Hi All:

___A bit OT but along similar lines.

___My 12 year old said something very profound tonight and something I have been thinking about for ~ 3 months now. He said. “If everyone got small cars, we wouldn’t need a drop of Middle East oil and we wouldn’t have our soldiers die over there.”

___I was thinking that if everyone actually did drive the limits and pressed up there tires to max sidewall (at a minimum), and learned the drive with load technique, our fuel consumption would fall by 30 or more % overnight. This includes the millions of 18-wheelers we share the road with as well. Sure the Hybrid’s can receive tremendous mileage when driven properly but so can the std. ICE equipped automobiles we drive. I keep thinking about our MDX. I can get almost 25 mpg while driving the darn thing around town and > 30 on the highway in temps as low as 53 degrees and even driving above the speed limits yet the average MDX’er can’t seem to squeeze even 15 in the city and 21 - 22 out on the highway in one. The Corolla w/ Auto is the same given I am able to squeeze well above EPA estimates in mine out on the highway (when I drive it) while still following the speed limits yet the average Corolla owner can’t seem to get 36 - 37 mpg out of one because they have to get to their destination a few seconds to minutes earlier and they haven’t checked there tire pressures ever. The same can be said of the Prius, HCH, or the Insight. Sure there are many that can and do regularly beat EPA estimates but we are usually traveling the limits or just a few over and using techniques and setups the average driver is unable to understand due to a lack of a game gauge or understanding as to how important all of our little tricks and tips are to making EPA estimates something we see in the rear view mirror instead of what we are just hoping to achieve.

___Traffic congestion might go up and traffic deaths would definitely go down. There is after all at least one negative to all the positives of the above unfortunately

___In other words, my 12 year old truly has it figured out with smaller cars receiving better fuel economy and my thoughts are along the lines of teaching everyone to drive to beat EPA estimates instead of talking about not meeting them. It really is too bad for all of us that the 10’s of millions of other commuters we drive with on a daily basis don’t get it yet

___Let me know what you all think?

___Good Luck

___Wayne R. Gerdes
___Hunt Club Farms Landscaping Ltd.
___Waynegerdes@earthlink.net

 

And your 12 year old knows what the Middle East is? Better yet, he understands it?? Does he go to public school??? Smart kid

 

Wayne,
That is precisely the reason I made this article about getting great gas mileage.
Tips from you, other Insighters all over the web and my own experience are there.
These tips are even out of date, as we hear of & try new techniques.

I remember when 55MPH was made the national limit and it seemed the whole Nation groaned in terrible agony, even though gas was more expensive than it is now, given inflation.
I used to think that I'm not burning that much more fuel going 80-85 because I get there faster. I used to think cruise control is used for best fuel economy.
I just didn't know any better.
How many times NOW have we found ourselves in our hybrids beginning to tackle a BIG hill stuck behind someone going slow with their Cruise Control on?

This is a great idea to educate the public but not sure how to make it both interesting and presentable. Especially with media sometimes trashing Hybrids.

You must be very proud of your 12 year old, he sounds really aware.
Thanks.

 

i guess that makes me not the average corolla driver B)
ne way...wayne, have you written up a how to for city driving? i really struggle in some little questions, and with no game gauge, i really have no way to answer them ( i really need to jery rig one up)

 

I have no problem equaling or exceeding the EPA mileage figure for any car or truck I've driven, at least during the summer. My 1992 Honda Civic CX (Keeps on Rollin') has a EPA mileage of 42 city, 48 highway and in my mix of rural/city driving I get mid 50's in summer and mid 40's in winter. I also have a manual V6 Ford F-150 long bed (EPA 16 city, 20 highway) that gives me 26 MPH in the summer and 18 in the winter. My wife's has a 2002 Honda Odyssey (EPA 18 city, 25 highway) that has given me 25 MPG during the few times I have driven it despite of its disadvantage of having an automatic transmission.

 

It isn't just the midde east. In reality the "drug war" in Colombia stinks of oil. Colombia is rich in Oil. We are spending billions to protect the Aruca pipeline which is partly owned by Oxydental Petrolium. I won't go into the US political figures who are large stock holders.

FYI: CITGO is owned by Venezuelans and, so I hear, doesn't buy middle east oil. I am sure it is only a matter of time before the Washington Post puts out a story anout US military involvement there.....

Hybrids are a step in the march to shrink our dependence on oil. More subsidized public transportation would't hurt either.

 

You know, reading this thread has made me think about how I drive and why I don't try to get better mpg's out of my current Saturn.

To me, it seems that in my ICE car with no way to measure MPG, the only reward or result I see is the speedometer. My mind has come to equate going fast with accomplishing something. I really think I have trained myself to believe this. I have a difficult time trying to drive the speed limit, I get impatient, I feel like I am wasting time, etc.

In my Prius (when I get it) I will be able to measure MPG instantly and easily. Maybe I will be able to retrain myself to feel a sense of achievement from achieving fuel economy.

 

AndyT,
The car my HCH replaced was a '94Dodge Spirit that on average achieved 18-19MPG.
Typical speeds were 80 to 85.
Back then I tried to maximize MPG by setting the cruise control at the speed limits.
I did not know how to drive for Max MPG.
Like you, after a couple of weeks of extreme boredom I gave it up.
My hybrid MPG gauge has changed all that.
Steve

 

like i said...anyone have any electrical expertice, i'd be willing for my car to be the guinea pig for a universal game guage, i just dont have the know-how electrically to do such a project.

cheers, steven

 

Hi Stevo12886:

___Rick Reese had a non-OEM game gauge installed on one of his former vehicles. It was a J.C.Whitney affair (I don’t know if you are familiar with them or not?) but it had a sensor attached to a driveshaft and a flow meter to the fuel line. It wasn’t the most accurate thing but maybe you want to PM Rick as he visits the forum every few days to catch up. I am sure he would be glad to assist.

___Secondly, you really don’t need a game gauge to receive great fuel economy. You remember our discussion about driving with load, right? High pressure in your tires, Mobil1 Synthetic, Drive w/ load, and don’t exceed the limits. That will get you to 30% beyond EPA estimates almost guaranteed. It isn’t nearly as much fun to drive the Corolla w/out a game gauge but that doesn’t mean she can’t receive some great mileage when using the same techniques

___Good Luck

___Wayne R. Gerdes
___Hunt Club Farms Landscaping Ltd.
___Waynegerdes@earthlink.net