catsailor

_{Here is the deal, I bought into Gas Pods not because I do a lot of city short spurt drives BUT because when I have to drive +2 hour distances on open highways I wanted to maximize what MPG's I was getting. I think if your on a lot of back roads doing 45-55 mph you may or may not be able to measure the results. Once I got 13B07 installed and I could set cruise control above 62 MPH and now I cruise at 65-68 MPH in a 65 zone THAT is when I thought the Pods would really shine.}

_{I am not looking at my individual tanks but every time now I am on the open road I check out mentally what my MPG was for that long haul? Was really surprised at those few trips I had over 50 mpg.}

_{The other thing I noticed and since its been raining and drizzling here with a Nor-Easterly parked above the mid Atlantic my rear glass has not needed to be wiped as often when at highway speed.......maybe Susanne can comment on this real effect of having the Pods installed????}

Here is the note I penned to Susanne at Gas Pod

"I have captured a snap shot of my Trip #2 dash reading which I am holding open to show my cumulative Gas Pod miles which are 514.6 miles at 48.2 MPG driven. This is NOT my all time best which I think is higher than that like 48.7 MPG but trust me when I tell you that I probably nursed the shit out of the accelerator to get that result. This total tank which included 45 miles (driven)approx before I installed the Pods is 557 miles at 48.1 MPG.

Now here is the good stuff that average stats won’t tell you. Last week I drove from Thurmont MD back to Kensington (my home) around 60 miles and did nothing out of the normal and got 55 MPG for that trip, thought to myself ideal storm J But since then I have had 3 more long highway trips of that same distance to Baltimore etc and have seen my trips at +50 MPG. SO THIS IS FOR REAL !!!! I know I have 1500 more miles to drive which will be 3 more fill ups BUT to my eye it’s what I do on the highway that counts. I do monitor those trips of 50 miles of open road and so far very and I mean very pleased. If I get another +47 MPG tank you will know that you have a nice product on your hands. The weather here just got cool this week as we had a very warm late September and early October weather.

I copy my buddies at Academy Ford as they are becoming efficiency  geeks with all these e mails of mine. Thanks Catsailor"

So I know I don't want to get ahead of myself and I know what really counts is what I do on the highway and trust me I am looking at what numbers I am posting on those trips and so far "I LIKE IT .......ALOT" stay tuned tank #2 on in play now.

why would you want to draw ANY power off the battery during the day. You are already struggling to get FE numbers and any un-necessary power draw off your battery will be unwelcomed. If you run into fog use your fog lamps if you have an SEL.

BTW Gas Pods so far are doing the job

I am liking my gas pods, report to follow with first fill up. I am not discounting this mod as kool aid :)

FWIW Laurel I am in your corner, a life long Ford client (5 cars and +650,000 miles) I bought the Max with a low bar expectation since I knew the technology was going to be very new. BUT what I truly did not expect was Ford stepping up and making continuous improvements along the way. Ford scouched the pouch as they say but they are trying to FIX the issues in as timely a manner as they can...this is a pleasant surprise to me. I still feel for those that have battery and FE issues. I think the issues of the early adapters should be stated and the fixes and improvements stated. I for one thought and still believe that Ford LIED about what the car could do from a FE standpoint to begin with and this focused a lot more of the publics attention on the short comings of the car...... I do believe that 47/47/47 is very doable but NOT to an everyday driver...how do you convey that in print without offending folks. Anyway I think all and all this place is managed very well and it remains civil. I hope you stay and contribute to the dialog.

BTW my first true HWY test of Gas Pods for 45 miles driven at +55 mph :)

Well not to be picking nits here but since you recently added the update, it's still not going to be apples to apples.  More like apples to grapples.   Off-topic: Ever had a grapple?  They're pretty good but in a weird sort of way. 

the update is +2200 miles old now, I did not order the gas pods until I had 2000 miles of fuel data to submit to Susanne with 13B07 installed. How much more data do you think I need :)

Besides I will personally know how these things work on my long road trips

I have purchased Five (5) Ford cars so far, driven these Five over 650,000 miles and I will buy more Ford cars as long as my dealer is Academy Ford because at days end my dealer has kept me and my cars running. Being in sales means, no car = no money and this affair started in 1990 with a Ford Taurus.

When it came time to buy my C Max (took delivery Sept 24 th 2012) the first car off the truck to my dealership I had not driven or ridden in the car. All I knew was what I read in press releases. I ruled out the Prius V but I could not fathom what magic Ford did to beat the mileage figures of the Prii. Heavier car, more HP and more frontal resistance to drag.

So I figured if the car got 40-43 mpg I would be happy. I learned to drive this car, my first Hybrid and I get 45-47 mpg in the fall and summer time. Taught myself how to drive a hybrid. I am very happy with my purchase too.

BUT you guys that keep defending Ford for their massive F Up is beyond me. They knew what they were doing when they tacked on the 47/47/47 label on this car and admitted that they took the ratings from the Fusion drive train which the EPA allowed them to do EXCEPT they also knew that this car had more aero drag than the Fusion and they still decided to tack on the 47 mpg label.

Guys, think of what great PR they could of had, had they been truthful off the bat with their mileage claims. The auto journalists would have focused on the positives of the car and not the stupid mileage which Ford claimed were truthful all along. Ford NEVER came clean to admit that they never tested the C Max until they were put under pressure. I bet it was not somebody in the engineering dept. that made this call, go find some VP of marketing and hang him to the cross.

George Costanza said it best "Its not a lie Jerry if you believe it to be true" Ford believed the mileage of the C Max to be the same as the Fusions...NO LIE and just plain dumb ass move.

So I am really happy with my C Max and feel for those that still have not figured out the car. 13B07 changes have been nothing short of fantastic for me and I hope Susanne with her Gas Pods help me even further on hwy efficiency improvements. I'll take the $550 check cause Yes at some early point in owning the C Max last winter I did not know if I would ever get 47 mpg per tank. Now I know I can do it and have done it more than once or twice. But in my book Ford got greedy and got caught, tarnished the rep of a great car, they could have easily under-stated the mileage and over delivered too. Greed is a bad thing.

Now go ahead and flame me to death. I can take the heat.

I placed mine within + 1 inch from the rear of the spoiler. I can't wait for my two road trips this week. I am also going to clean my rear glass cause this is a pretty good indicator of streamline flow too.

Ms Laurel,

I have found that rain with loss of tire to road traction is not helping you out, seen it first hand, also wipers, head lamps and AC drains battery power and this retards the software from dedicating the battery to EV mode to run your electric motors. I get much worse MPG's when driving at night then during the day...as you can now guess why. Add wipers and rain and AC to the mix and your cooked. 

The electric Focus (which I'm guessing is the most efficient) seems to have the same exact rims as the CMax... http://www.ford.com/cars/focus/trim/electric/

 

And the Chevy Cruz Eco also looks like it has very similar rims... http://www.chevrolet.com/cruze-compact-car/specs/trims.html

 

So, uh, what do you mean, get rid of our spoked wheels?

 you have not looked at their SPE package

wording right off their spec's for a Ford Focus - Yup to get the 40 mpg rating you need these wheels :)

16" steel with unique aero wheel covers (included in SFE Package)

I think getting rid of the spoke wheels and going with these ugly ones will help ALOT and it the only way you get 40 mpg along with manual tranny on a Focus

Get rid of your SPOKED tire and buy the wheels that come with the 40 MPG Ford Focus and you can see these hub caps also on the 40 mpg ecco Chevy Cruze too. I think the spoke wheels kill aero for the wheels. I think a lot of this is window dressing to get around the FUBAR of their mistakes for the 2013 model. When its all said and done I doubt they will squeeze more than 1 MPG out of the C Max EPA ratings. The front dam seal is very easy to do and for my money go with Gas Pods since Ford is already saying the spoiler could use some improvement.

Aero Wheels from the Focus

Gas Pods

front grille air block

these are all mods along with lighter viscosity oil that can be done now

Do you have at least a year of driving the CMAX under your belt (i.e., all 4 seasons) so you won't be comparing apples to oranges?

  15,200 miles and yes picked up car last Sept 24 th 2012 and also recorded +2000 miles with 13B07 which is also very important too. So I got this all covered.

what intrigues me is what mtb has said that his rear hatch, bumper and glass are cleaner now with his pods installed which tells me his airflow is not turbulent coming off his spoiler. This is a good sign.

that is my exact plan, will start a new thread when I get some fuel results, Thanks

I ordered today from her the magnetic ones in white. She accepted my Fuelly logs which lessens the cost to play. I am a sailor and a hydrodynamics trained mechanical engineer so I know what this stuff is about. If these thing kick in and add 1 MPG it will be great. I have also logged +2300 since 13B07 at 46.8 mpg on my car's computer so you can see why I am willing to give it a try PLUS Ford is re-designing the spoiler so they already know that this is a bugaboo with the old design. Everybody can't be punch drunk on her website. I am not pre-Podded :)

will gladly share results knowing I am going into fall cooler weather.

Will Susane at Gas Pods take my Fuelly recordings as I have listed when I started 13B07 and have now over 2400 miles since I made the upgrade. I don't want to be a skeptic but now that I am driving above 65 mph on the HWY I feel that these devices may give me a boast on my MPG. I think that I am over 46.5 mpg total since 13B07 was installed. I have reached out to Gas Pods to see if I can get in the test program with my Fuelly numbers and hope that somebody here can shed any light on the product or the test program. I have already read MTB's thread and I don't think his driving habits and mine are on the same par. I consistently go over 47 mpg per tank on my car's computer.

I bought my car back in Sept 2012 and assumed I'd be first on the list but I don't know if anybody so far got a check yet.

Roll call please?

BTW I would have gladly accepted some of the proposed aero mods over the check.

new rear spoiler

Wheel dams

grill air blocks

going faster on the highway and holding 47/47/47 after 30days and +1400 combined miles in and around Washington DC

yes A/C ran.. a lot too in this hot DC beltway traffic.

Ford Send me CASH as I am not going faster (65 mph hwy) and getting 47/47/47 so thanks a bunch :)

This is driving between Washington and Baltimore beltway traffic and places in between.

The stakes have been raised now boys and girls as Honda has ditched it old hybrid technology in favor of a Ford type set up. Let the games begin. 50 MPG city is a killer even to the Prii clan.

43.6 MPG lifetime average since Sept 2012 when I picked up the Max, never re-set, 13,600 miles driven and 96% brake score.

its going UP as I am knocking around +47 mpg tanks but winter will knock this down a bit.

Dropped off my car one week ago Friday for this update along 3.6.2 and my tank average at the time was 48.3 MPG  at roughly 430 miles driven. No matter what happens when I leave the car at my dealer they figure a way to burn off 1 mpg in running the car and testing things out. So I have now over 450 miles since the upgrade and I can report GOOD THINGS.  My average on this conversion is 48.7 MPG BUT get this I can now run on the highway at 65 MPH on ecco cruise with no drop off in efficiency. YES before I had to hold hwy speeds down to 62 MPH but NO longer is this the case anymore. My lifetime average for 13,400 miles driven is 43.4 MPG and my brake score is 95% lifetime.

LOVE this car.........and shove it Exxon Mobil :)

they were not thinking they were GREEDY

to answer your questions the aero mods will probably show up as an after market product by some third party company or may not cause with +30,000 C Max 2013 produced their may not be enough demand for such a product.

The tire deflectors I envision as some sort of wheel covers versus spoked wheels that have crappy aero performance and I think the 40 mpg Focus has these already. The aero lift gate deflector may find its way as a bolt on Ford replacement. The grill dams I see that happening too. Engine oil may go synthetic cause what can they do to re-invent that :)

All in all most of these changes won't amount to 2-3% hwy improvements IMHO and the cost to change out will never see a payback.

I for one would rather have seen some kind of solar panel to charge the battery when parked in the sun...that would have been very nice.

Does anyone know how many hybrids Ford sold for 2013? Just wanting to do a little calculation....$550 X ? =....

ALOT so I think its over 35,000 units and maybe more when you figure the Energi and don't forget the Fusion too since I assume they get $ back too.

 

Which, if any, of the changes being made for the 2014 vehicles could be applied to our 2013's?

 

For example:

• New hood seal, front and rear tire deflectors, A-pillar moldings and the addition of rear lift gate deflectors to improve vehicle aerodynamics
• New engine oil with reduced friction

the engine oil is simple just a lower friction oil, the rear spoiler is probably something you can buy and add on, the wheel wells a bit more tricky.The front hood dam is probably a gasket between the hood and the grill.

I think the biggest changes is 13B07 which we got already.

I would have been happy to get smaller check and some of the changes offered to me. I am guessing that these are aero mods that we now need to thank P Jones for being so adamant about his grill covers that he shamed the ford engineers.

I wonder what the pricing of the 2014 will be cause its a fact that Ford was really cutting prices to get these new Hybrids on the road. We all almost forgot about that EPA re-test that nobody is talking about????