Daily gas mileage blab thread

[SentraSE-R]

1700 mile trip to Utah in my xB for a wedding last weekend. I averaged 50.9 mpg for the entire trip, including local driving.

[Fat Charlie]

Originally Posted by Kodak

Maybe too big of a buffer, or too slow of a speed. Or maybe the other driver just has tunnel vision.

FV(< 'em. (Sorry. The asterisks didn't do it justice.) If they're too stupid to understand that you're not the one holding them up, then they're too stupid to count as human. In my pre-hypermiling days (anything over six weeks ago) that was my position, and today it still is. Unless the gap you're leaving is big enough that cars moving in from the other lane mean that you are effectively moving backwards in traffic, then nobody has any cause to complain.

I've driven automatics, but those are dark, repressed chapters of my life- either in high school or the Army. Using a real transmission I've always understood efficient behavior in traffic jams, regardless of having heard the term "hypermiling." In miles of gridlock, passing one car still leaves you in miles of gridlock. There's no payoff in passing anyone at all unless you can pass everyone on the road at the same time, so it's best to focus on efficient movement. Unless the asshole in question is waving a loaded weapon or is actually intent on a collision, he's simply providing a humorous diversion in an otherwise boring commute.

Originally Posted by Kodak

I find that other drivers tend to have thresholds. For example, if I'm doing 45 in a 45, a car may come up on me and seem ready to pass - but they won't do it.

I'm still laughing over that one. My mom used to set the cruise at 65 on the interstates (then universally 55) but would slow to 55 or even 50 to avoid moving to the left lane to pass someone, no matter how little traffic there was.

[Sigurd]

My last tank got me 44.1mpg. That's good enough to get me in the top 100 on the "Percent Over EPA" list.

[Weather Spotter]

Last year before and for the first few months of modding my car I made a 630 mile round trip to visit relatives. I was getting 43-46 MPG with my mods (no boat tail) and was wishing to be able to hit 50 MPG on the highway part of the trip. The trip is split 50/50 highway (55 MPH max) and freeway (55 MPH min). I was also wishing that I could do the whole trip in one tank of gas. From my math I needed to get an average of 49MPG to make it. That would be getting back home on fumes only.

This weekend I make the 630 mile round trip on one tank of gas and the SG reads that I have 1.1 Gal left. I will fill up on the way to work tomorrow and see what my trip average was.

The week of commuting before my trip was a record tank at 53.xx MPG!

[cfg83]

Hello -

Sorry for the bad picture, I didn't react fast enough and had camera problems. I saw a semi with what looked like our pizza-pan solution :



The pans were held on with 4 bolts. They looked a little dented up, maybe even home made, but who knows. Unpainted metal (aluminum?) with a hole for the air.

CarloSW2

[JethroBodine]

That's good enough to get me in the top 100 on the "Percent Over EPA" list

There's a Top 100 Over EPA List?

Took a little trip to Montpelier, VT today to put in paper work for my Enhanced Drivers License. I was going to get it before my surgery( June 6), but didn't 'round get to it. Temps in the lower 80s F, max usual speed of 50mph( not counting coasting). EOff Coasting, DWL( down to 40 if no traffic, rolled down drivers window on return trip when coasting only, front tires aired to 50psi( 44 sidewall max) rear 44, refilled at usual pump, 176.6 miles-2.986 gallons=59.14 mpg. I finally beat the 57mpg I scored in the rally earlier this summer. Now if I can just repeat it on my following tanks.

Many thanks( again) to ecomodder!

P.S. Does anyone else shout at the pump to "SHUT OFF ALLREADY!!"?

[dennyt]

I took a week off to attend a wedding in Bend, Oregon. Packed two pairs of skis, two mountain bikes, some climbing gear, six helmets (skiing, biking, climbing, 2 each), and probably 20 pairs of footwear, and camping gear, into the car. And a bike rack! Inside the car! Unpacked it all when we got to Bend, and used the rack for getting around & coming home.

Couldn't find E0 for a decent price in Bend, so I filled up with regular for the first time in a long time. And bikes on the back didn't help on the return trip either, the wheels stick out a bit to either side, which must hurt the wake area.

Worse yet, my car has had a slight radiator leak, which turned into a major problem on the first leg of this trip. I had been adding coolant to the overflow reservoir, and all looked well there, but the leak was so bad it wasn't sucking the overflow coolant back into the radiator, which was bone dry. Wild temp swings, no heat, then pinging in the night in the middle of nowhere... got out and checked the radiator cap, it was cold. Damn. So, for the rest of the trip I filled up the radiator every 2 hours of driving.

Found a good replacement online for $40, all metal, much better than the AL / plastic POS that sprung a leak a year after the shady service place installed it and charged me $600. Speaking of which, it's time to write a nasty Yelp review...

[Fat Charlie]

Record tank!

31.61 mpg for 462.2 miles. My first time over 30 mpg and I did it pretty solidly. The best part is that there were still 2 gallons left in the tank- I've gone from dreaming of unachievable 400 mile tanks to reasonably expecting a 500 mile tank if I can just have faith in my instruments and a 1 gallon can in the back for the last day.

[dennyt]

Nice work Charlie!

[Fat Charlie]

Dude, I'm coming after you. You and a better spot on the percent over EPA list.