Off on a 6-hour drive today

[unicycle]

As per a recent post of mine on the subject, I won't go into detail about the reason for the trip (tho it has to do with my SCoA name) ... but this afternoon I'm heading to Portland, ME. The GPS tells me it's about a six-hour trip, tho the way that I drive, I'd anticipate that it'll be a bit longer (I tend to drive 5-10 mph below the limit, if possible -- I'm a gas miser).

I've taken the advice we all gave Amythyste before her long trip: make sure the fluids are ok, check the tire pressures, drive safely. Well, actually I didn't check the fluids because the car is only a month old (tho it does have nearly 5,000 miles on it already). I'm driving back in a week, and the miles I put on it for the round-trip are actually less than my weekly commuting.

I'm going to fill up right before I leave, and I have a ScanGauge, so I'm looking forward to reporting on some highway-driving-only MPGs. I'll report back.

[burtandnancy]

So if your going to drive 10 under the speed limit for six hours, I estimate you'll be going 360 miles. If you try it non-stop, you need to get 41.38 mpg which is edgy but a challenge. But should you make it that will make you the newest member of the 350 mile club...

[unicycle]

Originally Posted by burtandnancy

So if your going to drive 10 under the speed limit for six hours, I estimate you'll be going 360 miles. If you try it non-stop, you need to get 41.38 mpg which is edgy but a challenge. But should you make it that will make you the newest member of the 350 mile club...

Wow -- I didn't even consider getting there on just one tank, but most of my tanks have taken me well over 300 miles -- I've gone over 350 4 different times -- and I've averaged 43 mpg since I bought the car and have had several tanks over 45 mpg. I may give this a shot.

Thanks for the idea!

[unicycle]

The trip out was a breeze. There was a horrendous accident on the hway not more than a mile ahead of me, and traffic came to a standstill for 50 mins. Because we couldn't move after a few moments, I was able to turn off the car to save gas. I made it on 3/4 of a tank, filling up this morning before getting onto a ferry; I won't have to fill up again till I'm back home.

For the trip, I averaged 44.9 mpg according to both my fillip calculations and my ScanGaugeII data. That's not quite good enough for a 400-mile tank, but it's still great.

I wonder how I could have done better. My avg speed was about 57 mph and I used the brakes no more than twice. And I was using 93 octane. I even drafted a few times, tho most trucks were going too fast for me.

[jefferios]

44.9 isn't bad at all. Remember our Car was rated 31/41, I consider anything higher than 41 INCREDIBLE!

Remember, thinking positive can make you smile!