Month of December 2020 (Nat’l Avg $2.140)

Thanks for starting our thread, Gord.
Today I'm in the Honda. 25 deg F in Naperville and Elk Grove.
35.1 miles , fcd = 45.5 MPG. Not so bad.
Fcd read about 42 when I got on the highway and about 44 when I got off.

 

Thanks for getting December rolling, Gord. I'm fortunate to wake to temperatures in the 50s deg F before things return to more typical December first temps here in New England. My winter tires are on the Crosstrek but I'm leaving the new all seasons on the Prius for the time being. I've plugged a nail puncture on one new Prius tire already.

 

I still have my all-season tires on both cars. The Prius' Hankooks have 36K , so they
are good still. Note to self : adjust pressure DOWN before first real snow , which
might be later today. The Honda tires ? They "looked" okay when I bought the car,
but Discount Tire said they should be replaced soon. That was in June 2020.

I'm a fan of winter tires , and have bought them in the past , but never for one of my
own cars. The Honda would really benefit from them.

 

Glad to hear your Hankooks are still good to go. With winter coming, I assume your tread is still pretty deep. My two sets of cheaper OE Hankook 426’s weren’t good to go at 33,000 & 36,000 miles, showing accelerated wear after 20,000 miles.
As for winter tires, I got two free used 195x75x14 inch studded Cooper Weather Master ST2 tires for the Hyundai Accent. Just put them on for their second winter for me. Depending how many miles I run them this winter, I think they should give a third winter season. So far the studded tires are only objectionably noisy in the 45 to 50mph range. At 55 to 65 MPH speeds they are louder than normal tires, but don’t irritate. The snows are fairly smooth, too. Yesterday, I went for a 150 mile drive & the snow tires were acceptable. If I had been in the 45 to 50MPG range for hours, I wouldn’t have liked that. Normally I almost always save the Accent for backroad driving below 45MPG. The snows are very good at those speeds. The snows are extending the life of my Accent Cooper MasterCraft All-Season tires. Yeah, I got away with free snow tires like a bandit.

 

I rarely have to adjust down. I was surprised to find the winter tires had dropped almost 10 PSI since I bought them late August. I cheaped out and didn't have the official TPMS installed. I picked up an aftermarket valve-cap type TPMS system a year or so ago and it works very well. The individual tire pressure and temperature display sits on the dash and is solar recharged. Email me if anyone's interested in more details.

What sold me on the winter tires was that the tire compound remains more compliant as the temperatures fall, so even without snow, dry and wet pavement traction is improved over all-season tires.

 

Two to three years ago, I went through 3 fairly quick nail & screw punctures. Pretty sure it had something to do with the 2 new major house building projects directly connected to our 25 year old housing development.

 

Today in the Prius. 20 deg F in Naperville , 25 in Elk Grove.
35.1 miles , fcd = 59.1 x .943 = 55.7 MPG. Could be worse.
I could be driving that fuel-sucking Civic.

 

Today in the Honda. a little wind from the southwest
helped. 35.1 miles , 46.4 MPG. Used heat on the highway.
It was 27 deg F in Naperville and 28 in Elk Grove when I got to work
a few minutes ago.

 

Good job, Edwin. I once got a battery operated heated seat back and lower pad. It only used about 1 Amp at 12 Volts. Didn't need cabin heat as much. I need to look at grille blocks again...

 

Grille blocks for me too. I need to buy more pipe insulation.
What I had last winter wasn't really enough AND I have no clue
where it is.

 

I like the pipe insulation approach as well. I'm thinking of seeing if coroplast can help. I have a bunch of old real estate signs made from that stuff.

 

coroplast : the ecomodder's friend

 

Very easy to place in lower grill of my 2011 Prius, and to adjust. A little more awkward in the tapered slots on top.

 

Today in the Prius. 33 deg F in Naperville , some tailwind (SW).
35.1 miles , fcd = 61.1 x .943 = 57.6 MPG.
Distance remaining = 124 miles. Enough to get home today ,
then to work and back Monday.

 

Today in the Prius. 33 deg F in Naperville.
35.1 miles , fcd = 60.2 x .943 = 56.8 MPG.
I will fill up tonight at the same place where I
am picking up my amazon order , Amoco in Naperville.
By writing that down , I won't forget to go inside and
get my package from the amazon locker.

 

Today , still in the Prius( I didn't go home yesterday ).
33 deg F in Naperville and Elk Grove.
16.3 miles , fcd = 65.4 x .943 = 61.7 MPG.
I will drive the Civic Wednesday and Thursday to balance out
the miles. I hate to insure two cars , but I like keeping the miles
down on each odometer.

 

Wow! Fantastic!