About 4 miles per gallon
 

So this may show you, if you have not already noticed yourself, that traffic & going with the flow of traffic kills your mpg... I just started college 2 weeks ago & the traffic and everything else made my MPG go down a lot, I'm not used to only getting 28... These are my last 3 gas logs, the I didn't show more because the ones before that were with bigger tires... 28 is almost as bad as what I was getting before I started hypermiling

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...1&d=1251390844

I hear ya man. I live in a college town, and when they are gone it's awesome! I get across town at 5pm doing about 18-20mpg's. Now that they are back all the lights trip and no one knows how to drive, so I'm lucky if I can push 14-16mpg's. The worst are the students on foot. My commute takes me through some of the busiest parts of campus(only way around is about 2miles longer on a 5mile commute). They push the button to change the light then just walk right out in front of everyone. by the time they get across the light changes and all the cars have to wait about 15-20secs. It's killer on the MPG's.

65+ efficiency mods should include: "Don't live in a college town"

My mother said she knows a back way to go to my college driving through neighborhoods, I think that going 25 though a bunch of neighborhood probably would be better then waiting in all the traffic Im waiting in now...

The other day it literally took me 11 mins to find a parking spot on campus.. ugh

I would try the longer route a few times, and calculate the time and fuel used. It might be faster and/or use less fuel to go around.

The back roads can be better then the congested traffic. But you have to take in to account the slower speeds and more stop signs you end up finding. My cherokee gets 19mpg's at 25mph as opposed to 23mpg's at 35mph(closer to the sweet spot). So it's best if you can find a route that has the fewest turns and stops. I've tried two different routes so far through town and found I got almost exactly the same results as taking my normal route.

I've done the math on a couple of my other trips across town and found I can't venture more then about 1mile out of my way before it's not worth it. So I've been doing a lot more sitting with the engine off at lights then normal to compensate for the extra traffic.

RandomFact314 -

The traffic near UCLA is a disaster. I used to drive in 1/2 way, park, and bus in the other 1/2 way. Got some rest and avoided the traffic jams.

Next semester/quarter, is it possible to arrange your classes so that you drive off-peak? Sometimes you can pile your classes onto fewer days so that you don't have to drive to school every day, but that also means you may have more exams on the same day.

CarloSW2

Well, i have a solution... i've never heard of a college town that didn't have a good bus system.

You havent been to the UK?

Our public transport is slow, always late, over crowded and over priced.

Case in point: Its cheaper for me to buy a car (inc tax, insurance, fuel etc) to get to uni, than going by train..

Suzuki Swift for the win!

Bicycles win the commuting races downtown, and save a lot of time and expense for parking. Have they disappeared from the halls of learning?

Get yourself a Segway... you'll either be considered a dork, or Elite. Either way, it has no trunk, so you're good to go. :P (Sorry, had to.)

When you see a light turn red, or you know it's going to, just shut the engine off and slow down alot... you'll coast up to the light, hopefully as it's turning. Start the engine while you're still coasting, and continue your drive. I even do this in my Van, which has an automatic. It's not going to damage anything, because I'm not going any further than I would push it around the yard, only at a faster speed, and it's in neutral anyway. There is no fluid circulation, but there is also less internal parts moving, and those that are are still coated in oil, so they're OK for a few hundred feet, at least.

If I see a light turn red, or I think it will be red by the time I get to it, I just shut 'er off, set my speed so that I have a good chance of making the light as traffic is pulling away from it, and coast up to it. IF I have to stop, no biggie, just uses a little more fuel to take off from a stop than to take off from 5 MPH or so.

I also turn my engine off once I find my parking space, so that I can coast into the space in neutral. Usually saves me about 100 feet of gas usage at or near neutral idle.

Shoot, Segways are awesome but I think the instant a american gets on one you automatically considered a "fat lazy american" so I will pass ;)

Unless one is a skinny American. ;)

Well I'm 6 foot tall, 230 pounds so I don't really think I qualify for "skinny"
Here is a picture of me and my g/f about a 1 1/2 years ago... *don't be haters*
http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...1&d=1251571331

I'm comparing that image to a Neon trunk... how exactly did that work out?

I'm comparing that image to a Neon trunk... how exactly did that work out?


That's a serious question, btw... I can't imagine that being comfortable, at all...

Yeah its ok... Well to show ecomodder how much I love you guys :p I'll show you how exactly I fit myself into my trunk... Sorry there are no full body pics of me in my trunk but im not about to ask my g/f to take a picture of me in my trunk, LOL :D

*Maybe I took this a little too far, haha...

*Note the awesome Hypermiler shirt :D

Holy ish, dude... I give in... I'm not mentioning it again. :P

Thanks for the visual though. That was... um. Interesting.

Haha, ya, I'm taking the pics down but I put them up just to show ya :) My trunk is actually pretty large, dont get me wrong, yes It was really small, really uncomfortable, pretty freaking scary, and I was really claustrophobic but yeah, there is space back there ^.^

RandomFact314 -

Awesome Shades!!!

http://ecomodder.com/forum/member-cf...86-starman.jpg

CarloSW2

Haha thanks...

...back in 1973, I drove a CONDOR van with 390 Ford engine from Yuma, AZ, to Fayetteville, NC...it had a 300 gallon fuel capacity (2 x 150 gallons) and got on average 6 mpg at 55 mph (the 'national' speed limit at the time).

...however, the XM-1 Abrahms "turbine" tank gets only 1-mile per gallon, and thus conversely, one-gallon per mile! (it too has a 300 gallon tank).