the "Daily Drive" thread - April 2008

[bhazard]

Drove straight from my gf's to work.

37.4 miles, 42.9 mph averaged, 1.1 gallons used.

32.5mpg. I dont think its too bad for a 20 year old, 3400lb 4cyl luxury coupe with almost 170,000 miles. This drive is probably 80% 55mph highway and 20% city driving (as far as miles go, its probably more like 65% highway and 35% city in terms of time).

After work I drove 16 miles to my house. Its about 60% 55mph highway and 40% city in mileage, or about 50/50 in time. I managed 29.5mpg, used .5 gallons of gas at an average of 36.2mph.

It was probably mid-50's outside when I went to work and mid-low 40's on the way home.

[MetroMPG]

bhazard - not bad indeed!

RH77 - I hear you about the tailwind. I remember not long after I got the ScanGauge the first time I got into a tailwind situation and was able to maintain 75+ mpg on a secondary highway @ about 80 km/h / 50 mph. I was amazed! (But it was a serious tail wind).

[MetroMPG]

100 mpg (US) even for today's round trip. Sure helps to be able to time things to avoid peak traffic. (Probably 85% was rolling rural highway, the rest was sub/urban.)

53.7 mi
52 mph max
29 mph avg

This was mostly 2nd gear pulse & glide, with some 2-3 P&G thrown in when higher speeds were called for.

[MetroMPG]

121 mpg (US) on a round trip to get gas for the boat. Normally this would be a trip for the bicycle & trailer, but to be honest I was being lazy. I could think up a couple of excuses why the car was a better choice, but they'd just be excuses.

But man, I'm loving this warmer weather! The car seems to glide forever at low speeds.

- cold start (see, impulsive - no block heater pre-warm)
- only 3.4 km
- 29 mph max.
- 15 mph avg.
- little traffic to speak of
- 6 stops total
- and, you guessed it: pulse & glide, mostly using 2nd gear

[Lazarus]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

100 mpg (US) even for today's round trip. Sure helps to be able to time things to avoid peak traffic. (Probably 85% was rolling rural highway, the rest was sub/urban.)

53.7 mi
52 mph max
29 mph avg

This was mostly 2nd gear pulse & glide, with some 2-3 P&G thrown in when higher speeds were called for.

Awsome job on the last couple of days. Was there a fire! Why was Captain Slow (CS) averaging 29 mph? That twice your normal speed.

[RH77]

Well, with the SG now "accurate", the feedback slowed things down on the run the airport...

Caution, "Butt Dyno"...

I advanced the timing to the max limit. Under the same hills and load, power was available, but without the consequence of lowered FE. Teggy seemed to "wake up" but didn't burn fuel as a result.

The 54 mile trip average 38.4 per the newly calibrated SG (and a nice tail-wind).

What's odd is that the it just seemed to pull on the hills at the same TPS mark.

I also added a 1/3 grille block, and pulled the splash guards. This opened the rear wheel wheel to allow air to exit under the car. Help or hurt? Too many variables.

On tap: An argument for the design of the 2008 Volvo S60 2.5L Turbo (rental review -- hint: you'll be pleasantly surprised)...

RH77

[MetroMPG]

Nice going, Rick.

Originally Posted by Lazarus

Was there a fire! Why was Captain Slow (CS) averaging 29 mph?

Ha. I was late for something! :P

[MetroMPG]

Originally Posted by RH77

On tap: An argument for the design of the 2008 Volvo S60 2.5L Turbo (rental review -- hint: you'll be pleasantly surprised)...

Looking forward to this one.

[Daox]

Just filled up the Paseo and broke my record for best tank at 53.7 mpg! Previous best was 51.8. Not bad for having brake drag and a possible bad wheel bearing.

[MetroMPG]

Woohoo! Congrats. I see the "personal best" season is upon us. I predict more and better with the mechanical bugs sorted out and continued warming temps.