Hi All:
___We are a go for the last week of Sept. through the first week of October in and around the town of Tonkawa, Oklahoma.
___As it stands, here are the participants in alphabetical order by their online nicks.
Bill Kinney (Billy) out of WA. - A 20 year hypermiler going all the way back to the days of a CRX and continuing through his third Insight in almost as many years. Not only has he seen south of a 105 mpg tank this year, I think the following should give you all the details one needs to see
Justin Fons (Citrus Insighter) out of WI. - At the ripe old age of 16 years, he was the first 16 year old in the world to achieve a 100 mpg segment in a mass produced automobile. Namely, his 2000 Honda Insight. Since that time, he has not only aged 1 year, he has steadily improved to the point of taking the highest FE from a non-modded Insight at the HF2006 FE Challenge nailing down 117.2 mpg over that 20 mile segment! He will be accompanied out by his father Bradlee who some may know as the leader of the
Milwaukee Hybrid Group and promoter of Hybrids everywhere.
Randall Burkhalter (Highwater) out of OK. - Not to long an Insight owner but currently holds the
Honda Insight - World record distance on a tank of fuel. 1534.2 miles! Not including the fact he nailed down 114.2 mpg on that same tank! He currently has the second or third highest lmpg in the entire world but will soon be at the top.
Dan Kroushl (Krousdb) out of PA. - The list of accolades would fill this page but here are just a few … First person on the planet to figure out how to take the Prius II to 100 + mpg’s sustained. Had the highest running average of all the participants at the Prius Marathon Attempt last year somewhere in the 113 - 114 mpg range over hundreds of miles driven. Second highest tank distance ever recorded in a Prius II (Prius Marathon Attempt) 110.03 mpg after 1,397 miles. TDS 2006 Co-driver and Grand Champion. HF2006 Prius II co-winner of the Prius II entrants with 2 others that achieved > 99.9 per the Prius II FCD’s. His was SG-I connected showing 115.x mpg’s over the 20 mile course and by far the fastest time of all 3. Hybrid and non-hybrids alike have not stood in his way for reaching maximum FE no matter the vehicle.
Brian Hardegen (NEmystic) out of MA. - A long time Insight enthusiast going back many years. He has not only exceeded 100 mpg’s in his own 2001 Insight many times, he won the TDS 2005 event! Although he will not be a direct participant, he will be our behind the scenes support.
Louis Hudgin (Sno779) out of AZ. - After he found out what the Insight was capable of, he was the fourth person in the world to have achieved a sustainable 150.0 + mpg segment in one. Another is that he is only the third person to have achieved > 1,500 miles on a single tank of fuel (1,520.2 miles @ 112.2 mpg) in a mass produced automobile - that being his 2000 Honda Insight of course and from his last tank!
Doug Schaefer (Tochatihu) out of CA. – A long time hybrid enthusiast with an education and resume that would fill this page. He is also the first person to successfully achieve a 100 mpg sustained segment in a Prius I that I know of. He has also made the elevation maps for every hybrid event I have been involved with. Just like Brian, he has already helped with the behind the scenes support and will continue through the event whenever he is available. The maps below were created by him from directions given by Randall.
Wayne Gerdes (xcel) out of IL. - I don’t really have any stats worth mentioning but the following pic is what started the whole idea as well as what we are attempting to achieve … take the distance traveled and multiply by 100 anyway
___I have invited Teddy-Girl out of Japan though Yoshi but that would be a long shot as far as the ability for her to get the time off and then to fly over. Her most recent tank in her own Prius II set the world on fire with the following:
World record distance on a single tank for a Prius II - Japan - July 4 - Aug 16, 2006. Less then a year after the Prius Marathon attempt and she takes all of us that participated in that event down just traveling back and forth to work with a stunning 1,455.9 miles at 112.2 mpg!
___There is another young lady who will be contacted this week to see if she would like to take part but it may be another long shot? Louis will keep us informed as to her ability to participate or not …
___If you have any questions, feel free to ask. With the ability to sustain 150.0 mpg’s discovered, holding the same through an entire tank might be impossible but with 14.0 gallons of fuel and maybe 143 mpg’s sustained, we have a shot at taking a 2001 Honda Insight to beyond 2,000 miles on a single tank of fuel. At least that is what is the goal.
___And here are those maps of the course and the elevations … Nice, flat, and out of the way as far as any of us could have imagined … Thank you again Doug!
Route Map
Elevation Profile Map
___Currently, Louis, Randall, and I will start the course setup on Monday. We may even start driving then depending on what time we arrive on Monday? We will definitely begin the “Attempt” by Tuesday morning (weather permitting) and run 12 + hour days through mostly daylight hours. We should have ~ 900 miles behind us by the time Justin and Bradlee arrive early Thursday morning. With a few hours of course orientation, we should have Justin behind the wheel by mid-Thursday. We are planning to have completed 1,000 - 1,200 miles when both Billy and Dan arrive. Bradlee will probably be using the Accord as a mule to bring them back from the local airport(s) for course orientation and Insight specific training in Justin or Bradlee’s Insight. You don’t want to know how far the airports are away from the course
With that, we will begin our around the clock driving schedule starting Friday evening with all of us swapping out every 1.5 - 2 hours until she fuel starves sometime Sunday. We will have a much better understanding of the Insight’s capabilities (FE and approximate distance until empty) and what kind of weather we will be facing as the initial launch approaches as well as where we stand on or around Friday night when the around the clock driving begins. For a std. storm, we will be pulling off the course at our hotel and plugging in the Insight’s block heater until the storm has passed and the roads have begun to dry. After that, the marathon will continue until the inevitable fuel starvation sometime on Sunday … We hope
___Some might ask why and my reply is as follows. This was the Insight’s last year of production and she will be departing with the accolades she most certainly deserves if any of us have something to say about it. Again, she is the FE king without question the world over and we are going to find out just how far she can be taken with a little luck and some of the best hypermilers in the US and possibly Japan behind her windscreen.
___Good Luck
___Wayne
Hybrid Mode
