some_other_dave
01-02-2009, 01:48 PM
Da Boss and I went to Hawai'i for two weeks. We spent one week on the Big Island, and one week on Kaua'i. It was harder to Hypermile when she was with me, but I still did try a bit.
Hawai'i: We got a Dodge Caliber wagon. I think it had a regular auto trans, but the EPA's site (fuelconomy.gov) seems to say it has a CVT and there is no traditional slushbox option? The EPA rating for it is 23/27, which I guess is a combined 25 MPG. I think I beat it, but I don't really know. I did not track my fuel usage or the miles travelled. I did a fair bit of P&G (nICE-On, of course!), and a little bit of DWL. The Caliber had a bad bearing on one wheel, or debris that I never could see in one tire, as it really howled at us.
Kaua'i: We got a Chevy Cobalt Sport. (Woo!) Traditional auto trans, EPA rating of 22/31, or combined 26 MPG. I used the on-board iFCD and segment mileage readout, and wound up juuuuuuust shy of 30 MPG; I think it was 29.7 MPG over the course of a partial tank. The P6 tires on this thing were quite loud as well. And the "sport" monicker is completely ridiculous when applied to this particular car; I can't imagine a two-door car that would be much less sporty than it!
I wouldn't buy either of those cars for myself on a dare. Heck, you'd have to pay me a lot of money to have one as a daily driver... This trip simply confirms my dislike of American-branded cars with automatic transmissions.
The Islands are great places to hypermile! I don't think there's a single place with a speed limit over 50 MPH (except on O'ahu, I think the "interstate" there had a 55 or 65 zone). And a lot of people are happy to drive the (slow-ish) limits! It must be the laid-back Hawaiian attitude. The landscape is generally quite hilly, which is ideal for Pulse and Glide driving, though many of the hills are on the long side for P&G, so you wind up driving up them as slowly as you think you can get away with (DWL down to that speed, of course!) and then coast the whole way down the other side. And, of course, the nice warm temps also mean the engine gets to operating temp quickly and intake air temps are moderate, helping MPG.
Not to mention that gas is more expensive there by 20% (right around $2.50/gallon last week) than anywhere else in the US.
It would be fun to see what could be done with a decent hypermiling car there. Or with an actual "sporty" one; I found myself wishing for my 914 more than a couple of times out on those twisty mountain/hill roads. ;)
All in all, I would recommend taking a trip there sometime over the course of your winter. It's great to get out of the cold and wet/snow/ice/whatever you get, and it's a great spot for hypermiling!
-soD
Hawai'i: We got a Dodge Caliber wagon. I think it had a regular auto trans, but the EPA's site (fuelconomy.gov) seems to say it has a CVT and there is no traditional slushbox option? The EPA rating for it is 23/27, which I guess is a combined 25 MPG. I think I beat it, but I don't really know. I did not track my fuel usage or the miles travelled. I did a fair bit of P&G (nICE-On, of course!), and a little bit of DWL. The Caliber had a bad bearing on one wheel, or debris that I never could see in one tire, as it really howled at us.
Kaua'i: We got a Chevy Cobalt Sport. (Woo!) Traditional auto trans, EPA rating of 22/31, or combined 26 MPG. I used the on-board iFCD and segment mileage readout, and wound up juuuuuuust shy of 30 MPG; I think it was 29.7 MPG over the course of a partial tank. The P6 tires on this thing were quite loud as well. And the "sport" monicker is completely ridiculous when applied to this particular car; I can't imagine a two-door car that would be much less sporty than it!
I wouldn't buy either of those cars for myself on a dare. Heck, you'd have to pay me a lot of money to have one as a daily driver... This trip simply confirms my dislike of American-branded cars with automatic transmissions.
The Islands are great places to hypermile! I don't think there's a single place with a speed limit over 50 MPH (except on O'ahu, I think the "interstate" there had a 55 or 65 zone). And a lot of people are happy to drive the (slow-ish) limits! It must be the laid-back Hawaiian attitude. The landscape is generally quite hilly, which is ideal for Pulse and Glide driving, though many of the hills are on the long side for P&G, so you wind up driving up them as slowly as you think you can get away with (DWL down to that speed, of course!) and then coast the whole way down the other side. And, of course, the nice warm temps also mean the engine gets to operating temp quickly and intake air temps are moderate, helping MPG.
Not to mention that gas is more expensive there by 20% (right around $2.50/gallon last week) than anywhere else in the US.
It would be fun to see what could be done with a decent hypermiling car there. Or with an actual "sporty" one; I found myself wishing for my 914 more than a couple of times out on those twisty mountain/hill roads. ;)
All in all, I would recommend taking a trip there sometime over the course of your winter. It's great to get out of the cold and wet/snow/ice/whatever you get, and it's a great spot for hypermiling!
-soD