Montreal - SMCC Economy Run #5 - June 7th, 2014

[blownb310]

Originally Posted by CigaR007

Hey guys!

Been away for a while. I will try to join this year. Been a while since the last time I participated!

That would be great Mauricio. It would be great to see the Echo come back out again this year.

Mike

[CigaR007]

I would love to participate, but I cannot find a navigator in such short notice.

Hey Jeff, I know it's last minute, but do you know if a navigator/copilot is willing to join me?

Thanks in advance!

[nerdboy]

Originally Posted by CigaR007

I would love to participate, but I cannot find a navigator in such short notice.

Hey Jeff, I know it's last minute, but do you know if a navigator/copilot is willing to join me?

Thanks in advance!

Come by anyway and we'll do our best to get you set up in a team. If not, you're welcome to run the route solo (hopefully you can pre-punch it into your GPS) and work one checkpoint for us. Hope you can come by, the international crew is in town and would be happy to see you again!

[CaptainRusty]

Today's rally was a great experience. Lots of nice cars and an awesome motorcycle. Awaiting to see the results, but I have a feeling a blue Insight stole the show.

Had to take off a bit early, but if there are any out of towners staying and hitting downtown for the F1 festivies, let me know, I might be there.

Cheers!

[HyperMileQC]

Great rally this year! Had a lot of fun and already awaiting next year's event. Had the opportuninity to try Mike's Fit EV, what a cool car! It was my first electric car experience and I really loved it. Thanks again Mike!

Jeff really impressed me in the blue Insight, he was our principal competition and we feared him all the rally . You need to post the results soon!

Also I did really good mpg with my Insight on the go and returning trip. 109.7 mpg (US) avg for both trips.

[nerdboy]

[MetroMPG]

Another fun & very challenging event! MANY thanks to Jeff and his SMCC checkpoint guys for hosting/organizing again.

This was a good EcoModder turnout!

• Mike (blownb310) made the journey in his Fit EV (and let people try it out after the event)
• Will (wonderboy) brought his 2001 Honda Insight, which he then loaned to nerdboy to drive in the event
• Denis (HyperMileQC) arrived in his modified 2000 Insight (getting amazing numbers along the way) to navigate for...
• Francis (Echo-Francis) in his extensively ecomodified 2005 Toyota Echo
• Mauricio (CigaR007) competed for the first time in his 2001 Toyota Echo (lowered & looking good on lightweight Miata wheels) which is known for its pro-quality DIY grille block. (Great to finally meet you - your grille block was inspiration for my Insight's grille blocks.)
• Captain Rusty (good to meet you too) came with his two little ones in his Honda Fit and deserves our thanks for volunteering to do one of the rally checkpoints.

We can be proud of Francis & Denis for a very impressive performance in Francis' modified Echo. Felicitations!

--

I didn't want to show my hand before the event, but was driving a borrowed base model 2014 Mirage 5-speed, with a handful of aero mods on it:



See: http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...cyl-29176.html

It turned in a decent result on this demanding course: ~3.98 L/100 km / ~59 mpg US, which is about what I was expecting. (For comparison, my Insight did 3.1 LHK / 76 mpg in the 2012 event.)

Unfortunately, we had a wee navigation mistake in the first section that flushed our chances (big time penalty). Otherwise we might have nabbed 3rd place in the corrected standings. (Also unfortunately, the car is still wearing its squishy-squirmy winter tires (I had no say in the matter)! They don't feel very LRR at all.

[Daox]

Anyone got pictures of the event?

[HyperMileQC]

I have some pictures that Mario (Mauricio's co-pilot) sent me but I still wait for Jeff to post his epic HD pictures.

Ecomodder participant line-up :


Me trying Mike's Fit EV, what a nice car! Thanks again Mike. :


Francis and me at the results time :


Other pics of the meet :

[blownb310]

Great post event write ups, thanks guys. The weather was as perfect as it could have been and it was great to be with friends at this fun filled event.

OK, what happened to the Fit EV and why didn't it finish? The short answer: I did not figure out how to access a charging station in Montreal quickly enough and when I finally did, there was not enough time before the start of the event to get a full charge. Silly I know, but that's what happened.

Charging in Montreal was a learning experience. I assumed the Circuit Electrique stations in Montreal were outdoors like back home, but they're not. In the big city they're pretty much all in underground parking garages, and the doors to these garages are closed. So from the outside it looks like the garage is not open for business. I tried three of them in town with the same result - a lot of head scratching. It wasn't until later I learned that you simply pull up to the door and it raises automatically to let you in!

In any case there is always next year and I did very much enjoy the weekend regardless. Here are my pics.:


Driver's meeting in the morning.




I finally started my first charge under the Palais des Congrès in Montreal at 9:30 am on Saturday morning. This should have been done the night before but I couldn't find it then.








The "invisible car" as it were. Because it was across the street charging before and after the event, no one even saw the Fit EV until after the awards.


My folding bike was what I used to commute to and from the parking garage and Jeff's place.


Darin's Ecomodded loaner Mirage on the way back to Montreal.


Mike, Will, Darin, and Jeff in downtown Montreal during the F1 street festival.

Big Thanks to Jeff and the SMCC volunteers who worked the rally checkpoints. It was great to see everyone, and it was fun to let Francis and Denis drive an EV for the first time. I think they liked it!