mlevie
04-16-2009, 07:15 PM
So the wife and kids and I headed north from the Bay Area to Redding (about 235 miles), which was interesting because it was our first non-commuting trip.
Overall mileage: 38.9 mpg going, 42.6 coming back. I'd like to think this means I learned something in those four days, but who can say?
Tricks: on the highway, I just can't beat cruise control. It was awesome. I did think that maybe it was less efficient on an incline, so I started trying to game it a little: when I approached a hill, I would turn off the cruise control, let the hill bleed off maybe 5mph, and then try to maintain that speed to the summit and then turn cruise control back on. I thought that might have helped, who knows?
The best part: one lane of I-5 was closed for a couple of miles and traffic slowed down. As soon as I saw it, I took my foot off the gas and was able to go entirely electric until the other lane opened back up. :Banane04:
Strangely, the FFH's EPA numbers are 41 city/36 highway, but although I find it easy to beat the highway number, I often find it hard to hit the city numbers. There's such a big hit from the cold start, and in the city you're not going so far, so by the time everything kicks in you're almost there.
I have to brag, though: on one very short leg, maybe about a mile, almost entirely downhill, I got 99.9 mpg!
The funniest Redding story: down here in enviro-land plastic bags are very gauche. We went into a grocery store in Redding and I had a plastic bag from a previous purchase at a clothing store, so I figured I'd reuse the bag. I gave the checker my bag, and while I was paying, he threw out my bag and I got three fresh ones! My fault for not thinking to say he could re-use the bag. Good thing I didn't give him one of my cloth bags!
Overall mileage: 38.9 mpg going, 42.6 coming back. I'd like to think this means I learned something in those four days, but who can say?
Tricks: on the highway, I just can't beat cruise control. It was awesome. I did think that maybe it was less efficient on an incline, so I started trying to game it a little: when I approached a hill, I would turn off the cruise control, let the hill bleed off maybe 5mph, and then try to maintain that speed to the summit and then turn cruise control back on. I thought that might have helped, who knows?
The best part: one lane of I-5 was closed for a couple of miles and traffic slowed down. As soon as I saw it, I took my foot off the gas and was able to go entirely electric until the other lane opened back up. :Banane04:
Strangely, the FFH's EPA numbers are 41 city/36 highway, but although I find it easy to beat the highway number, I often find it hard to hit the city numbers. There's such a big hit from the cold start, and in the city you're not going so far, so by the time everything kicks in you're almost there.
I have to brag, though: on one very short leg, maybe about a mile, almost entirely downhill, I got 99.9 mpg!
The funniest Redding story: down here in enviro-land plastic bags are very gauche. We went into a grocery store in Redding and I had a plastic bag from a previous purchase at a clothing store, so I figured I'd reuse the bag. I gave the checker my bag, and while I was paying, he threw out my bag and I got three fresh ones! My fault for not thinking to say he could re-use the bag. Good thing I didn't give him one of my cloth bags!