Results from MPG Rally in Lacey, WA

[ericbecky]

And can you share how they measured the amount of fuel consumed?

[lovemysan]

Was this the course

[Saturn100MPG]

Hi,
The MPG Rally was fun. I hope we can we will do this again next year.

Here are the list of things I did on my 2002 Saturn SL1.

Somender Signhs Groove on a 1995 Saturn SL head
wideband O2 sensor with my own circuit to adjust the fuel mixture with I am driving.
Narrow tires 175/70R14 @45psi (instead of OEM 185/65R14 @ 30psi)
Scangauge I
Some porting in the cylinder head

95% Pulse and Glide driving.

-Kim Yee

[SVOboy]

When I saw your name, I thought it might be you! Really looking forward to hearing more about your car, sounds like an ecomodder's dream!

[beatr911]

AndrewJ, Thanks for getting some photos of the event up, I have very few.

To answer some of the questions:

Kim Yee installed a rebuilt head, due to a mixup his compression ended up much higher than stock. He didn't know how high exactly but he now has to use premium and retard the timing significantly to control predetonation. He said that the increase in compression hasn't made a huge impact on FE. He attributed the mileage almost exclusively to hypermiling technique.

Few of the vehicles in the rally had any significant modifications. AndrewJ's civic was the most modified by far. AndrewJ or others that talked at more length with participants may have more detail on what each person did. Though modding is an American pasttime, big FE numbers are all about driving technique. Jud said that in competitions Wayne turns off the electric assist. Figure that.

Talk about technique, Wayne and Jed were getting like 80mpg at 75-80mph on the way to the event. From die-hard hypermilers, that is something I'd like to learn how to do! You can bet that thier road trips are not a boring stroll down the slab, it's all about strategy man! Strategy!

The course was 91 miles, there is not an online map - next year. If you want to mapquest it start at Lacey, WA; go to Rainier, Tenino, Rochester, Oakville, Malone, McCleary, Hwy 101 at Shelton, thru downtown Olympia, back to Lacey.

It was a cold or warm start, most did luke warm as they were sitting for a while before starting. The time schedule kind of fell apart as there were several vehicles arriving late and I didn't want to exclude anyone. So we ran 'em when we got 'em. Vehicles with integrated MPG displays (Honda Insight in these cases) used thier display due to fill inconsistencies with the bladder fuel tank (and they are pretty accurate). Those without displays handed in thier fuel reciepts and mileage was calculated with a fixed 91 miles.

This was a 'non-competitive' event and was run on the honor system. Though Kim's tank was very impressive, some may say too impressive, we have to honor his reporting. Maybe next year we can have start/finish filling for vehicles without integrated fuel mileage computers, we'll see if a sponsor can come through on this.

There was a lot learned by anyone plugged into this event. Wayne is a talker and a really nice guy. He is eager to share what he knows about driving technique and it is his life's mission right now to spread the word on how to use fuel efficiently, and how the average person can use good technique to save a bunch on fuel. If he is in your area for an event, make it a point to attend there is a lot to be learned from him and others willing to share.

He states that if you use good technique you can easily get 20% better mileage as a gimme, and 30-50% using some advanced techniques. At just 20% and paying $3.60 a gallon, it's like paying $2.88 if my math is correct. Who sells gas for that nowadays?

[beatr911]

Thanks for the clarification Kim. Also thanks for driving. Very nice work!
See you next year!
-Garth

[PaleMelanesian]

Wayne and Jud chronicling their cross-country trip. They're still on the road.
http://www.cleanmpg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=9513

[Saturn100MPG]

Scangauge version 1 in my car showed 69MPG for the rally. I don't think the number was accurate in the Scangauge. I have a wideband o2 sensor with monitor that show fuel/air mixture in real time. In my Saturn, when the engine restarts during P&G driving, the car computer goes to open loop for 15 to 30 seconds. In the open loop, the mixture is 10% higher than in closed open. Scangauge report the same real time MPG between open and closed loop. The Scangauge in my car was adjusted to my daily drive which around 20% P&G. I the MPG rally, I did 95% P&G. I think the 95% P&G makes the Scangauge report higher MPG number than real.

The car is running 1 to 15.8 fuel/air ratio in closed loop and 1 to 14.3 in open loop. I think 63MPG is petty closed to real. This means the number from Scangauge is like 8% to 10% higher than real. This is 69MPG * (14.3/15.8) = 62.5MPG. If we can do start/finish filling next year, I will know the MPG number for sure.

[AndrewJ]

Kim Yee,
I'd love to hear more about your wideband O2 sensor and fuel-mix mod. I didn't see you or get to talk to you at the fair, or I'd have asked you then...

-Andrew

[AndrewJ]

Oh, BTW, Roland's 45mpg run in his completely stock Civic EX was pretty damn impressive.
Those cars are pretty heavy, and the EX isn't exactly known for it's economy. That and he had his wife/girlfriend/significant-other in the car with him the whole run.