Hey everyone,
Just thought I would share the good news. On the way in to work this morning I was able to hit 36.7mpg for gas mileage. I have only been able to get above 36mpg one other time, so naturally I was fairly excited. This was recorded on the trip computer, which on the MPG I have found to be very accurate for my vehicle.
Background:
Car: 1.8T with WETT 1.1bar chip, 5spd, 15000 miles so far.
Roads: My drive is 28.7 miles from my garage door to where I park at work. I jump on to a 55mph road that is 300 feet from my drive that takes me 15 minutes to a small town that drops down to 45mph. Small turn then back to 55mph pretty much the rest of the way to work for another 15min until it slows down to 30mpg again. I have lots of varying hills and some good flat sections along with some nice S turns (all very fun at 100mph when I don't care about mpg's.)
This morning I was able to draft behind a minivan for the first half of my trip. Second half of my trip I was on my own. I've learned you save the most gas by coasting down hill with the car in gear as it cuts off the gas to the engine. Coasting in out of gear still sends gas to the engine so it can idle which is not as effective. There is a fine line here though as being in gear slows the car down and causes you to get on the gas sooner. So I have found that I can start out at the top of a hill in gear and then half way down coast which helps draw out the coasting a little further. If I'm real lucky, I can stay in gear and draft behind someone down a hill which helps keep me from slowing down.
I'm always amazed at how good of gas milage you can get with vehicles if you shift gears SOON (ala early shift, no power, low rpms, engine working hard) and if you draft a little.
On the days when I can't restrain myself (100mph in the fun sections) my gas mileage drops to about 24-26mpg. I guess that's the price I pay for being chipped. Luckly shooting for the high gas mileage is entertaining enough to keep me from speeding more than I do.
Later, enjoy your extended weekend for those that have it.
Just thought I would share the good news. On the way in to work this morning I was able to hit 36.7mpg for gas mileage. I have only been able to get above 36mpg one other time, so naturally I was fairly excited. This was recorded on the trip computer, which on the MPG I have found to be very accurate for my vehicle.
Background:
Car: 1.8T with WETT 1.1bar chip, 5spd, 15000 miles so far.
Roads: My drive is 28.7 miles from my garage door to where I park at work. I jump on to a 55mph road that is 300 feet from my drive that takes me 15 minutes to a small town that drops down to 45mph. Small turn then back to 55mph pretty much the rest of the way to work for another 15min until it slows down to 30mpg again. I have lots of varying hills and some good flat sections along with some nice S turns (all very fun at 100mph when I don't care about mpg's.)
This morning I was able to draft behind a minivan for the first half of my trip. Second half of my trip I was on my own. I've learned you save the most gas by coasting down hill with the car in gear as it cuts off the gas to the engine. Coasting in out of gear still sends gas to the engine so it can idle which is not as effective. There is a fine line here though as being in gear slows the car down and causes you to get on the gas sooner. So I have found that I can start out at the top of a hill in gear and then half way down coast which helps draw out the coasting a little further. If I'm real lucky, I can stay in gear and draft behind someone down a hill which helps keep me from slowing down.
I'm always amazed at how good of gas milage you can get with vehicles if you shift gears SOON (ala early shift, no power, low rpms, engine working hard) and if you draft a little.
On the days when I can't restrain myself (100mph in the fun sections) my gas mileage drops to about 24-26mpg. I guess that's the price I pay for being chipped. Luckly shooting for the high gas mileage is entertaining enough to keep me from speeding more than I do.
Later, enjoy your extended weekend for those that have it.