New Personal Best MPG

[RedRooster]

I'm very jealous of that mileage. More impressed with your bravery to take a half million mile car out on a 500 mile trip. I guess I don't trust anything mechanical to do what I want it to do consistently.

 

[Zap]

...if you are willing to drive a certain way.

DOH! I knew there was a catch.

 

[jhu]

That's it? What an amateur.

 

[HAL9000]

You need to update your sig!

 

[MaxFusion16]

i want one

 

[TraumaRN]

DOH! I knew there was a catch.

Well a lot of it has to do with NOT driving like a bat out of hell.

 

[NutBucket]

Eli, forgot to ask what kind of tires do you use? Just wondering if you buy the "eco" low rolling resistance tires that are oem on most (if not all) new hybrids.

 

[Zivic]

92+... pretty cool I guess.

 

[Eli]

No, no A/C. I never use A/C unless it's absolutely necessary. It costs 7-12MPG+ depending on conditions.

I use the OEM Bridgestone RE92's in the P165/65R14 flavor. That size was specifically made for this car and are much different than the larger RE92s. Using even the Michelin Energy Savers results in a 7-10% reduction in mileage, you can forget a regular tire. I'm not looking forward to the day that they stop making the RE92s. Need to stock up!

As far as taking the 444k mile car out on a road trip.. I wasn't nervous at all. As long as the hybrid system of the car is working properly, there isn't much to worry about. About the only thing that can leave you stranded is if the DC-DC converter stops charging your 12V battery - equivalent to having your alternator go out. They're very reliable cars overall, once you know a few things.

Actually, I did find out the hard way that the auxiliary 12v starter doesn't work on this car. We were out at her grandparents place, and I accidentally left the ignition on. When we came out, the hybrid battery had been drained, and I got nothing but a faint click from the 12V starter.

I just pulled the negative battery terminal to reset the computers, and it happily started with the IMA motor like normal. I could have also push started it.

 

[Eli]

I was coming back from Fayetteville NC on highway 87 Sunday. I stopped at a light and guess what was across from me?

An insight of the earlier variety. It was a stunning blue color, which caught my eye. It looked like it just came off the boat.

Eli's threads immediately popped into my mind...

I wish we had a blue one. Or a Citrus one.

But alas, we're a Silver family..



#3, #2, #1

 

[NutBucket]

LOL!!! You are without a doubt the only person I've ever heard praise the RE-92. Everyone cursed Subaru as they were OEM for the WRX and other sporty cars for many years.

In my experience, they were truly tires that were good at nothing!

But its very interesting that they're so much better than the current crop of "eco" tires.

 

[Eli]

Haha... Yeah, like I said.. the 165 size of the RE92 is much different than the 175+ sizes. The other sizes aren't LRR tires.

They're a terrible tire at everything but low rolling resistance. There are people that are switching to the Michelin tire just because of the improved road noise and handling.

It is amazing how well this car rolls though. Don't think I'll give up the RE92's until they stop making them.

When we took the steel wheels and crappy 175mm tires off #2 and put the OEM equipment back on, it was an amazing difference. Even my fiancee commented that it feels like a totally different car, and she's not much of a car person.. lol.

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

How do u like NM? We visited Albuquerque this year and loved it. Weather is nice and the whole community is big into running and bicycling which we enjoy. Good Mexican food too.

 

[TraumaRN]

Eli-

Let me ask you to ponder a question, if you suddenly could not drive the old Insight's and had to buy another hybrid car which would you chose and why??

 

[Eli]

Hmm. That's a tough one.

I'd probably go with a 1st generation Honda Civic Hybrid with a manual transmission.

They also employ a stratified charge("lean burn") engine like the Insight, and can get some pretty spectacular MPG numbers under the right conditions for the size of the car.

Beyond that though, I really have no idea. Honestly, the Prius isn't a bad car - you can't really beat 50mpg day in and day out while also being able to haul the kids and dog.

If I were seriously in the market though I'm sure I would consider the Fusion hybrid. I've heard a lot of good things about it. And the Prius is boring - everyone has one. I've never driven one though.. Toyota's system would be interesting.

 

[Doppel]

Eli-

Let me ask you to ponder a question, if you suddenly could not drive the old Insight's and had to buy another hybrid car which would you chose and why??

He'll say prius!

 

[TraumaRN]

Hmm. That's a tough one.

I'd probably go with a 1st generation Honda Civic Hybrid with a manual transmission.

They also employ a stratified charge("lean burn") engine like the Insight, and can get some pretty spectacular MPG numbers under the right conditions for the size of the car.

Beyond that though, I really have no idea. Honestly, the Prius isn't a bad car - you can't really beat 50mpg day in and day out while also being able to haul the kids and dog.

If I were seriously in the market though I'm sure I would consider the Fusion hybrid. I've heard a lot of good things about it. And the Prius is boring - everyone has one. I've never driven one though.. Toyota's system would be interesting.

I figured you might say the Civic Hybrid. And for the exact reason you listed.

Well I can tell you if I had a choice to buy a hybrid again, I'd probably buy an Escape Hybrid just for the utility of a small SUV, but I absolutely love my Fusion Hybrid for the size, MPGs and general comfort and handling.

 

[PricklyPete]

I can get up to 25 on the highway...but around town I'd say I'm more in the 13-14mpg range. Luckily I don't drive that much.

 

[BZeto]

This is an awesome thread. And upon seeing the picture of the 3 insights lined up in the driveway I literally laughed out loud at my desk. Haha, i love it.

 

[Eli]

How do u like NM? We visited Albuquerque this year and loved it. Weather is nice and the whole community is big into running and bicycling which we enjoy. Good Mexican food too.

I can't stand NM.

I do like the abundant sunshine, but that is where it ends. The winters are brutally cold. It's dry, dusty and brown. I miss the ocean. And dare I say it, the rain.

I can't wait to be home in Oregon.

 

[goobernoodles]

That is damn impressive. Nice job.

 

[SSSnail]

For pete's sake man, turn on the damn A/C. It was scorching this past weekend. It's OK, that will drop your average MPG down a bit, but man, A/C man...

 

[Eli]

It wasn't that bad. It got hot once we got closer to Santa Fe, but we actually encountered a couple of showers and it was cool up in the mountains.

I'll grudgingly use the a/c in town if necessary, but not out on the open highway. Never encountered a situation where having the windows down doesn't make it tolerable.

 

[SSSnail]

Yeah, but WHY? Life is too short to not have A/C. Why torture yourself? Comfortable is >>>>>>>>>>>> tolerable, unless you absolutely have to.

 

[IcePickFreak]

It can be 100° here and I never use AC in the car either. Granted I live in WI and hate the cold to begin with, but if I lived in the southwest it'd be a few years before I'd use it at least. I've have 35 years of cold, shitty weather to make up for other than the 2 months of really humid summer each year, and even then I rarely use the AC in my car or house.

That said, it kind of made me laugh when I seen the pics from that dust storm in AZ. All that and what I got from it was only a few branches down and a light coat of dust. I'll take that over the 5 feet of snow I had to dig my car out of this past February.