example, look at my average speed to achieve 1,000.8 miles:
I drove this distance using cruise control at 26-27 mph . . . for over 45 hours. This is a 'go slow' contest and just as boring which tends to be uninteresting to "Type A" personalities.