Hypermiled an SUV
Hypermiling an unmodified auto-trans SUV is a pain! I respect those of you who can do it. My wife drives a 2010 Subaru Forester, a mid/small SUV. EPA rates it 27 hwy and 20 city, 22 combined. I just drove it nearly 900 miles on a family camping trip--stuffed with camping gear. The trip average was 31.2mpg on the stock gauge, which I calculated overstated by about 1mpg. So I scored a 30.2mpg average on mostly highway but often mountainous (5000ft) terrain and serious LA and Santa Cruz traffic jams. But I had to work hard! I had a 130 mile long stretch in a strong headwind (then virtually the same wind at my tail coming home). Neutral was my friend. So were the very hot temps. I staggered the A/C my family wife and daughter love. Kept everyone cozy. And the trucks I slip-streamed at a 4 or 5 car-length distance to get 36mpg and 40.5mpg for two 30-mile stretches certainly helped.
Props to those driving these things and actually trying for FE! Yikes I don't want to run that experiment again. |
love to see pics of this
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Sucks trying to HM something that seriously just seems to be trying to work against you doesn't it?
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Considering the circumstances, you did quite well ! :thumbup:
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I second that. Many normal drivers don't get 30mpg in a regular car, so you should be proud of yourself. We sure are:thumbup:
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I'll post photos as soon as I can find out where my camera went in all this camping stuff. Gotta go to work today. Driving the Civic. :thumbup: |
Subaru's are hard beasts to hypermile. That AWD stuff isn't light and it's always turning with no way to turn it off even when you're on dry pavement. Strong work getting it done.
...but I'm still going to hide this thread from the wife. She really wants a Subaru, but with a 50+ mile per day commute and mid-20s mpg from your average driver I resist it with all my might. Heck, she's barely averaging 27mpg in a Mazda Protege 5. How can a car with that little power possibly get that bad of mileage? |
Well done, the Forrester is about as square as a cube really, plus the Auto and the AWD and (I'll put it out there but I know many disagree) the flat four being perhaps not the most efficient motor available.
Technique rules, and mine is useless :D |
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Kudos for beating EPA by such a sizable %. I've been appalled by FSPs before - notably my '87 Chevy Astro van, which was difficult to coax 22 mpg out of. My daughter's Grand Caravan was similar. Its mpg stayed solidly under 10 mpg within her neighborhood. Even on a long highway trip, 26 mpg was the best I could get out of it.
What does anyone in SoCal need AWD for, anyway? |
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Tell me about it. :/ I've been quite happy with mine, it's sort of "Good" Fuel economy class when driven carefully and is basically my pickup truck.
The new Outbacks have a CVT transmission and are rated at nearly what we can get hypermiling. It's a shame we have to have all those revs on the highway. |
Try not to consider a Legacy/Outback/Forester/Baja to be an SUV. The Forester's body is square and tall, but it's a car.
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I figure that squaring off the corners of my wagon won't make it any less of a car, is all.
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Will raising it and fitting it with shorter gearing?
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Will tweaking a Civic make it a race car?
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Granted it is smaller (the interior on the current model is about 15 cu. ft. smaller!), but that 2012 Impreza wagon has got my attention. Subaru is claiming 36 mpg highway (not sure about city or combined) but that is with their well-known AWD, which would bring me peace of mind when my wife is driving the kids in Chicago winters. It supposedly can accelerate better than the current base model, which gets considerably worse mileage. Of course, the interior would have to be more usable/comfortable than her current Jetta, but I will definitely be checking that out when it hits the showrooms.
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http://assets.speedhunters.com/u/f/e...peS/civic2.jpg |
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NIce numbers! And, it's only "work" until it's second nature.
Trip planning plays a big part in better numbers (departure/arrival times, routing, scheduled stops; zero unscheduled), etc. I'd weigh it next time. Start with an "empty" weight (driver plus full fuel) on a three axle certified scale [CAT Scale], and then as loaded for the trip. Adjust tire pressures to load. Also, altitude, temps, humidity, barometric, etc. It's all about prediction, IMO. P.S. As a big truck driver: I want to be able to see you in my rearview, preferably from the drivers side. That means fall back far enough to be able to see that mirror yourself. . |
A small/mid SUV hybrid can have a tough time getting to 30 (I'm at the mercy of the traffic)--kudos for doing it with gas only!
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