CleanMPG presents the 2008 World Fuel Economy Championships

[xcel]

CleanMPG members ready to take on the challenge!

Wayne Gerdes - CleanMPG - June 18, 2008

2002 Honda Insight (Blue Swayed) -- One of the steeds taking on the challenge.

Indiana, the historical home of the greatest Motor Sports Racing Venue on the planet, the Indianapolis 500, is about to become the home of a new type of motor sport. The reward will not be to the swift but instead to the most fuel efficient as we continue headlong into the carbon constrained 21st century. This event is being held on the weekend of June 21st and 22nd, 2008 near the small town of Elkhart, IN and has come to be known as the first annual CleanMPG “World Fuel Economy Championships” ©

The purpose is to find what techniques can best be exploited to receive the maximum fuel economy from the events vehicles. This information should be beneficial to the entire community as we strive to help others increase their own vehicles fuel economy as they can incorporate similar techniques into their own daily grinds.

The Vehicles: (3) Insights with their IMA Hybrid functions disabled, (3) Prius’ w/ EV switches and a lone Ford Escape Hybrid (FEH). The Prius’ will only be allowed 6-bars of SoC vs. the max forced charge that could be initialized.

The Rules: Somewhat simple really. A driver is not allowed to drive his or her own vehicle (other than Debbie and her FEH). The starting times are to be handled by random pick occurring on Friday evening. Drivers get two runs of the course in a particular vehicle (not the same vehicle for each) with the lowest FE number thrown out. Drivers can enter in the Insight, Prius or FEH class alone or they can drive in all (3) classes for an overall.

The World FE Championship course consists of a 16.3 mile round trip loop of sparsely populated and driven country roads.

Hypermilers currently scheduled to appear

• Al Walker (Hobbit) Boston, MA -- Winner of the NJ “Tour to the Shore – Prius Class” FE Challenge.
• Andrew McGuckin (PaleMelanesian) Longview, TX -- Recent overall winner of the 3-month Fuel Economy Challenge.
• Auston Hensley (Lamebums) Covington, KY -- Hypermiling 3-Month FE Challenge coordinator.
• Bob Winger (Bob Winger) VA -- Second highest HCH-II LMPG in the country.
• Brian Morris (BailOut) Reno, NV -- Most fuel efficient Yaris driver on the planet.
• Chuck Thomas (Delta Flyer) Dallas, TX -- Nationally known Honda Insight promoter.
• Dan Bryant (Dan) Houston, TX -- Achieved 106 mpg at the HF2007 MPG Challenge.
• Debbie Anders (DebbieKatz) Milwaukee, WI -- Recent 51 mpg tank in an FEH. Enough said.
• Jerad Parish (Locutus) Madison, WI -- Winner of the HF2007 MPG Challenge at 110 mpg.
• Jud Engles (Bestmapman) Cincinnati, OH -- Participant in the Lacey, WA MPG Rally.
• Justin Fons (Citrus Insighter) Pewaukee, WI -- Insight Marathon and HF2006 MPG Challenge participant.
• Ken Gordon (SlowHands) Elk Grove Village, IL -- 1908 to 2008 - 100th year anniversary Greatest Automobile Race reenactment participant.
• Special guest to be named later
• Mike Sirach (Msirach) Harrisburg, IL -- Prius, HCH-II and Insight owner
• Rani Cardona (Tarabell) Los Angeles, CA -- Wrote the book on “Basic Hypermiling Techniques for the HCH-II.”
• Sean Welch (Right Lane Cruiser) Coon Rapids, MN -- Owner/Admin CleanMPG.com.
• Wayne Gerdes (Xcel) Wadsworth, IL -- Owner/Admin CleanMPG.com.
• Wayne Bellas (GreenBlues) Camp Douglas, WI -- Owner HCH-I and Insight.
• Larry Trowbridge (Diamondlarry) Elkhart, IN -- Achieved (3) 1,000 mile + tanks in his 07 Prius.

World FE Championship Route


Route Map


Elevation Profile

A few pics of interest showing a little of the local flavor as well as the course


Empty country road anyone?--------------------------------------------------------------------Corn Fields stretch forever!


A little local flavor of the all-beef variety ------------------------------------------Half the course running down this smooth country road.

Forecast weather conditions throughout the weekend in Elkhart, IN, home of the first annual World FE Championships.

Special thanks go out to Larry Trowbridge (Diamondlarry) for helping with the logistics and for hosting the participants at his home throughout the event.

[ericbecky]

Whoo hoo!!! Sounds like a great time!
Wish I could be there.

Good luck everyone!

[Aspasia]

Looks like great fun and weather nice enough to wear your swimsuits.

I can't wait to hear the tips for those five stop signs.

Have a great time!

[ericbecky]

Do you have room for any more people? I see you have 19... need a 20th participant?

[lamebums]

Originally Posted by Aspasia

Looks like great fun and weather nice enough to wear your swimsuits.

I can't wait to hear the tips for those five stop signs.

Have a great time!

Engine braking in "B" in a Prius or a Fas to a rolling stop in an Insight. And to hell with the tailgaters.

I don't even have a hybrid and I know what I'm talking about? LOL

[bestmapman]

This is a very rural and remote section. It was chosen for that reason. During the course you may only see one or two other vehicles. There should be no problem with traffic let alone tailgaters.

[xcel]

Hi Eric:

___I wish we could allow more but we currently have two more on the fence that still might make it out and we are already pushing the number of vehicles and logistics to the limit. With all 20 running at least four runs and possibly six, it is going to be a tough

___Larry’s wife’s patience is going to be stretched to the limits before this event is complete sometime on Sunday morning

___Aspasia, all 5 of the stop signs will be run to a complete stop, the participants will be looking both ways to make sure all traffic is clear and than proceeding forward with utmost caution of course

___Good Luck

___Wayne

[ericbecky]

Originally Posted by xcel

___Aspasia, all 5 of the stop signs will be run to a complete stop, the participants will be looking both ways to make sure all traffic is clear and than proceeding forward with utmost caution of course

Yep. Same as everyone does for the Hybridfest MPG Challenge.

Everyone always follows the traffic laws on these events.

[atlaw4u]

Sounds like a great time and I wish I could make it. However, a work project has me under the gun for the next few weeks. Good luck to all those participating and I can't wait to see the results.

[FireEngineer]

Is all the challenge driving on Saturday? What time frame is the driving going to happen? I might want to stop by after the MiHG meeting to see how things are going.

Wayne