Supermiling, or, How I Averaged 38mpg

This morning, on my way to work, I stopped at the gas station for a fill-up.  As is customary, I enter my milage using Twitter and MyMileMarker, which texts me back my average MPG.  My tachometer (or, taco-meter, as I like to call it) odometer [thanks, Topher!] was at 399 miles.  I was sure I’d be putting 11 or 12 gallons in, as I normally get 30-32mpg, maybe 34 on a good day.  I was utterly surprised when the pump stopped at 10.5 gallons.  I even topped off the tank just make sure it wasn’t a fluke.

A fairly recent pastime for some (following the introduction of the Toyota Prius) has been Hypermiling.  Lately, I’ve realized that by driving over 70mph every day to work, my gas milage has plummeted to around 30-31mpg.  I decided to start taking the back way home on M-52 and M-36 through Chelsea (home of Jiffy cornbread mix).  It’s all 2-lane highways through a state park and somewhat hilly farms.  It takes 10 minutes longer, but it is much more pleasant that the freeway and for when I’m not in a rush.  This change alone, going from 74mph average to 55mph average has made a big difference.

Some other things that I have done:

Shift early, accelerate slow.  The RSX has a i-VTEC engine that varies the amount of fuel injected based on RPMs.  The owners manual recommends shifting at 3000rpm.  However, I found that I can accelerate with minimal throttle when I shift at 2000rpm.  I used to be a late shifter, regularly exceeding 3000rpm.  I also found that my engine switches from 2 fuel injectors to 4 per cylinder when it crosses the 2800rpm threshold.  Keeping below 2800rpm in 5th (top) gear puts me at a comfortable 61mph.  

Coasting.  A big boost to mpg comes from coasting instead of braking.  The high compression ratio of my engine makes for more effective engine braking.  When coasting in gear, the engine uses zero fuel as it can rely on momentum to keep the engine running.  When parking, I turn off the engine early and coast into the driveway or parking spot.

Accessories.  I read somewhere that accessories consume about 2% of a car’s efficiency.  I only use the air conditioning when I need it.  I also use my iPod/headphones instead of the car stereo.

Hard core hypermilers go to lengths as great as tailgating semis and “pulsing” the engine - accelerating up to 55mph, then shutting off the engine and coasting.  That’s probably not a good idea on Michigan freeways, where people commonly whiz by at 80+mph.  

It’s been a lot of fun trying to optimize fuel economy and it’s made a 19% difference already.  

The Century Club

A couple weeks ago, I hit the 100,000 mile mark on my car!  It comes quickly when your commute is 66 miles each way.  My little RSX has had only one issue so far - a failed catalytic converter.  Luckily, there are no emissions requirements in Michigan, so fixing it hasn’t been an absolute necessity.  Other than that, it has been a great car.  I’m just bummed that it’s the last cool car that Acura has made.  They’re not exactly shooting for the sporty look anymore.  Our Grand Am, however has had a different story.  The most disturbing one was the factory-installed/recommended coolant that actually corroded parts of the engine.  Luckily, a lawsuit was just settled with GM that offers cash back to people (like us) who had to get repairs for that.

This month also marks a full year that I’ve lived in Michigan.  It seems like so long ago that I packed up and drove 10 hours to Lansing to meet my new landlord - who didn’t think I would be moving in that very night.  I did get a bit pessimistic about Lansing throughout the year, but as spring comes, the whole town comes alive and the weather is beautiful.  The cold and snowy winters are a high price to pay, but the summers here are great.  Not so humid as Virginia.  Our neighbor, who works for the Michigan tourism agency gave us a bag full of pamphlets about all kinds of awesome stuff to do around the state, so this summer should be fun.  We’re also making friends at church and around town, which makes a big difference.

 

What, me walk?

Today is Blog Action Day so I’ll throw out an opinion or two. Recently I found out it would take 3.5 earths to support all 6 billion people if they all shared the same lifestyle as I. It really made me think about the way I live, especially after seeing poverty face to face in Nicaragua and realizing that things are way out of whack.

One thing we Americans can’t stand is other people (some more than others). We tolerate having to meet others to get work done, but when the work is done and after we fill our “face time” quota, we race several miles outside of town, drive into the garage, and close the door to the outside world. The Internet is breaking down these barriers, but over all, we live a relatively secluded life.

In some cultures, like in Central America, people live close together and it’s almost impossible to get away from others. People think you’re weird if you just want to sit and have some alone time. Everything anyone does is in groups. There is a very strong sense of community. Downtown markets are bustling with people and people congregate outside each others’ houses.

We’ve lost this sense of community in America. I barely know people who live just down the street from me. I only go to the store alone or with my wife and there is little or no social interaction with others. It’s quite a solitary existence.

I am getting to a point here. Our mobile lifestyle has drastically changed our communities. And this is all enabled by speedy, long-range transportation. There are thousands of dollars of materials that go into making my car that was shipped halfway around the world to me. I then pump it full of refined oil that was shipped from the other side of the world to me. I then greatly increase my chance of injury by flying down the road at 70mph to get to the store.

Wouldn’t it be much simpler if I just walked down the street to a market? We’ve completely ditched the idea of living in walkable communities because of the perceived convenience of driving. But I’m starting to doubt this convenience for a number of reasons:

1. Taking your car everywhere means you’re not getting exercise. Walking keeps you fit. That means more time with the doctor or on crazy, expensive diets.
2. A lifestyle of isolation fragments our society. This could have negative effects on our mental health.
3. We pay more to have a big, cushy car. We pay insurance and we pay more taxes to build roads.
4. We pay for gas. It’s not getting cheaper.
5. We put more risk on our lives.
6. We create more smog, causing breathing problems, more hospital visits.

So after I finish this post I’m going to drive to Horrock’s farm market to get some groceries. I wish I lived in a city where I could just walk to the market…

Welcome Back, Nintendo! [Updated]

Nintendo, always the revolutionary…

Update 9/23/2005: Greg sent me a link to a movie showing off how people might use the Nintendo Revolution: http://videogames.3yen.com/wp-content/images/nintendo-revolution-teaser.mov

Massive Update

Well, now that I’ve begun to upload some of my old LJ posts, here’s an update on the last few weeks.

The Countdown

Well, I’m working today, but the rest of my week is vacation, so work doesn’t seem so interesting right now.

This weekend, Julie and I helped her roommate move her stuff out. It was surprising to see how much stuff was Sara’s and how empty Julie’s place is now. On Saturday/Sunday morning my sister helped us paint the living room from a gross blue to a nice khaki/yellow. It was fun, except for the part where I ended up going to Home Despot three times - hooray for organization!

Yesterday, we were bored and couldn’t figure out anything to do after painting, so we decided to just drive West on Route 50 out to rural Virginia. They have some antique stores out there, but they all ended up being closed on a Sunday morning. Go figure!

Today, I’m spending my lunch break with Julie and Amanda at Minerva - an awesome Indian restaurant. I can’t wait!

Tomorrow morning, we leave at 6am for Illinois…

Little Egypt

So on the 22nd, Matt called me as I was driving home from Julie’s. It was 9:30ish and he needed me to pick him up from the Washington Court Hotel…

Justified

Well, I’m glad I never joined the ISU Alumni Association!

Their server got hacked into and Social Security/Student ID/Credit Card numbers may have been stolen.

Just give me a few more hours!

Last night, I was telling my roommate and a friend about how my iPod was dead. To prove it to him, I pressed some of the buttons - and lo and behold! It came back to life!

>>Continued below.

Helpful Hint #32745

Make sure you check all of your pockets before you put those pants in the washing machine.

Especially if you own an iPod

But, my replacement is already on its way! My iPod is such an integral part of my life now, I can justify getting a new one. I decided to upgrade to 30GB, since I had filled up my 20GB one. Apple has either 20GB or 60GB on their site, but if you look at their special deals, you can get a refurbished 30GB one for the same price of a 20GB - good deal! If my 20GB one ever comes back to life, then either Julie will want it, or I’ll try selling it on eBay or something.