Hypermiling Challenge Complete

I've completed my portion of the hypermiling challenge, but I think there was an error. I can't convince my fellow contestants but I think it filled to a higher amount at the end of the hypermiling week (thus adding more gas and reducing the calculated mpg) than I did at the beginning. I'm going to try and post pictures some day, but it'll be awhile.

Anyway, I dropped from 31.1 mpg down to 24.8!!! That is just not possible, although I did get stuck in some traffic jams.

Anyway, Alex and Ben both did very well... Congrats guys, we'll see who the winner is when Matt finishes up.

Hypermiling Week - End of Day Five

There are only two days left! I'm not feeling very confident about my results so far, so I might push it a bit longer and see how well I can do over the course of a full tank of gas. As you can see in the picture below, I've used about 1/4 of a tank and I'm at 122.9 miles. I think this is actually better than my normal week of driving since at the end of the week I had only gone 147.6 miles on about 3/8 of a tank. I'm pretty sure I can get more than 24.7 miles out of the next 1/8th of a tank (based on the first 1/4, I should get another 60 miles or so). Anyway, we'll find out soon enough.

For your amusement, here are some hypermiling quotes from our contestants:

"Screaming passengers are a verification of healthy hypermiling techniques." - AB quoting something seen elsewhere (I apologize for not having the actual source here.)

"I felt so great that I got about a mile with zero gas usage." - Me (concerning a coast with the car turned off while taking a highway exit and approaching a red light)

"I am rocking this challenge like a 10.0 on the Richter. You're gonna owe me all kinds of rewards, and I might even sign a deal on teaching a hypermiling class at our local community college. It's in the works." - Mr Cocky (aka BH)

"When the road was wet at lunch, the truck wants to fish tail badly in a turn. I told her to calm down and not to waste any energy. It seems that everyone is getting frustrated." - AB, my favorite quote of the competition.

"Just be sure to call one of us to come pick you up when she rams into a median barrier. No shame, no judgments, just a tow or ride when needed." - BH, in response to AB

"It was the most brutal drive home yesterday that I've ever experienced... and traffic wasn't the problem." - BH

"I got passed by 3 dump trucks this morning on the way to work." - AB

Here's my current status (sorry for the bad glare - it's sunny at the top of the driveway):

Hypermiling Day Two Complete

For some reason, I forgot to take my picture today. But this morning, Alex let me borrow his air compressor and add some air to my tires. I was surprised to find out that one was down to 20psi and the other three were at 24-25. They really did look fully inflated. Anyway, I brought them all up to 35psi, still well below the limit of 44psi, so I think I'll be safe from exploding tires (which would be really annoying since I don't have a spare).

That's about all for now.

Hypermiling Day One Complete

After one day of hypermiling, I used just a little bit of gas and drove 33.5 miles. I don't feel like I'm getting very good gas mileage though. I got stuck in stop and go traffic at the end of the day. It was moving too fast to shut the car off, but frequently stopping still. The whole time I was thinking about how much gas I was wasting. I'd be disappointed to get worse gas mileage during my hypermiling week.

Anyway, I thought I'd introduce Alex, my neighbor. He is also in the competition and made a post on his blog about it. He took some extreme duct-taping methods today. This idea was recommended to me, but I couldn't bring myself to do it (plus he has much bigger gaps on his truck). You have to check out the picture he posted. It's pretty amusing.

Start of Hypermiling Week of Driving

First of all, let me start by saying I weighed my car today. The reading on the scale was 2860 pounds - only 80 pounds less than previously. However, I also weighed it with a full tank of gas, whereas it had only about 3/4 tank last time (about 4-5 gallons different). Assuming a tank of gas weighs 6.1 pounds, that equates to an additional 24.6-30.5 pounds. So my total weight loss was about 105 to 110 pounds. Not a whole lot considering the interior is pretty well emptied of large parts. I do like that the weight difference is about the same as what is frequently reported in news articles. For example: "Every 120-pound reduction can yield a 1% gain in gas mileage, says Bill Grabowski, director of body core engineering for Chrysler."
I guess that'll make a small improvement in my gas mileage, but probably not enough to keep it that way. One side benefit is that I can't carry passengers, so that reduces my weight a bit and forces other people to drive and use their gas if I car pool anywhere (like a meeting for work).

Next, I filled up my tank and kicked off my hypermiling week today. For the record, I'm at 157,851 miles now (as seen in the picture below). I didn't want to sit in the parking lot baking in the heat with the car off for too long, so the needle isn't quite up to full, but it was headed there. I've started parking at the top of my driveway to avoid backing out and I'm shutting off the car and coasting whenever I can. I'm also following at a pretty good distance so I can avoid hitting the brakes too much. I had a hectic day at work so I didn't get a chance to wash the car and inflate the tires, but I will do that ASAP.

P.S. If you got here looking for posts on Volvo A/C or other repairs, feel free to leave a comment and let me know and I'll try and reply with my thoughts on your problem. If it is specifically Volvo A/C related, I'd suggest checking out www.volvoforums.com.

Hypermiling: Informal player

So, a coworker gave me some numbers for a parallel experiment that he did (and is continuing). He drives a lot farther than me every day and has a smaller tank so he's on a faster pace than I am. The following are the results of his initial experiment (in his Kia Rio).

In one tank of gas with normal driving, he got 27.2 mpg. Then he checked the air pressure in his tires and found that three were at 35psi but one was at 22psi. The recommended pressure is 35psi and the maximum is 44psi. So, he filled them all up to 42psi and drove for another tank of gas.

Results: 32.3 mpg, an improvement of 5.1 mpg just by overinflating his tires (and fixing the one that was underinflated previously). That's pretty impressive, now I'm encouraged that I'll see some real results in my experiment.

Eclipse Weight Loss

I'm really excited about this and I hope you enjoy it. I was able to take some time and remove a bunch of "excess" weight from my car. I'm sure some of you are thinking (and I know it because I've already had some comments in person) that a passenger seat doesn't really qualify as "excess" weight, but I usually don't carry passengers around. Also, it only would take four bolts to get it back on, so if I had to I could easily put it back.

Below is the evidence of the main things I've done - I might still remove some more molding and trim before taking it to get weighed, but nothing significant. You might notice I put the center console back in at the end - my wife was a little nervous about having the air bag sensor exposed after I mentioned all the warnings about having it disabled while working around it. It would look pretty foolish to get into a wreck for trying to save 10 pounds.

So, submit your guesses in the comments for the new weight of the car - remember it started at 2940 pounds and I've pretty well documented the heaviest pieces I've removed.

Another Contender's Control Week

One of the guys (we'll call him BH) participating submitted his control week numbers.
After driving 161.7 miles in his 2001 Honda Accord LX Coupe, it took 6.640 gallons to fill it up, resulting in 24.3 miles per gallon (which is right in the middle of the city mpg that the car is rated for). He has a lot of room for improvement though.

Control Week is Over

My control week of normal driving is over. I filled up the tank today and was surprised at how well my normal gas mileage was. I went 147.6 miles and it only took 4.715 gallons to fill it up. That is an amazing 31.3 miles per gallon - I was expecting around 28, so it's going to be tough to beat that (or I'm going to get really good mileage during the hypermiling week). So, I now have a week to make some changes to the car in preparation for my week of hypermiling.

By the way, there are five other people in my area doing this in some form or another so I'll add some of their results as they come in.

Anyway, here's the proof of my normal mileage:
First, the instrument cluster before filling-up (showing 147.6 miles):





















Then, the pump (showing 4.715 gallons):





















And now the instrument cluster again (showing the tank refilled - the needle is actually still rising because I sick of waiting and needed to get back to work):

Control Week - End of Day Six

There's only one day left of my control week. Tomorrow at lunch, I'm going to fill up the tank and figure out what my gas mileage was for this week of "normal" driving.

Also, today, I made it to a scrap metal recycling place and they let me weigh my car (seemed like it might be somewhat common). So, it is currently sitting at 2940 pounds (with me in it - about 175 pounds). According to Edmunds, the curb weight is/was 2855 pounds, so I guess I must have unintentionally reduced the weight by some of my repairs over the years. I'd love to be able to pull out 940 pounds and bring it down to an even ton, but I doubt I'll be able to get that much out. Sometime over the next week, I'll get that done and be sure to post the results.

Anyway, here's the next to last picture of my control week. I'm up to 126.5 miles and I've used about 1/4 of the tank (which is supposed 15.9 gallons - so that'd put me close to 30 mpg, but we'll see for sure tomorrow).

Control Week - End of Day Five

Two days left in the control week and I still haven't traveled very far, but that's kind of the point - it's been a pretty normal week for me. In related news, I've found somewhere nearby where I can weigh my car! I'm trying to decide when to do it. It's near my office, but I want to be able to weigh it, empty it out and then weigh it again before using up too much gas so that I'll have a pretty good idea of how much junk I was able to remove.

Anyway, here's the picture from today - I'm up to 90.1 miles and almost down to 3/4 of a tank of gas left. (P.S. In the future, I'll have mostly clearer pictures on this blog, but for this challenge, I'm mostly using my cell phone camera - which is obviously pretty low quality.)

Control Week - End of Day Four

As predicted, I haven't driven anywhere today, so there's no need for a new picture. I'll return tomorrow.

Control Week - End of Day Three

I'm up to 82.2 miles and the tank is between 3/4 and 7/8 full. I'm not expecting to drive it between today and tomorrow so, this might qualify as the "End of Day Four" picture too.

Control Week - End of Day Two

OK, so now I'm up to 62.7 miles and I've still only used less than an 1/8th of a tank. I've started getting more ideas for the hypermiling week, so I'm looking forward to getting prepared for that. Anyway, here's my evidence of current mileage and gas usage.

Control Week - End of Day One

After a day of normal driving, here is where my mileage and gas gauge sit: 36 miles and virtually no movement on the gas needle.

"Control" week - initial fill-up

OK, I filled up today to start my week of normal driving. This will give me documented evidence of the gas mileage I'm getting now. The picture is from my cell phone, so it's a bit hard to see, the mileage, but you should be able to see that I reset the trip meter to zero and the gas tank is completely full. And in case you can't make it out, the odometer says 157,520.
I filled up and took the picture on my lunch break, so I'm going to take a picture of the instrument cluster every day at the same point in my day (at lunch if I leave for lunch or at my work parking lot if I bring leftovers). I'm also recording how long it takes me to get to and from work every day separately. Today was a bit of a fluke because I dropped off and picked up my dry cleaning during my commute and it was raining on the way home and I've found a lot of people (in CT, MD and AL) just stop completely in the rain. So it took me 27.5 minutes to get home (remember it's a 7 mile trip and the dry cleaners is only slightly out of the way).

Anyway, here's the picture:





















P.S. In case I didn't mention it before - I'm using the '99 Mitsubishi Eclipse for the challenge (you can get introduced to it here).

My Plan for Hypermiling Tactics

Our hypermiling challenge starts tomorrow with the normal driving sequence, but I've started thinking about what I will do for the hypermiling phase and thought I'd write them down so I don't forget any of the steps.

1. Oil change - to maximize efficiency, oil should be changed regularly. I'm actually long overdue for 3000 mile schedule because a couple of weeks ago I had a business trip to Dayton, OH. After waiting at the airport for awhile, the flight was cancelled and I decided to drive. At the time I was a little overdue for the change, but the additional 1000+ miles didn't help. So on the weekend before my hypermiling starts, I'm going to change my oil (and put in an oil with the proper viscosity for the hot temperatures in Alabama).
2. Inflated tires - I'm horrible about monitoring the pressure in my tires. When I go to the gas station to do my initial fill-up, I'm going to inflate my tires to at least the manufacturer's recommended pressure. I realize that (as Parade magazine pointed out on Sunday) over-inflated tires can result in a loss of handling, but since I'll be driving slowly and coasting everywhere possible I don't expect to really need high-performance handling, so I might go a bit above the mark (but not high enough to cause a blow-out).
3. Junk-in-the-trunk - I don't really haul around much extra weight, as far as I know. I am going to remove the following though: fabric-coated cardboard cover in the hatch, carpeted floorboard that covers the spare tire and bottom part of my rear seat (this pulls out real easily and isn't really effective as a seat since there's no room in the back). I'm also tempted to take off the back of the rear seat, but I've never done that before and don't know how hard that would be to do. I really want to take out the front passenger seat, but there are some rare occasions when I have a passenger with me - we'll see if that happens. I might also take off some of the interior molding parts (I've taken the door panel off countless times to work in there - more on that in a future post).
4. Aerodynamics - I don't have a roof rack or anything like that, but I haven't had my car washed in probably 3-4 years (seriously) so I'm going to take it through the car wash while I'm at the gas station to fill up.
5. Driving habits - this is where the majority of my effort will be spent: trying to coast as much as possible, time stop lights so I don't have to stop, drive with a long gap to the next car, etc. I'm not the type to offend people though, so I will stop short of driving painfully slow when there are people behind me.
6. Air conditioning - despite claims that turning off the a/c can save on gas mileage, I will probably not use the a/c any less because I am in Alabama and it is way too hot to drive with the a/c off (and still look presentable for my office job).

We'll see how it turns out. I'm looking forward to the results.

Tomorrow I'll post pictures of my starting point and hopefully get some of the current mileage numbers for my local contestants.

Hypermiling challenge - does it really work?

With the gas prices climbing higher every week with no end in sight, the media would have you believe that everyone is feeling the pinch and making (drastic) changes to curb spending. I haven't seen much of a change around me, but I've read a few articles about it. One topic I came across was the idea of hypermiling (see www.hypermiling.com). There has been some controversy about it being illegal or unsafe, but those claims don't seem valid when you actually look at the methods proposed by advocates of hypermiling.

After trying some methods on a small scale over the last couple of weeks, a couple of friends of mine have decided to test out the hypermiling concept. We are going to have a challenge to see who can get the most improvement in gas mileage by using hypermiling techniques. I'm going to document my results here and try to give an update on all of the results at the end of the challenge.

If anyone wants to get involved, please tag along by submitting comments or linking up to your results on your own blog.

Here's the way it'll work (short version):
For one week, gas mileage will be calculated for your normal driving style.
For a second week, gas mileage will be calculated for your "hypermiling" style.

Here's the specifics of how it'll work (long version):
Most of these rules have been added to reduce the number of cheating accusations and for full documentation purposes.
1) On Day One, gas tank should be filled entirely and exact mileage recorded. Drive normally for one week.
2) On Day Two through Day Six, mileage and gas tank level should be recorded. If gas is ever needed, number of gallons added to the tank must be recorded.
3) On Day Seven, gas tank should be filled entirely and exact mileage recorded along with number of gallons added to the tank. Drive using hypermiling methods for one week.
4) On Day Eight through Day Thirteen, mileage and gas tank level should be recorded. If gas is ever needed, the number of gallons added to the tank must be recorded.
5) All recordings should be made at the same time of day, each day.
6) The preferred documentation method is using a camera (cell phone camera is sufficient). Pictures need to include the full instrument cluster (to verify the gas tank level and mileage) as well as the gas pump at the end of any fill-ups.
7) The secondary documentation method is to have a witness sign off on your records.
8) Daily records aren't required, but suggested to add credibility to your results.
9) Weeks need not be concurrent. If there is a gap between weeks, the tank should be filled at the beginning and end of each week-long period. The number of gallons added at the beginning of a week need not be recorded, only the ending fill-ups.
10) Gas mileage will be calculated by dividing the number of miles by the number of gallons used. (If I drive 300 miles and use 10 gallons of gas, then I have attained 30 mpg.) The higher the number the better the score.
11) Obviously, the same car must be used for both weeks.
12) Competing weeks should be planned around travel in an attempt to only include "normal" weeks.
13) Hypermiling methods are of your own choosing, but laws should not be broken. Here is a site with a bunch of techniques: http://ecomodder.com/forum/EM-hypermiling-driving-tips-ecodriving.php
14) Prizes (only for local competitors) are still to be determined; current (fuzzy) categories include: best improvement, best overall gas mileage, best improvement over EPA rating.

Finally my planned schedule is this (and I'd suggest you try and fit into our weeks so we can all compete together):
Week 1 - July 9th through 16th - I will record my normal driving.
Week 2 - July 16th through 23rd - I will practice hypermiling.
Week 3 - July 23rd through 30th - I will record my "hypermiling" driving.

With this information, I will be able to calculate the average miles per gallon achieved during normal driving on a typical week compared to hypermiling on a typical week. I'll be able to determine the percent difference between the two and with a record of my typical weekly mileage, I can make an estimate of money to be saved over the course of a year by using hypermiling techniques. Obviously, since I'm new to this, if I practiced more than a week, I'd expect the results to improve with time.

Finally, I plan to bring a stop watch to record how long it takes me to get to and from work each day, taking into account what time I leave. One concern with hypermiling is the extra time tacked on to a commute. I have a pretty short commute, so I expect the difference to be negligible.

For background, my commute is 7.4 miles which includes 2.0 miles on two-lane highways, 4.2 miles on a raised divided highway and 1.2 miles on local roads. On the way to work I have four right turns, two left turns and one merge off the highway to a local road. Coming back I have two right turns, a left turn to a highway merge followed by four left turns. At the intersections on the way to work, there are two stop signs, two normal (Red/Yellow/Green) lights (with turn signals) and the rest are yields. Coming back are one stop sign, the same two lights and the rest are yields.

So, once again, let me know if you participate.

Future Posts on Completed DIY Projects

I thought I'd make a list of projects that I've completed in the past so that you will know what to expect. Some of these may seem easy, but I have been asked or seen questions about all of them. Also, it's helpful for some people (including me) to see pictures of what someone else has done before jumping into a project.

Volvo V70 Repairs and Maintenance
1) Replacement of A/C compressor (including receiver/dryer and orifice tube)
2) Addition of tow hitch
3) Random little belts, hoses and ductwork
4) Replacement of latch for rear hatch
5) Blower motor and blower motor resistor replacement
6) Coolant level sensor and thermostat replacement
7) Shift light replacement
8) Air filter replacement
9) Oil change

Mitsubishi Eclipse Repairs and Maintenance
1) Timing belt replacement (including water pump, serpentine belts and camshaft seals)
2) Valve cover gasket and spark plug seals replacement (to fix oil leak)
3) Radiator replacement (including draining and refilling coolant)
4) PCV valve and hose replacement
5) Spark plug and wires replacement
6) Fuel filter replacement
7) Clutch master cylinder replacement and slave cylinder cleaning and replacement attempt
8) Air filter replacement
9) Oil change

Planned Yamaha XJ650 Repairs and Maintenance
1) Air filter
2) Oil change
3) Bleed brakes
4) Replace battery
5) Turn signal replacement
6) Replace spark plugs
7) Clean carburetors

So if you somehow find this blog and are interested in seeing any of those descriptions, let me know and I'll be sure to bump it to the top. Or, if you drive one of these cars, leave a comment and I'll focus on that car's repairs first.

Pictures of the other Vehicles

I made the banner for this blog because I think that picture is amusing - I can't believe how much stuff we crammed in and around the Volvo. Our gas mileage on the trip was definitely the worst I've ever had. Unfortunately, it's my least favorite car, so I thought I'd add some pictures of my Eclipse and the motorcycle. The picture of the Eclipse is from a long time ago when it was almost new, but I haven't really had any reason to do any photo shoots of it since then (sorry for the quality, cameras have come a long ways in the last 9-10 years). The motorcycle photo is more recent, but from when it was still in CT.

Introduction

First of all, here is what is in my garage with a little history:
1) 1999 Mitsubishi Eclipse RS: These cars are sometimes referred to as 2gnt, as in 2nd generation non-turbo. It's not actually in my garage because it used to leak oil and now that I've fixed I've just gotten used to parking it out there. I bought this car brand-new from Girard Mitsubishi in New London, CT and it still has there bumper sticker on it. I live in Alabama now so nobody's heard of Girard and now my Eclipse is sometimes simply called, "Girard." It's approaching 160,000 miles and was pretty well mistreated for many years but has been enjoying better treatment in its later years. It has a 4-cylinder engine that is still stock with a 5-speed manual transmission. It has no extras except A/C (power nothing). The closest thing to a modification I've done is add XM radio, but I sold the unit for after moving to where I have a 7 minute commute instead of the 1 1/2 hour commute in DC. I use this car for any driving I do by myself, mainly commuting to and from work.
2) 1999 Volvo V70: This is the station wagon pictured on my banner. When we moved to Alabama, I bought a VW Jetta for my wife to drive, but after having our son, we wanted something a bit more roomier. We could barely fit anything but the stroller in the trunk. It has about 165,000 miles on it and this is our family car. It has a 5-cylinder engine with a turbo. It has a lot more options including a sunroof, power windows, power locks, ABS, etc. I've gotten pretty sick of this car after driving it for a little more than a year. A lot of the interior parts are falling apart and the surfaces are heavily worn. We also have a lot more problems with it than with my Eclipse. Someday we'll probably sell it and get a minivan (to the dismay of some friends).
3) 1983 Yamaha XJ650 Maxim (motorcycle): In the banner picture, this bike is hiding under the blue tarp. It was my dad's until he passed away in 2003. I inherited it since we worked on it together and I drove it as much as he did (although I still don't have a license - don't worry though, I'm not driving it now and before I do I will get a license). It took me until last year to get it down to Alabama, so it spent 3 years sitting in a covered area outside in Connecticut (going from 0-deg to 90-deg over each year). It needs some restoration work, which I started last fall, but never had time to finish. My wife is not too excited about me riding a motorcycle, but I want to get it running at least for nostalgic purposes.
4) Riding lawn mower - this occasionally comes up needing work done, so I thought I'd include it. Also, it was riding on that trailer in the banner too. My brother was in between houses and didn't want to pay to store it (thinking that he'd be using a lawn service in his next house) so he let me have it if I could move it. Let me tell you, it wasn't easy to load that thing up and I was definitely pushing the limits of the Volvo and the trailer that I'd borrowed from a friend's father-in-law.

So that's what's in my garage. I plan to start by posting some projects that I completed on them and then leave it open for future projects.