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

IBrakeForNobody · 08-30-2008, 11:06 PM

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.

08-30-2008, 11:06 PM	#17 (permalink)
IBrakeForNobody EcoModding Lurker Join Date: May 2008 Location: Pass the Rolls Please, CA (Central Coast) Posts: 10 F150 - '99 Ford F-150 XLT 90 day: 16.22 mpg (US) Aiko - '08 Mazda 3 90 day: 29.18 mpg (US) Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	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. Last edited by IBrakeForNobody; 08-30-2008 at 11:11 PM..