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Don't want to hijack the thread, but I have been really curious about this exact thing lately.
The EPA highway mileage estimates are taken at what, 55? Is that right?
And here on Ecomodder we see really high MPG figures, but typically these are accomplished at speeds lower than I see on my daily commute.
I'm wondering how I can compare these mileage numbers I see to the fact that I can currently average 30.5 mpg on my commute through mountainous terrain at an average speed of 75-76 mph to keep up with interstate traffic and not drag my commute out any longer than necessary.
If I were inclined to buy a car like a Prius or a Metro, which advertise and are capable of much higher MPG figures, is there any way of knowing how they would perform driving how I do currently?
It's hard for me to calculate the potential fuel savings if I don't know how the contemplated car would perform under those circumstances, and is therefore difficult for me to determine how much, if anything, I would end up saving over my current setup.
My car has some aero mods (grill block, extended air dam, side skirts, some underbody smoothing) and some engine mods (no AC, aggressively leaned mixture, and advanced timing, etc.) I know it has a lot of room for improvement as well, it's getting an electric water pump, deleting power steering, I need LRR tires, it has lots of weight to shed, etc. I'm hoping that if I get really aggressive with the ecomodding that it may hit 35 or more MPG on my same commute. If so, how efficient must any replacement car be in order to exceed this?
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