Billy’s cross country trek to Hybridfest has begun.

[ericbecky]

It's stock. No MIMA.
Some weight-lightening adjustments, though.

[xcel]

Hi ATL:

___Stock other then the weight loss, internal vid to the rear and no mirrors. The Insight is certainly capable of that number and I suspected he would give it a shot. Do some searches on the Insight here and you will see some pretty amazing things

___Hobbit, I can start another for you if you can keep me updated.

___Good Luck

___Wayne

[Fenrir]

I wonder what his average speed is.

[xcel]

Hi Fenrir:

___Without including stops for food and other, probably around 45 mph possibly?

___Good Luck

___Wayne

[ATL]

Originally Posted by ericbecky

It's stock. No MIMA.

didn't see that coming, however makes it even more impressive

Originally Posted by xcel

Hi Fenrir:

___Without including stops for food and other, probably around 45 mph possibly?

___Good Luck

___Wayne

that explains a lot, He's hardcore!

[xcel]

Hi ATL:

___With the mirror mods (removed) and as lightweight as his vehicle and luggage are, he might be nearing 50?

___Good Luck

___Wayne

[xcel]

Hi All:

___Billy arrived at my home a little before 01:00 PM and is probably cleaning the little beauty as we speak. I had to work this afternoon but am look forward to getting home tonight to talk about Insight’s and “Stuff like that”

___Wait until you hear what his FE was after 2,000 miles

___Good Luck

___Wayne

[billy]

Hi everyone; I am here at Wayne's house! Quite a drive it was...... After a trek of 2021 miles, I ended up at 107.8 mpg. (i was at 108 for awhile, but lost it) The Insight is simply a fantastic cross-country car. I did NOT really push it for maximum mpg. What I mean is, no Pulse & glide, no drafting (don't want paint chips on front end) no excessively slow driving, and no help from tailwinds.

I just kept the car in lean burn mode as much as possible. I used DWL and DWB and FAS when I could. I did have warm ambient temps, which was nice for mpg, but I was a little hot in the car with no a/c,

Along the way I passed towns such as Walla Walla, WA, Pendleton, OR, Boise, ID, Pocatello ID, Kemmerer WY, Laramie WY, Cheyenne WY, Sidney NE, Lincoln NE, Davenpoirt IA, and into downtown Chicago.

Average speed was around 52 mph; sometimes downhill out of the Rockies I was doing 72 mph, and ascending steep hills I was only at 42 in 3rd gear, staying out of assist mode. In fact, here's a tip for you Insight drivers. What is the best speed climbing hills & mountains? Answer: as fast as you can go while NOT using battery assist. On the flatlands I cruised at about 52-55 mph, whatever speed I could maintain 125 mph or higher on the graph. Generally the winds were calm nearly all the way. Yesterday I had some slight headwinds and crosswinds in Iowa.

Occasionally I used my new Rostra cruise control, to give my right foot some needed rest. It works great, if used carefully on flat terrain. But it's not a tool for increasing mpg, as it tends to wander and "grab" the throttle harshly while it's trying to maintain speed.

Had lots of fun with my license frame display. Many people honked and waived, as I displayed "MPG research vehicle, speeds may vary...." I also put in plugs for Cleanmpg and hybridfest. At gas stations, motels, and restaurants, many people were talking and asking me questions.

Certainly the Insight 5-speed, with it's lean-burn capabilities, is a tremendous technology. I really didn't do any fantastic driving, but the car was set-up properly. Mobil 1 oil, 55 lbs of air in tires, relatively light weight, and a driver patient enough to NOT need to drive 70 mph, in a big hurry to get somewhere...........

[ATL]

congrats on only using 18.75 gallons of gas!

your one way trip cost you 56.25 if gas averaged $3/gal

the truck that got gas before me today at the gas station took more than that... I'm pretty sure that they didn't travel 1/2 way across the country

[Right Lane Cruiser]

Wow. That's seriously impressive, Billy!

Dang. Wish they hadn't quit production before I could afford one.