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Last one I saw had a bike rack on the roof... no point in asking what mileage they get! Frank

+1 sums up Winter up nicely! I'm not looking forward to having no control over the pulse, and losing my glide again! Conversely, we're still waiting for Summer weather (big lake's at 53F); it's been a beautiful if late Spring! Have fun, Frank

Next time you reply hit My Media... Just for grins if nothing else. I get a choice of Gallery or Attachments. Frank

Look again... limits have changed, and you can reuse any image you've already attached in other posts. It's not the same at it once was. Frank

There's a nugget of truth in here, I suspect. My initial approach was to run the ICE as hard as I could when it's on, hoping to increase %EV. Recently, I've backed-off the ICE power a bit, and I'm getting both better efficiency (using more fuel per ICE-on mile), and better mileage due to higher %EV. When Adair is using ICE, she's not running high load, getting lower %EV, but still using fuel at a slower rate per mile. Perhaps the trick is more ICE at lower load... I hit a 63MPG recently (not entered in my database yet) and thought perhaps I'd done more low-load ICE time. The thought was that the battery's charging just as well at low load as at high load, that ICE time was important to SOC, not intensity. This is very different from Jus's advice to run ICE at 2 bars when you use it, but use it only when needed. Perhaps I misunderstood, as he's certainly gotten the results!! HAve fun, Frank, who can't change driving style now that he's started playing with aero things again...

+1 here at least!

No FWD cars have a reasonable turning circle in my experience, but then, I never drove a Mini. I expect CV joints only work reliably over a modest range of angles, as all my RWD cars are positively nimble compared with any front-drivers; only 32.5' for a Volvo 940, despite a 109" wheelbase. But then, it was 190.5" long, nearly 1.5' more than the C-Max. Odd that CU would prefer the bumper clearance measurement over curb-curb... an urban approach? The short F/R overhang (short body, long wheelbase) making bumper clearance distance deceptively short compared with the size of the circle the tires follow. Plus, if you can't see the bumpers, it's no advantage, and I usually miss by 6" or more! (There are times I want to close the gap, as when parking in a short parking space.) HAve fun, Frank

This is curious... My commute: 15.3 miles, typical EV 11.3 mles, ~55 mpg Your commute 17.0 miles, typically (?) EV 11.5 miles, 63.1 mpg. You are driving more miles on ICE and using less fuel than I am on a similar type of route! Of course, you're doing the speed limit, I'm staying at-or-above the speed limit: - use ICE when I can't maintian speed limit in EV, - target 5-over entering EV and let it decay to speed limit as SOC falls - allow 10-over down hills, especially those followed by a rise (valleys) where I let it decay to 5-over on the uphill. - only change is I no longer use as much ICE as I can while charging; now using 1.5-1.8 bar to accelerate, 1-1.5 bar to cruise when a higher SOC is beneficial (e.g. long EV run around the bend.) All this only because it's the rules I instituted last September when baselining performance, and I have to play be consistent rules to evaluate the fuel comsumptioni impact of things like PCM update, aero mods and the like. I average 30 mph - 30 minutes to go 15 miles. Well done! Frank, who's seen 60's on this route, but only when cheating (warm engine)

The idea behind vortex generators (VG) is that a little tab sticking up into an attached (aka "laminar") flow region will cause the flow to twist, forming a downstream vortex. In aircraft, an array of these vortices has a positive effect on the overall airflow, keeping it attached to the wing, and so producing lift, as angle of attack increases. If you fly, you know about stall, a sudden loss of lift as angle of attack increases. The plane falls out of the air. Not good. Adding little VGs along the wing keeps the airflow attached, pushing stall off to even hihger angels of attack. In vehicles, these vortices will bridge a gap, as between the tractor and trailer of an 18-wheeler. This the target application of AirTabs, Their product is based on a NASA design from the 1970s, when Langley did experiments on vehicular drag. I can't find the blurb on their "STI Spinoff" page that describes the history, but the idea is that an array of VGs that help wing lift will also reduce drag. Think of a spiraling line coming off each VG. An array of them on the flanks of a vehicle separates the laminar flow off the sides from the turbulent flow in the rear, reducing drag on the vehicle. Sorry I haven't found all the pretty pictures, but last Fall, it was all there (NASA links now broken). HAve fun, Frank PS link to NASA Spinoff report.

I don't know... that first 500 miles out of Denver gives you a 4000' drop... but it's still only a 0.1515% grade! Frank

FWIW, I parked next to a recent Mustang GT and if that's a larger bolt circle, it's sure hard to see the difference using a "digital" ruler (i.e. my fingers). Real high offset, too. Frank

In the toolbar above, under the happy face is the "Image" icon. Select it and paste the URL of the photo (says the guy who's never done that). For the rest of us, "My Media" next to the happy face, is the portal to all gallery images and prior attachments. Neat add to the site! Also note a 1MB limit for individual images, with no limit on the total... was a 1.5MB limit on the total - yipee! Have fun, Frank

Just drive from Denver to St. Louis... 900 miles downhill, but I bet it looks flat! Frank

I wasn't saying not to, just check the specs. Stock is +55mm - wheel is inset under the fender, the opposite of "deep dish" ( high negative offset) from our youth. Frank

Adair, we haven't warmed up to AC season yet, so maybe 10 miles? Lake Ontaio is still in the 50's F offshore... and yes, I've been on track for 600 mile tanks, but never a long enough span of time off the highway to break 600. 580 and 568 were my prior highs, even with 50+MPG for much of the time. Paul, this was one time the pump agreed with the car, 13.305 gal vs. 13.27 gal from the computer. I normally top off to the nearest dollar, and this time, managed to put premium in, so maybe I'll do even better next time. And then there's the aero mods... side skirts will be documented as soon as I have the passenger side installed. 1.5" Al angle stock this time, level with the body pan, and with rear tire sploilers. Also plan wheel covers as that's the last of the non-rear mods I can think of. HAve fun, Frank

Finally got a whole tank at good mileage... Far harder when it takes a month! . Have fun, Frank

Check the offset... FWD needs more negative offset than RWD. Kills wheel bearings as I recall Frank

http://www.designnews.com/author.asp?doc_id=256425&dfpPParams=ind_184,industry_auto,bid_318,aid_256425&dfpLayout=blog And here's the data behind it... Frank

There's a physical key inside the keyless entry fob, as the fob's battery will die one day, and you'll need the key to get in and you'll need to know where to put the dead fob to start the car. All in the Owners' Manual... Have fun, Frnak

Looking at the Wolverine site, I'm impressed by their install instructions. Clearly, this is not something you want to install during Winter unless you have an indoor garage with a lift... at least not in Rochester! I may add this to this Summer's car mods... (air dam done, door bumpers received, bumper cover "awaiting shipment" - I ordered a week ago!) Still considering side skirts, done the same as the air dam... HAving fun, Frank

Yeah, I used the plastic shield in front of the ICE undercover as my template; the cut-outs allow ICE access without removing the air dam. The platic's plenty smooth, but you get an arc of some sort if you want to meet up with the tire dams, which brings whatever you add forward enough to be in danger of damage. I'd also be careful about adding depth to the undercover as it's the low spot on the underbody.My dam doesn't extend that deep. Have fun, Frank

+1 to industrial Velco. I used it for wheel covers on my snows... the front came off due to wheel flex, the rears lasted the season. In both cases, no issues with adhesive. HAve fun, Frank

Agreed, but there are real advantages to a car that automates hypermiling techniques. Automatic EOC is legal in all states, and once you get the hang of P&G, you glide much farther with EV assist than you would otherwise. Hybrids don't get good mileage, they enable drivers to get good mileage if they so choose. (EOC - engine off coasting, P&G - pulse and glide, for those not familair with the terms.) And no one got 40K miles on bias ply tires... HAve fun, Frank

I've had the top grill blocked forever it seems, the middle blocked behind the grill, and along with the air dam, I added a lower grill block: pipe insulation so I can remove it easily if I start to overheat. There's only so much a block heater can do... it's the passengers who can't tolerate 0F for long! When Winter sets in, I take the expressway so I don't have to choose between freezing and listening to the ICE run all the time. Plus, I use less gas on the highway than I would on back roads due to all that idling... my low trip to work is 30 mpg, and that was on back roads at 7F. And then there's the sampling error... not a mistake, just the way numbers work. 1 bad tank has a far greater impact on the global average than one good one, and the bad tanks come often... it'll be over 4 weeks on this tank by the time it's gone, while I average a fill per week this past Winter (granted, we did a 3000 mile trip to Louisiana...). Yes, my fuelly is embarassing! HAve fun, Frnak

If you do, it's a clear sign that the stylists and marketeers have won... so we users are losers. It starts with the purpose of the whip antenna, which I'll assume is AM/FM radio. FM is ~100MHz, which is a 3m wavelength. Good FM antennae are on the order of 1/4 wave in size, or 75cm. There are techniques to increase effective length in a shorter physical length, but none of them get you small enough to fit a functional FM antenna in a shark fin. (GPS works in the 1.2-1.6GHz range, so antennae are10-15x smaller size) The other functional issue is drag. I'll address the base and mast separately. Base The base is low and rounded, so theory says it will disappear in the boundary layer under the laminar flow across the roof. When tuft testing, I made a point of surrounding the antenna with tufts. The two on either side, at the trail edge, show no sign of flow disturbance. Same for the one immeidately downstream of it. There's nothing I see on the roof flow to indicate a disturbance from this antenna. Observation agrees with theory. This base is more than large enough for a GPS antenna Mast As you know, drag force = Cd x Area, so let's compare areas. I measured the C-Max antenna as having a 2mm shaft that's 17cm long on a 1cm base that's about 8cm long, for an area of 11.4 sq cm. For comparision, I measured several shark fins... Hyundai was 2.5cm wide and 5cm tall (above a 2.5cm base that I assume is also in the boundary layer), for a 12.5 sq cm area. The antenna on the Audi next to it is only 1 cm x 2.5cm = 2.5 sq cm. For reference, the car is about 23,000 sq cm in cross-sectional area. The antenna is 1 part in 2000, and 0.05% isn't measurable by our methods. And finally, reception. I removed my antenna for measurement. I listen to a BOCES station (Board of Cooperative Educational Services, aka "tech school". DJ's are high schoolers... keeps me young) so it's fairly weak. Barely comes in from ~15 miles away without the antenna, and from ~45 miles away with it. My Volvo had a full-size dipole antenna build into the rear side window (station wagon), and it did a little better, but not much. BTW, the PriI I measured were more like 16-18" (40-50cm) whip antennae... So keep pushing shark fins if you must, but at least tell a complete story! It's for looks over function at all levels. HAve fun, Frank