Metro MPG
"Do you have a sense of where you can get the Maxima?
The Flea's limit is: how low am I'm willing to go with my average speed for a given tank.
RT-wise, I'd like to better my 133 mpg effort, and aim for 150+ mpg next summer. It won't be TOO hard, but it will be slow - probably 18-20 mph avg. Just for kicks. Not very practical.
Tank averages are a different story. If I go totally basjoos on the car, I may gain an additional 5-10% @ 50-55 mph. That's still not VX or basjoos territory. (I console myself by saying: I doubt there are any VX's around with 11,000 km on the odometer. But if i still had Firefly #1 - a little rusty & high mileage - I'd definitely be shopping for a VX now.)
70 mpg tanks are history now, I fear. The last one was mostly (unusually) mild November weather.
And here's another thing: like the bicycle cargo trailer, the ForkenSwift is going to be a problem next year: it's going to drag my Flea tank averages down when it goes on the road, because it'll displace even more local (high mpg) driving.
Your question reminded me to bump this thread though: what are your 2006 fuel economy goals?"
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Without instantaneous FE feed back I think I'm about there. Somewhere around 65% over EPA or 35 MPG, any higher than that and it would involve spending money. I think the ceiling for any car for ideal normal driving is around 90% for a standard and 70% for automatic unless heavily modified (engine/transmission). I still have some issues to work out with the engine and transmission. Ultimate goal would be 38 MPG and then it's time to sell it and move on to another more challanging project.