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Messages Page 2516 of 3245

#25151 of 32443 Re: Prius [lemmer] by michaell

May 08, 2012 (2:45 pm)

Replying to: lemmer (May 08, 2012 1:02 pm)
It always irks me that I can't exceed EPA estimates in my Honda Pilot when we take trips. But we have four people a dog and all our junk with us. Considering that, maybe reaching the EPA number is not so bad.
 
Our CX-7 is rated for 17/23 .. on the one road trip we took, we saw 25 on the highway, but it was just the two of us .. and our luggage .. and my golf clubs.
 
Got a mini-roadtrip set for this weekend ... couple hundred miles to south central Colorado on Friday, return to Pueblo on Saturday, then home on Sunday. We'll see what kind of mileage we get. About 70% interstate, 30% 2 lane highway over a significant pass.

#25152 of 32443 Re: Prius [ateixeira] by roadburner

May 08, 2012 (3:50 pm)

Replying to: ateixeira (May 08, 2012 8:22 am)
BMW(E34 M5) and Pontiac(3rd Gen. Firebird) both flirted with aerodynamic wheel designs in the early '80s. Both attempts were pretty homely. BMW realized its error and revised the wheel design while Pontiac dumped the altogether.

#25153 of 32443 Re: Prius [michaell] by steve_ HOST

May 08, 2012 (4:18 pm)

Replying to: michaell (May 08, 2012 2:45 pm)
Didn't you do this trip last year, but a bit farther down to Santa Fe?
 
Find those backroads, really zap your mpg and be late for work come Monday morning.
 
I'm jealous - love the country down there. Haven't seen any real mountains for a couple of years now.

#25154 of 32443 Re: Prius [steve_] by andre1969

May 08, 2012 (8:30 pm)

Replying to: steve_ (May 08, 2012 12:41 pm)
Every pound helps. The real reason so many people complain that they can't get the EPA mileage is because they are 40 pounds overweight.
 
I'm not fully convinced of that, although on something like a Prius, every little bit probably matters. I just keep thinking back to 2005, when I went to Florida with two friends in my 2000 Intrepid. The car got about 27.5 mpg on that trip, with two extra people on board and so much luggage that the trunk was packed and we had to throw some in the back seat. That was with the a/c going the whole time, and me exceeding the speed limit, and having the 78-in-a-65 ticket to prove it.
 
And, FWIW, 27.5 is about the same mileage that car would get with just me, alone, empty trunk, driving like that on the highway, with the a/c on.
 
I'm sure that in local stop-and-go driving though, the extra weight would make more difference.

#25155 of 32443 Re: Prius [andre1969] by steve_ HOST

May 09, 2012 (5:02 am)

Replying to: andre1969 (May 08, 2012 8:30 pm)
Well, yeah, but you were going downhill all the way.
 
Americans' obesity adds to gasoline consumption, study says (USA Today)
 
"The same effect has been seen in airplanes. Research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that heavy fliers have contributed to higher fuel costs for airlines"

#25156 of 32443 Re: Prius [steve_] by michaell

May 09, 2012 (6:07 am)

Replying to: steve_ (May 08, 2012 4:18 pm)
Didn't you do this trip last year, but a bit farther down to Santa Fe?
 
Last year we went to Santa Fe and Sedona.
 
This weekend we're hitting Alamosa, CO and Pueblo. Not really a vacation - wife is graduating from college on Saturday in Alamosa. The stop in Pueblo is just an excuse not to go straight home.
 
I'm jealous - love the country down there. Haven't seen any real mountains for a couple of years now.
 
It's funny - after living in CO for 19 years the mountains are just part of the scenery. What I miss are the green hills that are prevalent back east. Would love to do a road trip in that direction someday, but the problem is that the first day and a half you've gotta traverse either Kansas (I-70), Nebraska (I-80) or Texas/Oklahoma (I-40).

#25157 of 32443 Re: Prius [steve_] by andre1969

May 09, 2012 (6:57 am)

Replying to: steve_ (Dec 21, 2011 2:21 pm)
A few years back, I bought a set of aluminum Mirada/Cordoba wheels, with the intention of putting them on my '79 5th Ave. I'm not sure how much of a weight savings they are, versus the 15x7 steel wheels that are on it now, but going by feel, there's definitely a noticeable difference.
 
FWIW, once I stepped on a bathroom scale, holding one of the NYer's tires, mounted on a steel rim, to see how much it weighed. Something like 52-53 pounds! I wonder if those aluminum rims would save, oh, maybe 10 pounds per wheel? I wonder if 40 lb of unsprung weight would make much difference in a car that size?
 
Checking my fuel records, the last four times I drove that car up to PA for the Carlisle Mopar show, I averaged 17.66, 17.41, 17.51, and 17.82 mpg. If I'm able to swap out the steel wheels with the aluminum ones in time for the show, I'll be curious to see if it has any noticeable effect on fuel economy this year.
 
I also wonder, if you go to a slightly narrower tread width, if it would have much effect on fuel economy? For example, say you had a car that normally takes 225/60/R16 tires, but you replace them with 215/65/R16? Would less friction from the slightly smaller contact patch have much of an effect?
 
In years past, I've put oversized tires on older cars, and haven't seen any noticeable effect, but maybe with modern, fuel efficient cars there's more of a difference? For instance, when I got rid of the 235/75/R15 tires on my '85 Silverado and replaced them with 255/70/R15, it didn't seem to do anything to the fuel economy.

#25158 of 32443 Re: Prius [michaell] by steve_ HOST

May 09, 2012 (7:26 am)

Replying to: michaell (May 09, 2012 6:07 am)
It's green here. We went day-hiking in Mount Robson in BC 20 odd years ago and everyone was rushing up the trail to see the glacier up high. We had had our fill of them and kept lollygagging close to the trailhead gawking at the "big" trees. People thought we were nuts.
 
Link for you Andre:
 
hpmctorque, "Will Narrower Tires With Taller Sidewalls Return, To Improve Fuel Economy?"
 
I don't think the idea took off.

#25159 of 32443 Re: Prius [michaell] by corvette

May 09, 2012 (7:29 am)

Replying to: michaell (May 09, 2012 6:07 am)
Kansas was pretty awful when I drove across it last year. They'd just raised the speed limit on I-70 west of Topeka to 75, and there were state troopers posted in the median about every twenty miles.

#25160 of 32443 Crown Vic Police Interceptor owners? by steve_ HOST

May 09, 2012 (8:36 am)

If anyone knows an cop car owner, please send them this way:
 
A reporter would like to speak to a civilian driver of a Crown Vic, preferably a P71 (Police Interceptor). If you are not a police officer, and you own a Crown Vic, please send your daytime contact information to predmunds.com no later than Thursday, May 10, 2012 at 10 a.m. Pacific/1 p.m. Eastern.

Messages Page 2516 of 3245

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