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Let the winter blends begin!

no kidding. it awoke to 40 degrees and steady rain today. ack. i doubt that i will see 60 again this year, at least not until my birthday ACK ACK!!!:(

One or two of my tire rims have dings from my agressive driving days - one of them has a hard time keeping air since getting new tires. Going to try sealant to help. Half way thru this tank and only at 68-69mpg, and the real cooling has not started yet.

42.9 on my way into town today. It was warm - about 65 and no fog, so no need to run the defroster.

The SG-II was reading 43.1 when I pulled into the parking lot and I was tempted to pull into my space and shut it off to preserve at least 43 but I knew I would give it back when I backed out cold this afternoon so I backed into my spot.

There's a cold front on its way with rain and cooler temps. I'm going to do my first fill-up this week, even though I'm well over 1/2 tank, so I can do the SG-II calibration. All my fill-ups beginning with this first one should be at the same pump.

Joe

I'm just getting used to the weather here in KC (finally 60's and 70's, so no A/C in the car = FE), but I hit the road for work. San Antonio (hot, rainy, humid), then up to Indy (frigid). I will have a cold by next week.

Anyway, the post reminds me to check the pressures today...

RH77
"Northwest Flyer"

Sorry to say but weather here is delightful--fall has arrived. Air is crisp and dry, sky is so blue it hurts your eyes.

I filled up this weekend, got my tires rotated, balanced the front 2 and finally got them bumped up from 40 to 44psi.
Meanwhile I got all kinds of flak from the tire genius saying my shocks were going to wear out quicker, my suspension would go to hell and I'd be looking at an expensive alignment pretty soon.

Anyway I completed my 19 mile morning segment today at a respectable 66mpg.

I don't know why, but my car just wanted to "go" today. It was another good day at 57mpg. These days seem to be coming less and less.

Today started out at around 55 degrees in the mornning. My trip to take the wife to work and then on to my work wasn't too bad though. The trip to her shop was 64.6 and I got 64.4 for the trip to my shop. This afternoon I got 69.4 going back to pick up the wife and 59.2 for the trip home. Overall I would say that it wasn't too bad. I have another chance tonight for a real good segment when I pick up my daughter from her V-ball game. We'll see.

Today was neither great nor terrible. This morning was cool, damp, and very foggy. Traffic got a little screwed up because of the fog, so DWB came in handy. Conditions were much better in the afternoon, with plenty of sun and temps in the low 80s F. Still, the best I could do with it was ~36mpg each way at 60-60mph freeway speeds. I'm back to nice, smooth shifting, though, so that much is a very welcome improvement.

On a side note, my favorite Shell station dropped another dime this morning to $2.599.

**FOLLOW UP**

So, about my FE trouble...

I just went out to check tire pressures and found that my left rear was at 21PSI! The slow leak on that tire appears to have let go and become major, because that's a loss of 24psi in a week and a half. The other three were holding steady at 45psi. I'm pretty sure the previous owner punctured that one, so I'm probably looking at a plug that has gone bad. It's one of two original tires, (the other two were replaced before I bought it) so I have a feeling I'm going to get stuck needing a fresh pair :( . Oh well. Off to the tire place tomorrow in hopes of getting it sorted out one way or another.

UPDATE: I just got back from picking up my daughter and puuled off an 80.0 segment.:D

What a difference taking the back roads can make! I had to drive from Concord, NH, to Leominster, MA, yesterday and wanted to avoid major traffic on the interstate from a NASCAR race nearby. I took Rte. 13 all the way down -- lots of rolling hills with speed limits in the 35-50 MPH range. I don't have a Scanguage, but based on the trip odometer and the fuel gauge, this might be my best tank yet. I guess a box of a car like mine does much better well below highway speeds.

The 35-50mph is generally "the sweet spot" of most vehicles for best fuel economy - unless you do pulse and glide.

Tried my first FAS yesterday afternoon on my deserted township road. The SG-II shut off on me so when I got home I switched it to "Hybrid" mode and tried again this morning - No shut-off. When I'm coasting with the engine off, the ScanGauge reads 0.1 GPH fuel burn and calculates the MPG from that and the speed. I suppose it does that to avoid the division by zero error. It's pretty cool to see "450 MPG" in the readout :D

I hadn't performed a bump start since I was 17 (16 years ago). Much smoother than I remember!

Anyway, 41.2 this morning with just one FAS. As I get more comfortable with the technique I can see it becoming a major tool in the FE arsenal. A few timed this morning, coming up to stoplights, my hand went to the ignition but I didn't pull the trigger because I just wasn't comfortable with the traffic around me. Fortunately, traffic on my road is usually nonexistent during my morning and afternoon commute times so I'll be able to practice there.

Joe

Back in the game this morning. With temps in the high 50s/low 60s the warmup penalty wasn't bad. I also got back to some of my better technique, and pulled off a 38.2mpg segment without shutting off the engine...just DWL, DWB, a few NICE-ons, and speeds around 60mph. A repaired tire and a few key clicks would put me back in the 40s no problem.

I've been getting 75mpg instead of 85mpg in the mornings. New tires still being broken in, maybe going a little faster, and mornings at 60F to 55F are making a difference in the wrong direction. It takes at least a couple of miles to get the engine warmed up - not a half mile....

I stopped by the local Bridgestone/Firestone dealer after work and it was well worth it. They found a nail and plugged it (for free!) so with any luck I won't have to deal with a leaking tire anymore.

I was darn close to 40mpg when I got to the tire place, thanks in part to keeping my head in it and getting a boost from the mild, still dry weather.

The temps started out a bit low at 48 degrees this morning and only rose to about 55 or so for a high. The numbers were a little off but still not too bad. The trip to the wife's work was 63.8 from there to my work was 63.0, from my work back to the wife's this afternoon was 66.7, and from her work to home was 59.5. I then had to go pick my daughter up at school so we could go to voice lessons and I ended up with 68.1 on the way there. We had to stop by home first before going to voice lessons and I ended up with 70.5 by the time I got home. I tied out a new route on the way to voice lessons and it paid off with a 75.6 on the way there and a 70.2 on the way back home. I won't complain about those numbers with temps like these.

Well, here I am showing 66.7 average and down to two pips left
on the tank. Even deliberately going out for a tool around the
back roads wasn't lifting the average very fast at all, despite
my reasonably tall "castle walls" on the display... so I don't
think I'm going to crest 70 before I show up for Altwheels. Grump.
.
On the bright side, my friend with the MDX took a trip to NJ and
came back showing 28.8 and a 500+ mile tank. She was utterly
astounded. So I'm declaring *that* experiment a success...
.
_H*

Hi Hobbit:

___Thanks for teaching your MDX friend how its done!

___Had an almost 9% drop (58.x to 53.5 mpg’s) with the 40 - 50 degree morning temps. The tank I am working on now is barely holding 50 mpg’s after almost 250 miles. It is going to be a long winter :(

___Good Luck

___Wayne

___Had an almost 9% drop...


You know what's funny? I calculated the drop from my summer peak FE vs. my last few tanks in colder weather and got exactly the same percentage.

Hi Hobbit:

___Thanks for teaching your MDX friend how its done!

___Had an almost 9% drop (58.x to 53.5 mpg’s) with the 40 - 50 degree morning temps. The tank I am working on now is barely holding 50 mpg’s after almost 250 miles. It is going to be a long winter :(

___Good Luck

___Wayne

Wayne,

Check out These Temps. here: Look at Nights Temps:

Wednesday
http://icons-aa.wunderground.com/graphics/conds/clear.GIF
69° F | 45° F
21° C | 7° C
Clear

Thursday
http://icons-aa.wunderground.com/graphics/conds/clear.GIF
76° F | 59° F
24° C | 15° C
Clear


Friday
http://icons-aa.wunderground.com/graphics/conds/chancetstorms.GIF
78° F | 64° F
26° C | 18° C
Chance of T-storms
40% chance of precipitation

Saturday
http://icons-aa.wunderground.com/graphics/conds/chancetstorms.GIF
78° F | 61° F
26° C | 16° C
Chance of T-storms
40% chance of precipitation

Sunday
http://icons-aa.wunderground.com/graphics/conds/partlycloudy.GIF
75° F | 58° F
24° C | 14° C
Partly Cloudy

Days here are still in the Mid to High 70's.

Terry (tiger)

Another decent ride in this morning: 38.4mpg despite cooler temps in the low 50s, again sticking to the basics. Adding NICE-on coasting seems to make the difference between 35-36mpg and 38-39mpg. This tank might be salvageable!

I switched one of the SG displays over to intake air temp and learned that the Accord has a very effective WAI built in. Intake air was 125-145F once fully warmed up.

Been battling a miserable recurring headache the past 4 days but this morning seemed a little better, so tried out one of the driving CDs my daughter made me before she left. Must say she did a nice sequence – Cranberries' Dreams started out as I left my dark quiet neighborhood, then Jimmy’s "The Middle" gave my spirits a lift as I headed onto the freeway and picked up speed. By the time I got to Weezer’s Hashpipe I was in seriously blissful driving mode and the volume cranked. (I know Phil must be in hysterics :o ).

But even with the perfect soundtrack my P&G efforts were pathetic. Every gas press zoomed the tach to nearly 3k, and the glides seemed to last only seconds. Ended up at work at both a crummy 61mpg and mood again.

Well, our Saturn is in the shop right now due to a computer chip problem, this week isn't my week to drive with our carpool, so wifey is driving the HCH. She didn't do too bad yesterday, though my tank FE dropped from 47 down to around 45-46, but she only drove a little around town. She drove down into Memphis today to go to the Dr. She just drives the HCH like a normal vehicle, so it will be interesting to see what the FE is when I get home tonight.

47 degrees here this morning. Brrrrr!!! I managed 41.2 MPG on the ride in.

Later this morning, I had the opportunity to leave the shop and run some errands. I waited until 10:00 when I knew traffic would be light on the expressway so I could tool along at 45-50 without being tailgated. I ran my errands and filled up my tank - 3 stops - and got back to my shop with 48.2 MPG on the SG-II :woot:

My fillup calculated to 35.7 MPG, vs. 38.3 on the uncalibrated SG-II. Next fillup, I'll make the calibration adjustment. The tank was filled by the dealer so these results may not be that accurate.

I switched one of the SG displays over to intake air temp and learned that the Accord has a very effective WAI built in. Intake air was 125-145F once fully warmed up.

When I used to own a Durango, I was getting similar readings for intake air temps. I think I remember seeing a coolant hose running to the intake manifold.
The temps started out at 46 chilly degrees this morning but I was able to pull off a 63.3 segment on the way to the wife's work. From there to my work was 64.3. This afternoon the temps had gotten up to 56 and I managed a 71.0 going back to pick up the wife at her work. From there back to my mom's (9.9 miles) I managed a 58.2.

My old TL actually had a miniature radiator with coolant lines built into the airbox. A trap door was actuated diverting air through the rad to heat up the air (probably on startup). It was possible to force it open to get constant hot air. SG showed about 140-160F.

RH77

Hi Rich

___Interesting to hear about the warm air divert on the older TL. The Accord doesn’t have anything like that but I am seeing low to mid 80’s AIT when it is in the low to mid 40’s after warm up.

___Tarabell, I sent you a second PM about P&G and the HCH-II. HCH-I/II’s and Insight’s are finicky little beasts when it comes to maximum FE unless you consider taking manual control … I know you were not looking forward to that conclusion either :( Check your PM’s for a few more possible solutions.

___With temps in the low 40’s this morning, I managed to touch 50.3. Temps on the way home were in the low 60’s and I had a nice 5 - 10 mph tail wind to bring her in at 58.3 mpg’s. Still down about 50 miles range as I come up on the ½ tank point :(

___Good Luck

___Wayne

Wednesday: 69° F | 45° F

Thursday: 76° F | 59° F

Friday: 78° F | 64° F

Saturday: 78° F | 61° F

Sunday: 75° F | 58° F

<cough cough>
bite me
<cough cough>

:D

wow you guys are sure kicking butt for the winter! i'm barely hanging on to my high 40's in my daily commute to work.

hehe Tarabell, isn't it great when you can be young again? Its good to see people "Older than I (Don't want to offend anyone ;)" being able to have a taste of what the younger generation is going through. I just hope I can do the same, when my kids grow up and has a completely different opinion about the world than I.

As for Liberty farm, I knew the Versa had some 50 mpg in him! That 6spd can keep the engine at the sweet spot for city speeds, and then FAS your way to victory! Yum... another car I'm eyeing heavily on.

Good stuff everyone.

Yeah, I'm complaning about the temperature but still maintaining a 61MPG average after almost 400 miles on this tank.

I'm going to whine a little too.:( It was below 40 this morning and there was a light frost on my windshield.:mad: I got in and was able to clear the frost with the washer but after the coast down my 1/10 mile driveway, the window almost instantaneously fogged over; on the inside.:eek: I drove the 5.8 miles to my wifes work and only FAS'd once so I could let the engine warm up. The trip came in at 47.0. From there on to my shop I manged a 65.2. This afternoon on the way back to pick up my wife I was able to manage a 70.0. The temp had went up to 67 which helped. From her work back to home I managed a 55.3.

35 degrees here this morning. I had to scrape frost off the windshield and then run the defroster to de-fog it. My morning drive in was only 37.3 but I managed 42.1 on the way home. These numbers are flip-flopped from the usual. I have been getting low 40s on the way in and high 30s on the way home. I think today was the first time I broke 40 on the afternoon ride home so that's encouraging. I attribute the improvement to doing a better job at maintaining buffers and more efficient operation of the car going uphill.

joe, doesn't the versa 6spd helps keep the rpms in the most efficent powerband? At what rpms do you try to keep your car going at?

woot even in the cold, I got 53 mpg on the way home (temps were like 7 degrees C? I had to use napkins to wipe my windows) Not even a single defroster needed, I even control my breathing so that I exhale down and not towards the windows :P There were a few nasty stops and worse part is my scanguage somehow got disconnected so I lost my tank and calibrated data!!! Man... its all up to the needle and the odometer now to help me through this tank... (600 km and needle shows 40% gas left)

joe, doesn't the versa 6spd helps keep the rpms in the most efficent powerband? At what rpms do you try to keep your car going at?

That's what I'm still learning after 9 days of owning the car. My commute has very few places that are dead flat, so I've found that the RPMs I run at depends on whether I'm going uphill or down and what's ahead of me. Een using DWL, I run about 2200-2800 uphill depending on how steep. Going downhill, I coast if possible, or, run RPMs in the 1400-1900 range if not coasting.

I guess right now I'm experimenting and watching the fuel burn rate on the scangauge - trying to do what I need to do with the car (accelerate, etc) while burning the least amount of fuel possible.

I really felt the cold this morning. Temps were in the low 40s and the best I could muster was just under 35mpg. Not bad for those roads, considering, but it really sucks that the car burns so much fuel while warming up.

Storms from Erenesto trashed the last tank-58 mpg. Wife drove the car a few days and now this tank is trashed. Experimenting with new routes and can't wait to change out the break in oil w/ Mobil1 synthetic. Found another source for the Mobile1 besides the dissapearing stock from WalMart www.autobarn.net/mobil1 (http://www.autobarn.net/mobil1) .

Pumped up the tires to 50, but Wayne, the engineer in me really has a problem with going much over 115% of rated sidwall pressure! Pulling 66-69mpg on 30 mi segments during the daily commutes, but the mileage logs aren't going to reflect it. But, hey, it's a lot better than it used to be.

Now I know how Tarabell feels when her husband takes the car. ;-)

Wayne, I'm enjoying all the timely news articles on the site and reading stories from a new bunch of fine folks - and more joining every day!

Y'all have a nice weekend.

Had an average trip in this morning, 53.0 MPG. We've got really bad weather here the next couple of days, severe storms, possibly some tornados. I was pleasantly surprised however, at how well my wife has done this week with the car. She kept an average of about 46.5 MPG while she drove it this week. So with about 350 miles on this tank, I'm still sitting at 47.2 MPG, which is a lot better than I expected. She's learning!

The weather is hovering at around 70F during the mornings. I'm getting about 5mpg less than the summer. I expect to lose another 5mpg this tank because of winter gas, and then another 5 next tank due to more dropping of the temperature. :(

Mornings are just becoming worse and worse, and seeing headlights suddenly loom up in my rearview mirror is unnerving. Also scarier I think because it’s so utterly dark these mornings and people are driving faster now. Seems like I’m getting hit with tailgaters all the time lately. They refuse to go around me, but usually they just want the next exit.

Morning P&G attempts are still frustrating. Masochistic tendencies are probably a fairly reasonable prerequisite for trying this on a freeway. Well as I've always tried to drill in my own kid, we may not have talent going for us, we may not have luck or the right circumstances working for us, but personal effort can take us a long way and the decision of how much effort is totally within our control. So I've always felt doing something is often not a decision of whether you can, but whether you want to. Well, I've only been trying this a couple days....

Anyway, I did better this morning and got to work at a more reasonable 65mpg. However I've tried something different this week on my drives home and the results are baffling. My better segment has always been the a.m. one as it’s slightly downhill, so naturally I always lose FE on the p.m. segment as it’s slightly uphill. Some days I lose more, some days less nevertheless I've always had a net loss getting home. However this week the gap has not only decreased, it’s reversed. Yesterday for example I got to work at around 61mpg. On the way home (not resetting the tripA) it had increased to 64.7. Seeing the increased mpg due to this change is actually seriously annoying me, so if I get time later this weekend I’ll do a separate thread about it.

Just filled up on the way home from work this afternoon. After more than two years with this car, this was the first time I've ever gotten more than 400 miles on a tank! FE came in at 44.173 MPG. Before I started hypermiling it was rare to get over 300 miles on a tank.

Just filled up on the way home from work this afternoon. After more than two years with this car, this was the first time I've ever gotten more than 400 miles on a tank! FE came in at 44.173 MPG. Before I started hypermiling it was rare to get over 300 miles on a tank.

welcome to the club buddy ;) wait till you start getting 500!

Hi All:

___This will be my worst tank since last spring with the low 40 degree temps the past few mornings. My low fuel light lit at just 865 miles. Tonight’s drive home ended up at 51.1 mpg’s :(

___Here are a few pics of my daily grind coming home tonight. I am sure Tom drove through the same nightmare as there were tornado watches out all over the Chicago area during this nightmare of a drive home.

Sept. 22, 2006 - Chicago evening drive home.

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/506/Sept_21_2006_-_DWB_-_RR_and_rain.JPG
Traffic nightmare while DWB and RR in the Rain.

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/500/Sept_21_2006_Rain_Drive.JPG
My pics suck while driving with one hand and snapping pics with the other but this was snapped with the wipers on FAST! 1 – 2” per hour type rain this evening in Chicago.

___Good Luck

___Wayne

Kewl -- a rare look behind the wheel of XCEL.

Today, I returned to KC to find 78-degrees! On my 52 mile drive home from the airport, I was able to squeeze 42.6 mpg out of the Integra, which is a recent personal best. (I got nearly 50 mpg in a 57 mph max-only trip over 150 miles). I don't know why, but the car had great pull at DWL, with 9% throttle and good FE. I just changed the oil, so that may be the reason. Techniques today: DWL, DWB, NICE-ON Coast, FAS, Warm-up P&G, and mild P&G. City driving is going to kill that nubmer, and get me back down to the "Wall": 31 mpg.

RH77
Hammering away at the "Wall"

Umm. Wayne, they weren't watches. They were warnings. They went right over where I work and then followed me home. I think I was 10 minutes ahead of it. From what I hear it is very rare that they go over my area, but this time they actualy mentioned my neighborhood.

I took some pictures of the rain too. It was going down VERY hard. The pics didn't come out well though so I deleted them.

I think I got about 45 mpg on the way home today.

I flew over/around it today from Indy to KC and it was rather bumpy...but you could clearly see the "Squall Line" of strong storms and tall "Mesoscale" cloud formations in a line that stretched in a distinct line diagonally from St. Louis up to Chicago, moving East/Northeast. Checking the NWS confirmed multiple Warnings and confirmed Tornado touch-downs (39 so far today). They're still coming -- check your weather report -- if you're in Missouri, Tenessee, Inidana, Illinois, Kentucky, Arkansas, or Ohio as of this post, check the weather NOW. It doesn't look good. Be prepared.

National Weather Service (http://www.weather.gov/)

RH77

HA! I can see it now: Wayne is driving along and a tornado pops up behind him. Does he panic? No. Instead he checks the rear view to see which direction it's rotating. "Alright, if I get in the left lane and let it catch up I should get a tail wind good enough to sail home! Aaaannnnddd.......FAS!" :D

Just kidding around of course. Or...am I?

Hi All:

___This will be my worst tank since last spring with the low 40 degree temps the past few mornings. My low fuel light lit at just 865 miles. Tonight’s drive home ended up at 51.1 mpg’s :(

___Here are a few pics of my daily grind coming home tonight. I am sure Tom drove through the same nightmare as there were tornado watches out all over the Chicago area during this nightmare of a drive home.

Sept. 22, 2006 - Chicago evening drive home.

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/506/Sept_21_2006_-_DWB_-_RR_and_rain.JPG
Traffic nightmare while DWB and RR in the Rain.

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/500/Sept_21_2006_Rain_Drive.JPG
My pics suck while driving with one hand and snapping pics with the other but this was snapped with the wipers on FAST! 1 – 2” per hour type rain this evening in Chicago.

___Good Luck

___Wayne

:Banane37: Well that does it I am moving/relocating to Chicago. man that really looks like Fun. NOT !!!!!!:(

Terry (tiger)

RH77's Car Rental Rule #2: Cities in which you don't rent cars:

Chicago comes in at #1. Whenever I go there for work, I fly-in and take the train and busses. I tried driving a few times and it's not worth it. The CTS is one of the best Public Transportation Systems in the Nation: combine it with METRA commuter rail, and you can head way-out into the 'burbs.

Others cities to note: NYC, DC, Boston (all depends on how far out you go).

rush hour sucks when one has a stick, but with an auto it rocks!

I guess I can safely assume the torque converter is your best friend during creeping traffic.

I was driving the Nissan Quest 99 today, and boy that beast needs a tug when FASING in a parking lot ;) but on the road it feels the same as my civic suprisingly. Too bad I had no scangauge on the van (couldn't find the port) but one thing for sure the duration I was driving it the gas needle did not move :)

now i was going home and there was 1/4 mile of pure creep and go (due to merging on to the highway from 3 lanes to 1). So I did the usual (three car spaces in front of me) and boy letting off the brake the car just creeps while the rpms are still at idle! SOOOO MUCH easier than my civic (pop it to 1st, rev a little, clutch out, back into N, repeat) as opposed to this van where I can just pop it into D, the creep goes and then N again. Since this was a mild uphill climb the torque converter was creeping at a very slow speed (which is a good thing) so I didn't have to use my brakes once! There was a time when I did had to stop but I just pop the shifter to N, then it rolls back a little, then I pop it into D again and then it creeps up... repeat hehe without reving the engine (not touching throttle) once! I could ride the clutch in 1st on my civic, but since this is a mild hill... well you get the picture ;P

so in the end, torque converters rock because I don't have to rev it up in 1st gear in pure creep and go traffic.

If i had to predict my mpg, I'd say 25 for the whole day. (< 5 miles)

and i'm still amazed that what 3 car spaces can do to one's mileage in pure stop and creep traffic. I pity those reving up in 1st gear just to slam the brakes after travelling for what.... not even 5 car lengths?