Anybody up for an "Economy Run"?

[Loren]

Okay, so my racing budget is pretty much gone for the year and I'm dreaming up things to do for cheap entertainment in my "off season".

What I'm thinking is a "one-tank trip". I've already plotted a trip that gives a lot of route options in the 400 mile range and good places to stop for lunch and dinner "checkpoints" along the way. The "fast route" is 414 miles, the "short route" is 390 miles. (I'd take the short route, it's mostly non-highway, lower speed, better MPG) I'll probably set a time limit to keep people from going too slow... something that will keep folks within 5 mph of the speed limit.

It'll be an all-day trip. Co-driver recommended so that you can take a break for a couple hours if you want to. No need to kill yourself, right? Schedule will probably be first leg 9:00am-11:30am, lunch, second leg 1-5pm, dinner, final leg 6-9pm, then hang out at the bar until it closes.

Basically, it's just an excuse to take a back-roads road trip and see if you can set a personal MPG record... but if enough people are interested, I might collect an entry fee and do prizes or something. Maybe even some "classing" if enough people want to compete in "not-quite-economy" cars.

Anybody? :stickpke:

PS: If you think this is easy... you obviously haven't tried it yet! Driving for peak economy for 9 hours straight take a great deal of skill and patience. And it won't be quite as easy as just "driving slow", because I'm going to set the time limit short enough to keep you moving.

[jlude90]

i'm down, but isn't this a little anti-green :haha:

400 definately isn't in a tank for me, i've only got a 10 gallon tank, so a bit over 300 is all i really have in me, with the new exhaust, an oil change and a re-tune i'm sure i can get up to 35, but i still doubt i'll put 400 on a tank, but it'll be good to see

just please, no MRD

[Loren]

No MRD's :) , this won't be a true "rally". I'm not even going to bother with route instructions. That's part of the game. Y'all find your own "best route".

Yeah... 400 miles may be a little optimistic. I may look at shortening the route to about 350. Just about any car should have a 350 mile range.

Anti-green? Well, the fact that we're burning a tank of gas for no good reason may be. But, having just burned 3 tanks in my Yaris in the name of motorsports 2 weeks ago... and been part of a team that burned about 6 tanks in 24 hours racing last weekend... as far as an all-day motoring activity goes, it's about as green as you can get!

Besides, this kind of an "event" is about raising awareness and proving that "yes, you really can travel without driving 80 mph and settling for 25 mpg". I guess the real "green" part is that scoring will be based on how much fuel is used. Even if you opt to take a longer route... if you meet the time limit and use less fuel than anybody else, you win!

Oh, and it's about proving that I can still get better mileage than you can, even with the AC on. :lol: Maybe I'll bring my wife's car and give you a fighting chance, I've never really pressed for max economy in the Cooper. I wonder if I could top 40 mpg with it?

[jlude90]

haha, i was just messin about the MRDs and the anti-green deal :p

and yeah, i forgot to mention my 30.x was highway windows up no AC mostly, and a little AC, i'm going to have to pull some hypermiler stuff

[treekiller]

Do I get to divide my mileage by .85 if I run E85.. I can only get 324 miles out of a tank of that stuff. :-) it would have to be a miles per dollar calculation, I can't compete with you with super but I can on E85

If you want to bring attention, I highly reccomend talking to the big ALT FUEL community there is tons of support for these events amongst that group..

I'd invite some of the TDICLUB guys to humiliate you. some of them get 800miles on a tank.. but since their fuel is more expensive it might be closer then you think mi/$

and sprinkle in a priui or 3 and it can be quite fun.. I'll donate the new shop as a starting point Ironically enough it's currently a Biodiesel factory. and I intend to have CNG/Ethanol conversions become a major part of my business, since both energy plans have HUGE pushes for alternative fuels.

this could be fun..

[Loren]

I don't want to complicate things too much, Jeff. This is just a simple diversion. Something to kill some time.

Give everyone a gas station to fill at, and have a driver's meeting somewhere within a couple miles of there. Seal their gas caps and launch them rally-style at a 1-2 minute interval.

Have some checkpoints more as places to gather and eat and BS than anything else.

Then end at a gas station to fill up each car and determine the results.

I don't particularly want to play the E85 game, or really even diesel unless I have to. It would add hassle to my logistics. But, if I did go there... I'd still only be looking at gallons consumed. This isn't about the politics of what the fuel is or where it's from, just a simple competition for some local guys to entertain themselves.

[treekiller]

Alt Fuel: It's not a game, it's a way of life :-)

Good luck. my 27MPG (31 if I REALLY try) won't impress anyone.. and I actually enjoy giving every Prius driver a nice 6th to 4th downshift so they can get a good whiff and actually see my carbon footprint, as I rocket past them, I'm feeling this event isn't for "ME"

I know, I know. I'm the guy that drives an electric scooter 4 days a week, knows all the bus schedules in tampa, and has CFLs in every socket. Yet thinks Prius drivers are misguided lemmings... Either I have a high level understanding of real vs. false economies, or I need a shrink.

PS> in almost every economy model the Yaris hands the Prius it's arse, unless of course you use the "chicken little" $8 a gallon model.

[jlude90]

i'm in the same boat, but the way i figure it Loren will give us a nice route, i can go for an easy "sunday drive" with a friend and have lunch and dinner with some new people

[Loren]

Well, you could actually do okay, Jeff. IF enough people are interested, the first method I'd use for classing would be simply displacement.

Probably under 1.6 liter, then 1.61-2.2, 2.21-2.8, and 2.81 and up. Something like that for starters. So, your 30 mpg would be up against cars with 2.2-2.8 liters.

(of course, the truly "green" way to class would be on the carrying capacity of the vehicle)

[Loren]

Three cars does not an economy run make. I guess this idea is dead.

[got_bst?]

i'm in lol sounds like fun

[redinjuns]

How bout up here to down there in 2 tanks

[Garage Battle]

could we maybe have everyone meet at a gas station with empty tanks and do a 6 gallon fillup or something? im down but i dunno about an all day thing. just a thought.

[Loren]

Could definitely do a shorter gig, but I don't know what you think we'll accomplish by having folks show up with an empty tank and then add 6 gallons. Do we then run until we each run out of gas just to see how far we get? Perhaps a little more exciting... but... no. The only way to determine the amount of fuel used is to start with a FULL tank, and then fill up again at the end.

[BOB]

Whoohoo a rally my car could compete in. (Civic Hybrid)

[Loren]

Okay, looks like there might be almost enough people to bother doing something. Next question: When? Wanna wait until November/December when it's cooler so you can get away with not running the A/C for better economy?

Aside from trying to stay off of local autox dates, any weekends to avoid? (I'm not a f'ball fan, so you'll have to tell me when the big games are)

[jlude90]

i'm pretty lame, so anything but the second week in oct would be good for me

football...:haha:

and yeah, later in the year i can get away with windows up no AC

[treekiller]

I'm with Jlude... later=better, and you can count on me for the post event wrap up. I'm willing to sponsor post event scoring awards, and some food/beer... Tampa should be a central location to end at, and It's a good plug for my companay.

just look out for January since Tampa has the superbowl and gasparilla back to back weeks. the whole month is going to be nuts.

JL

i'm pretty lame, so anything but the second week in oct would be good for me
football...:haha:
and yeah, later in the year i can get away with windows up no AC

[Loren]

I was thinking Nov/Dec.

[Humpdatbooty]

This seems like a fun idea. I compete with my friends and family to see who can improve their MPG the most. Im usually consistant @ 37-38.5 MPG but im trying different techniques (different octane, different oil weights, what time of day I drive, etc.) to hopefully reach the glorious 40MPG status! Would the route be scenic? Im all for some November/December driving. :)

[Loren]

Loose route plan is to start in the city (gotta have that challenging aspect in there!), but it will be a weekend morning, so shouldn't be too bad. Otherwise, I'm going to try to have us travel to distant points with no specific route defined... so you "could" take an interstate route if that's your thing. Personally, I'll be taking the scenic back roads!

Part of getting from point A to point B with maximum economy is choosing the best route, so I intend to make that part of the game. :)

I'll pick a date soon so folks can start marking their calendars.

[Loren]

Okay, folks... who's willing to commit to a run on Sunday, November 16th?

I've got a good 400-mile route that will take all day to run if people are up for that. 8am-8pm running all the way to the Atlantic for lunch and back to the Gulf for the sunset. But, if y'all want something shorter, give me an idea of what kind of start/end time you'd like. I'm easy.

Scoring will be based on the "official mileage", which is Google's recommended "quickest route", which is not always the "shortest" route. If you're crafty, you can find a shorter route, which will improve your "relative fuel economy" by reducing the miles traveled. You can also find roads that are not only more interesting to travel, but have lower speeds which will also improve your economy. The time allowed to finish each leg will allow for an average speed of 45-50 mph. The goal is to complete the route using as little fuel as possible, how you do that is up to you!

The best overall MPG will get a crown, of course, but I'm thinking a more "driver-oriented" way to give awards would be to base it on improvement over the EPA highway average. Using this method, theoretically, someone with a gas-guzzling SUV with an EPA rating of 18 mpg could deliver 22.5 mpg showing an improvement of 25%. This would indicate a more conservative DRIVER than the schmuck who shows up in a Yaris rated at 36 mpg who returns anything less than 45 mpg.

I'm all for basing results on driver performance rather than the car, and as a bonus, it eliminates the need to do any classing. Cool, eh?

Of course, none of this will happen without at least a few people committing to do it! What say you?

If you're "in", give me a name and what car you'll be driving. (and I don't care if it's stock or not... we're using the "new" EPA figures of the car as-manufactured)

If you think that "all day" is too much, give me your preference on what time to start and end it. If enough people feel that way, I'll rearrange it.

[jlude90]

i'm down for all day, but the day before that there is a meet i'll be attending in Kissimmee, but it wouldn't be the first time i've had back to back days of stuff planned, maybe i can get the MPG meter up and running, and get a 1/2 way decent tune by then

Justin McBurney
1990 Honda Prelude 2.0S
20 city
25 highway

i picked the one with the highest fuel economy to make it harder :)Gas Mileage of 1990 Honda Prelude (http://www.fueleconomy.gov/Feg/noframes/6533.shtml)

but i've gotten 30, so with 20 city and 25 highway, thats not too bad of a percentage

[Loren]

Okay, I've got an alternate route. We now have a choice to make. The longer and more challenging 400-mile route that will take 12 hours to run, or a shorter, simpler (but more rural) 245-mile route that will take about 7 hours to run.

[Jordan Y.]

I'm interested in this event. It sounds like a nice road trip with the added fun of challenging a new aspect of driver skill through competition. Although I can't commit just yet. Not until I can lock down a co-driver. I'm also planning on challenging myself to commit to a full tank of full economy driving to see if I can get my mileage up where it's supposed to be before I embarrass myself in an eco-rally. The car's rated at 27mpg hwy and my best tank ever was only 20.5- and that may have been a measuring error or a fluke! :( Maybe I should find a co-driver with a newer, less disastrously-fuel-inefficient vehicle.

[jlude90]

damn, longer or more rural...thats a tough call, i'll have to let more people chime in

[biggoofy]

man i wish i could do this seems like fun

[Loren]

man i wish i could do this seems like fun

"Fun" in a sadistic kind of way. :) Getting out of town is always fun, adding a challenge to it makes it more fun.

I'm still not sure this is going to happen, though. The interest level has been very low.

[treekiller]

Green motoring info itself really dropped with the fuel prices. it's a shame, but we are reactionary animals.

[Loren]

Less talk, more action!
http://www.tamparacing.com/forums/green-motoring/524192-economy-run-sunday-november-16-sign-up.html

Let's do it.