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An amazing road trip through adverse conditions nabs a World Record! (http://www.cleanmpg.com/forums/showthread.php?p=171394#post171394)

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/611/2009_HCH-II.jpgSean Welch - CleanMPG (http://www.cleanmpg.com) - Dec. 04, 2008

November 22nd, 2008 marked the beginning of a historic effort by three highly regarded Hypermilers to break a World Record established just two months prior. Completed September 25th, this record was achieved by Australians John and Helen Taylor in a 2009 VW Jetta 2.0L TDI sponsored by Volkswagen, Shell, and Navman. The Guinness verified record of 58.82mpg (US) set a new standard of efficiency in real world (official) mileage while traversing the country. Could our team of intrepid drivers overtake this lofty number in spite of unpredictable winter conditions?

Not only did they overtake the target mileage, they exceeded it by 11.5% to establish the new record at 68.54mpg (US) in a 2009 Honda Civic Hybrid carrying three people and their luggage through all 48 contiguous states!

A complete list of tank results leading to this astonishing achievement through rain, wind, ice, and snow can be viewed by clicking the graphic below:

http://tinyurl.com/6pcxjt (http://tinyurl.com/5p8lq6)


The drivers

Jennie was recently featured in the Austin to Houston FE_Challenge (http://www.cleanmpg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=14595) and both the Hypermiling_– Jennie Chen vs. Houston’s KPRC’s Amy Davis (http://www.cleanmpg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=14842) News and Local 2 Investigates Extreme Drivers: Amy Davis Reports. (http://www.click2houston.com/video/17140283/index.html)

Justin Fons is the co-founder of the Milwaukee Hybrid Group, the largest Hybrid Group in the country. He is an old hand at Group meets!

Justin’s real claim to fame came about as one of the drivers at the Insight Marathon Attempt (http://www.cleanmpg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2783) and the World Fuel Economy Championships (http://www.cleanmpg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12620) this past summer :)

Wayne Gerdes is Owner, Founder, and Administrator of CleanMPG (http://www.cleanmpg.com) and famous both for establishing the term "Hypermiling (http://blog.oup.com/2008/11/hypermiling/)" and for setting numerous fuel economy records, recently featured on CNN (http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/06/03/btsc.hypermiling/index.html) and known to many as "King of Hypermilers." (http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/2007/01/king_of_the_hypermilers.html)


The 48-Contiguous State Fuel Economy World Record Route

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48-Contiguous State FE World Record Route Map

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/507/48-Contiguous_State_World_Record_Drive_Final.jpg

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The Sponsors: Honda and ScanGauge

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/611/Final_Graphic.jpg


The Vehicle: 2009 Honda Civic Hybrid

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v443/princealbert/MPG%20meet/IMG_3231.jpg


The Driving

Wayne, Justin, and Jennie set out for records all the way around. They made the trip in just 7559.8mi, driving at least 15mi in each of the 48 contiguous states on their way to this record. The average distance per tank traveled was an even 840mi and the team used just 9 tanks to complete the journey. Scaling peaks over 7000' above sea level and driving through the worst winter could throw at them, they followed a rigorous documentation regime capturing pictures of every state line crossing and full gas station attendant verification of fueling stops, amounts, and sealing of the fuel tank. Friends offered lodging and sustenance, a Honda dealership hosted a fuel economy meet and greet complete with presentations by Wayne and driving tips/training provided by all three drivers in South Carolina. Regular updates, pictures, and tracking data were provided by Jennie through her iPhone and each team member turned out astonishing segments in the very capable Honda -- many of them substantially higher than the typical driver produces in the best of driving conditions.

A complete account of this effort and its results an be accessed via a collection of links found here (http://www.cleanmpg.com/forums/showpost.php?p=168928&postcount=1).

The trio jubilantly concluded their successful venture in Needles, CA at about 4:00AM Central Time and are now enjoying a well deserved rest.

Congratulations Jennie, Justin, and Wayne!!!

this is just so awesome. is there any way to get this on some national news feeds?:Banane10:

See also this blog entry (commentable!):

http://www.statesman.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/green/index.html

Wow, in poor weather with a petrol engine car too! The prior record was with a diesel car. Shouldn't that be taken into account?

Great job, all!

What a Smashing run guys!! Awesome job!

Wow, in poor weather with a petrol engine car too! The prior record was with a diesel car. Shouldn't that be taken into account?
Yes.

I wonder what Guiness' reasoning is that the car must be brand new?

If this had been Justin's Insight, conservatively they would have broke 90mpg and consumed less than 100 gallons! The downside is the Insight is a two seater.

See also this blog entry (commentable!):

http://www.statesman.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/green/index.html

Left a comment. Congratulations to all, and looking forward to meeting Jennie finally when she gets back to Austin!

VW Jetta 2.0 TDI: 34/41 mpg epa estimate. 58.8 is 57% above combined, and 43% above highway.

Honda Civic Hybrid: 40/45 mpg epa estimate. 68.5 is 61% above combined, and 52% above highway.

Beat the old record in % above epa, as well! Great work!

Awesome, awesome accomplishment guys. Simply fantastic.

The world record holders should seriously consider coming out with a book of hypermiling techniques.

Why not?

Harry

Wonderful work by these three! I am absolutely proud of them and their World Record!!

The world record holders should seriously consider coming out with a book of hypermiling techniques.

Why not?

HarryI've been lobbying for this....maybe the best way to get it done is to threaten to write one myself. :D

Congrats! The best is now in the west.

Supercalifragilisticexpealidocious!

A very inspiring accomplishment. I'm sure that when gas prices go back to their Summer'08 levels, the media will suddenly discover this feat and start (all over again) with the interviews and news segments.

Well done!

Nice, very nice!

Congratulations to all! Very well done.

Way to go guys!!!!


I wonder if the Taylors are aware of this yet.

Congrats Team! What highway speed was most commonly maintained? I saw 52 MPH mentioned on one of the days.

Thanks,
Brad

Great job!!! Congratulations all around.........

Congrats Team! What highway speed was most commonly maintained? I saw 52 MPH mentioned on one of the days.

Thanks,
Brad

Most of the entries in the mileage log say 40 mph average

I've been lobbying for this....maybe the best way to get it done is to threaten to write one myself. :D
Now Chuck, no need for such drastic measures.;):p

And if they want to beat the record they just set, repeat the trip this summer in either the HCH or the new Insight.

Congrats Wayne, Jennie, And Jessie! God Bless You All!

Thanks For Saving Gas Across America!

Congratulations guys! Truly an amazing and inspiring accomplishment!

Congratulations on this fantastic achievement. As other have said, this was done under less than ideal conditions.

Seeing the new Honda Insight, I can see another record in the making in 2009.:)

Hope you're able to enjoy a bit of R & R after what must have been a very tiring 12 days.


Cheers from another of your Canadian fans,

Roger

Well Done All. Concerning the Taylors, they should be cordially invited to Hybridfest 2009 for the inevitable fuel economy contest there. Sponsored by Volkswagen/Shell? so much the better!

DAS

Way to go guys!!!!


I wonder if the Taylors are aware of this yet.I think we can be good sports and not rub it in.

Remember, Guniness is slow on the paperwork - it's still possible that they might not recognize it for some kind of red tape.

One heck of a drive! Hope you had fun doing it. Congrats,H

I wonder what Honda will do with the car?

Rip it apart and retrieve the data logger ;)

That's a good one Kacey...:D

Hopefully they start realizing that FAS is a useful technique or start clutching out the engine from the equation, the engine doesn't need to spin in a coast (even if the motor can't power the vehicle by itself) High-speed auto stop please.

:flag:Wow! congrats on the new record! excellent work!:flag:

Excellent Job!:bananalama:

Those kind of numbers are just ridiculously good...amazing crew, amazing record that I expect to stand for a very long time.

Wayne...do you know if Guinness will have a "Hypermiling" category for this? That would be esp. cool, your own word with your own record listed under it. My hat is off sir.

... amazing record that I expect to stand for a very long time...

Yes, at least until late spring. I want to see Wayne and some crew reach well into the 70s. Or better, if the new Insight is up to the task.

Congrats from France :)

And if they want to beat the record they just set, repeat the trip this summer in either the HCH or the new Insight.

Ot they could ride an aerocivic ;-)

Denis.

This is a great achievement. I know Wayne was hoping for mid 60's with two aboard, so in effect they beat their own expectations - with three aboard.

Hopefully Guinness will accept this as a record and there will not be any technicalities.

I agree, it might be beaten in summer or in an Insight II, but I doubt it will be beaten by the 11% they managed over the previous record.

Great point Kacey, if Honda is smart (and my impression is that they are and that they just love this engineering stuff) they'll be examining the logger, any ECU adaptive parameters, and the car very carefully.

Hopefully they start realizing that FAS is a useful technique or start clutching out the engine from the equation, the engine doesn't need to spin in a coast (even if the motor can't power the vehicle by itself) High-speed auto stop please.
Way back in the early '70's (ahem), the 3 cylinder 2-stroke Saabs had a sprag clutch in the drivetrain which disengaged the engine when coasting. There was a lever (on the firewall as I recall) which allowed you to select freewheeling vs no freewheeling. A 2-stroke engine doesn't give much engine braking so the difference in engine braking was not as great as it would be with 4-stroke modern cars. I drove one and tried it both ways.

But FAS would be even better, especially with automatic startup when the car is put into gear or when the brake boost vac drops too low (better yet, electric brake boost vac pump!).

With a non-hybrid it would be good to have a larger (higher voltage?) battery to make restarts instantaneous. It would probably be a CVT so bump starting would not be an option.

Wayne, Jennie, & Justin,

Well done and congrats to you all!

Incredible, simply incredible!

Congratulations to the drivers and all who helped
- Rob

All three and all who helped and supported you deserve praise and congratulations. Now we need to be sure this gets publicized in the MSM. I like the idea of a book as well; why not just self-publish? There are all sorts of online possibilities.

I think we can be good sports and not rub it in.

Remember, Guniness is slow on the paperwork - it's still possible that they might not recognize it for some kind of red tape.

I wasn't meaning to imply rubbing it in. I would have visited thier site and told them about it if I could come up with a way to say it w/o sounding like a jerk.

Congrats everyone.
I look forward to hearing more about it!

A huge congratulations to Justin, Wayne and Jennie! I'm so proud of you all.

I've been under the weather recently and have a lot to catch up with.

Sorry if this is a dumb question that's already been answered, but has someone at cleanmpg actually issued a formal press release on this?

They really deserve far more press coverage than just the Austin article.

It's too bad this had to happen when oil is hitting $42/bbl.

I Dugg it. Anyone else want to give it a boost?

http://digg.com/autos/Hypermilers_complete_new_Guinness_World_Record_at_68_54_MPG

Congratulations, team. Blew it outta the water. And the ice.

Great Job guys.

11011011

Great work team CleanMPG. Anyone considering a redo in warmer weather next year?

I have concidered doing an I-90 run (the longest interstate in the US). But, I don't have the skills or time or anything else I would need for the trip for that matter.

I have concidered doing an I-90 run (the longest interstate in the US). But, I don't have the skills or time or anything else I would need for the trip for that matter.

A route 66 run might be better. Lower PSLs and a fairly long trip.

The "data logger" as such is certainly not going to hold an entire
trip's worth of data. It is more likely to hold the five seconds
before the crash that they weren't about to have! And the
learned fuel map tweaks and such are probably not much use to
Honda -- they pretty much know how the engine runs, and the
maps are more to adapt to engine and injector differences with
*maybe* a small longterm influence from driving style. I'm sure
they already know what it'll look like.
.
On the other hand, less engine wear overall might be something
to look at, but probably takes more than 10K on the car to show
a discernible difference...
.
Great run, folks, you're an inspiration to all of us who are
jonesing for more roadtrips ourselves.
.
_H*

Ok Wayne - that's enough rest. Time to write a full report.

From yesterday's call, Wayne hopes to be home in the next six hours

You know, a spring/summer run is a good idea...right after the Prius III is released this spring...esp. if you can get Toyota to sponsor it like Honda did this one. Gotta think it will be capable of shattering the Civic II numbers.

You know, a spring/summer run is a good idea...right after the Prius III is released this spring...esp. if you can get Toyota to sponsor it like Honda did this one. Gotta think it will be capable of shattering the Civic II numbers.

... with said run to end at Hybridfest '09! That would be quite a celebration.

Oh yeah .. Great Job:Banane35:

The "data logger" as such is certainly not going to hold an entire
trip's worth of data. It is more likely to hold the five seconds
before the crash that they weren't about to have! And the
learned fuel map tweaks and such are probably not much use to
Honda -- they pretty much know how the engine runs, and the
maps are more to adapt to engine and injector differences with
*maybe* a small longterm influence from driving style. I'm sure
they already know what it'll look like.
.
On the other hand, less engine wear overall might be something
to look at, but probably takes more than 10K on the car to show
a discernible difference...
.
Great run, folks, you're an inspiration to all of us who are
jonesing for more roadtrips ourselves.
.
_H*
I was thinking something similar to the datalogger they installed in a few folks HCHIIs with the constant recal situation. Or maybe a flash memory unit like the compact flash card based unit seen in some of the PHEV Prius videos from Toyota. Or the possiblity that the NAV unit has logging built in as discussed at a certain hybrid enthusiast site (not 100% which one it was).

Someone had better notify commongroundmag.com about the new record.

Their story this month http://commongroundmag.com/2009/01/ecocars0901.html
Happy Wheels, is a bit out of date about who's the champ!

The section marked "For the driver who values economy and efficiency: 2009 Honda Civic Hybrid" needs to have some text added about the 'Guinness World Record' changing hands.. :)

Whatever happened with this, the Guiness web site still list the TDI as holding the world record.

Hi Jud:

___I had to send everything in just a few weeks ago... Again :rolleyes:

___Good Luck

___Wayne

What is their beef?

Seems like you're having lots of luck with paperwork lately, Wayne!

I'm beginning to wonder whether the records listed in the Guinness Book of Records are really the world records.

Brainstorming: Maybe in the future see if Ford would sponsor this.

I'd bet Ford would make sure Guniness notes it.

It looks like we may need to get a lawyer to submit/serve the documentation we have. I am quite sure that things would pick up the pace at Guinness soon after.

This is indeed very disappointing. :(

Cheers;

They say they never received the documentation claiming the record from Wayne. You might want to send it in a way a signature is requested at reception.

They say they never received the documentation claiming the record from Wayne. You might want to send it in a way a signature is requested at reception.
Is there a member in the UK who could hand-deliver the documents to Guinness??

They say they never received the documentation claiming the record from Wayne. You might want to send it in a way a signature is requested at reception.

USPS has signature required international shipping

http://www.usps.com/international/globalexpressguaranteed.htm

Hi All:

___The second package was UPS so they got it :)

___Good Luck

___Wayne

I know it's been a while, but anything new with this?

Yea, whatever happened with this.

Hi Guys:

___I have not heard a thing back from Guiness :(

___Good Luck

___Wayne

I think Guiness is pretty much a joke nowadays.

It's been a few months so I thought it was about time to see if Guinness ever called you back.

Today is Guinness World Records Day (http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/40255570/ns/today-today_people/)

Doesn't mean much to me if I don't know anyone with a World Record. :p