ptjones

The space was the determining factor for me. As it turns out most of my driving is considered HWY 55+mph (83% Fuelly) it would appear Hybrid gets noticeably better MPG's on the HWY. My Life Time is 47.3 mpg and Fuelly is 46.3 mpg. :) Paul

I believe comes with partial synthetic oil and the engine is pretty much broken in from the factory. Still it may take 5-10K miles to get the best MPG's. With 100K miles I use less than an half a quart of oil per 10K miles. :) Paul

That's scary and it is a big job to change the air filter. I have the K&N, I would look at putting a screen over the front opening for the intake. ;) Paul

When done right drafting is not tailgating. The only problems I have with drafting is there is enough room for two or three cars to get in front of you and use up your safety margin. ;) Paul

Go for it! :) Paul

I thought I would re-post this: OK New CMAX Owners It's time to add your names to the 600mi Club list, It's not that hard and also FUN to do. Remember you can go atleast 25mi past the 0 miles to empty so don't sweat getting close to empty. Be aware of traffic conditions and take advantage of them. Things like rolling to a stop and timing lights so you don't have to stop. On the FWY draft when it is safe to do so, brake to maximize your brake score. If you need a little more help raise your tire pressure to 50PSI(51psi is the max when cold with Michelin tires. Use Premium or Ethanol Free for 1-2mph improvement, with temps above 70*F this isn't that hard to do. Also use A/C sparingly, it puts a dent in your MPG's. If you average 46MPG you will make 600mi and can join the 600mi. Club. There are a bunch of us CMAXers that are over 800mi. so get on the list, Post pic of Trip Gauge with over 600 miles. Jus will add your name to the list. :yahoo: Good Luck CMAXer's Paul

Ford Radio audio guy checked my car and he said the Radio Audio Module was bad and he needed to order one. He will be back in a week to install it . He apparently did something because I had My first dead battery That I didn't cause and now the speakers make a hissing sound when I start and shut off the car. Fortunately I had my jumper battery at home. Paul

No I haven't, I need to check out the differences. :) Paul

I have removed the lower cover where the Trans Cooler is, but the temps keep going up because shutters are closed. I have removed both covers with A/C on which opens shutters and turns on fan. This lowers both ICE(30-40*F) and TFT(10-20*F). Not an ideal solution driving around with your A/C on all the time. I'm trying to turn this problem into a positive solution. :) Paul

Transmissions are failing with 30Kmi. and changing Trans Fluid is a little difficult too. FORD calls for changing it at 150Kmi. Next question is why is my Trans running hotter than others? One passive idea is to glue aluminum thin wall L-brackets to the bottom of Trans to provide extra cooling surface area. Simple to do and can be done for a few dollars. :) Paul

You Think? LOL I have another one, don't drive faster than 55mph, problem solved. LOL I'm in the process of connecting shutters to Grill Cover so when shutters open so does Grill Cover. Add to that a 6" 12v fan blowing air on to Trans I might be able to keep Trans below 170*F. :) Paul

How many miles do you have on the car? Noise in the back might be a wheel bearing. Noise in the front could be Trans among many other things. Sounds like you need to drive it some more until the noise is louder. Noises will usually get louder over time. I don't think these noises are going to leave you stranded, unlike the battery problem, do you have portable jumper battery just in case? :) Paul

Actually it would appear that the car (Computer) doesn't think about the Transmission at all. So you have to make it work the way you need to make it work. LOL It would be nice if you could put Trans and DC to DC converter coolers in front of the shutters so they are getting cooler air all the time this time of year. :) Paul

Went out to go to lunch and radio is not working again. Think I will drop by FORD and see what they say. ;) Paul

I just had the problem with radio not working, so I pulled fuse# 79 and put in back in and now the radio works, but "Sirius has failed message" is now displayed. Anybody have any ideas? ;) Paul

If there is a significant problem it is in FORD best interest money wise to fix the problem. Recalls are very expensive. Yesterday I drove 70mi. up the FWY in 90-95*F OT going 60-80mph and TFT got to 190*F, coming back in the evening 85*F OT, TFT got to 180*F. Outside temps do effect TFT a lot. I currently have top grill open, center grill blocked off and lower grill blocked off except 5 x 1.5" holes in the cover, it takes approx. 20+min. to get WT to 215*F. then I'm able to keep WT in the 215-225*F range most of the time. This keeps the shutters open and allowing cooler air to go through the Trans Cooler there by lowering the TFT. :) Paul

Here is a Link to a site on Trans temps and longevity: http://www.txchange.com/heatchrt.htm. Ideally you want it to below 175*F. :) Paul

The ICE only needs to get to 128*F to go into EV mode and The ICE will start the first time if you exceed 34mph to lubricate the Trans. Another thing the ICE will never reach operating temperatures in City driving and maybe if you drive fast enough on FWY driving. That is why Grill Covers are necessary to get great MPG's. :) Paul

With temps in the 85-93*F now I'm averaging 55.8mpg on this tank. :) Paul

Unfortunately I wasn't there to see it, Service Writer sent me a pic. :) Paul

Actually Garage+ ICE Block Heater+ Oil Pan Heater much better, been able to start at 130*F so you don't have to wait to get to 128*F before you can get in EV Mode. Now if I could only get to 202*F before I started for max efficiency! LOL :) Paul

FORD block heater is the best solution operationally, but a pain to install. BTW my plug for the FORD Block Heater at the block isn't making a good connection now after having the new Trans installed, not looking forward to working on that. The simple solution is the Oil Pan Heater, but there isn't much room to install one. My pic is of a NAPA oil pan heater which was to big. I will try to take pics when I work on block heater. I'm using the wolverine Model 9 at 125 Watts/120vac, but it only raises temp by 20*F. The combination of Oil Pan Heater and Block Heater I get a 60*F rise in WT. There is a fairly smooth spot on the back of block that another Model 9 pan heater could be placed to act like a block heater. :) Paul

This is why driver input is important to maximize the efficiency of the system. It does take time to train yourself to take advantage of the driving environment around you. In reality we only have minimal control of traffic and no control of terrain, but we can take advantage of it. This is why some members get 40mpg and others 47mpg. :) Paul

I think the logical responds after two years would be to never let your Son borrow the car. LOL :) Paul

Lets see, 32+33=AARP, good job! LOL :) Paul