ptjones

Great Post Jus-A-CMax and your results appears similar to the rest of us with GASPODS plus you got another $5 discount. I'm so envious. LOL Sorry to hear about your CMAX, I hope you are OK and is CMAX going to be OK? I would think the GasPods work better the faster you go, more suction, more drag. Next Tuesday I head to Phoenix and hope to raise my record to over 900mi. with the addition of wheel covers and 50PSI. Weather appears to be good and will polish up the CMAX this time. I will start new thread to post my progress. Paul

Go for it! :) Paul

How many miles on CMAX? I driven those routes several times, but not with CMAX. Divide hours into miles driven to get average MPH. What tire PSI were you using 38 or 50? Paul

They use lead in AVGAS and EPA continues to threaten to ban it,but with no viable replacement they can't.(it's not a big problem % of volume is small) I'm only using my experience, but for what ever reason all FORD cars That I have owned have gotten better MPG's with Premium over Regular. And it's still not worth the additional cost unless you have need to go farther. Pure gas is the best, but very expensive here. Paul

IMO from the Testing I've done Premium does improve MPG's around one or so, but not worth the money.(20-30 cents/gal). Pure gas(90 octane) improves about 2MPG still not worth it.(70-80 cents/gal.) Paul

The testing I did last winter showed that shutters don't start to open until coolant temp reaches 190degrees and fully open until 213degrees. It typically doesn't get that warm during the winter time without Grill Covers. With info from ScanGauge the new up date is about 10degrees hotter with Grill Covers so I'm thinking that they are running ICE leaner to improve MPG's and shorten warm up time. Paul

IMO you would be better off putting on Grill Covers,Gas Pods and Wheel Covers for around $300 and gain 5+MPG than trade in your 2013 CMAX for a 2014. I would be surprised if they up the MPG's much more than 1-2MPG's given past history. Next week we will be going to Phoenix and my wife said she's up for going for new record. Doing the math I should be able to get 68MPG or 950mi on a tank, we will see. :) I thought they were going to start building 2014 in November according to my Ford Dealer. I helped them order a new one.

Me too! I'm going to be in Phoenix next week. :) LOL

I still think the GasPods are worth around 1mpg or so as well as wheel covers that I'm currently testing. I'm currently averaging 52MPG with mostly HWY (45-80mph). Trying to keep as simple and easy to install, I machined a cap to go behind the wheel and glued it in place with silicon rubber. I used 3/16" Lexan and machined a nylon spacer to go between the cover and the cap. I used 1/4"x20 screw and washer to secure it. Added plastic 1/4"x20 screw near the outside of cover to keep the cover from spinning when applying the brakes. Paul

I would still go with gas can to minimize the hassle factor. If you out run you will probably be going down hill or level, that's what happened to me my last tank going to fill up at SAM's. I was about a 1/4mile away going down hill and it quit to my surprise, but things worked out so I could EV to SAM's. It only took 13.8gal. so still had .2gals in tank and could have restarted ICE on slight up grade to SAM's if I needed too. You are in good shape. Paul

Usually your highest temps occur when going uphill at hwy speeds with AC off. The more the ICE runs % of the time the hotter it gets. In theory the leaner the ICE runs, the more efficient it is. There is a MAX temp. limit which should equate to the coolant temp. Someday maybe we can figure out what that temp. is. IMO I think Fords latest update increased FE by leaning the ICE. Paul

I have been driving around for a day with my new wheel covers and am encouraged with the results so far. I'm not sure that I have come up with final design yet. Will have Pics soon. Paul

I was wondering if you have ScanGauge so you would know the exact temp you were at? Ford said 202-212degrees is normal operating temperature. My guess is your temps are lower than that. We are coming into Grill Cover seasons. BTW I left mine on all year. Paul

I think around 70-80degree range is when the decrease starts, but is not noticeable until probably below 60degrees. I sure noticed it at 50degress yesterday morning. I have had several members inquire about Grill Covers and will be shipping out a few sets shortly. I'm currently testing out LEXAN wheel covers. Paul

Things could be different if Ford came out with the Grand CMAX with the extended trunk. We can hope for it in the future. Last time I checked I was getting trip MPG's than people with Energi. Paul

I still think it is only practicable for around town driving compared to Hybrid. I don't think it would get as good MPG's on trips and I can't justify the loss of trunk space. IMO Paul

My testing shows that you do get a 2MPG drop with every 10degree drop in temperature. Other factors like wind, rain, traffic, uphill, downhill, AC etc. can have an effect also. Paul

The top grill opening is for air into the engine compartment (electrical components) and air intake to ICE. At 213-215degress the radiator fan comes on, sometimes lower. Grill Cover blocks some where around 75-80% of air from radiator. I have also looked at that to, someone on different thread apparently took the mirrors off and said it wasn't that hard. I have thought about using a small CCD camera and video display instead, but will take sometime to develop. Paul

I do write the info on the back of receipt as I use my car for business travel. I also take a Iphone pic so I can go back to look for info on the past fill ups. Plan to do some graphs showing MPG's vs Average speed. Paul

I still like Fuelly with the ability to see your average on this page. And I can update from my Iphone right at the gas station. Paul

fotomoto I think you could have made it into the 800mi. CLUB, good job! Paul

The Michelin tires go for about $800-900 so if I were you I would keep them. Otherwise sell them for $100ea to a member. I'm going to do some research to find the best MPG tires for my CMAX . Paul

The cold weather MPG problem can be improve on by installing Grill Covers with about 4mpg improvement during the winter. Paul

The important thing about running out is knowing how many gal. it holds. So how many gallons does it hold? BTW good job! Paul

I have raised my tire psi from 45 to 50 and plan to move front to back the tires, Rears have more tread and will see what effect that has on GPS mileage. The difference was 1.38% on my record breaking trip. I'm thinking it might go to 1.5%. Paul