"MM54" (mm54mk2)
03/14/2015 at 17:01 • Filed to: None
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"MM54" (mm54mk2)
03/14/2015 at 17:01 • Filed to: None | 5
| 6 |
I just made a slightly-over 100 mile trip. Since it's cool (about 40 degrees) and foggy, it seemed like as good of a time as ever to see how efficiently I could make this trip. The first 25 miles were an uneventful 45MPH cruising in traffic to get to the highway, where it was even foggier.
The fog was more dense than my fenders, after this past winter.
I spent the remaining 75 miles of the trip on the highway, following a semi at about 62MPH, driving very gently to keep up and, of course, never braking. This worked out well for the fog, too, since I could see the truck in front of me and knew that, should anything happen, I can stop faster than him.
When I parked, I realized that my gauge only suggested I'd used about 1/8 of a tank of gas (it's a 19 gallon tank). Obviously I didn't believe this, and consulted the computer through my OBDII reader, which informed me I had 85% of my fuel remaining. I had filled up just before leaving this morning. Historically, this computer reading has been very accurate when I compare it against the pump readout on next fill-up.
Let's do the math - 15% of 19 gallons is 2.85 gallons of gas. Traveling 100 miles (actually like 101.6 or something but we'll say 100) on 2.85 gallons of gas is 35 miles per gallon . Even accounting for some slop in the readings, that's still over 30mpg in a car I typically get 21 (highway) on a good day. Making this 100 mile trip the other direction a week ago (albeit at like 75mph with no traffic in colder weather) yielded around 16.
So yes, you can take 5,000lbs of sedan, stick a 220hp 4.6L V8 on the front with a lazy slushbox, and cruise at 30mpg on the highway if there's a truck handy.
That, or my car can also run on fog.
Here's me at autocross last summer, getting much, much poorer fuel mileage.
Tohru
> MM54
03/14/2015 at 17:08 |
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I've had a few 90's Chevy Caprices with the 305 V8 in them. Without hypermiling, I'd routinely average 25mpg in it in mixed city/highway driving. Big cars get better mileage than people think.
716thompson
> MM54
03/14/2015 at 20:13 |
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With my current car, a 2007 Chevrolet Impala I had managed 36 mpg doing 60 mph behind my dad pulling a trailer from Sarnia, Ontario to Brooklyn, Michigan. 3.5L V6 of course.
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MM54
> 716thompson
03/14/2015 at 21:09 |
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Nice! It's amazing what letting someone else get the air out of the way can do
pizzaman09
> MM54
03/14/2015 at 21:20 |
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Very nice!
I too have found hypermiling a big, typically thirsty car can yield good results. On a long road trip from the Chessapeak Bay area in Maryland back to Erie, PA I managed to get 27.3mpg out of my 2002 BMW M5. I spent 200 miles on the PA turnpike drafting a guy towing a 5th wheel and playing the hills. For the stint between Breezewood and Pittsburgh I managed over 40mpg according to the OBC which was likely closer to 38mpg actually. For a car that normally gets 24mpg on the highway with it's high performance V8 and low gearing, I was impressed.
Vimto
> MM54
03/20/2015 at 08:38 |
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I managed to get 34 MPG out of my Grand Marquis once.
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MM54
> Vimto
03/20/2015 at 08:39 |
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Nice!