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Presenting the Summer 2010 Challenge, running from July 1, 2010 to September 30, 2010. (http://www.cleanmpg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=33222)

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/Jeff_Townsley_-_Civic_on_the_road.jpgAndrew McGuckin - CleanMPG (http://www.cleanmpg.com) - July 1, 2010

This is now the tenth episode of our quarterly challenge to beat the EPA mileage ratings. The winner is the driver who beats the EPA by the highest percentage.

Drive your daily routes in your normal car. Real-world cars, real-world routes, everyday conditions, etc. This is where the real results prove the value of hypermiling. Remember the CleanMPG motto, "Learn to raise fuel economy and lower emissions in whatever you drive".

Results from previous economy runs:
I: February - May 2008. Winner: PaleMelanesian (http://www.cleanmpg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11595)
II: June - August, 2008. Winners: CobraPond (A), lamebums (B) (http://www.cleanmpg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=15528)
III: Sept - Nov 2008. Winners: CobraPond (A), MT bucket (B), jps000 (C) (http://www.cleanmpg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=17843)
IV: Dec 2008 - Feb 2009. Winners: lnmcmahan (A), GaryG (B), jhu (C) (http://www.cleanmpg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=20084)
V: March - May 2009. Winners: lnmcmahan (A), nissynis (B), Damionk (C) (http://www.cleanmpg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=22490)
VI: June - Sept 2009. Winners: cpeter38, froggman, Taliesin, Kacey Green (marathon) (http://www.cleanmpg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=25603")
VII: Oct - Dec 2009. Winners: cpeter38 (A), Swineone (B, Marathon), some_other_dave (C) (http://www.cleanmpg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=28650)
VIII: Winners: GaryG (A), Sulfuric (B), jimepting (C, highest mpg), tpmjr2004 (Marathon), Right Lane Cruiser (Winter) (http://www.cleanmpg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=28032)
IX: Winners: PaleMelanesian (A), jimepting (B), LinuxGold (C), tpmjr2004 (Marathon), Right Lane Cruiser (Highest MPG) (http://www.cleanmpg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=33717)

How to Join
To participate in this Fuel Economy Challenge, all you have to do is the following:

Create a new mileage log. This will be an alter-ego of your vehicle, except make sure you use the 2008 EPA ratings for your car found at www.fueleconomy.gov. Choose the propulsion category "Quarter-Year FE Challenge". Please use a new log and leave the previous challenge logs as-is until the results are finalized. Once finalized, the previous vehicles can be deleted.

Post here in this thread to announce your participation. Be sure to include a link to your new mileage log.

Drive

Post in this thread with updates. Start wherever you are now, and use your next fillup, whenever it comes, as the start of your log. There is now no minimum mileage or number of fillups, only a request for no single-tank entries. We want complete daily driving records, and not cherry-picked entries.

Entries will be accepted for one month, after which the participation list will be final.
Report your final fill within 7 days past the end of the challenge.

The standings here on page 1 will be updated periodically (by CleanMPG staff members).


Handicaps
For a level playing field, we will all use the new revised EPA estimates for fuel economy. If you are using a handicap, please list it when you announce your participation.


Hybrid Handicap: Reduce your epa ratings by multiplying by 0.85. Hybrids are already optimized for good mileage by automatically doing many of the things hypermilers do.

E10 Handicap: Reduce your epa ratings by 3%, to match the reduced BTU of 10% ethanol.
Part-time E10: If you only sometimes use E10, log 3% less fuel used when you record that fillup. Make a note in the comments for the tank. Example: "Last fill was E10. Pumped 10 gallons, logged 9.7 gallons". Use this adjustment for the fill that finishes the tank of E10 fuel, not when you put it in.

E85 Handicap: If you are using E85 instead of regular gasoline and EPA ratings are not available, you can estimate your E85 rating. Just lower the gasoline numbers by 25% (multiply by 0.75) and round to the nearest MPG. Enter this as your EPA rating.


Which Division?
Divisions A, B and C were created to help divide people into three levels, in order to increase competitiveness.


If you were in the top 2 or 3 in your division, please consider moving up.
If you were near the bottom, consider moving down. Everything is more fun when the competition is close.
If are are new to hypermiling or to this challenge then I recommend either the B or C divisions to allow a good chance to get on your feet and familiarize yourself with hypermiling.


Special class - Marathon: If you drive lots of miles (1500+ a month or so), you belong here. (in addition to Div A, B or C. Sign up for both.)


Official Standings
Division A
Driver | Vehicle | Handicap
PaleMelanesian | http://www.cleanmpg.com/garage/images/3493.png (http://www.cleanmpg.com/index.php?page=garage&displayunits=MPG(US)&viewcar=3493) |
Right Lane Cruiser | http://www.cleanmpg.com/garage/images/1479.png (http://www.cleanmpg.com/index.php?page=garage&displayunits=MPG(US)&viewcar=1479) | E10, Hybrid
groar | http://www.cleanmpg.com/garage/images/3373.png (http://www.cleanmpg.com/index.php?page=garage&displayunits=MPG(US)&viewcar=3373) |
diamondlarry | http://www.cleanmpg.com/garage/images/3492.png (http://www.cleanmpg.com/index.php?page=garage&displayunits=MPG(US)&viewcar=3492) | Hybrid
jimepting | http://www.cleanmpg.com/garage/images/3507.png (http://www.cleanmpg.com/index.php?page=garage&displayunits=MPG(US)&viewcar=3507) | E10, Hybrid
RobertSmalls | http://www.cleanmpg.com/garage/images/3505.png (http://www.cleanmpg.com/index.php?page=garage&displayunits=MPG(US)&viewcar=3505) | Hybrid


Division B
Driver | Vehicle | Handicap
VegasDude | http://www.cleanmpg.com/garage/images/3511.png (http://www.cleanmpg.com/index.php?page=garage&displayunits=MPG(US)&viewcar=3511) | E10
Mr. Pancake | http://www.cleanmpg.com/garage/images/3487.png (http://www.cleanmpg.com/index.php?page=garage&displayunits=MPG(US)&viewcar=3487) | E10, Hybrid
tpmjr2004 | http://www.cleanmpg.com/garage/images/3506.png (http://www.cleanmpg.com/index.php?page=garage&displayunits=MPG(US)&viewcar=3506) | E10
aburk4 | http://www.cleanmpg.com/garage/images/3491.png (http://www.cleanmpg.com/index.php?page=garage&displayunits=MPG(US)&viewcar=3491) | E10
Sulfuric | http://www.cleanmpg.com/garage/images/3500.png (http://www.cleanmpg.com/index.php?page=garage&displayunits=MPG(US)&viewcar=3500) | E10
LinuxGold | http://www.cleanmpg.com/garage/images/3498.png (http://www.cleanmpg.com/index.php?page=garage&displayunits=MPG(US)&viewcar=3498) |


Division C
Driver | Vehicle | Handicap
some_other_dave | http://www.cleanmpg.com/garage/images/3497.png (http://www.cleanmpg.com/index.php?page=garage&displayunits=MPG(US)&viewcar=3497) | Cali E6
Die2self | http://www.cleanmpg.com/garage/images/3490.png (http://www.cleanmpg.com/index.php?page=garage&displayunits=MPG(US)&viewcar=3490) | E10
bethomas463 | http://www.cleanmpg.com/garage/images/3489.png (http://www.cleanmpg.com/index.php?page=garage&displayunits=MPG(US)&viewcar=3489) | E10
mcmurphy | http://www.cleanmpg.com/garage/images/3520.png (http://www.cleanmpg.com/index.php?page=garage&displayunits=MPG(US)&viewcar=3520) | E10


Marathon Division (long-distance)
Driver | Vehicle | Handicap
tpmjr2004 | http://www.cleanmpg.com/garage/images/3506.png (http://www.cleanmpg.com/index.php?page=garage&displayunits=MPG(US)&viewcar=3506) | E10
Sulfuric | http://www.cleanmpg.com/garage/images/3500.png (http://www.cleanmpg.com/index.php?page=garage&displayunits=MPG(US)&viewcar=3500) | E10
bethomas463 | http://www.cleanmpg.com/garage/images/3489.png (http://www.cleanmpg.com/index.php?page=garage&displayunits=MPG(US)&viewcar=3489) | E10

As soon as I get Honda Civic car, I want to be in Division B.

Thanks.

I'm in, hybrid, E10, keep finishing 2nd handicaps. Division B. http://www.cleanmpg.com/index.php?page=garage&displayunits=MPG(US)&viewcar=3487
-gracias

I'm going to skip out this round. :)

Starting today for FE 10 competition:

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_hijrT2PGy-0/TCwAfswcpgI/AAAAAAAAFSE/4TV8d3JWQHI/s640/speedlimit-funny-wallpaper.jpg

Starting today for FE 10 competition:

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_hijrT2PGy-0/TCwAfswcpgI/AAAAAAAAFSE/4TV8d3JWQHI/s640/speedlimit-funny-wallpaper.jpg

You're entering a helicopter?! :eek:

;)

what's the EPA on that, umm, thing? :eek:

20 Gallons per hour.

Sign me up.

Handicaps: E10
First time around, so division C, and marathon, i do about 1900-2000 miles per month.

Link to my log:

http://www.cleanmpg.com/index.php?page=garage&displayunits=MPG%28US%29&viewcar=3489

Division C Please
E10 Handicap

http://www.cleanmpg.com/index.php?page=garage&displayunits=MPG(US)&viewcar=3490

Division B
E10 Handicap

http://www.cleanmpg.com/index.php?page=garage&displayunits=MPG(US)&viewcar=3491

Division C, E6 (2% EPA mileage) handicap. I have a feeling I'll need the handicap... ;)

It may take a day or two to create the mileage log, just due to my lack of organization at the moment.

-soD

Good Morning ALL!

*sips* McDonalds coffee, in mist of parking lot, filled with various CleanMPG cars with drivers chatting around, giving advices, sharing jokes and anticipating for competition to start. I keep my eyes out at Division B competitors, breaking ice in between and say...

"Happy Hypermiling!"

Create a new mileage log. This will be an alter-ego of your vehicle, except make sure you use the 2008 EPA ratings for your car found at www.fueleconomy.gov. Choose the category "Quarter-Year FE Challenge".

I have tried going to "Mileage Logs", then "Add Vehicle". On that form, I cannot find anywhere that I can select a category. The same thing happened last Challenge that I participated in as well.

Help?

-soD

It's in the Fuel Type or Propulsion dropdown. Where you would go to choose Hybrid, but if you've never needed to do that, you likely haven't seen the other options in the list either.

I changed the instructions to make it more clear.

Very poor start to this challenge.:( Apparently I had an under-fill on the last tank. 484.1 miles and 8.501 gallons. This was 95% or more on the highway to Cedar Point. The FCD read closer to 80 for that trip.

Choose the propulsion category "Quarter-Year FE Challenge".

All I see are:

Select Here
Hybrid
Gas
Diesel
Motorcycle
Electric

I do not see a Quarter-Year selection. :( I did a force-reload (shift-control-R) and still do not see that selection. Is there something else that must be chosen as well?

-soD

Dave, choose a normal category — Andrew, Wayne, or I must change it to the challenge category. No one else can do that.

Hey everyone - happy 4th (for those of you in the states)!
I'm a little pressed for time, with relatives all around me and little pc time.
Anyway, I will be entering this challenge very soon with an official log and everything. E10 handicap.

I'm on my summer road trip and I will be in Nashville, TN tomorrow, East canton Ohio a few days later, Carversville, PN a few days after that, Lebanon NH, Wiscasset ME, Vineyard Haven MA, and Virginia Beach, VA (last one around July 24). If anyone here would like to meet my girlfriend and I for lunch or something, and maybe a little driving/comparisons/help it would be a very cheerful experience for me.

Anyway, it's time to eat and then watch fireworks.
Bye Y'all (I'm in Alabama :) )

Dave, choose a normal category — Andrew, Wayne, or I must change it to the challenge category. No one else can do that.

Thank you, I was beginning to be afraid that I was imagining things!

OK, I am in:

http://www.cleanmpg.com/garage/images/3497.png

-soD

Secret Monster is coming soon....

:driveby1:

be afraid... be very afraid!

Add this after the purchase.

http://www.cleanmpg.com/garage/images/3498.png (http://www.cleanmpg.com/index.php?page=garage&displayunits=MPG(US)&viewcar=3498)

Ok, time to enter.
http://www.cleanmpg.com/garage/images/3500.png
Div. B and Marathon. E10 handicap.


Also, there will be frequent fill-ups, as I'm on a road trip and the next stop is usually 300-500 miles away.
Thank you for waiting for me, now . . .
Let the games begin! :rolleyes:

Ahem. The gauntlet, it has been thrown.
http://www.cleanmpg.com/forums/showthread.php?p=273640#post273640

Ahem. The gauntlet, it has been thrown.
http://www.cleanmpg.com/forums/showthread.php?p=273640#post273640

Oooooh look at me I'm PaleMelanesian, breaking records . . . ;)

I was talking about Div. B., as I'm still too scared to enter Div. A :rolleyes:

PaleMelanesian should be a Judge Dredd .. "I am the hypermilerrrrr!"

http://mimg.ugo.com/200812/8272/judge_dredd_ver1.jpg

Not sure what's going on with the fill-ups. This tank was a trip from Wakarusa, IN to Cincinnati, OH and back plus a partial day of taking my wife to work and back. I did everything but jump up on the roof and start jumping up and down but I could only get 5.151 gallons in after 577.1 miles which figures to 112.0 mpg. The pump was set on the slowest speed and first-click was at 4.637 gallons. Should I maybe combine the tanks and average them together since they are in the same Challenge period as I suspect the resulting calculation is probably closer to reality?

Dunno, Larry. 112mpg seems mighty high when eyeballing your day averages. Perhaps there was an air bubble in there? That happened to me once with the Insight and it started spitting gas out like a Prius!! :eek: (In my case the difference wasn't that much because I run the tanks down pretty low before filling)

Dunno, Larry. 112mpg seems mighty high when eyeballing your day averages. Perhaps there was an air bubble in there? That happened to me once with the Insight and it started spitting gas out like a Prius!! :eek: (In my case the difference wasn't that much because I run the tanks down pretty low before filling)

Completely agree Sean. Doesn't sound right at all. When I combined the tanks, it came out to around 77+ mpg which seems much more believable considering it was all highway. And yes, I would also normally run drier but the length of the trips would have made it too close for comfort with an all highway trip. I don't expect any trips in the near future so I'll be able to go farther before filling.

Ah. First tank of this challenge at 45.416 MPG for 605.8 miles. (Record Tank Distance) I was hoping to get this one in before the end of FE Challenge IX but I was too late. :(

I'm going to have to step it up though to be competitive in Division B. 168% won't cut it.

Luckily I started this tank off strong though, with a 8 mile trip home from the gas station with 54.6 MPG or 202% of EPA. :D

Division B here I come! (Especially for you LinuxGold) :p

I'm sweating at Sulfuric, I need 193% or better to overtake him.

I will need at least 63.4 MPG or better... *groan*... (EPA: 30 City / 38 HWY / 33 Combined)

I created a new thread of my new monster that is waiting for its first fill.

Scott, work on your bump starts and I think you may find that goal easier to attain than you think.

Sean, Thanks. I got "Verbal Clinic" from Andrew, he gave me GOOD advices.

I will go gagueless for a while before I get a new ScanGague II. Can't wait!

Scott, unfortunately, the Scangauge can't be accurate on the HX, due to lean-burn. It depends on the OBD-II data port, which only gives enough information to calculate engine air flow. It then calculates fuel usage from that, based on the optimal 14.7:1 air-fuel ratio. Lean-burn throws that out the window.

If you can work out an MPGuino install, it will work. It reads the ECU's injector pulse signals, so it actually knows the fuel usage, rather than indirectly calculating it.

Didn't you have a Guino in your Camry?

Andrew,

I guess I will buy MPGuino since I don't want to remove from Camry to move it to Civic. Deb wants to practice her hypermiling skills to save money on gas. I guess I grew habit off on her. =)

I'll throw my hat in the ring and see what happens. I think the best place for me is dead-last place in Division A.

http://www.cleanmpg.com/index.php?page=garage&displayunits=MPG%28US%29&viewcar=3505

http://www.cleanmpg.com/garage/images/3505.png
With the '08 EPA figures minus 15% to reflect my Handicap. That 61mpg includes six months of winter and two months of summer. Current tank average: 72mpg and falling.

Hi Robert! There are worse places to be, for sure.

Sign me up for Div. B and marathon divisions again. I have the E10 handicap and have already set up my mileage log. Starting off a bit slow. I was having issues with my car and then I let it sit for about a month and a half while I was getting married, honeymoon, and all the crap that goes along with it. Hopefully I can get her running good again so I can compete soon. Thanks!

Sign me up for division A, E10 and hybrid handicaps. This ain't going to be pretty;)

Here is link to my car:

http://www.cleanmpg.com/index.php?page=garage&displayunits=MPG(US)&viewcar=3507

Jim E.

My HypermilerX has started its competition!!!

First morning -- rain!! *growl*

Okay, Andrew... I'm in.

It seems you aren't done tallying the previous challenge so I made a copy of the banner and edited that other thread to point there until you can get all the numbers squared away.

I guess my FCD was reading a little low this time. ;)

Hey now! How'd you do that!?

Great work, for sure! Is that your 2nd best distance?

With great care. ;)

Yes — this is my second longest tank and very close to the average of the longest. I might have squeezed one more commute out of it for a new distance record but it wouldn't have been by much (3mi perhaps?).

Wait 'till I get back to a computer and can upload pictures of what I did for the first time on public roads today. :D

With great care. ;)

Yes — this is my second longest tank and very close to the average of the longest. I might have squeezed one more commute out of it for a new distance record but it wouldn't have been by much (3mi perhaps?).

Wait 'till I get back to a computer and can upload pictures of what I did for the first time on public roads today. :D

Way to go Sean! I think you just put away 1st place in division A. Nicely done.

GaryG

Sean, :woot: Way To GO!!!

Now I just have to pull an 85 mpg tank to even things out. ;)

And I have to make sure I don't dip below the last tank average. :p

I've had some good tanks and a bad one.
More ~46mpg tanks and I'm happy but a 39.xx tank really dropped my average.
70mph+A/C = low(er) FE
I'm sure you know how drastically your driving changes with a significant other in the car :rolleyes:

This tank is looking good though, with 425 miles and around 8 gallons used. Should be over 50mpg once again. Got to drive a bit slower this time :) Also, got to coast for a combined ~10 miles down the I-76 E mountains in PA :D

I'm in Carversville, PA right now, and tomorrow we drive to Lebanon, NH (near Hanover, home of Dartmouth college).
. . . if you live near either town and have nothing else to do for a few hours . . . I would greatly enjoy a hypermiler lunch or drive to see how other FE folks crank out high %

My first tank is in for HypermilerX, (half tank) since I do not have FCD for immediate feedback. All 4 tires was deflated @ 36 PSI, pumped up to the MAX (51 PSI), refueled and noticed that it was able to glide a bit longer and more responsive.

45.5 MPG / 238.8 miles (133.73% of EPA)

Not bad huh? =)

Lookin' good, Scott! :thumbs_up:

NOT bad at all. Good start.

A great way to start a log!

That is, until you start churning out 65-80 MPG tanks. Then the 45 will look like an eyesore... :D

;) Look at the start of my log. :o

Yep! =)

Is there any technical specification of Honda Civic HX out there on the 'net worth reading?

I started out with 28 mpg (19 Combined EPA) when I started out with Camry (Sean, remember that?) in COLD weather, now can do 38-40 on single trips. Tank kept getting hit from my wife who do 21-28 MPG's. :(

Can't wait to see 88.5 MPG TANK (Sneering at Andrew).

Yeah, my early tanks in the Elantra are kinda annoying. :p

Careful there, Scott -- the higher you get the harder it is to improve. ;)

A warning noted, Sean. I was just trying to scare Andrew. :P

My next goal, of course, is to do 46 mpg+ (predicting 150% which should be around 51mpg.)

Sean, my early tanks aren't as annoying as yours, simply because I have no record of my pre-hypermiling results. Maybe it's time you developed amnesia. ;)

Nah... I recorded them from the time I drove the car off the lot. I'd regard it as cheating. :p

Sean, my early tanks aren't as annoying as yours, simply because I have no record of my pre-hypermiling results. Maybe it's time you developed amnesia. ;)

I recently developed amnesia - if I remember correctly;) I forgot that last tank in which my wife had driven the Insight. I had already forgotten all her other tanks.:D

504 miles (new PB) :Banane18:
20.51 Gals
= 24.57 MPG (new PB as well) or (4.07 Gals / 100 miles) (20 days that the truck was used, last fill was 6/17)

I'm going to toss my hat in, although I think my un-coming drive to Cali and back will take me out of the running. (Freeway mileage at 65 is not spectacular) I also filled up right before the start, and I still have a few hundred miles left. My odometer appears to be running very slow. At 10.0 miles, my GPS read 10.3, so I've added 3% to my distance each tank...which made me realize the math error in the first post. EDIT -I've seen odometer-GPS discrepancies as high as 5%, sometimes less than 2%. It seems to usually be about 2.5%, I'll be adding 2.5% more miles to my tanks. Typically I am using 8-11 satellites.


E10 Handicap: Reduce your epa ratings by 3%, to match the reduced BTU of 10% ethanol.
Part-time E10: If you only sometimes use E10, log 3% less fuel used when you record that fillup. Make a note in the comments for the tank. Example: "Last fill was E10. Pumped 10.3 gallons, logged 10.0 gallons". Use this adjustment for the fill that finishes the tank of E10 fuel, not when you put it in.


0.03 is 3% of 10.0, not 10.3. 3% less than 10.3 should be 9.991.

Ah, you're right on the math. % up vs % down - it's a tricky one.

I changed it to 10.0 and 9.7, for easy math.

Congrats Andrew :woot: but so closed to 1800 km ;)
Congrats Sean :woot: but so closed to 2.0L/100 ;)

Scott, congrats for your new car. I don't have real time FCD and I apply what I learned on my wife's car rather blindly. I have some mark on the guessgauge so I can evaluate the quality of the current tank. Before that I was filling-up every two weeks (half tank) to have more often feed back.
The advise I repeat myself the more often is "wait, wait, wait" while I'm coasting.
I think that with a lean burn, staying at a constant load is a good advice. You'll have to repeat yourself "wait, wait, wait" while you are staying at constant load.
If you can translate the MPGuino then just do it ASAP.

Andrew, register me without any handicap into div A please :
http://www.cleanmpg.com/garage/images/3373.png (http://www.cleanmpg.com/index.php?page=garage&displayunits=MPG%28US%29&viewcar=3373)
(just deleted tanks from previous challenge).

Denis.

First fill of the competition = 1st place, woohoo!

Great tank Mr. P. Congratulations.

Great tank Mr. P. Congratulations.

Thanks, this warm weather has certainly been helping and I don't think the new bridgestones are hurting me any either.

Thanks, Denis! I'll try harder next time. ;)

Way to exit the gates, Mr. Pancake! :thumbs_up:

I'm ready to start, but I don't see a FE challenge category? I'm going for Div B. I've reduced my 2008 EPAs by 3% for E10.
Here's my new log:
http://www.cleanmpg.com/garage/images/3511.png (http://www.cleanmpg.com/index.php?page=garage&displayunits=MPG(US)&viewcar=3511)

I changed it for you. I forgot that option is moderator-only.

Welcome to the challenge!

Ah, you're right on the math. % up vs % down - it's a tricky one.

I changed it to 10.0 and 9.7, for easy math.

I think I mentioned this a few challenges back . . . :rolleyes:

But it's fixed now, that's what matters.

I'm in Maine now, but leaving tomorrow - looks like a good 6 hour drive to Martha's Vineyard ;)

. . . before we catch the ferry, I mean.

Filled tank on July 16, last tank 48.603 mpg / 163.6 miles (142.95% of EPA) pulling AVG to 137.33% of EPA.

Got 467 miles out of this tank before I got nervous enough to refill. And at a station that isn't my "usual" one, either--but was on the way home. Just under 47 MPG, which is pretty comparable to the just over 47 I got the last tank. Seems like I have the commute pretty much nailed at this time, at least with the constraints that I impose on it. (E.g., route choice, how slow I am willing to go on the freeway, willingness to run the battery down by FASing at night--that being pretty much zero--and so on.)

We'll see if I can improve it any more, either by working better within the constraints, or by deciding I can violate one or more of them, or by some other more creative method I haven't yet figured out...

Div C, the gauntlet is thrown! You need to get over 177% to win this one!! (Looks like a move to Div B is in order next time!)

-soD

Well guys, my numbers are fixing to go down -- I just landed a new (better) job closer to home that will require driving on faster roads. That's where my "offsite meeting" was on Tuesday. ;)

Congrats on the new job Sean!:woot:
hope it goes well for you!
Is it close enough to bike to work?

so what is the marathon division? see who can beat the epa for the most miles?
Mabye I will enter the tiny truck in that since I put on close to 200 miles a day.
I miss doing the alphabet divisions, but i just don't have anything for that competition because i have to drive too fast for work haha :eek:

Thanks, Michael! I don't think there are bike paths on that route. The new location is in the northwest corner of the 169 and Bass Lake Rd intersection. The most direct route (down 169) works out to just 12.6mi from my house and the route I'm most likely to take clocks in at 14.1mi (as 169 is a parking lot for much of the day :rolleyes:).

169 is much improved now that they have that overpass to avoid the intersection of hwy 81.
Yeah you probably wont find bike paths going to there. When I was a bike commuter i rode out in the streets with the traffic. :eek: I was way too fast for bike paths and they were much more dangerous for me. Now days the paths are just fine for my speeds ! ;)





Thanks, Michael! I don't think there are bike paths on that route. The new location is in the northwest corner of the 169 and Bass Lake Rd intersection. The most direct route (down 169) works out to just 12.6mi from my house and the route I'm most likely to take clocks in at 14.1mi (as 169 is a parking lot for much of the day :rolleyes:).

Congrats Sean!!! =) New job requiring FreeBSD? (hides)

Boy, wouldn't that be nice?? No, but bringing up the fact that I run that OS at home completely short-circuited the "is he competent in infrastructure" discussion and put a big checkmark next to that item on the requirements list. ;)

Well guys, my numbers are fixing to go down -- I just landed a new (better) job closer to home that will require driving on faster roads. That's where my "offsite meeting" was on Tuesday. ;)


Yeah he says this guys but watch he'll still be posting up 100+ mpg trips n tanks. :p:D

Yeah he says this guys but watch he'll still be posting up 100+ mpg trips n tanks. :p:D

If there is a way, Sean will find it!

I'd be willing to bet that he wrote down his driving strategies on that first visit to the job site;)

Great news, Sean. Now you have a new challenge to face. Go get em.

Is it too late to join? I'm pretty new to the site but love a challenge. Currently I have the pre-2008 EPA cause I read that was the suggestion for older cars; does that mean I should add my car a second time, just for the challenge and use the newer numbers? BTW, I am stuck w E10 so in that new vehicle profile I should also reduce the amount pumped by 3%, correct?

There's still time. You're welcome to join.

Create a new vehicle, and use the new 2008 numbers. Also, adjust those down 3% for your E10 handicap. That is (I think) 21/30, which you should then adjust down to 20/29.

OK, I think I did everything right and, seeing that I'm new, I would like Group C if possible. Thank you

First fill...first 150 or so miles of the tank were work commutes which were going well (~49 MPG) until the battery died. You'd be surprised how many random people just appear on dark streets at midnight to offer to push you. I think they just wait around for people with car trouble. Of course even a dead battery wouldn't have been much of a problem if I wasn't FAS-ing most of my drive home, which requires the headlights.

After replacing the battery I drove almost 1000 freeway miles between Las Vegas and Santa Maria this weekend. I tried driving 55 whenever I could, but I still wasn't impressed with the mileage. I don't think the the lower temps in Cali or the hills helped, despite the 20+ mile FAS outside Mountain Pass.

Return trip was better, I'll finish off the tank around town and it should be 40+.

Also, after entering in 3% less than my 2008 EPA ratings for E10, they just get rounded down, so there more like 4-5% less.

http://www.cleanmpg.com/garage/images/3511.png

First tank in. I think I could have done a bit better, but I did a bunch of high speed FE testing to set a baseline for some anticipated aerodynamic mods. Conditions certainly would have allowed 3-4 MPG more with my current skill level.

Question:

I know that 30 City / 38 HWY would equate to Combined EPA of 34. [(city+hwy)/2]

But on FuelEconomy.gov (http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/calculatorCompareSideBySidePopUp.jsp?column=1&id=14874) it says that 30 City / 38 HWY equates to combined EPA of 33.

How do I use 33 MPG on my mileage log as "Combined EPA"?

I changed my Avatar, I created that image, so, beware of my HX....

:cool: How sweet it is!

That's purdy!

Question:

I know that 30 City / 38 HWY would equate to Combined EPA of 34. [(city+hwy)/2]

But on FuelEconomy.gov (http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/calculatorCompareSideBySidePopUp.jsp?column=1&id=14874) it says that 30 City / 38 HWY equates to combined EPA of 33.

How do I use 33 MPG on my mileage log as "Combined EPA"?

This is because your calculation is based on a simple average assuming 50% of your driving is done city and 50% highway. The EPA uses a weighted average of (I believe) 55% city/45% highway which means that since your city mileage is less than you highway mileage, your combined EPA will be less than your simple average. If it is 55%c/45%h the formula is combined EPA = .55*cmpg + .45*hmpg not just cmpg+hmpg/2

I'm confused how if we have handicaps figured into the challenge so that we can effectively compare regular gas cars with hybrids, how is it that people with hybrids have higher challenge numbers than regular numbers? To make it a fair playing field, reg gas cars numbers should be higher and hybrid cars lower. Using PaleMelanesian as an example, he has a true mpg value of 60.6 but somehow using the handicaps his number increases to 80.5 I believe the handicap is being done backwards. Here are the instructions from page one:
Hybrid Handicap: Reduce your epa ratings by multiplying by 0.85. Hybrids are already optimized for good mileage by automatically doing many of the things hypermilers do.

By reducing your epa ratings, this results in an increase % of combined EPA, the idea of the handicap is to reduce the % of combined EPA so that regular gas cars have a fighting chance. This would be done by multiplying the miles/fill up by 0.85, not the EPA rating.

EPA ratings: There's even a little more to it than that.

The database here uses a simple (city + highway) / 2 calculation for a 50/50 split.

The epa is a weighted 45/55 split, but on top of that, a proper average weights the lower mpg part more heavily. You have to average the fuel used, then convert to mpg.

55 miles / 30 mpg = 1.833 gallons (see how much more gas this one uses? It MUST therefore affect the average more)
45 miles / 38 mpg = 1.184 gallons
100 miles / 3.017 gallons = 33.14 mpg

Using PaleMelanesian as an example, he has a true mpg value of 60.6 but somehow using the handicaps his number increases to 80.5 I believe the handicap is being done backwards.
That's because the 60.6 is my lifetime average for 3 1/2 years, while 80.5 is only this summer. I've had a lot of practice and I'm better at hypermiling now. ;)


By reducing your epa ratings, this results in an increase % of combined EPA, the idea of the handicap is to reduce the % of combined EPA so that regular gas cars have a fighting chance. This would be done by multiplying the miles/fill up by 0.85, not the EPA rating.
It's harder for the hybrids to exceed their ratings, so they are the ones needing a lower bar to reach. Look at the mileage logs main page, and see how many "expert" and "elite" entries are in the respective hybrid and gas categories.

Re: combined mileage ratings

My lunch trip was 74.8 mpg out and 94.5 mpg back, both 5.5 miles. A straight average would give 84.65 mpg. That should help my 84.0 tank average right?

Wrong.

The correct math is:
5.5 / 74.8 = .0735 gallons
5.5 / 94.5 = .0582 gallons
11 mi / 0.1317 gal = 83.52 mpg

Hello everybody!

I just drove 632.9 miles on a tank! New record distance!!! :woot:

It wasn't a record MPG though. Only 46.958 MPG.

Old record distance 605.8 miles.

Record MPG: 48.649 over 504.1 miles.

Thanks and good luck

- Alex

Woo-hoo!!! Way to go, Alex!! :thumbs_up:

What's your next goal? :D

Woo-hoo!!! Way to go, Alex!! :thumbs_up:

What's your next goal? :D

Thanks!

My next goal... Well I don't have one right now. Why? Because I am going to college August 14th and I won't be doing much driving, if any.

So in other words, I am retired for awhile. :rolleyes:

Thanks

- Alex

Sean... always the encourager / enabler. :p

Sean... always the encourager / enabler. :p

Andrew... always the Sean's encourager / enabler. :p

Both with 250+ % you are so far from Earth... and from other human being :Banane54:

Denis.

I agree with groar!

I finally caught up with Camry (doing 200%-225% of EPA) recently (40-42 MPG) because of those two. Now that I got Honda Civic HX, those two are my goal to beat in long run.

"It is wise to study the ways of ones adversary. Don't you think?"
-Red October

Refilled tank yesterday:
426.6 miles / 9.365 gallons / 45.552 MPG (133.97% of EPA)
Now averaging to 137.33% of EPA

I have yet moved my FCD (Mpugino) from Camry to Civic.

I added a partial boat tail.
Hoping for at least a 5% increase. Unfortunately I can't test it scientificially.

Also need a new battery soon.

Mr. pancake is flattening us in Division B . . .

I sometimes want to yell out the window that I'm involved in a fuel economy competition. "Please don't pull in front of me at that red light, I'm trying to time it!"

I did some math and I think I can crack 200% by Sept 20. The only problem may be approaching rain storms.

Put down another solid tank; refilled today and got just under 48 MPG.

You Div C folks have some work to do! ;)

-soD

I added the other 6 tanks from my trip.
My EPA % dropped a bit from the fast driving on the way home (even for "normal" drivers), but I did have a few good tanks to almost balance them.
I think my trip was over 4,000 miles!

Edit: Just over 4.5K, actually.

Slowly climbing up in Div B competition ....

Refilled yesterday....

342.1 miles / 6.423 gallons / 53.2617 MPG (156.65% of EPA) ...

Beware....

This is only the beginning, Scott. :D:thumbs_up:

Mr. pancake is flattening us in Division B . . .

Its summer-the great equalizer between the climates of north and south.

Oh yeah, second fill of the summer challenge (no records this time), still "flattening" division B, lifetime average up to 60 MPG or 3.9L per 100/km whichever you prefer.

Completed my summer challenge log.

Sadly bad things happened...

The scenic (wife's car) got her gear box broken at 200 mi from home. 1st quotation by a local mechanic at 2700€ (1€=1.3$) which is the scenic's price. Our regular mechanic got the car back and repaired it for 350€. It's now more difficult to move to the 5th gear and my wife had several difficulties to move from 5th gear, so my wife is driving the megane during the next 2 weeks until our mechanic comes back from holidays and he can look at the scenic again. I'm driving the scenic so at least I don't have to stay at home all day long.

Here are the details of the fills-up :

Lots of heavy traffic during 1st fill-up
200 mi on highway during 2nd fill-up, wife drove the megane (rather well from 2nd fill-up result) during one week while her car was being repaired, and I was working from home
200 mi on highway during 3rd fill-up.


I will not beat my last year records :-( but I beat my highway record : 66.85 mpg vs 54 :)

I hope the mechanic will tell us he have to change the whole gear box, so we could sell him the car as-is and buy a second hand prius ;) the bonus is that my wife is OK to drive the megane if I unmod it :cool:

Denis.

groar: sorry about that, but hey, your wife is the most valuable asset! Hope your car will be fixed, or go for Honda Insight (steal Sean's Insight!)!

=)

Just filled-up...managed to improve my tank average by a few MPG with a lot of slow speed city driving. 905.4 Miles/21.116 gal (combined partial and full fill-ups) 42.88 MPG. Brings my summer average to 192% with E10 handicap.

I'm estimating my next tank to be ~700 miles before Sept. 20, so I'll need to average a near-personal record of 46.43 MPG to finish at 200% with E10 handicap.


http://www.cleanmpg.com/garage/images/3511.png

Just filled up -----


516.7 miles
20.632 Gals

25.06 MPG (Check on second goal of the summer)

This was hard work and very sweaty, fortunately there was not a lot of rain for this tank, it is a killer on my MPG
(not a great Hypermiling Vehicle, this is why I my be relegated to Div C until I trade this beast in.) :(

Die2self: have you started researching on which new monster to purchase while you wait to trade?

Linux - we REALLY don't have the money to do anything at this point, but I know we will have to do something by next Fall, because I will be taking both kids to school then and it is hard to do that with the club cab with one sitting behind me. One can not sit up front becasue I can't turn off the airbag and it was before they put in sensors.

But the ones that I would love to look at are all MT:
no special order
Honda Civic (hybrid would be nice if we could afford)
Honda Fit
Hyundi Sonta (2011 - dreaming)
Toyota Corolla

Anything with four doors basically that I can really haul the kids in and get really good FE numbers from.

I would love a 1st gen Insight but can't fit 2 kids in it :(

Linux - we REALLY don't have the money to do anything at this point, but I know we will have to do something by next Fall, because I will be taking both kids to school then and it is hard to do that with the club cab with one sitting behind me. One can not sit up front becasue I can't turn off the airbag and it was before they put in sensors.

But the ones that I would love to look at are all MT:
no special order
Honda Civic (hybrid would be nice if we could afford)
Honda Fit
Hyundi Sonta (2011 - dreaming)
Toyota Corolla

Anything with four doors basically that I can really haul the kids in and get really good FE numbers from.

I would love a 1st gen Insight but can't fit 2 kids in it :(

I would suggest what Right Lane Cruiser suggested me a while ago -- the one I bought recently -- Honda Civic HX. (same scenario -- having four boys)

=)

Anyway, reporting a refill.... done today and check it out. :)

Well, I'm getting killed in the competition but I can happily say that I destroyed by old full tank record. Before I started this experiment, I was usually pretty happy with breaking 300mi/tank but my last tank, my first full fill up since starting this, was 380mi/tank 27% better.

groar: sorry about that, but hey, your wife is the most valuable asset! Hope your car will be fixed, or go for Honda Insight (steal Sean's Insight!)!

Yep, my wife and my son are my most valuable asset, I was in the context of this thread and so I was talking about my challenge result as this tank should be my best for this year.

About my wife's car, she should be repaired this week-end. The gearbox doesn't stay in 5th, going back to neutral. We decided to change the gearbox by a working one. We are finally saving 35% compared to 1st quotation.

My wife drove my car during 120km (75mi). She decided to get her car back and stay in 4th. I decided to keep the tank as is and do my best with it. I think I'll beat my record, so it will be a shared wife/husband record :) Sadly the traffic is coming back and the weather is very unstable, there can be more than 10°C (18°F) difference between 2 days. But I do want to beat my record in case we have to change the scenic for another car ;)

Sadly there is no insight I in France. Honda isn't selling a lot of insight II in France and there is only one Honda reseller in the region. If my wife's car can't be repaired, as the scenic is a MPV we should have a big enough car and a prius should be enough for most cases. There is also 5 toyota resellers in the region and tens of second hand prius II :)

Have fun,

Denis.

I'm doing my best to "flatten" Mr. Pancake in Div. B on my next fillup. 320 miles so far at an indicated 48 MPG. I'm hopeful I can maintain it thru the end of summer.

I feel like I'm the only one competing with a non-hybrid automatic. There should be a handicap for automatics as well. Could help explain some of the brutal beating I'm taking in the competition so far, hehehe.

Consistency, consistency, consistency! I improved about 1 MPG, to 48 and a bit for this tank.

Come on Div C! You have to step up to beat me! :)

-soD

I feel like I'm the only one competing with a non-hybrid automatic. There should be a handicap for automatics as well. Could help explain some of the brutal beating I'm taking in the competition so far, hehehe.

You're telling me the extra 1 MPG the EPA gives you isn't enough? :rolleyes:

But, yeah, non-hybrid autos are way tougher to hypermile than their manual brethren. The vast majority use power wasting torque converters, and most don't respond well to FASing. I once tried it in a GMC Envoy: after I restarted, the check engine light stayed on and the speedometer was reading at least twice the speed I was actually going. Autos do get a small handicap in the way of reduced EPA numbers, but they can only compete at steady speeds high enough for the torque converters to lock-up, but they still usually suffer from a higher top gear drive ratio.

I think of all the engine off coasting and forced DFCO (I now have and engine kill switch) that I use on my way to and from work, and it certainly saves more gas than all the time spent waiting at lights with the engine off, and that's all I could do with an auto. It would drive me crazy.

I feel like I'm the only one competing with a non-hybrid automatic. There should be a handicap for automatics as well. Could help explain some of the brutal beating I'm taking in the competition so far, hehehe.

First of all, you are CAPABLE of beating EPA in an automatic car.

Secondly, EPA for auto are OFTEN lower than EPA for manual, there goes our handicap. :)

Next, I use Toyota Camry LE V6 automatic, yes, 6 CYLINDERS automatic and I still use it even if I got Honda Civic HX 5MT. I averaged 31.2 MPG on my Camry (FE Challenge IX) which is 164.21% of EPA, I also did 40+ mpg a trip more than 7 times already. My recommendation is this:

Read all documents about improving FE in this site, especially this link: Beating the EPA - The Why’s and How to Hypermile (http://www.cleanmpg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1510), read over and over until it is part of your life.
Buy FCD (Fuel Consumption Display) if you don't already. It is a HUGE help, do this ASAP! I see that you are using 2002 Alero, I recommend ScanGauge (can be ordered on the left of this website.)
Find out if your car is FLAT TOWABLE, that way you can FAS (Forced Auto Stop) while in motion, a BIG benefit.
P&G is essential, either NICE-ON coasting or FAS, with FCD you will be able to "climb" up on the MPG ladder. On the lowest speed, remember the MPG, pulse up to either 10+ or 20+ of your lowest speed, then either NICE-ON or FAS until you are back to the minimum, the MPG should be a little higer than the previous MPG. Repeat to climb, takes a lot of patience. P&G only if you are on flat or on the down slope because P&G on any uphill will continue to eat up your MPG.
DWL at all of times if you are on long trip, or going uphill. The challenge is to keep automatic from downshifting while going uphill, speed up if you can before going uphill to bleed slowly.
FAS at stop lights that take more than 7 seconds.
LASTLY -- PATIENCE is required. 1 mpg more than previous is ALWAYS better than nothing at all, keep on climbing.


Finally, make sure your car is fully tuned up, aligned and tires maxed out to the maximum (not over inflate, I don't personally do that), have mileage log book in your car (I think you do already, just saying it) and mark down on log on what you did, it becomes your diary, a useful tool to figure out a way to improve your hypermiling techniques.

Enjoy!

I do kind of think there should be a handicap, but calculating what it should be is a bear. Whose automatic to we look at, what driving style, what conditions, etc? Some are FAS-able, some are not. Some have lockup converters.

I'm getting ~250% epa in my MT Civic.
The best I've done is 42 in the auto Odyssey, rated 19 epa combined, for 221%. It is FAS-able to some degree.

diamondlarry - I updated your vehicle's epa rating. You were using the old epa. For the challenge you need to use the new epa, and then apply your hybrid handicap. It changed things a bit, in your favor. ;)

First of all, you are CAPABLE of beating EPA in an automatic car.

Secondly, EPA for auto are OFTEN lower than EPA for manual, there goes our handicap. :)

Next, I use Toyota Camry LE V6 automatic, yes, 6 CYLINDERS automatic and I still use it even if I got Honda Civic HX 5MT. I averaged 31.2 MPG on my Camry (FE Challenge IX) which is 164.21% of EPA, I also did 40+ mpg a trip more than 7 times already. My recommendation is this:

Read all documents about improving FE in this site, especially this link: Beating the EPA - The Why’s and How to Hypermile (http://www.cleanmpg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1510), read over and over until it is part of your life.
Buy FCD (Fuel Consumption Display) if you don't already. It is a HUGE help, do this ASAP! I see that you are using 2002 Alero, I recommend ScanGauge (can be ordered on the left of this website.)
Find out if your car is FLAT TOWABLE, that way you can FAS (Forced Auto Stop) while in motion, a BIG benefit.
P&G is essential, either NICE-ON coasting or FAS, with FCD you will be able to "climb" up on the MPG ladder. On the lowest speed, remember the MPG, pulse up to either 10+ or 20+ of your lowest speed, then either NICE-ON or FAS until you are back to the minimum, the MPG should be a little higer than the previous MPG. Repeat to climb, takes a lot of patience. P&G only if you are on flat or on the down slope because P&G on any uphill will continue to eat up your MPG.
DWL at all of times if you are on long trip, or going uphill. The challenge is to keep automatic from downshifting while going uphill, speed up if you can before going uphill to bleed slowly.
FAS at stop lights that take more than 7 seconds.
LASTLY -- PATIENCE is required. 1 mpg more than previous is ALWAYS better than nothing at all, keep on climbing.


Finally, make sure your car is fully tuned up, aligned and tires maxed out to the maximum (not over inflate, I don't personally do that), have mileage log book in your car (I think you do already, just saying it) and mark down on log on what you did, it becomes your diary, a useful tool to figure out a way to improve your hypermiling techniques.

Enjoy!

Thank you for the tips, I'm trying and doing pretty good so far. I am at 105%EPA now and my last tank was 110% so I'm getting better. My goal is to hit 400 miles on a tank. My last tank was 380 but before I started doing this, I was usually pretty happy if I could break 300 so I'm up somewhere around 7 mpg gained which I'd always love to improve.

...I'm up somewhere around 7 mpg gained which I'd always love to improve.

Caution, this may turn to be a drug ;)

Don't forget to have fun before all,

Denis.

I filled up. ;) The Scangauge promised too much this time. (83.9)

1133 miles (new record)
13.751 gallons
82.4 mpg

Sean, the lead is still yours, if you can hold it. Tough with that new commute.

Andrew, congratulations, now update your signature! =P

Well done, Andrew!!! :woot:

If I could fill right now I'd already be down to 257.7% EPA and though I'm frugal I really doubt I can make it all the way through next month without filling. :p If I fill this time with exactly the same amount as last time I've only got 3.87g left in the tank... so I'd need to average somewhere in the neighborhood of (15.3 + 23(30.5))/3.87 = 185.2mpg over 716.9mi

Uh... not going to happen. :p Unless I drive the Elantra twice a week (assuming it still runs well enough to do that :o). Then I'd need to average 90.6mpg over 350.8mi.

(I'm on vacation for 3 of the upcoming weekdays.)

Congrats, Andrew!!

Andrew, I need your help on gauge interpretation --

Since I topped off on the tank, 280 miles approaching 3/4 of gauge is approximately what mpg? I'm guessing 50-52ish.

How many miles when it was right on the F mark?

Approximately 190-195 miles

Congrats Andrew, 1133mi is +21% compared from last year :thumbs_up: and your regularity since april is exemplary.

Denis, suddenly optimistic as 1133mi (1823km) may be achievable :D or not...

Approximately 190-195 miles

I'm getting some funny numbers here. Assuming you topped off with the same 3.8 gallons above F that I usually do, 190 miles gives 50 mpg. From there, though, it gets weird. F to 1/2 is 4.8 gallons, so 3/4 should be 2.4 gallons. 90 miles is only 37.5 mpg.

I suspect you're not quite down to 3/4.

When you get to 1/2...
(miles - 190) / 4.8 = mpg since F

I'm getting some funny numbers here. Assuming you topped off with the same 3.8 gallons above F that I usually do, 190 miles gives 50 mpg. From there, though, it gets weird. F to 1/2 is 4.8 gallons, so 3/4 should be 2.4 gallons. 90 miles is only 37.5 mpg.

I suspect you're not quite down to 3/4.

When you get to 1/2...
(miles - 190) / 4.8 = mpg since F

Not quite there...
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/2/medium/0825101045.jpg

Looks good. I'd say somewhere in the 50 mpg range, then.

I've just added what will probably be my final fuel log entry for this contest. I got 719 mi and 40 days out of 9.5gal + 25kWh of electricity. This is my best tank yet in terms of mpg, distance, and duration.

Using MIMA to hold lean burn, and plugging in at home to recharge, I can now get very consistent >80mpg highway trips regardless of traffic. It takes only a small amount of electricity to stay in lean burn.

Do you have a conversion, or are you just charging the factory pack?

All these people with so great stock or improved insight I... I'm so jealous :o

Only 999 mods to apply on the megane to have something equivalent...

Denis.

Filled today, slowly slipping toward second. I may have plateaued for this warm season (hope not) or I might just blame it on the speed bumps. And how do you compete with a guy in Vegas who doesn't use A/C...there's a thin line between dedication and craziness:D.

I'm just grid charging the stock pack. It's 1kWh nominal, 0.7kWh usable capacity. That's more energy than it sounds like. I have 3mi AER under an ideal, 40mph steady state cruise. It would probably be about twice that were it not for the engine braking inherent in EV'ing a mild hybrid. A much better way to use the charge is to ensure I never fall out of lean burn once the engine is warm, and to bring the car up to speed faster so I can start LB'ing sooner.

Filled today, slowly slipping toward second. I may have plateaued for this warm season (hope not) or I might just blame it on the speed bumps. And how do you compete with a guy in Vegas who doesn't use A/C...there's a thin line between dedication and craziness:D.

Someone here said that the warm weather was the great equalizer, presumably because it should cause those of us in really warm places to use the A/C, negating the huge gains we make the rest of the year since it never freezes. To say I'm bucking that trend is a huge understatement. My personal best is 115F without using A/C. But, its not like someone at area-51 spliced my DNA with a desert tortoise to create the worlds best hypermiler, after 45 minutes without the A/C I just can't take it anymore. By then my glass of ice is empty or melted, and I've lost a few pounds of water weight and salts. Plenty of people in Vegas don't have working A/C and get along fine too. The less you use it, the better your body becomes acclimated to the weather.

When it comes to a FE challenge I think I have somewhat of a perfect storm of personal circumstances.
-A car that IMO is underrated by the EPA
-Hot, but dry weather, so A/C use can be reserved for days with passengers
-a 35 MPH, non-rush hour commute with lights that can be pretty well timed
-Nightly drive home with almost zero traffic and a -0.9% average gradient makes P+G dreamy
-The above means that most of the gas is used on the uphill leg to work, when the weather is warmest
-A few modest car mods

And how do you compete with a guy in Vegas who doesn't use A/C...there's a thin line between dedication and craziness:D.

with a guy in Texas who doesn't use AC, that's how. :p :D Yes, I'm straddling that thin line.

with a guy in Texas who doesn't use AC, that's how. :p :D Yes, I'm straddling that thin line.

Are you saying we should shut OFF our A/C during these challenges? I guess I'm crazy also! Maybe not that crazy, I do roll down the windows when I get light headed.:Banane38:

GaryG

1134.4mi @ 72.347mpg = NewEPA + 133.4% so far from Sean & Andrew results...
also at OldEPA + 106.6%, ie for the first time over 100% :)
2 new records :

Longest distance, previous 1058.7 ie +7.15%, best in 2009 was 1037.7, ie +9.31%
Best MPG, previous 69.06, ie +4.76% and -4.52% for CO2/km


With my longest fill-up (0.23 more gallon), I would have failed at 40mi from Wayne's record. I'm decided to attempt it with this new tank as I pumped up tires from 51psi (max side wall) to 58 one week ago and installed a kill switch Friday :)

Denis.

Nice work, Denis!! Those records are just falling left and right. :D

Go go go, as I wave from behind you.

Must be nice for those in the extreme heat to get in their car and the engine is already at operating temp. Probably the only good part of that kind of heat.

ata boy groar, and it was a shared tank :cool:

Mr P - yes, that warm air helps a lot with the warmup hit when your lubricants and liquids are at 50-75% of their normal operating temps.
I can attest that it helps me out in the warm months with all the lubricants in a 4x4. Those same Lube's need a lot of warming up in the winter. I remember those -40 days in Superior WI and just getting it going down the road required quite a bit of gas to over come the cold transfer case, transmission and axle gear fluids. Not quite as bad here in the SW MO, but it sure eats up the glide distances.:mad:

Just filled up. 564.4 miles on 10.344 gallons for a new tank record distance and mpg of 54.563! That tank puts me back in contention for the lead in Div. B! I feel yall on the no a/c use. Living in south texas without using the a/c can get a bit sweaty. Depending upon who you ask, I may be a bit over the line onto the craziness side.

Last fill for the challenge. Leaving on a month long RV trip to Maine and won't be taking the Insight. To hard and risky to load on the dolly, and wife can't really drive it properly. Filled today. Short tank of 5.520 gal., 460 miles for 83.33 MPG - not really so great ;-(

Not sure why my quarter results aren't showing in the Challenge mileage log??

I fixed it for you, Jim.

:o sorry, I overlooked that.

Found receipt, under car chair -- grr...

670.1 miles / 12.607 gallons - 53.153 MPG

My first HIGHEST tank. My average is now 50.2 MPG (147.64% of CleanMPG's EPA [34] and 152.12% of fueleconomy's EPA [33] I am now half elite and half expert hypermiler LOL!!!)

Had to refill in worry that low gas light might be broken -- way inside "E" line and I sweat a lot. When I made sudden turn, car stuttered, then restarted on its own.

:Banane01:

On mine, when the needle is centered on the red line, it's basically empty.

On my last refill, I was able to fill up to the very tip, had to allow gas to drain in few times until it stopped. I am going to EOC longer, shift a little later 5th gear @ 30 instead of 35, P&G a little faster with some 4th gear, DWL more on uphills with more bleeds, practicing HARD on DWB's and etc...

Here is an image of gas in sight - (blurry, it's there)
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/2/medium/0831101845.jpg

I was wondering how everybody went about knowing just how far they could go with the emergency light on. Is is just trial and error? I'm getting pretty low on my tank but I want to, at minimum, pass 400 miles on the tank.

Trial and error for me. I haven't gotten stranded yet, but my absolute longest tanks in each vehicle have left me at the sputtering level. :o

I was wondering how everybody went about knowing just how far they could go with the emergency light on. Is is just trial and error? I'm getting pretty low on my tank but I want to, at minimum, pass 400 miles on the tank.
For my car the pros already figured it out before I bought the car. When I was driving the '98 I used a combination of scan gauge and guessing-the fuel light only came on once even though the needle would go well below 'e'.

For my car the pros already figured it out before I bought the car. When I was driving the '98 I used a combination of scan gauge and guessing-the fuel light only came on once even though the needle would go well below 'e'.

Exactly, I run my tanks almost completely dry every tank because I know I have .8 gallons left after 0 Miles To Empty in my '09 FEH and 1.3 gallons left in my '05 FEH. I found this out by running out of gas and doing the math from 0 MTE. Since I did this I've never ran out of gas again.

I need to get to 65mpg tanks before I top my tank Off with the most it will hold from a dry tank to make that 1,000 mile tank on 15.4 gallons of gas. I got it all figured out and know I have a ways to go and it may take straight gas to do it. I also know a 65mpg average will give me exactly 200% of combined EPA for my '09 FEH. That would get me to 245% of combined EPA under the present E10 and Hybrid handicaps in this challenge.

GaryG

I carry a gas can in the back once the light comes on. Drive until it won't drive any more. ;) :D

I only do this when I have a good chance at a distance record. No need to stress the fuel pump if it's not necessary. A dry tank means a pump with no coolant.

Well, I added my partial boat tail like contraption. I'm not sure how well it is working, if at all. My current tank looks to be around the 42-43 range, which is much lower than a "high" tank for me. However, it has beeen far under optimal driving conditions. The first half of the tank was from Tampa to Orlando (a decently efficient drive), but the other half has been .5 to 5 miles trips on or around campus, with a lot of lights and college age drivers around me. Also, I'm concerned for my battery so whenever I must come to a stop at night, I clutch start the engine, even if I have to idle for awhile.

I just recieved a lot of money to cover food and book costs (from my family, about $1000 for the semester. Books were $200) . . . I'm willing to eat PB&J and kraft mac and cheese for the rest of the semester if I can use the extra $ to buy an optima yellow top . . .

Any advice :o?

I'd get some kind of voltage gauge first. You could get a cheap multimeter and a cigarette lighter plug for a redneck gauge.

Maybe a 5w or so solar charger? http://www.cleanmpg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=10872 I grid-charge mine, but that's not easy at school.

Well, I found someone selling new Interstate megatrons that fit my car for $50. I have the same battery now and it is about 6 years old now. The only reason I'm concerned about it is because I drained it enough that it failed to start my car (left key in ignition, or lights on, etc). That was about a month ago, but I SOMEHOW did it 3 times within 3 days :mad:

If it lasts 5 years then that's only $10/year for my battery, and while not as good as a yellow top, I won't be concerned about if my battery will start my car or not, and I can go back to more efficient driving (less idling, for example).

We're meeting up at 3:30 at a nearby mall. Battery is shrink wrapped, and the production date is July 2010.

Now I only have to eat PB&J/Mac and cheese for a month instead of the semester :rolleyes:

Reviewing on my previous tank, I'm currently 257 miles ON F line on the gauge, hopefully will reach 280 before it get off F line on the gauge.
Not quite there...
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/2/medium/0825101045.jpg

Filled Saturday to keep the wife from freaking out. Did it at my "good results" station (I seem to get slightly higher FE when I fill there for some reason ;) ) and got JUST UNDER 50 MPG. Oh well. Just a little more next time...

-soD

I only had 725.8 miles on the tank, but I decided to fill up to prevent ending the competition with a very short tank. I topped off as slowly as possible in order to not cheat, and I still only got 15.209 gal in for 47.72 MPG (4.95L/100km for you metric guys) It's only my BEST TANK EVER! :woot: Let the trolling, flaming, and otherwise #$%&-talking begin.

The inbuilt MPG gauge was spot on, which it usually is with consistent driving. This tank was all 35 MPH city commutes, FAS used when appropriate. In consideration to other drivers, P+G was typically used at night only. No fast starts, no more than 5 miles on the freeway the entire tank, sweating my @&% off daily. If you use A/C, you're not in it to win it. :D

Mileage had started drifting slowly downwards after the first few hundred miles, I believe, as the air was leaking from my tires. I checked today and they were at 40 PSI--4 PSI low. I'm eyeing some new Yokohamas with a max of 51 PSI, also touted as gas savers.

http://www.cleanmpg.com/garage/images/3511.png

My car doesn't have any digital anything. No fuel gauge, miles to empty or current mpg so I have to play around with everything. I just added my tank from Friday. My goal was to break 400 miles and I actually got 419.7 so that is about 40 miles more than my previous tank and a new record! Still doesn't do anything for me competition-wise but I think it's pretty good improvement for an automatic non-hybrid car piloted by a guy wise at least half a dozen speeding tickets under his belt. It's also only my fourth tank since starting to try to hypermile and each one has been an improvement. Now if I could just justify to myself that I should buy myself a scangauge maybe I could continue this upward trend, but I just don't ever buy anything for myself that isn't edible, lol.

Tank refilled --

565.1 miles 9.545 gallons, 59.214 MPG!!!

Still haven't placed my MPGuino into car yet....

:woot:

Tank refilled --

565.1 miles 9.545 gallons, 59.214 MPG!!!

Still haven't bought my MPGuino yet....

:woot:
Fixed it for me.
:rolleyes:

Maybe an xmas present for me . . .

Oh, and I got a new battery. It's an Interstate Megatron 2, and is usually around $100 but I got it for $50 :D

I feel better already . . . I can coast up to lights with my engine off again, instead of clutch starting as I roll up to the light . . .

Congrats VegasDude for your record :thumbs_up:
Congrats mcmurphy for your record :thumbs_up:
Congrats LinuxGold for your record :thumbs_up:
Congrats Sulfuric for your new battery :cool:

Denis.

Congrats VegasDude for your record :thumbs_up:
Congrats mcmurphy for your record :thumbs_up:
Congrats LinuxGold for your record :thumbs_up:
Congrats Sulfuric for your new battery :cool:

Denis.

Congrats on Congratulating 4 people in one post. :woot:

Congrats on Congratulating 4 people in one post. :woot:

congrats on congratulating congratulations. =P


Thanks BTW.

Heh, this next tank is gonna suck, relatively speaking. I have spent more time than usual shuttling the wife around, and in hot weather too! I was forced to raise my freeway cruising speed by 5-10 MPH and use the air conditioning pretty significantly on those trips.

I also think that the station where I filled up this past time does give me slightly short fills, as I tend to have very good FE when I fill up there. (It is also a bit downhill from home, but not by long enough to notice in averaged into a tank-full IMHO.) We'll have to see how it works out, but it is likely that my next tank will bring my Challenge average back down into the low-47s. Too bad, since it will almost certainly be my last fill of the Challenge.

Come on, Div C! You gotta work harder to catch me!! ;)

-soD (OK, next time Div B, where I'll be waaaaaay far back!)

Heh, this next tank is gonna suck, relatively speaking. I have spent more time than usual shuttling the wife around, and in hot weather too! I was forced to raise my freeway cruising speed by 5-10 MPH and use the air conditioning pretty significantly on those trips.


Same here on this refill. Had to do more driving in city, doing errands. PLUS someone stabbed my Camry's tire, had me in full fury. Was not thinking straight when I drove my Civic on Tuesday when it happened. Right now it is under the F mark, 180 miles. I need to compensate on what I did on Tuesday BIG time. Hopefully above 51.5 mpg...

And no, I have not set up mpguino yet.... busybee here...

Same here on this refill. Had to do more driving in city, doing errands. PLUS someone stabbed my Camry's tire, had me in full fury...

They probably watched you glide by at a red light and got angry. Maybe they saw a ding in their door and blamed you.

Congrats VegasDude for your record :thumbs_up:
Congrats mcmurphy for your record :thumbs_up:
Congrats LinuxGold for your record :thumbs_up:
Congrats Sulfuric for your new battery :cool:

Denis.

Thank you much! Hopefully it will be a weekly occurrence.

last fill up for me. Not as good as before. The last week I was on vacation and had to go to Lowes a couple of times ( you know how it is working on projects). Lowes is only 1/2 mile from the house.

465.1 miles
19.458 miles
4.18 Gal / 100 Miles (23.9 MPG)

But the life time ticked up over 150%, call me ELITE now! :Banane18:

last fill up for me. Not as good as before. The last week I was on vacation and had to go to Lowes a couple of times ( you know how it is working on projects). Lowes is only 1/2 mile from the house.

465.1 miles
19.458 miles
4.18 Gal / 100 Miles (23.9 MPG)

But the life time ticked up over 150%, call me ELITE now! :Banane18:

Oh, the ELITE one...

http://www.alldeaf.com/images/smilies/bowdown.gif

;) Lunix

Call me done and stuffed like a turkey for this challange. No more fillups unless something happens.

I streched by tank out another week while bing on vacation, very littel fuel used:D

As I feared, this tank (relatively) sucked. Off almost 5 MPG from the previous one. 45 MPG, which is I think around 150% EPA. Not awful by any means, but definitely not as good as I had been doing. It drops my average down under 180% again.

Come on Div C, I've left you an opening... Time to turn in some amazing tanks and take advantage of it! :D

-soD

some_other_dave

No worries! My last refill was terrible, NOW this tank is AWFUL. A lot of COLD temperatures, more trips on Interstate (I-95), a lot of uphills on the way back home from a point that required a trip on I-95, school bus altered their route, had to figure out the best earlier time rather than too early... *groan*....

Well, I'm sitting on a 50+ tank right now, but I can attribute that to a >.25 gallon overfill from last tank, very slow driving, some really nice P&G, and a new battery. This means that my partial boat tail is not working . . .

I may take it off next I go home and see if there is a difference.

I finally filled up the Insight -- congrats on the win, Andrew!! :woot:

It may only be 163% over adjusted EPA, but 115.5mpg is pretty impressive, too. Nicely done, Sean, and congratulations on only having used ~25gal during the quarter. I've burned somewhere around 40gal in the same time period.

:o Thanks, Robert. :o

Final fill for this round, currently in second by .02%, too bad third place was taken out of contention. The sweaty one has definetly won this round. As a reward you should probably shower and buy your car an air freshener or three.

I finally filled up the Insight -- congrats on the win, Andrew!! :woot:

Thanks, Sean. I'm sorry it had to be this way, and not me overtaking you. ;)

Hey, it's real world driving -- you win fair and square. :thumbs_up:

;) I'm just glad my current tank isn't going to be included. Except for a great start on the tank, school dropoff duty has me in the 70's mpg instead of 80's.

Filled last night, things are cooling off finally but I think it's the construction traffic that hurt FE a bit this tank.

http://www.cleanmpg.com/garage/images/3511.png

I just noticed the FE challenge runs until 9/30, not 9/20 as I thought. I won't be adding any more tanks since I'll probably only use 4 gal or so until then.

I'll probably get one more tank in this weekend. Looking at between 45 and 55 (i cant be sure as my guesses are known to be inaccurate)

1182.2mi @ 74.918mpg (1902.1km @ 3.140L/100)
(so closed to 75mpg :rolleyes: )

ie best MPG (from 72.347) & longest tank (from 1134.4) :) I love my kill switch :cool:

With the biggest fill-up I wouldn't have been able to reach 1200.0mi.

My last 2 tanks are @ 73.64mpg but anyway always far from Andrew & Sean results :thumbs_up:

My challenge result is only @ 67.034, so not a lot over the last year 65.3mpg :(

Compared to last year record of 1037.7mi @ 69.042, I'm at +13.9% and +8.5%

So this autumn/winter challenge, stay under 3.9L/100 / over 60mpg.
Then this spring/summer challenge, reach 2000km / 1243.0mi asap, then 1333.3mi / 2145.3km which would match the magical 84.11mpg of real kilo-tankers who have only a 45L / 11.89gal tank.

Denis.

Very nice! It takes a lot of patience to crank out back-to-back distance records.

Now you have thoroughly passed my mark, and Wayne's diesel record (http://www.cleanmpg.com/index.php?page=garage&displayunits=MPG%28US%29&viewcar=639) as well.

It's a good spirit competition here. :)

Hey, Linux. How's your apache longbow doing anyway?

AS for Civic HX, it is doing better. =) I am learning ropes in that car.

Took my partial boat tail off. I don't think it made a difference. May have even hurt by a few mpg. ABA testing is the way to go, even if it's a pain to do the last "A" test (disassembly was not easy).

Looking at a 60mpg+ tank, which is, from my point of view, the mpg ceiling of my car in everyday driving, and probably wrong. I think it's closer to 50mpg.

We shall see . . . (evil laugh and hand movement)

Just a reminder:

The challenge ends today. If you're close to a fill, you can add it in the next couple days, but try to keep it prompt.

Here is the next quarterly challenge: FE Challenge 11 (http://www.cleanmpg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=35135)

This car is even more frustrating to fill up than the Prius with it's goofy bladder. I realize this was a short fill but it was in anticipation of a road trip to Cincinnati, OH and back. I had 408.7 miles and I practically physically assaulted the car and it absolutely refused to take more than 2.050 gallons of gas. I pretty much know what the next fill will be like, it will be about as insanely low as this one was high.:rolleyes:

LOL, Larry! 199 mpg! :woot: :o

LOL, Larry! 199 mpg! :woot: :o

Yeah, it somehow doesn't seem as satisfying when I know it wasn't accurate.:(

Andrew, fork me, I am done for this competition.

I am beginning to think that my VTEC-E is NOT operating properly as it should. I need to speak with someone who currently own a HX car that runs VTEC-E to determine whether my 1st stage of 3 stages in VTEC-E is running properly or not. How can I communicate this to a auto repair to test throughly? My Service maintenance required orange indicator is showing.

I'll be wrapping up the numbers here soon and posting the final results.

Scott - if your car is anything like mine, the maintenance thing is simply a mileage counter It goes to red at 7500 miles, the specified oil change interval. You can poke your key into the slot beside it and reset it. I ignore it, since I do my own maintenance on my own schedule.

I can't help you on the VTEC-E stuff. Sorry.

I am beginning to think that my VTEC-E is NOT operating properly as it should. I need to speak with someone who currently own a HX car that runs VTEC-E to determine whether my 1st stage of 3 stages in VTEC-E is running properly or not. How can I communicate this to a auto repair to test throughly? My Service maintenance required orange indicator is showing.The ECU has different ignition and fuel maps for each of the camshaft profiles. Whenever there's a mismatch between what it tries to load and what it gets, you have three seconds of horrible misfires followed by a Check Engine light. You don't, so you're fine.

I guess you could pop the valve cover and visually verify that the VTEC mechanism is in the correct position. *shrug*

Final results posted: http://www.cleanmpg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=35708