Jus-A-CMax

Good job LizM.... :) It ain't easy to do but for me, it BEATS THE HELL out of driving a drone vehicle....brrrhhhhh....brrrrhhhh...splutter...splutter...... ;)

Yep, I had about 6 days in the shop, 3 of them was for Galpin to diagnose my GPS going astray....but its worth it. Other was the 13b07 update and got my liftgate fixed so its ONE ninjitsu kick now. Car has been superfine and GPS works great since they replaced it. More than happy with how Ford is updating this car especially with the 3.5.1 to 3.6.2 MFT and the other major updates. Plus, how often does a car manufacturer enabled the a regular non-PHEV with > 63 mph EV, try saying that to the Prii owners who still stuck in 1st gear at 45 mph....after 10+ years of hybrid experience....Toyota is still stuck on 1st gear, lol. :flirt: Ford Motors Company :flirt: :love_shower: :flirt: my CMax more.

Yes, I saw those nasty attack posts & tone which lends them NO credibility either in my eyes.....and so I am well aware of them but you know what, I am going to make up my own mind and decision about these gas pods. I already stated that its of no consequence to me if these works or don't and if anything I am on the skeptical fence. I already done so many huge tanks in my stock CMax, it worth seeing what these things do (if at all) - to improve on the best MPGs on my set route is a tough, tough ask. Also, we have a real CMax owner & drive - Mike aka mtb who I know tried real hard with breaking the 600 was unable to do it until he had these gas pods...so theres something there and its work checking out. MIke just took #1 in the 600 Mile CMax Club bar seat. For me, jury is still out....I am feeling something is there as I know my car & route....and its only been Day 1, finishing at nearly 64 MPG is nice indeed over 47 miles :)

catsailor/mtb/paul - how far back r u guys putting these pods? Does 1/2" from the edge make any difference? mine is set exactly 1" from the edge. Went from work to the golf course, a 7.6 mile trip and that was 64.4 MPG. Average. I have had 68MPG and I have had 59MPG. Head back home from the GC and I got 51.9 MPG on this leg, Overall for the day I finished with 63.8 MPG: That is on the upper end of good for this particular route :) I have had 64+ MPG for the day but that is a different route where I do not deviate to the golf course or gym after work (jus work....->...home). Also, before I put on the gas pods, I made sure I completely cleaned & wax the back section and it was spotless. Today I did a finger-dirt test and I did find some dirt at the end, so its still picking up some dirt. Again, my feeling is that Maxine was gliding better and the spots where I know I would watch the Avg MPG fall, these spots were holding. End of the day, I would rate the gas pods usage and effectiveness at 7/10. I didn't see too much improvement to the golf course, but I didn't lose either and on the way back, it was a postive.. :love_shower: ....on the upper end of good ;) I got a different route from work to a way point tomorrow and then home to try. Lets keep playing....

:flirt: the sig fotomoto :) I don't think I'll be pulling a Brett Favre...but one never knows, seems to be a :airquote: trend in the last few years :skateboard:

1st Day Morning impression. So it may be a placebo effect but I rawked to work with 80.4 MPG using 0.25 gas over 20.5 miles. Stellar but not Galactic - not the best by a long shot (record remains at 84MPG). Contrast this with yesterday, I had 71MPG with 0.28 gas used. On 10/11, the same run I had 78.1MPG using 0.26 gallons. I would say this run, 75MPG is average and 0.27 is average gas used. Also I observed the following: 1. It was 58F this morning, warm up cycle remained as it. 0.04 at my 1st checkpoint, nothing new there. 2. Maxine appears to glide easier and further, forcing me to use less EV. I seem to get better ROU with my EV at the same levels. I know my roads and I noticed my speeds between 35 and 40mph appear to be smoother and longer in EVing. Less EVing effort = better MPGs. 3. No effect in acceleration effort from 15 to 30-35 mph in ICE. I had the usual peak hour crazy traffic and once, I had to accelerate quick to from zero to avoid the DUMB LA city surface traffic in full ICE. So I would class today as a "normal" peak hour driving traffic, no special light sync and filled with the usual idiots in their large SUVs. Day is not over, I am going to go to the golf course after work and then head home. Lets keep playing...its going to be a LONG tank and with some freeway thrown in there (its not going to be the tank gunning for the top 600+ CMax Club Top Dog as I am retired from the game). LOL....hey, I call it as I see it. I still have the bag and I should see if it was a recycle brown bag. Seriously, while I understand the "eco" aspect, 1st impression is everything. Even my LED that are extremely eco-friendly lights, all come professionally packed in plastic@$20 per light. Jus' sayin... :dance:

Oh dear...time to find another dealer, this is simply not acceptable. Today my wifey took our Jaguar to have the rear blinders fixed. Jaguar gave her a loaner, no questions asked - an nice 2013 XF. That is why we :flirt: Galpin Motor Company - the Jaguar division.

So I finally got my gaspods in the mail this evening. First impression...not good. It was wrapped in a brown bag. Okay, may be I was expecting some fancy packaging, I dunno. IMO, presentation could have been better, given the price. The pods themselves look far smaller than in the photos, or the impression you get from the websites. They are dinky. I got the black ones, I could not justify the price for white ones as I could not understand such a huge price difference going to a colored one and I am not even talking about the :airquote: custom colored ones yet...thats another league up in the price. Wifey would have kittens if I got those. All up, first impression, 5 out of 10. Yeah, its harsh but I truly expected a more professional packaging, that brown bag jus killed it for me. Also, I noticed there were "Pat Pend" little stickes on the bottom of all of the pods. Once I removed the stickers, I seemed to grip much better. Right now, I have set them exacty 1" from the trailing edge, 5" apart. Tested with the liftgat and it was fine....I learnt the lessons after the MTB debacle (thanks for the tip Mike ;) ). Has anyone notice a wee little tail on the rear lights (aka a little scoop) molded to the plastic? Hmmh....wonder what is THAT FOR....aerodynamics, perhaps? Doesn't seem right to have this little tail at the end when Ford could have made it all smooth... So I have done about 80+ odd miles with this new tank. Right now I am around 1.46 gallons used and at 59MPGs. Pull the low 60s when I get to work but thats IFFY now - Los Angeles (at least San Fernando Valley) traffic TRULY sucks in the last 5 months (I am seeing too many cars in the morning, and A LOT of idiot drivers and getting to a point where its a nightmare...and I am travelling the surface streets!). It truly is a WTF time in the morning for me. Huge SUVs all over the place - gas price is cheap and I reckon they are out numbering even the Priis in the valley. Temps are much cooler too, low 50s in the morning now so thats sucking a bit more gas as well as ICE warms up. I notice the 2nd ICE heat cycle is going on longer. 13b07 improved this but the temps are just that - low and so I am burning at least 0.03 and 0.02 gas just for the warm up. Lets PLAY...it will be a while before I can report back and I am HOPING these gas pods will do better than the packaging score. I intend to win that $5 from the wifey :drool: so these gas pods better NOT let me down... :twister:

:congrats: and welcome to the Club. Phew...less than 4K on the odo and you're smashing records already....a young legend hypermiler in the making :drool: ps...that could EASILY have been a 700+ tank...next time but don't do a :airquote: fotomoto on me now... :drop:

Ah....Mr.Fotomoto...what were you saying about my comment on the 700+ tank in that other 50+ thread.....huh? Might have to take some of that caviar away now....ssssh ;) :congrats: Well done, Post #1 update - you just knocked off Matt from the top spot in the 700+ bar....seat is still warm...enjoy the view, the Playboy bunnies, cocktails and food there :drool: PS Matt and I are hanging out in Shangri-La, its where us :airquote: former hypermilers go when we are all done with it....enjoy the GAME fellas, it only gets better - we know what we are talking about :victory:

11,748..see the number at the bottom of his picture...thats his odo.

The Priis have a much smaller batts and can only EV up to 45mph and then they are toast. Its like you flying the Corsair and she is flying a wooden Zero, you'll toast her a$$ anytime of the day (look up this great WW2 plane rivalry, its a perfect analogy for the CMax vx Zero Prii). The only kudos that the Prii gets, at least from me, is that they have a superior negative split mode especially at higher speeds but that is due in part to their superior aerodynamics - 10+ years gotta BUY THEM SOMETHING over our 1+ year of CMaxing..... Rawk on CMax and :flyaway: FLY the Ford Flag :rating:

You're not too far off being called a hypermiler. From what testing I have done, a quick burn is better & more efficient that a slow 1-bar burn. Only readon for the 1 bar burn is to recharge the batteries. I use 2 bar burns mostly but sometimes I BURST it up to 3 bars to get the momentum going and kick it into EV. ICE from zero is not efficient IMO - at least thats what I and Matt preach.

SEL should have no issues with the batts....at least not as common as the SEs, something is not right if it does happen. Lemon law is the way to go - changed my mind - Ford has had enough "samples" to figure this issue out especially with all their 100s of engineers they employ. Enuf is enuf. Pray you're not on that list anymore Rainette..."

I am amazed@your achievements - contrast this to the Refund thread where I keep reading posts expecting STUPID 47MPG while travelling at 75mph....<- that is the definition of insanity, even the almighty Prii with 10+ years of hybrid experience doesn't even get close to that at those speeds. Some people's expectation are ludicrous...seriously. Oh, they are NOT hypermilers, thank god for that...hate to think they would give that word any more bad name around here. Yes, I had enuf of those crappy posts but you guys in this thread always make, at least me, smile with your great MPGs and none of these BS anti-hypermiling attitude I have been seeing lately.....well done fellas :)

:congrats: Shoot straight up to #3 on his 1st go. Ain't bad,...ain't bad at all :rockon:

Right now, I am on a skeptical fence. Thats jus me but I have extremely good stats on my routes so we shall see. The wifey is betting $5 that its not going to make a difference but I can prolly tell in the first few drives. I took this challenge because of the positives from Mike and also catsailor....but for me, its tougher as I am flying high stratosphere-miling near space with my MPGs. Today, I just did a 740 mile tank in my sleep with about 50% city driving...thats tough to beat & improve but I am consistent. Let's play.... :)

ps...thats a 700+ tank there. Jus to let you know... ;)

:congrats: & :worship: fotomoto....HUGE jump from about #27 to SKYROCKET to #1 :headspin: Wow....jus WOW :hat_tip:

Darn it Matt....looks like Consumer Report mail department FAILED AGAIN. They didn't send you that memo either...talk about a bunch of total SLACKA$$es....sssh. :stirpot:

Crap, the shipping and taxes really killed any discount. I forgot what state we lived in and even based in Santa Barbara, I could drive there and back CHEAPER than it is to mail those thingos.... :doh: And still have money leftover for a nice ice-cream on the beach.

I was jus going to say that...I like the pin stripe. I was thinking, where are the Prii?....let me think about it...thats right, they did consider the Prii but the "acceleration by committee" meant campus police needs to take a vote each and every time the accelerator was pressed. Even the students walked faster from Building A to B which is 100 yards apart.... :lol2: :stirpot:

No, its correct. Its when you joined the 600 Mile Club, not your forum membership date :victory:

Go for a LONG trip. Next milestone - break the 600 mile club, Adair did it ;)

Well...I just updated Post #1, you're #3 sitting in the 600 Club bar....grab your drink quick, you jus got served Top Shelf :rockon: