Official Thread for posting daily FE updates

[DRW]

I just replaced the thermostat on my Laser yesterday. It was sticking for sure. There was a rubber seal in the thermostat that was old and swollen. It wouldn't let it close all the way, which is why my car took about 15 minutes to warm up, including 5 miles of freeway driving! So I'm hoping to see FE jump up a little due to less time spent in cold enrichment mode.

OTOH, I'll have to monitor coolant temps to see where they are after the car warms up. With the bad T-stat freeway temps were around 197-203F, which is good for FE. If that drops to the regulated temp of 192-195F I may loose a little FE. We'll see.

[JanGeo]

Before you install the thermostat you should have tested it in a pan of boiling water and checked for when and how much it opens. I adjusted my Rambler stat that was and it was way off (low).

[MetroMPG]

Last evening: round trip on secondary roads to visit friends - 94.4 mpg (US) - a moderate P&G effort to ensure the next fill-up exceeds 85.

48.8 miles, avg speed = 27 mph, max = 52 mph

This was minus wheel skirts (haven't put them back on after the rust-proofing yet), and 4 cold starts, no EBH. Was running alternator-less (as I have been for all 200 miles on this tank so far).

[krousdb]

Temps have plummetted this week. Low 30's F for the morning commute and mid 50'sF for the evening commute. Maintaining mid 60's still even at 70-75 MPH cruising speeds and drafting at a more comfortable 4-5 car lengths (see gaslog). Im driving faster because it saves me 30-40 mins of driving per day. Looks like I will be sliding down the charts. Hopefully I can stay in the top ten.

[MetroMPG]

Nice to hear from you, Dan! Will your commute always be that long? Or am I right in remembering once you've settled in the new place, you'll be closer to work?

[Silveredwings]

Originally Posted by krousdb

Temps have plummetted this week. Low 30's F for the morning commute and mid 50'sF for the evening commute. Maintaining mid 60's still even at 70-75 MPH cruising speeds and drafting at a more comfortable 4-5 car lengths (see gaslog). Im driving faster because it saves me 30-40 mins of driving per day. Looks like I will be sliding down the charts. Hopefully I can stay in the top ten.

Sounds like you need aero mods now more than ever.

[krousdb]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

Nice to hear from you, Dan! Will your commute always be that long? Or am I right in remembering once you've settled in the new place, you'll be closer to work?

Yes, the 142 mile RT is the shorter one. It used to be 225. Actually, it's not that bad at 75 minutes each way. Before the move it was a 25 mile RT, 50 minutes each way.

What counts is that I now have a great job that I enjoy and I am in a more moderate climate. Life is good, even though I have no hope of being the king of FE like you.

Now, if there were a high speed FE ranking, the VX would be hard to beat. Even without drafting, I can maintain leanburn at 75 MPH.

[krousdb]

Originally Posted by Silveredwings

Sounds like you need aero mods now more than ever.

My aero mods include a full belly pan, interior antenna and flipped in drivers side mirror. I don't mind the aero mods that go unnoticed. But mods like Basjoos has done would make me uncomfortable. I would rather have a high FE car that will go unnoticed. If I get a chance to meet up with Basjoos to do a SuperMID install, maybe we can do some comparison testing to see just how much difference those mods make.

[MetroMPG]

Yesterday's fill-up: 203.3 miles ... 2.62 gallons (US) ... 77.5 mpg (us) / 3.0 L/100 km / 93.0 mpg (imperial)

This was one of my smallest fill-ups (what happens when FE is good, plus I didn't drive much in Oct.). So perhaps not surprising that this one also disagrees with the SG1, which claimed 87.7 mpg (US). Last month, the SG was bang on.

Also, I didn't use the same pump. Same gas station, but different pump. I know, I know...

Anyway let's keep this 77.5 in perspective:

- unbelted alternator for the whole distance
- mostly city & rural P&G (avg speed: )
- I don't commute, so I never experience peak traffic (I live in a small city, so peak traffic is no big deal anyway)
- I never have to start the car first thing in the cold, cold morning. Brr.
- the roads I usually drive on are lightly travelled, and there's ample room for other cars to go by, or me to get out of the way, so I rarely if ever need to speed up to avoid being an obstruction.
- 25 mph avg (last fill-up was 29)

For comparison to more "normal" driving, I drove to Ottawa yesterday and back today, and in typical city & freeway traffic, I only managed 64 mpg round trip, even when I slowed down and did a small bit of P&G once I got into the rural stuff on the way back. (I don't typically P&G on the freeway.) The alternator belt was on.

Edit: though I should also add I managed to find a headwind in both directions, and it rained a bit on the return trip

[zpiloto]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

Yesterday's fill-up: 203.3 miles ... 2.62 gallons (US) ... 77.5 mpg (us) / 3.0 L/100 km / 93.0 mpg (imperial)

This was one of my smallest fill-ups (what happens when FE is good, plus I didn't drive much in Oct.). So perhaps not surprising that this one also disagrees with the SG1, which claimed 87.7 mpg (US). Last month, the SG was bang on.

Also, I didn't use the same pump. Same gas station, but different pump. I know, I know...

Anyway let's keep this 77.5 in perspective:

- unbelted alternator for the whole distance
- mostly city & rural P&G (avg speed: )
- I don't commute, so I never experience peak traffic (I live in a small city, so peak traffic is no big deal anyway)
- I never have to start the car first thing in the cold, cold morning. Brr.
- the roads I usually drive on are lightly travelled, and there's ample room for other cars to go by, or me to get out of the way, so I rarely if ever need to speed up to avoid being an obstruction.
- 25 mph avg (last fill-up was 29)

For comparison to more "normal" driving, I drove to Ottawa yesterday and back today, and in typical city & freeway traffic, I only managed 64 mpg round trip, even when I slowed down and did a small bit of P&G once I got into the rural stuff on the way back. (I don't typically P&G on the freeway.) The alternator belt was on.

Edit: though I should also add I managed to find a headwind in both directions, and it rained a bit on the return trip

Still a good tank for fall temps.

You would be a canidate for install of a 5 gallon tank if you could find one.
How big is the tank in the Metro? I wonder if you are at a slight disadvantage (BTU content wise) because you seem to take 4 gallons or so when you fill every month but that still leave 6 gallons of old gas(more than half) that has been sitting for over a month. Need to test that theory