Doubling my work commute...

[spacemanspif]

As the title states, I will be doubling my work commute from 25 miles each way to 61. The reason for this is that I will be moving to an apartment with the future Mrs. Spif in August and the location is the best compromise between our 2 places of work.

I think I'm going to have to commit ecomodder.com treason and air down my tires and speed up my driving. My reasons for these heinous acts are that there are some TERRIBLE sections of road on my new, extended, route. Currently I only drive those sections when I head home to visit family so once or twice a month doesn't bother me but every day I'm worried about the cars suspension and my sanity. My tires are at sidewall max 51PSI, I'm thinking 40 should be a good compromise between softer ride and max MPG.

Driving faster I'm thinking will be for my sanity as well, especially in the mornings; afternoons I may try to keep it down at 60MPH since I won't be as pressed for time. Buuuuuuut, driving faster make people "feel" like they are getting places faster even if it's only a few minutes. I notice that when I drve 60 for long distances that I get bored and kinda tired from the slow going. I don't plan on doing crazy 85mph speeds but I will probably set the cruise to 70. There are a couple bottlenecks where I'll try to hypermile the traffic but otherwise it'll be cruise control on pretty flat ground and EOC on the downslope of a steep bridge at the very least.

I think I'm going to need to invest in aero-mods to try and negate some of the effects of lower tire pressure and higher speeds but I doubt I'll break even. I'm kind of on the ledge here; higher rent, utility bills, more tolls to pay and increased fuel costs have me more than a bit worried. I joined here to find ways to not flush money down the filler neck and it looks like that's exactly what I'll be doing until she and/or I find jobs closer to each other.

[Baltothewolf]

I drive 70 miles one way every day. Do 70mph and get what you can. I tried 60/65mph and I guarantee after a week or two, you will start to go insane from the drive. The extra 5 mins you save is worth it. Trust me.

Try upping your mods. Partial grill block, underbelly armoring, lighter tires/rims, gap seals, every little bit helps at 70mph.

Now would be the time to start searching for a beater insight. 40mpg vs 60mpg is massive savings with a 600 mile a week commute. If you kept your speed down to about 70, and only drove the car to work and back, you could probably get 65-70. Even more savings.

[Focus-Ak]

Maybe its time for a belly pan. I have been meaning to PM you for awhile to ask if when you are around a junk yard (if you still do that), to keep an eye out for a Focus on its side. It would be cool to have a photo of the underside. I have never had a look under mine, since when I bought it (used) it came with short springs. No room to get my head underneath. I want to think ahead about a belly pan for mine.

[cowmeat]

You can still get pretty decent gas mileage at 70+ mph, Spif. You just have to get somebody to push the air out of your way.

I do it every day on the highway portion of my commute. I start scanning for a loaded down semi doing an appropriate speed as I'm on the entrance ramp, and I stay with that same truck until I bail off 14 miles later. My Insight averages over 80 mpg on that portion of the drive when I have a semi getting that dead air moving along in front of me.
If the semi is doing 65 mph I'll average almost 100 mpg, if it's doing 80 mph I still average 70-75 mpg, and the faster it goes, the more I'm able to top off the IMA battery.

I agree with Balto, this would be the perfect time to invest in an Insight!

Congrats on the future mrs spif!

[spacemanspif]

Thanks guys. I'm glad others are in the same boat I am with long commutes. Focus-AK, I need to change my oil soon and will snap a couple pics next weekend (10 days from now) when I do so. The middle of the car isn't bad but the rear leaves a lot to be desired. I know that the rear bumper is supposed to create an air curtain to not create a parachute but I feel like there is enough air leaking around the bumper and negates some of that. I'm thinking about a firewall back belly pan and extending the factory front pan/dam a little to help the air "trip" from the dam back to the pan without getting caught up in the engine bay.

Cowmeat, I fully plan on using other vehicles to my benefit. The route is most all highway and there is no shortage of tractor trailers, box trucks and large SUVs to break wind in front of me lol.

There is no chance of me buying a beater car, I just bought my Focus last year and don't plan to get rid of it; I'm still not sure where I will park my Monte Carlo. Also I'm not going to insure 3 cars to only drive 1 and an insight isn't a good long term car for when the Spif family starts to grow.

I'll chew up my tires faster with higher speeds and longer drives so I should be able to go up a size soon-ish and get some taller rubber gearing...

[Daox]

Sorry to hear about the commute. I've had longer commutes, but 60 miles wow... IMO its not worth it and I'd start looking for a new job even if you take a pay cut. Forget gas mileage and money, its the time alone wasted just sitting in a car 2+ hours a day you can never get back. Those are my personal feelings at least!

Definitely look at some aeromods to help with the high speed penalty. Different commute calls for different mods!

[Daox]

For kicks I threw your numbers into the Aero & RR calculator. This is with the default engine efficiency which will need tweaking to get close to your actual. But, it gives an idea of where you might be.

[Baltothewolf]

Doax, my 70 mile one way commute is worth it. My dad drives 102 miles ONE WAY. He does it because that's what puts food on the table for his wife and his son (all other kids have moved out).

The insight the will pay for itself. If you buy one, clean it up (no mechanical repairs, only interior cleaning) when you go to sell it, it won't deprecate as much as your 2013 will when you put 28k miles on it per year. You will also save roughly 1,000$ a year in gas.

[Fat Charlie]

When you jump into miles like that, mileage becomes a lot more important. In your case, more than twice as important.

If you have a hard limit of two cars and absolutely must keep the Monte Carlo, replacing the Ford with a commutermobile makes sense. A used Civic or Fit is more family friendly than an Insight and could still absolutely smoke the Focus at the pump. Your new commute makes keeping the Focus look like an expensive luxury.

[spacemanspif]

Originally Posted by Daox

IMO its not worth it and I'd start looking for a new job even if you take a pay cut. Forget gas mileage and money, its the time alone wasted just sitting in a car 2+ hours a day you can never get back. Those are my personal feelings at least!

Definitely look at some aeromods to help with the high speed penalty. Different commute calls for different mods!

Way ahead of you there, buddy. I've been looking for new jobs for a while now. This new place will probably the nail in the coffin of trying to find the "ideal" job and not just a closer job that pays better. It would be pretty hard for me to make less money than I do now.

Originally Posted by Baltothewolf

The insight the will pay for itself. If you buy one, clean it up (no mechanical repairs, only interior cleaning) when you go to sell it, it won't deprecate as much as your 2013 will when you put 28k miles on it per year. You will also save roughly 1,000$ a year in gas.

It's my experience that most used cars need some kind of mechanical repair and a hybrid drivetrain complicates that. Focus is a 2007 with 168K, I'm not worried about depreciation especially since I bought it for $1,100 lol. With hoping to get a new job closer to home, 120mi/day is only temporary and the $1,000 saved in gas wouldn't offset the cost of buying an Insight (quick CL.com check shows them in my area going for $3500 with salvage titles). I'd have to have this commute for 2.5 years before I broke even, and that is only if I can sell the Focus for the $1,100 I bought it for.

I'm not in love with the Focus, and if a screaming deal came up on an Insight/Civic/Fit/Corolla etc., I might think about it but for now I think I just need to squeeze what I can from the Focus and keep looking for closer employment.