Going on a long trip on the expressway with a full load!

[C-MaxSea]

Nice write-up Matt - thanks.  Atkinson / C-Max magic, I feel that magic too and like it.  Nick

[ptjones]

Hah, I will have at least another thousand miles on my car by then. :P

 

Matt

If my car is ready in time I will be going to Phoenix+ and back should be around 4kmiles.Matt :)

BTW I'm getting good MPG's with my 2014 FFH rental with Grill Covers on. Currently 48.1mpg climbing, but had over 51mpg until I did some HWY testing.

Paul

[fotomoto]

BTW I'm getting good MPG's with my 2014 FFH rental with Grill Covers on. Currently 48.1mpg climbing, but had over 51mpg until I did some HWY testing.

 

So are your cmax grill covers a direct fit with the FFH?

[ptjones]

So are your cmax grill covers a direct fit with the FFH?

Similar but larger. I have orders for 2 center covers already.

 

Paul

[BIG ROCCO]

I am really happy for you Matt, but I don't get it. Our last trip to Indy was in early October. Weather was mild, highway new and fairly flat. 3 people weighing approx. 440lbs.,  w/luggage. 68-72 MPH. Air on the outbound, recirc on the return, and I got 34.9 MPG. And this was after all the upgrade. I have 14,400 miles on the car. I need you to come drive my car and see what I'm doing wrong.

 

 

What I don't get is the wide range of results we all get with the same vehicle.  For example, we went up to the AZ mountains over Thanksgiving, cold temps and a ~6,000 foot elevation change took their toll - 43.3 MPG displayed on the dash display when we got home (a little less than we get around town, but fully acceptable to me).  Someone else would probably get over 50 MPG, and I'm sure some of us would get in the 30s.  That puzzles me...

[hybridbear]

Third, and I do not have a clue how thise works, I watch my mpg screen and I slightly speed up and slightly slow down (very gradually so it is not noticeable to anyone in the car) and I watch the screen to see when it reads over 40mpg at the speed I want and I hit Eco-Cruise at that point. There is something about these Atkinson cycle engines that the valve timing does something special at a given rpm and load that makes it additionally efficient. However, it does not just kick in when you are crusing. I am not sure what is going on with it. But, I can be driving 70mph on a given road that is relatively level and see 34mpg for miles, then all of a sudden I see 42 to 44mpg without anything changing in the state of charge, terrain, or speed. I have learned that must have something to do with the Atkinson cycle kicking in because my engine rpm does not change much (maybe 10%) at that point. I just look for that and use it to my advantage.

Are you referring to ICE High?

 

What I don't get is the wide range of results we all get with the same vehicle.  For example, we went up to the AZ mountains over Thanksgiving, cold temps and a ~6,000 foot elevation change took their toll - 43.3 MPG displayed on the dash display when we got home (a little less than we get around town, but fully acceptable to me).  Someone else would probably get over 50 MPG, and I'm sure some of us would get in the 30s.  That puzzles me...

Driving style, HVAC use and wind all play a large role. Even if both drivers set their Cruise Control at the same speed and were driving on the same day with the same temps/wind and same HVAC settings, you'd see a difference in MPG because of how they drive when not using cruise. Perhaps one accelerates more rapidly than the other when not using cruise and thus their MPG would be lower.