Calling every member from every state for help on World Record route planning

[xcel]

Hi All:

___As some know, we will be covering the LA Auto Show again this year for CleanMPG. While heading there, I thought what a great time to break a US based World Record that some Aussies are currently doing in a VW TDI With that, the moderators started planning a few weeks back and with a few calls of my own, we have at least two very capable vehicle’s from a major automobile manufacturer, we have at least one mid-level sponsor tentatively onboard to cover the food, fuel and accommodations of one of the vehicles through a unique sales and promotion arrangement and two CleanMPG members that will be driving the event so far.

___We would have liked to drive Insights as 90 + mpg even in November would have been a total yawn but the rules require a vehicle that is not more than 6-months old for the attempt for whatever reason???

___The help we need is on the basic route plan and ideas about conditions. Our criteria is we must travel at least 15 miles into every one of the lower-48 contiguous states and we must beat 60 mpg. I will guarantee that second criteria no matter what we face

___The route I have preliminary planned as posted below takes us from just North of Chicago, through Chicago, underneath Lake Michigan and East to the Eastern seaboard states, North and than South to drive through every East coast state on the map. We finally head West into Louisiana, head North to hit the Southern Midwest States, almost straight West to hit all the Southern Western States into Los Angeles for both a Honda CRF230L review and the LA Auto Show Press Event. From LA, we leave heading due North to cover the entire West Coast and than East for 1/3 of the country. Straight back North to catch North Dakota and than a meandering South Easterly drive heading back to the initial launch point.

___What I need help with is your ideas or tips about how we are going to traverse your State as we move through every 48-contiguous State around the country. We plan on leaving around the 5th of Nov. to be in LA around the 16th so if you can give us any ideas as to a possible better route, it would be greatly appreciated. We have to stick to Larger State routes unless nothing else is available and one of the vehicles will have NAVI available in it. Do not worry if we burn an extra 10 miles on an Interstate vs. taking a subdivision and around a Wal-Mart as we cannot afford the time or to get lost but if you see a general mistake in the plan as we traverse your state, please help me straighten it out as this plan goes to people with the $’s as soon as its complete Also, please consider possible traffic and weather conditions including winds for that time we will be traveling through and an overview of what we can expect.

___An example might be if late evening travel time might help with regards to lower head winds? We want to get as much day time miles complete as possible given the higher FE available due to both lighting and temperature but if it makes sense to travel until Midnight to avoid a hellacious expected late afternoon headwind you may know about happening in Nov. in your area, please post your ideas and thoughts!

___Without further adieu, here is the preliminary route!

48-Contiguous State World Record

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Leave Gurnee, IL. on I-94 South to Chicago, IL. Continue on I-94 --> into and through IN. towards Benton, MI., --> Drop down on I-196 South to I-80 East in IN. Continue on I-80 East into OH. -->

I-80 East to Cleveland --> Take I-90 West up through PA. and into Albany, NY. --> Take State Route 2 (East) to I-91 North --> In VT, take State Highway 2 East and cross into NH. and into ME. for 15 miles.

Turn around and come back on State Route 2 through VT on I-93 South toward the I-95 Bypass around Boston, MA. From the Boston Bypass, take I-95 South to --> I-295 bypass around Providence, RI. to --> RI State Hwy 6 West into CT. Continue on State Hwy 6 West over I-395 South to CT State Route 6 West. Follow State Route 66 to --> I-691 West to --> I-84 West. Continue on I-84 West to I-87 South to I-95 South and follow into NJ.

Continue on I-95 South down through DE. --> Continue down I-95 toward Baltimore, MD. Take the I-695 bypass around Baltimore to --> I-70 West. Continue West on I-70 to Hagerstown, MD to --> I-81 South crossing WV. and into VA. Continue on I-81 South --> To I-77 South.

I-77 South into NC. and into Columbia, SC. --> Take I-20 West to Atlanta, GA. In Atlanta, take I-85 South to Montgomery, AL.

From Montgomery, take I-65 South to State Route 21 and travel 15 miles into FL. Turn around heading back to I-65 South to I-10 East across MS. and some of LA.

Head up I-55 North to Memphis, TN. Take State Route 51 North to State Road 78. It crosses into KY. and turns into State Road 94. Take that for 15 miles into KY and turn around taking State Road 94 back to TN where it turns into State Road 78. Take State Road 78 South to State Road 79 West to State Road 181 South to I-155.

Cross the Mississippi to I-55 South in MO. Continue on I-55 South into AR. Continue to I-40 West and take that through Little Rock, AR. --> Continue on I-40 crossing into OK. to the Muskogee Turnpike. Take the Muskogee Turnpike North West to Tulsa, OK. --> From Tulsa, take the State Route 64/412 Cimarron Turnpike to I-35 North --> I-35 North into KS. and continue to Wichita.

From Wichita, take State Route 54 West back across the OK border and into the TX. panhandle. At Dalhart, TX take State Route 87 North --> Follow into NM. continuing on to Raton, NM. From Raton, take State Route 64 West to --> State Routes 64/84 and Follow to --> State Route 64 into CO. Take State Route 160 South through UT. and down into AZ.

Continue on Highway 160 to Highway 89 South into Flagstaff, AZ. In Flagstaff, take I-40 West to Kingman, AZ. Take Hwy 93 North to Las Vegas, NV. From Las Vegas, NV, take I-15 into CA. to I-10 and I-10 into Los Angeles, CA.

4 + day stay for the LA Auto Show press event and Honda Bike review.

Leave LA on I-5 North to State Route 99 North to I-5. I-5 North to Sacramento, CA. In Sacramento, go back on State Route 99 to Red Bluff, CA and back on I-5 North. Continue on I-5 North through OR. and into WA. State.

Take I-5 North to Hwy 12 East. Hwy 12 East to Yakima, WA. In Yakima, take I-82 North to I-90 East. Once on I-90 East, cross the top of ID. and into MT. Continue on I-90 through Billings, MT and all the way into to Buffalo, WY.

Continue on I-90 East through Rapid, City, SD. Continue on I-90 East until Hwy 83 South. Take Hwy 83 South for 15 miles beyond the NE border, turn around and head back to I-90 East. Continue on I-90 East to to I-29 North.

I-29 North to Fargo, ND. From Fargo, take I-94 East to Minneapolis, MN. In Minneapolis, take I-35 South and continue to Clear Lake, IA.

From Clear Lake, IA, take Hwy 18 East through Mason City, IA to State Route 18/63 South. Back onto Hwy 18 East. Cross the Mississippi River into Prairie Du Chien, WI. Continue on Hwy 18 to Madison, WI. From Madison, WI, take I-94 West to Milwaukee, WI, the I-894 Bypass around Milwaukee, WI and South on I-94 to Gurnee, IL.

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___Thanks in advance

___Wayne

[froggman]

Wayne, sounds like a great plan to me. I know you and the other driver(s) will kick butt over anybody else out there in the mpg game.

[xcel]

Hi All:

___I did some calc's and it looks like our total miles driven will be around 8,600 miles. If I did not have to go all the way to LA, we could have saved ~ 500 miles but that is what the trip is for to begin with.

___With that, there will be three data points we need to achieve. Best FE, least amount of fuel consumed 9they go hadn in hand), and lowest total fuel cost. Because of the extra 600 miles into LA and out, that means we need to use ~ 7% less fuel or receive ~ 7% better fuel economy than what is expected to be consumed from the drivers in the current attempt. A little pressure up front never hurt anyone, did it

___Oh and we will be using all the hypermiling techniques in order to be the safest drivers on the road

___Good Luck

___Wayne

[lightfoot]

"CT State Route 6 West. Follow State Route 66 to --> I-691 West to --> I-84 West. Continue on I-84 West to I-87 South"

I think route 6 is fairly rural lower speeds and should be good FE territory. Maybe some congestion going through Middletown, CT.

The section on 66 to I-691 to I-84 I drive fairly often, and it is hilly, probably because it goes more or less E-W across a series of N-S ridges. In this area it would be helpful to have profiles like Jud made for Chicago-NYC because there are some long downhills that could be coasted. It might help to know exactly where they are and when to start the coast.

I can't think of a less hilly alternative. The MA Pike (I-90) has longer uphills rather than up-and-downs and stays further north than we should be.

EZ-Pass would be a big plus to avoid stopping. It works all over the NE anyway. May need plate numbers to get it. You aren't supposed to use it on vehicles with a different plate # but in a pinch I have two EZ passes. Or I could check with EZ Pass if you want.

[Steve]

Montana resident here




Gonna cut through ID and keep on through Billings on I-90?? Not only is it a good plan, but it's about your only choice haha. Only things I can think of are some pretty hilly sections here and there, but in the circled portion of this pic is a pretty nasty pass. (it's not as big as the circle, it's just somewhere in there) If you're gonna be passing through there in November, it MIGHT not be the best mileage you get.

I know the drive from Missoula to Bozeman pretty well, but that's about it. I've been beyond, but only a handful of times. After Bozeman, it's pretty easy, but does get windy. If I remember correctly, if it gets bad, it'll be side winds. The last hundred miles west of Billings is gravy though. New roads, flat, and great scenery.

[Right Lane Cruiser]

Wayne, the section of 94 West of the Twin Cities is marked at 70mph and the traffic often does 85+ during rush hour (as a pack) -- you'll probably want to avoid that time of day if possible.

[rweatherford]

The section of Missouri is about as flat as Kansas. The boot heel area interstate is flat and straight for miles. You will find some hills when you get down into AR.

[gershon]

Wayne,

It's almost certain you will run into snow through your route in Colorado at this time of year. At the very least there will be ice on the roads even if there isn't snow.

Even on warm days, ice tends to form on the south side of the roads the snow melts some during the day creating runoff which freezes and stays frozen during the day. The route you have chosen goes through an area of Colorado that has a lot of snow. You can also expect a lot of rocks on the road big enough to damage your car. The occur mostly when you are in right curves and next to a slope. They occur mostly when you are on the north side of a slope, and especially in a right curve.

Since you only need to go 15 miles into Colorado, I'd suggest taking 64 further west to Shiprock, NM and then heading north on 491 to 160. It might even cut your distance a little bit. This will keep you out of what might be bad weather in Colorado. It will also keep you out of the hillier parts of Colorado. Most likely, the temperatures will be higher along the southern route which is at lower altitude than the route you have chosen.

If you stop in Pagosa Springs, I'd recommend the Spa Motel. It has a swimming pool fed by hot springs and is much cheaper than the flashy, expensive resort motel across the street.

I find that I get better gas mileage when I buy at higher altitude. I'm told the gas is blended differently there. But even if that is not the case, I'd rather coast downhill with the gas than lug it uphill.

For weather planning, I'd suggest www.weatherbonk.com . If you put in the route, it gives nice pictures of the expected weather along the way.

It would be really helpful if you would add a google map showing the entire route. I've ridden a lot of the roads in New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and Idaho. You will have to be very careful to have enough gas all the time. It's not at all uncommon to have over 100 miles between stations.

[laurieaw]

Originally Posted by Right Lane Cruiser

Wayne, the section of 94 West of the Twin Cities is marked at 70mph and the traffic often does 85+ during rush hour (as a pack) -- you'll probably want to avoid that time of day if possible.

i'll second that. it's terrible, as is going through the metro area........might be better if you can drop straight down from st. cloud (central part of the state) and take hwy 15 which is pretty much rural all the way to I90 in southern minnesota and into iowa down there. avoid the metro area at all costs.

[Chuck]

I have driven US 64 in NM to Raton, then I25/US64 into Colorado maybe 20 times. I can only speak about I25 - Raton pass is 7834 feet and virtually impossible to do on an Insight without Assist - VERY STEEP.

I need to study the route more, but to avoid a big FE hit in the at Raton Pass, I'd look into taking US 385/287 north of Dalhart, TX into Colorado, then turn around past Campo but before Springfield...it's as flat as Kansas. Hwy 64 in NM is not bad until you get to Raton. I rank Raton Pass with I70 between Denver and the Eisenhower tunnel and parts of I5 in LA as a FE killer.