Subaru Crew - Meet The Members II

31412 messages, Last post on Dec 04, 2009 at 6:02 PM

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#31283 of 31412 Re: I made it back! [steve_] by xwesx Sep 28, 2009 (2:20 pm)
Replying to: steve_ (Sep 28, 2009 2:02 pm) Haha; that's for sure! Although, to be honest, I have only incurred six chips in thirteen trips, so that's not too bad. I started driving the highway in August of 1995, and there was a LOT more gravel back then. I was being extra careful this time as well, going so far as to slow down or speed up to cross gravel patches when opposing traffic was not. This time of year, the traffic was fairly light and many hours were spent during the late evening and early morning, when little traffic was on the road. Essentially what I am saying is that I got lucky. Replies to this message: steve_ (Sep 28, 2009 3:03 pm) xwesx (Sep 28, 2009 3:34 pm) steve_ (Sep 28, 2009 3:50 pm)
#31284 of 31412 Re: I made it back! [xwesx] by steve_ HOST Sep 28, 2009 (3:03 pm)
Replying to: xwesx (Sep 28, 2009 2:20 pm) I got 4 cracks on the Bug the first trip up and perhaps 12 chips in all. Remember how flat those windshields were back in the early 70's? - good targets. I got one chip bringing the Outback down 6 years ago, but that was my fault for getting too close to a gravel truck trying to pass it. The glue stuff has held up well. Hmmm, you drive them up and I drive them down. We have something backwards going on here. I'm a bit jealous of your recent road trips. I did 1500 miles in my sister's Forester a couple of weeks ago, and while VA and east TN are beautiful, Interstate cruising is not quite the same. Not enough time for blue highways. Replies to this message: xwesx (Sep 28, 2009 3:34 pm) steve_ (Sep 28, 2009 3:50 pm)
#31285 of 31412 Re: I made it back! [steve_] by xwesx Sep 28, 2009 (3:34 pm)
Replying to: steve_ (Sep 28, 2009 3:03 pm) I know how you feel, but road trips are always more enjoyable when you have time to actually see the places you are passing. Other than the sleep stops, I probably was on the road the entire time aside from, perhaps, a combined two hours over that 49 hours in order to fill up, stretch, and eat an occasional sandwich (I ate three... but not in the car!). I was very ready to be done with the trip by the time I finally arrived home. I saw less wildlife than usual, but two lynx! I can count the number of lynx I have seen in my life on one hand; they are pretty reclusive, so I was surprised to see them at all. Replies to this message: steve_ (Sep 28, 2009 3:50 pm)
#31286 of 31412 Re: I made it back! [xwesx] by steve_ HOST Sep 28, 2009 (3:50 pm)
Replying to: xwesx (Sep 28, 2009 3:34 pm) Darn it, I never saw even one. Missed seeing one by a minute one time.
#31287 of 31412 Re: I made it back! [xwesx] by ateixeira Sep 29, 2009 (7:38 am)
Replying to: xwesx (Sep 28, 2009 10:39 am) Sounds like quite the trip, wes. Breaking 30mpg is hard but not impossible, you really have to keep speeds down, though. Remind me - do you have a manual or automatic? Replies to this message: xwesx (Sep 29, 2009 8:40 am) ateixeira (Sep 29, 2009 8:54 am) xwesx (Sep 29, 2009 9:01 am) xwesx (Sep 29, 2009 10:08 pm) grahampeters (Sep 30, 2009 5:16 am) and 9 more...
#31288 of 31412 Re: I made it back! [ateixeira] by xwesx Sep 29, 2009 (8:40 am)
Replying to: ateixeira (Sep 29, 2009 7:38 am) Manual. I was running 65-69 most of the time. It actually fared very well in that range. Long stretches without stops tended to net me at or over 30, but I still have not run the tank-by-tank calculations. Unfortunately, head winds were pretty regular this trip, which is actually the first time I have encountered strong (and widespread!) winds when driving between Alaska and the lower 48... and this was my thirteenth trip! So, it was inevitable, I suppose. Up-shifting near 2,000 rpm kept efficiency losses in cities to a minimum. It was not quite as quick to get up to speed, but would use nearly half the fuel doing it! I noticed something intriguing, though. When going through Whitehorse, I ran about 20 miles at 45-50 mph due to lower limits while passing through the populated area. There were a few lights, but I timed them to pass through without having to stop. I had just filled up at the start of this stretch, and at the end of the 20 miles, my average was 40 mpg on the computer. It is tough to say how it would have varied over a longer span, but that was shockingly high. It illustrated to me how, if built to maximize efficiency (both in terms of time and fuel consumption), a suburban commuting system could be devised to provide much better economy than either highways or cities. Alas, however, the traffic planner's love affair with light-controlled intersections is too great. Another thing; the hilly terrain over which I was driving was far more conducive to better fuel economy in my manual than an automatic. The reason is, of course, that when running on cruise control, the manual cannot shift gears! As a result, steeper hills will result in a loss of speed on the manual whereas Subaru's automatic will aggressively shift to maintain speed. If the driver is not using cruise control, then it not necessarily a factor depending on the driver's preference to down-shift or allow loss of speed. I tended not to shift whether using cruise or not, unless the hill was steep enough that I dropped below 45 mph. At that point, the car will start to bog down in 5th. Replies to this message: ateixeira (Sep 29, 2009 8:54 am) xwesx (Sep 29, 2009 9:01 am) xwesx (Sep 29, 2009 10:08 pm) grahampeters (Sep 30, 2009 5:16 am) xwesx (Sep 30, 2009 8:17 am) and 6 more... ateixeira (Sep 30, 2009 9:37 am) and 1 more...
#31289 of 31412 Re: I made it back! [xwesx] by ateixeira Sep 29, 2009 (8:54 am)
Replying to: xwesx (Sep 29, 2009 8:40 am) I've noticed I get far better mileage on my way back from the beach in Deleware (50mph limits most of the way) than Maryland (55-65 mph limits). Even with a few lights and turns, I do better than higher speeds without stops. Replies to this message: xwesx (Sep 29, 2009 9:01 am)
#31290 of 31412 Re: I made it back! [ateixeira] by xwesx Sep 29, 2009 (9:01 am)
Replying to: ateixeira (Sep 29, 2009 8:54 am) Good; that means there really is something to it versus simply being a one-time fluke. I had already driven for about 16 hours that day at that point, so I thought maybe I was dreaming.
#31291 of 31412 Re: I made it back! [xwesx] by xwesx Sep 29, 2009 (10:08 pm)
Replying to: xwesx (Sep 29, 2009 8:40 am) Okay, I ran the numbers. Total miles on the car upon arrival in Fairbanks was 2162.1 (remember, the car had 6.9 when I picked it up from Carter Subaru in Seattle). I used 75.32 gallons at an average cost of $3.86 per gallon. My average fuel economy over the distance was 28.7 mpg, which, oddly enough, is a half mile per gallon better than the trip computer! The trip computer listed the total average at that point as 28.2. My best tank was (twice) 30.66, with the worst being 26.42. As I suspected, this tank came the morning after my stop in Haines Junction. Given that the tank from Tok to Fairbanks, immediately after the recording I listed above, was 26.74, I still suspect that the fuel went from a non-winter to winter blend. Nothing else would explain the difference, I think. In fact, I was not bucking any wind on Sunday, which is in contrast to Saturday's 1000 miles, and I still lost at least 1.5 mpg. In fact, on Saturday with the head winds, I was posting tanks of between 28.5 and 30.5. I was really hoping for a tank that broke 31, but no such luck this time. Oh well; there are sure to be more trips to come. Hopefully, when I change out my stock oils to synthetic at winter weights, I will get a little improvement in economy. Mornings here are around 20F and afternoons aren't much better at 40F. Right now, since filling up Sunday when I arrived home, my computer is showing 25 mpg (and I have really been nursing it to get that!). "Mixed" driving + cool temperatures = Replies to this message: grahampeters (Sep 30, 2009 5:16 am) xwesx (Sep 30, 2009 8:17 am) volkov (Sep 30, 2009 8:45 am) and 5 more... ateixeira (Sep 30, 2009 9:37 am) xwesx (Sep 30, 2009 11:20 am)
#31292 of 31412 Re: I made it back! [xwesx] by grahampeters Sep 30, 2009 (5:16 am)
Replying to: xwesx (Sep 29, 2009 10:08 pm) G'day I'll be interested to see how the fuel economy shifts over time. Over the years I have had two cars, a Golf GTi and Subaru Outback, where fuel economy suddenly improved after about 10,000 miles. Service guys for VW and Subaru both commented that this was normal. The benefit of driving a little more economically is interesting. I drive my Kluger with an eye to fuel economy, aiming to sit just below speed limit through multiple light groups as light phasing on major through routes usually ensures that you get long runs of green by adopting this strategy. I am fascinated by how often I am overtaken by an aggressively driven vehicle which then end the trip only a car length in front of me. I am sure there is a technical reason for it in traffic flow theory, but when I try driving to similar aggression levels, fuel economy drops 25%. The added benefit is that I am getting massive increases in brake and tyre life, seeing these run about twice normal expected life. I'd stress that I am not travelling slowly and cover a lot of ground rapidly. However, against government standard of 12.3 l/100km for the Kluger (which is pretty accurate), I am regularly getting 10-11 l/100km with some trips well below 10 l/100km. When I experimented with the Outback, I was seeing similar savings. Cheers Graham Replies to this message: xwesx (Sep 30, 2009 8:17 am) volkov (Sep 30, 2009 8:45 am) xwesx (Sep 30, 2009 8:54 am) and 4 more... ateixeira (Sep 30, 2009 9:37 am) xwesx (Sep 30, 2009 11:20 am)