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Hi All:

___I was speaking with Randall (Highwater as most know him) at HF2006 about busting the World record for distance on a single tank of fuel. His last fill (10 + gallons) ended at 110.x mpg. I talked to him about a vapor recovery fill and he may be able to reach 1,550 miles! He PM’ed me this morning that he wants to top that record and filled to at least 13.7 mpg and is now punching out 120 mpg segments. He will try and keep the thread up to date on a daily basis and I can’t wait! I will guess he will run her dry at ~ 1675 miles @ ~ 120 mpg. I think he has it in the bag but let us all wish him the best of luck!

Old record: The Honda Insight starring in “The Attempt” July 25 - 29, 2004 … (http://www.cleanmpg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=593)

New Record: You are looking at the thread to tell the world about it as it happens ;)

___Let us start it off with the proper introduction. Sorry about the pic not showing his entire automobile as well as himself :(


The Honda Insight starring in "The Attempt II - The Sequel"
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/525/Randall_and_his_Little_Blue_Beauty.jpg
Randall and the “Little Blue Beauty” at HF 2006.

___Good Luck

___Wayne

Hi All:

___Here are the results for Day #1 and Day #2 … Looking great so far!

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/504/07_31_06_trip.JPG
07/31/2006 Day #1 - 118.2 mpg

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/504/08_01_06_trip.JPG
08/01/2006 Day #2 - 111.8 mpg

___He is currently on the road for his drive into work this evening and will have another report tomorrow!

___Good Luck

___Wayne

At least I met Randall at HybridFest, but as with most people there was not enough time to spend with anyone.

I just told someone that under ideal conditions, 100mpg at a steady speed was about the most the non-experts could hope for. If he can do 110mpg at steady-speed - that's impressive!

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/504/08_01_06_tank.JPG
The cummulative tank (trip B) after the second day 08/01/06.

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/504/08_02_06_trip.JPG
08/02/06 RTC.

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/504/08_02_06_tank.JPG
08/02/06 cummulative tank.

Yes Chuck, I enjoyed meeting everyone that I got to, which wasn't all that I wanted to.
Maybe for the second day next year,if there is one, we can have more meet N greet activities.

I will compose some verbage, on the parameters of my commute, mods to the
Insight, route, etc., off line and then post it. I want everyone to know the hows and whys. Not trying to pull anything over on anyone here, just trying to promote FE :D .

Randall

Isn't each cold-start across multiple days going to throw the
whole idea into a cocked hat?
.
_H*

Hi Hobbit:

___Welcome to the ways of an Insight. Even with a cold start, as long as you have 10 + miles with the basics or 2 miles throwing everything but the kitchen sink at her, she will give you 100 + time after time after time after time …

___With that, Randall is going to nail it!

___Good Luck

___Wayne

A bit of text to go along with the pics, and provide some insight (pun not intended) on myself, the mods that I’m running, and my commute.


The commute:


I have always tried, when talking about my attempt(s) at maximum FE, to mention the fact that my commute is, what I consider to be, FE friendly. I live in rural Oklahoma, and my drive in to work is at ~11PM, and return at 9AM. I’ll post some pics of the route, as the thread progresses. This puts me outside of prime time rush hour, if there was such a thing around here:woot: .


I have long been optimizing my commute and continue daily to question myself, i.e.; were those rpms/fuel injections really necessary?, should I have shifted sooner or later?, could I have FAS’d sooner and used less friction brakes when required to come to a complete stop (don’t you hate it when that happens)! I run a two lane highway back and forth to work. Living outside the town of my address, I drive through part of town (a minimum of two stop signs and one light) to get on the highway, and then its pretty much open road to the town I work in. I drive through another smaller town, but at that time of night, the only stoplight I’m faced with has defaulted to flashing yellow in my direction. I have to make two 90 degree corners here, but no stop signs. Arriving in the town where I work, there is one stop sign and three potential lights. One of them is default green in my direction (changes with proximity sensors), the other two on timers. Up hill into the parking lot and the choice is wide open, although, applying the hypermiling parking techniques found elsewhere around here, I have that certain spot picked out. I usually get it:Banane07: . If I get passed more than three or four times at night, I wonder where all this traffic came from.



The trip home is just the rewind of the above, with few exceptions. The one traffic light in the smaller middle town is now on a timer. If I crowd the center line (the light is over the sidewalk on the right hand side behind some signs), I can get a view of it from far enough back, that I can generally make it.



This route parallels the Interstate, so there is virtually no truck traffic, particularly at night. There is some local freight and oilfield trucks during the mornings, but they are sparse. Some heavier agriculture and oilfield equipment at times, slow enough to have an orange triangle on the back. This drive takes me through one of the historic oilfields here in Oklahoma, I’ll try to get a pic of the Insight, with a dozen or so pumpjacks in the background, someday, after this FE attempt. Don’t want to do any more dead stops than I have to. Terrain is rolling hills, I call them popcorn hills. Most of them you can do the rollercoaster thing on. A couple of them are long gentle slopes. Not much totally flat in this area. Country side is open farmland and pasture.


So...no vehicular drafting/surfing of any kind, no P&G; just light foot and open road, and a few mods. Target speed, steady 40mph.


Modifications to the Insight:


MIMA: you’ll need to go over to 99mpgdotcom to get the full story on this one. In a nut shell, it allows me to control both when, and to what magnitude, the electric portion of the Insights hybrid package kicks in. I use it to turn off charging until I’m out of town and the Insight is warmed up. When into the cruise I can then _dribble_the charge back in. By controlling the assist to help me up _some_ of the hills, the instantaneous fuel consumption can be maintained closer to the desired level. By controlling the assist, I am able to avoid recals, which my battery pack likes to do much below three bars down.


Tire pressure: currently 60#’s


Intake air rerouted: during the colder months this is extended to the cat and insulated. Currently the intake horn is just flip/flopped over to the backside of the engine, and the resonator hole blocked with a rubber cap.


12v battery upgrade: Swapped out the factory battery and tray for an Odyssey PC545 and its tray.


Radiator block: I use a rubber floor mat that was supposed to fit an SUV of some kind. Used the old cardboard as a template and cut a full size block from one side of the mat. Yes, it’s on the car right now. I just pull up one corner, and ziptie it, so the air can flow thru a portion of the lower coils. I run OBD in real time, and the coolant temp stays at 198/199 after it gets there, as long as I keep the load percent in the ~65 range. When I have need to put more load on the ICE and get it up around 85 percent load it will get up to 203, but it will come right back down when I back off. The radiator fan comes on at 208 and off at 205 on my unit. I should have taken it (the block) to Madison with me. I don’t run AC (on my commute), so no problem here. If need_should_arise, I can just open the hood, flop the whole thing over on top of the engine, close the hood and go. I’ve done it before. Now as to the FE effect of this, during this time of year, it’s likely more from any aerodynamic benefit than from engine temperature; but I am playing with this one for an upcoming mod.


Also in preparation for this upcoming mod, I have rerouted some lines under the hood. Most likely to have any effect on FE, would be the fuel lines. I have routed them around the front of the engine, over towards the air filter, and then back toward the firewall with the heater hoses. This MAY give an increase in fuel temp, but I have no way of measuring that at this time. Just wanted to disclose that I had done this. Another unknown is the effect of the side mirrors folded in. The passengers stays that way (unless I‘m going to be on a four lane), and I push the driver side out when needed. Just thought I should tell you about that also. However, I did run with them both fully deployed for the trip to Madison and back.


Rear wiper removed.


Clutch hold FAS:


Again, over at 99mpgdotcom, you can read up on this. My FAS is activated by the central joystick switch on the MIMA mod. Activating this mod allows the FAS to be done without fiddling with the ignition key and other switches, and allows all safeties and restarts to remain in place. The clutch hold function is done with a second relay, that deactivates when the transmission is shifted into any gear.


Other than those things; I run with the passengers seat and spare tire in place, a few items in the trunk and glove box, a few extra lbs on the driver, my laptop and it’s mount, which is aluminum/plastic. The mount weighs ~3 lbs and the notebook ~6 IIRC, and the Husco armrest is installed. Windows are down in this weather, unless there is a nasty crosswind. I have some led indicators that monitor various 12v functions, but there is little value for FE.


I hope I haven’t gone overboard on the verbage, but it stands to reason that our audience will grow further than the fellows of the FE brotherhood (FFEB ??):cool: , and I just wanted to be upfront.


Once again, I am fortunate to have the unmolested commute that I do. I’ll take some pics.
Randall

Hi Randall:

___Great introduction and description of your route!

___Unlike IC, you can link to other sites with reciprocation as well as discuss MIMA. We have had Mike’s site up on the home page for quite some time now in fact … For everyone else, here it is: mIMA – Manual Integrated Motor Assist (http://www.99mpg.com/)

___And keep us updated as it sounds like a great route and the record is in the bag.

___Good Luck

___Wayne

Sorry about the blurr on this one.
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/504/08_03_06_trip.JPG
08/03/06 RTC

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/504/08_03_06_tank.JPG
08/03/06 cumulative tank

Here's a shot from my chosen parking space at work.
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/500/myspace_at_work.JPG
Down hill all the way to the stop sign. A short first gear pulse, and then FAS. Not enough slope at this point for the insight to brake loose after releasing the parking brake.

My thoughts thus far;
This was the first time I had done the overfill of the neck and canister. I can certainly tell the difference in the weight of the Insight with the additional fuel. Feels different on the suspension. I should be getting down into the 10.5 gal tank in the next trip or so. Todays commute had some pretty nice head winds going both directions. Lucky me. We have some weather changes coming through for the next day or two, but I should be able to recover, should we get some heavy T-Storms this early in the game. Wet pavement is sure gonna hurt. That's the down side of streching this out for nearly three weeks:eek:. And I think your a wee bit early on that in the bag thing Wayne.

Randall

Randall

Good luck with your effort. It looks like you are off to a good start. I know it is hard to see angles in pix but it looks like you ought to be able to coast all the way down the hill from your parking spot. If it won't go on it's own, push it. My garage looks flat but if I take the car out of gear and wait a few seconds it just starts rolling out. I havn't powered out in 5 years.

As for wind. I think a direct crosswind is worse then a direct headwind. What do you think? I think it might be the scrubbing of the tires as you turn into the wind to stay on the road.

I have heard of lots of crazy ways of doing the hot air intake mod, but you and I do it the same way, no muss no fuss.

Once again good luck on your effort and have fun.....Louis

Hello Louis:

Yeah, a cross wind is a fight. Around here the wind is generally from the noth or south and my commute is north and south also. When I have encountered a cross wind it tends to push the insight pretty hard. Fighting that side force plus the rut tracking, can be entertaining.

Actually when I cut the brake loose, it rolls backward. Maybe I don't have such a good spot after all.:confused: I'll have to go out while on lunch breaks and do some research. Here's why I picked this particular spot: I can face out, I'm on the front row, I can see the traffic coming from the left up the drive as well as from my left flank as I am also on the left end of my row. Disadvantage is someone coming from the right, as I can't see around the vehicle that is to my immediate right. The actual high spot in this parking lot is in the picture right in the center where they have filled the crack in the asphalt with resin. Those spaces over to the left in the other row, are filled by the time I get to work.:mad:

I know what your talking about on the roll off, Ive' been know to do the Fred N Barney thing:D

Nice trip on the way into work tonight. That segment of ~42 miles ended with 116.0 mpg displayed. But there was a big light show going on in the west. May have to use the wipers in the morning:( .

While I'm thinking about it, I run Mobil 1 0W20, and try to hit the halfway mark on the dipstick. Oh.....and the Insight needs a bath, it hasn't been washed since the show at Madison.

Randall

Yep got some rain last night, pretty good downpour; we needed it. However; I didn't have to use very aggressive wipers on the trip home. A little ridge riding and puddle dodging left me in pretty good shape, although the road surface was damp and you could feel the drag.



http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/504/08_04_06_trip.JPG
08/04/06 RTC



http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/504/08_04_06_tank.JPG
08/04/06 cumulative tank on distance attempt



And about that parking space, this one might have pontential. I would have to back in, but that would be with a warm system. Its across the aisle from where I am parked, and would actually provide a better view of traffic on my egress. Thanks for the wake up Lewis:D



http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/500/better_parking_space.JPG
A better parking space at work?



That will be it on the commutes till Monday.


Randall

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/504/08_07_06_trip.JPG
08/07/06 RTC


http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/504/08_07_06_tank.JPG
08/07/06 cumulative tank


This is my favorite FAS hill. If there isn't anyone behind me, and I let the speed build up until it gets to ~47/48mph and then FAS, I can make it over the next little hump (which may be hard to see at this resolution), at about 30, and then it will build back up to ~35, at which point I shift into 5th, and carry on. The problem with someone coming up behind me is after I drop over that next little hump, I disappear for a just a second:eek: .


http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/500/favorite_FAS_hill.JPG
Favorite FAS hill.

I did get into a recal last night just as I got to work. So this morning, I let it get back up to ~5/6 bars from the bottom, and decided to play with it there. This battery pack will recal somewhere inside the 4th bar down from the top. If I don't pay attention, and let it stay in the 4th bar too long, it drops the ball. I am going to see what the characteristics of the battery are down around the bottom of the SOC. I've never done that.:bananajump: I love these bananas:Banane59:.



Randall

Hi Randall:

___I noticed almost 505 miles out and the fuel gauge is still full :D You got it in the bag …

___Good Luck

___Wayne

Wayne,
That one on ebay looks like it is good for a 2000 mile tank. :Banane35:

Hi Dan:

___Randall and I talked about that and the possibility for a 2,250 mile tank … If Randall is willing, maybe you, Sno, Justin, and myself could take a trip out to OK. for “The Attempt-III” over an 80 hour span of time in September maybe ;) If Randall doesn’t, I bet Sno or someone with a country road to and from work will?

___I will see Justin and Bradlee at the Milwaukee Hybrid Group meet in just 2 weeks. I am sure it will come up in passing :D

___Good Luck

___Wayne

http://www.epa.gov/donttopoff/

Topping off your gas tank may foul the station's vapor recovery system. Adding more gas after the nozzle has automatically shut off can cause the station's vapor recovery system to operate improperly. This contributes to the air pollution problem and may cause the gas pump to fail to work for the next person.

xcel.....I'm listening..........

AZBrandon............I'm quite sure the stations out here do not yet have vapor recovery.
My process of over filling was to pull the nozzle out far enough to see the liquid stream, and trickle it in with a steady flow. How can that be any different than filling gas cans for the lawnmowers and doing the same process. And about that lawnmower, it is, without a doubt spewing far more pollution into the air than whatever could be measured from an overfill attempt on the Insight. I'm not exactly in a problem area for air pollution, although I try to do my part. I get a 100mpg driving back and forth to work everyday at an acceptable speed. I have yet to catch the bird or be honked at. I'm not worried about this overfill thing.When I get through playing around with this and any subsequent efforts, I will go back to 10 gal fillups.

Randall

Randall,

I am with you on the overfill. It is not like you do this all the time, and I am pretty sure that the CO2 pollution from your Insight is 113/25= 4.52 times less than an average car getiing 25 MPG. In a rural area of Oklahoma, the fuel vapors released on an overfill are of little consequence. Great job, by the way, keep up the great driving!

Dennis

Daily update:

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/504/08_08_06_trip.JPG
08/08/06 RTC


http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/504/08_08_06_tank.JPG
cumulative tank 08/08/06

Looks like the first bar has gone down.

The SOC remains at ~5 bars from the bottom.

Randall

Hi Randall:

___You are doing a darn fine job in your little beauty if I do say so myself! ****, 550 + before the first bar disappeared is HOT :D

___Brandon, as Randall said, even if you do have the non-push type vapor recovery nozzle, you are not going to foul the stations gear because there is no way you can top off with the nozzle inserted that far … There is gasoline evap when filling the stations tank, let alone almost everything else. I have read of guys losing EVAP canisters in the past but have never lost one myself in over 850,000 miles of driving with top offs. WRT emissions … Randall’s Insight is a full blown ULEV given the fuel he is using is LS. Evaporative emissions from any vehicle are far better today then a car built 10 + years ago no matter what piping is filled in a top off as its part of the EPA’s certification. I will take my PZEV topped off please ;)

___Here are two hybrids I had the honor of topping off with not a drop spilled or anything else fouled …

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/500/Prius_II_Marathon_Attempt_-_Fillup_I.jpg
“Prius Marathon Attempt”

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/500/Insight_-_2006_Tour_Del_Sol.JPG
2006 Tour Del Sol”

___Good Luck

___Wayne

Highwater wrote:

"Looks like the first (fuel gauge) bar has gone down." ... at over 550 miles:woot:

Awesome FE Randall!
Thanks for the details and pictures.

I have to wonder what the #'s would be if you had a healthier battery pack.
Unfortunately, almost like you, I'm now seeing recals at 60% iSoC. :(

Also, after a move to the "land of recals" I have a shorter 10 mile commute but with the route options of hills, bigger hills (some very steep over 1 mile long) and 65mph speed limit highway... with huge hills. On the non highway route, there are a minimum of 15 stops, not including heavy traffic related ones - usually around 5 - 10 each way.
While high 90s for me on the previous commute were common in the summer, I'm now struggling to keep it in the low 80's :(
The good news for me is its a short bike commute, and the Insight gets to take a rest.

Out of curiosity, what's a "popcorn" hill? Grade? Length?

We'll be anxious to hear your final result, and ready to break out those dancing banana emoticons!
-Brian

I agree with the non topper offers. If you don't need to top off then don't.

I don't think there is any huge problem with a once and a while top off though.

To AZ and tbaleno:

I can appreciate the differing points of view, and the input of such that this forum allows. But as I said when stating parameters, this is the first time I have done an overfill, and I will have to do another to get the final result. I can foresee another overfill in the not too distant future for another attempt such as what I believe Wayne is eluding to. This overfill was at night just before the trip to work and the trip at home in the morning was at 9AM, then park in the garage; I'm quite certain there was no overflow from expansion. My insight does not see much direct midday type sunlight/heat. And now as Forest Gump would say,"That's awll I haf ta say about Thaayit".:Banane36:

I see some new bananas, Sorry I just had to use that one:) .

Brian:

Good to see? you again. I 'm calling the popcorn hills those that feel like a roller coaster ride. High frequency rate, not too much amplitude. Up, down, up, down, up down. Doesn't realing hurt FE that bad if you do the potential/kinetic exchange routine. In that picture of the FAS hill; There are a couple of those long ones on this commute. Two miles or so of steady slope, that hurt FE on the way up, so I try to make up on the way down. As far as grade, I will have to fire up GPS and do some data logging. But I doubt their anything near the grades you are faced with.

Wayne:

I'll send you a PM:Banane35:

Randall

I think you missunderstood my post. I wasn't saying you were bad for doing it. I was only saying that its not realy required most of the time and that doing it alot *may* not be a good idea. I understand what you are doing and why and have no problem with it.

Daily update.


http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/504/08_09_06_trip.JPG
08/09/06 RTC


http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/504/08_09_06_tank.JPG
08/09/06 cumulative tank.


Randall

Daily update:



http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/504/08_10_06_trip.JPG
08/10/06 daily RTC


http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/504/08_10_06_tank.JPG
08/10/06 cumulative tank


Randall

Daily update:


http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/504/08_11_06_trip.JPG
08/11/06 daily RTC


http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/504/08_11_06_tank.JPG
08/11/06 cumulative tank



Drove thru a downpour on the way in last night, for about 20 miles of the 42. Had some stiff winds to deal with on the return. It shows.


Randall

Update for Monday and Tuesday commutes.


http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/504/08_14_06_trip.JPG
08/14/06 RTC Monday


http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/504/08_14_06_tank.JPG
08/14/06 cumulative tank


http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/504/08_15_06_trip.JPG
08/15/06 RTC Tuesday


http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/504/08_15_06_tank.JPG
08/15/06 cumulative tank


We're finally getting some rain around here. You can see the effects the wind and wet pavement is having compared to some of the previous trips.:Banane14:

Randall

hmmmm....don't know what I did wrong there, but the pics didn't link.

Looks like your URLs started with 'http://http://' for some reason. If you edit one repetition out they will show up.

Great job!

Awesome job! Do I see a 2,000 mile tank coming here?:p

Thanks Tim: I must have done something different than I had been doing.

Hello diamondlarry, Nope not on this tank. It was an overfill to 14+ gallons, so its well past half way overall. Probably something over 1500mi, maybe approaching 1600. It will take P&G to break the 2000 mi. barrier. Guess I'm gonna hafta do that one on the next tank, before the weather cools down.

Randall

Daily update:

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/504/08_16_06_trip.JPG
08/16/06 RTC


http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/504/08_16_06_tank.JPG
08/16/06 cumulative tank


Randall

Dont think my Civic would show 114 mpg on the sg if I pushed it up hills. :)

Great Job!

psy

This is the hill I'm going to try to push myself up (http://www.pikespeakmarathon.org/pre_race_information.htm) this Sunday. Since this is my 2nd attempt and I'm expecting a different result (i.e. completion), that makes me technically insane. :eek:

hahah at this rate its going to be after i fill up my gas its time for an oil change!

Hey, anybody else catch this one? Equivalent effort in
Japan, apparently: http://priuschat.com/index.php?showtopic=23380
.
_H*

Hi Hobbit:

___Excellent find and congrats to the young lady who knocked that one Prius’ tank out of the park. I figured it was only a matter of time… It looks as if someone will have to live on a perfect commuting route to knock that one back?

___In the case of the Insight, not only will 1,600 miles be in the bag, wait until you see what comes next either by Randall himself or a bunch of us helping him over a week. The numbers here are just going to put it in the record books. The numbers on the next go around are going to put them into the untouchable zone for a year or two …

___Good Luck

___Wayne

Daily update:


http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/504/08_17_06_trip.JPG
08/17/06 RTC


http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/504/08_17_06_tank.JPG
08/17/06 cumulative tank


The trip in to work last night was depressing, as I drove through a heavy thunderstorm. Crosswinds, headwinds, defogging the windshield, water standing on the road, etc.....you name it.:Banane36: The inbound commute was ~98mpg for the 42 miles. The return trip saved the day, as shown in the pic below.:Banane48:


http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/504/08_17_06_return.JPG
08/17/06 return commute


Randall

Daily update:


http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/504/08_18_06_trip.JPG
08/18/06 RTC



http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/504/08_18_06_tank.JPG
08/18/06 cumulative tank


And here's another one of those one ways that leaves you with a smile in your pocket:D


http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/504/08_18_06_return.JPG
08/18/06 return commute trip


Got to go get one of those one gallon gasoline jugs this weekend.

Randall

Hi Randall:

___Good God you are pushing it! Way to hold onto numbers the rest of us will never ever see! Keep up the great work and don’t let your guard down in the least as this tank is going to end up spectacularly!

___Good Luck and congrats again and again and again :D

___Wayne

I just want to reiterate here, this is steady state cruising, on an FE friendly commute, with the aforementioned mods.

I have not gone over to the dark side :cool:


.....................yet:D


Randall

Wifee had to use the camera for her boss's retirement party, so I had to take yesterdays pics before I left tonite. I have reserved the camera for tomorrow night. That's probably when I will run out. Told her I had to have it with me on the road, so I could document the run-out. I'll catch up the posts on Wednesday. Down to 2 bars dino. Couple of trips left.....maybe ?????

Randall

Hi Randall:

___IIRC, 2 bars or maybe it was low fuel was good for well over 150 miles and if you have one of those great segments, take the segments FE times 1.5 and that should get you home. I will look it up tomorrow … Take a gallon of fuel with you in either case and I would recommend running her dry as you may as well find out where she really runs out vs. 3 or 4 years from now sitting in the arm chair wondering where she would have actually ran out? Trust me on this as it will make you wonder for one heck of a long time and its best to settle the question by running her dry this one time and knowing for sure then always wondering forever more … Where are you currently at with 2 bars still showing? Around 1,500 miles out or so?

___Bring 2 cameras because you do not want to get caught with one that has a bad battery or maybe one that has decided to go FUBAR. Keep you cel charged and handy in case you have to call your wife to come and get you for whatever strange reason … A single gallon should place enough NPSH on the fuel pump to get her going again in my experience but another ½ gallon on top of that never hurt either ;)

___On a side note, I got conformation from Louis (Sno779) out of the Phoenix area that he can make it and Justin from Milwaukee can as well. We did a small clinic in a small school parking lot last Saturday and he is ready … Dan should be able to fly out for 3 days and Billy is still a possibility right now. Did Calpod say he could make it out for that first weekend in October? I was not really sure by his note? I contacted Rick Reese in the YaHoo forum as he is finally back in the states but has to catch up on too many things to head out for the event. This is really too bad as you would have really have liked to meet him. Another great guy to know! Have you mentioned anything to NEmystic? If not, I will PM him tomorrow as well.

___Do not stop pushing until she actually gives up due too fuel starvation. This is going to be so cool and absolutely huge!!! We will setup a nice article about your world record tank in just a few days …

___Good Luck

___Wayne

IIRC we’re knockn’ on 1400, I didn’t punch over to TRIP B, before I got out of it last night. Yes, I will run it out. I got a plastic gas can over the weekend, and filled with one gallon; The one gallon will get me to either end of the commute, where I can refuel. I will put it in the floorboard after I get home today. The 2 bars should be good for a couple of trips anyway, but if I encounter anymore trips like going home yesterday, that distance will be shortened. Yesterday it was raining so hard that ridge riding wasn’t working too well. The water just could not run off the road fast enough. It was ugly. I believe the RTC was ~103mpgUS. The tank dropped to slightly less than 114.

I will do my best to get this updated sometime today. I have a long errand to run, after I get home, and it will be late (for me) getting back to the house. Then I’ll have to wait on the camera again to get today’s pictures. But I’ll keep it straight.

Calpod is going to be “out of bounds” that weekend, it looks like. I told him I would keep him informed, just in case. I have not contacted NEmystic, so go ahead, that would be great. Yes, I would have liked to have met Rick:mad: .

Randall

edit, changed the 1500 to 1400. just got home with 1 bar of fuel and 1439miles

Mondays update:

:note2: day after day I'm more confused
can't see the light thru the fallin rain
ya know its a game I hate to lose
but I'm counting on you.....
to carry me through.......:note2:



http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/504/08_21_06_trip.JPG
08/21/06 RTC


http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/504/08_21_06_tank.JPG
08/21/06 tank

Hi Randall:

___Thank you for the update.

___With 3 + bars of fuel and just 175 miles to go, you got it. Just pray for no rain and light winds and you should do OK. If the weather gets dicey tonight, take the truck as we are talking about a world record here … I hate to hear that coming from me but a world record is not just an average everyday commute.

___I am still hoping you have a nice tail wind both ways (:)) as the 1600 mile tank is still a possibility?

___Good Luck and you are still performing excellently!

___Wayne

Tuesday update:


http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/504/08_22_06_trip.JPG
08/22/06 RTC


http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/504/08_22_06_tank.JPG
08/22/06 cumulative tank


I certainly don't see 1600 here.


Randall

Hi Randall:

___Hold tough as you are still holding your own … Remember the wind and weather. Anything weird like a tornado head wind shows up, go grab the other vehicle. You are still doing great with just 100 miles to go. 1 bar and 100 miles should not be a problem they way you are knocking out segments as of late! If you just dropped that last bar, you still might have 175 left in her and that means 1600 or darn close?

___Good Luck!

___Wayne

Mini update:

Made it one way with 117.5 on tripA @ 42.1 miles.
The last bar went out about 20 miles back.
Tank on 1471.9 miles @ 113.9mpgUS.
May make it back home.....may not.
One gallon in the floorboard.

Randall

Hi Randall:

___Tonight’s the night then! I think you are not only going to make it to work, you are going to possibly make it back as well. Just keep the gallon can ready, relax, and drive like you know you can …

___Like anyone can relax with 0 bars of fuel out in the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night :eek: On a lighter note, you are not alone in that feeling. Been there and done that quite a few more times then I care to let on ;)

___I think you will get a kick out of the following thread as it describes what you will be going through in just a few hours after your sleep.

How far can you take the HCH-II beyond 0 bars on the Fuel gauge? (http://www.cleanmpg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=666)

___Good Luck

___Wayne

Daily update:


http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/504/08_23_06_trip.JPG
08/23/06 RTC


http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/504/08_23_06_tank.JPG
08/23/06 cumulative tank



I'm >60 miles past the last bar. Don't know whether its better to run out at night with nearly zero traffic, or during the day, when I can see a good spot to get out of the way. Some spots there is no shoulder. This is however, acedemic, at this point.......I don't think I have a choice:D .


I am happy to see 1500:bananajump: .

Randall

87 miles to go! You can do it!

Hi Randall:

___Actually, just 10 miles to go and you have it!

___Good Luck

___Wayne

87 miles to go! You can do it!

Go!
Go!
Go!
Go!
Go!
Go!
Go!

Tail Wind
Tail Wind
Tail Wind
Tail Wind
:bananalama:

Thanks y'all......your the greatest.

Does it help if the driver rocks back and forth like "Rainman".;)

Randall

I bet it does. Wayne does that ;)

Hi Tom:

___I was saving that for next years HF2007 Presentation ;)

___I can see it now … A future version of “ COPS in LA” showing Tarabell rocking back and forth while RR and listening to Enya CD’s all the while HS P&G’ing through the suburbs of Los Angeles. They pull her over for the arrest thinking she is a drunk only to find her aFCD at a stunning 110 mpg and they politely let her continue on her merry way :D

___On a more serious note, Randall, congrats as you made it already in my book!!!

___Good Luck

___Wayne

... You forgot the underwear in the back seat :D

Hi Tarabell:

___That had absolutely nothing and I mean nothing do with me although I think it helps Hobbit for whatever reason :D

___Good Luck

___Wayne

Sorry, Wayne.......
I didn't mean to let the cat out of the bag :eek: on your next speaking engagement:Banane09: .

All done now.......

pics when I get home.

Randall

Hi Randall:

___Wherever it ended up (if it has even ended yet?), congratulations as I know you had more then just 10 miles of fuel left in her from the 1513.9 mile pic you posted earlier. I cannot wait for the final pics and then we can make some kind of article out of your achievement!

___Congratulations as you are the new World Record Holder for the most miles on a single tank of gas in a non-modded mass produced automobile!

___Good Luck and way to go!

___Wayne

Final update:


http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/504/082406_final_run_out.JPG
The last miles before running dry.


http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/504/082406_tank_runout.JPG
End of the tank.


Those two bars are after I put the one gallon in.


That 18 miles put me only a couple of miles short of where the last bar went out the night before. Almost a RTC.

Sorry about the dark pics, I figured the flash would be too much with no ambient light. I tried it with the dome light on, but they came out just as dark. Their readable anyway.


Randall

Way to go Randall!
Now the world knows how far an Insight can go on a tank of gas.
I can't imaging this record will be broken any time soon.

Randall,

This is mind-boggling - you could have driven from Tulsa. Oklahoma to Madison, Wisconsin and back on that tank.

Eric, it is going down in flames in few months ;)

With accomplishments like this, we are reminded that trendsetters who “push the envelope” are often the driving force of paradigm shifts. In this case, such a paradigm shift could ultimately preserve this planet for future generations.

My thinking is that all such amazing FE demonstrations are of great value in these times, but achieving this level on the daily commute (however atypical that commute may be) is not only a remarkable achievement, but also a very credible example that should silence some of the critics.

While it’s likely that this record will be broken in a little over a month, I’d suggest that the big picture significance is not what a few trendsetters with obsessive tendencies can achieve in an FE demonstration, but more importantly what the millions of commuters can do by engaging a small fraction of the “extreme techniques” at the right place on the familiar daily commute, whether it be a safe and judicious P&G on a particular hill, or as one of my work colleagues put it: “ to simply stop driving like a maniac”.
Another work colleague who drives a big truck told me last year about his sister-in-law who bought a Prius after being inspired by the P&G demonstration in last year’s marathon.

Now it’s time to put an end to this philosophical rambling and break out those dancing bananas as promised!

AWESOME RANDALL!! :woot: :Banane54: :Banane20:

Hi Randall:

___A long 2 + weeks and you finally did it! Congratulations and a celebration is certainly the order of the day! All we have here are the dancing bananas but if there is anything else we can do, let us know. That was one heck of a tank and a half!

:woot: :Banane54: :Banane21: :Banane42: :Banane08: :bananajump: :Banane52:

:bananalama:

___Good Luck and Congratulations is definitely an understatement!

___Wayne

Congratulations Randall you done good. I'm going out tomorrow and Saturday to practice extreme P&G for the marathon. I only have 400 miles on this tank so it isn't a issue now, but how far did you go after the last bar went away? I'm such a chicken (my commute is mostly freeway) I always gas up with 2 maybe 1 bar left. If I had an idea how much farther I could go I might get another day or so out of a tank.....Louis

From tbaleno:

Eric, it is going down in flames in few months

and I hope it's a :Banane54: huge hot :Banane54: fireball.


Chuck wrote:

you could have driven from Tulsa. Oklahoma to Madison, Wisconsin and back on that tank.

A challenge for next year maybe!:eek:

Brian said:

.......I’d suggest that the big picture significance is not what a few trendsetters with obsessive tendencies can achieve in an FE demonstration, but more importantly what the millions of commuters can do by engaging a small fraction of the “extreme techniques” at the right place on the familiar daily commute, whether it be a safe and judicious P&G on a particular hill, or as one of my work colleagues put it: “ to simply stop driving like a maniac”.

My point exactly, Brian.:woot:

And Louis asked:

but how far did you go after the last bar went away?

I ran dry just a couple of miles shy of where I was the night before, when the last bar went out. This would make it pretty close to a full RTC, which is just over 84 miles. At the least I would say 2 miles shy at the most 4. (I was watching for the last bar to go out, and when it did the segment was at 20.x miles, but I had made it over the hill that is mentioned below, and I ran out at 18.x miles segment) So at the prevailing conditions, I can see 80 miles after the last bar of fuel disappears. Early in the thread I posted a picture of my favorite FAS hill. She ran dry going up this hill, just short of halfway up. On the runout, it began to simply lose power pulling the hill. Not any real nasty, shall we say sputter and jerk, just no response to throttle request. The rpm's quietly faded away. As the rpm's bottomed out, I felt that the ICE was actually creating drag on the momentum, so I pushed in the clutch, and sure enough, the ICE died and I was able to coast a few more yards. Had this happened at the crest of the hill, there could have been another half to one mile added to the odo, perhaps.


Randall

Randall
Congratulations!!!!
What a great demonstration of some super driving, I just read this thread for the first time today, on returning from the Up Your Volts training session.
Just imagine what you could have done with a battery pack that had some depth of discharge in it.
It would be great if you could get a healthy pack for the next attempt.
:Banane54: :) ;)
What do you estimate that your average speed was?

Hi Mike:

___You have been gone a bit to long. Take a look at Randall’s Article on the achievement :D

Honda Insight - World record distance on a tank of fuel. 1534.2 miles! (http://www.cleanmpg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1898)

___Wait until you hear what Randall and a team of hypermilers have planned for next month!

___Good Luck

___Wayne

Mike, this was at my normal commute target speed of 40 mph. No hard core P&G on this one.

Randall

Randall
That 40 MPH and the high MPG make it even more meaningful, as no extreme speed sacrifices were made to achieve it.
I still feel that P&G is somewhat impracticle for most of us, but it will be interesting to see what the P&G guys can do, be sure to record the average MPG for the runs, so we can compare apples to apples.
A look at the road sections that you are driving is very informitive, some of those "hills" we in New England would call a nearly flat road;)
Sleepyhollow NY had some hills that were so steep that I could not take off from the stop light without the front wheels slipping when the road was wet. I had to lower my tire pressure to ~40 psi to get enough traction. Of course I have nearly 400 lbs in the rear.
Your commute looks like a perfect test track. Good luck with your next run.:Banane31:
I am curious as to your opinion about what the MIMA contribution was to the final MPG?