one way to increase FE...

[Erdrick]

is to reduce your weight. Weight piles on from a lot of different angles. People may strip down their cars, but how many people forget to check the bathroom scale for possible improvements?

Check out this little blurb on the subject...
http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/2007-09-13-overloaded-cars_N.htm

As an added bonus, I tacked on a poll to this. Let's all be honest now...

[baddog671]

Im 165ish but 6foot, so I'm good there :P.

I took about 115lbs off the car's original weight...

[kamesama980]

yea, I can see both sides of the equation tho. saying a 2 seater caddy (comeon, who drives caddies... on average, not young small people).

At the same time, the car's engineered for a certain thing and it WILL handle differently with more weight in it. the manufacturers are just covering their asses for when someone says "my car handles like mush" they can say "well you overloaded it"

I work in performer flying effects (among other things) lifting peter pan, wicket witches, jesus, and angels. there's a HUGE F'ing liability to deal with as you can imagine. Sure the weakest part is at least 8 times the expected performer weight but we still tell people not to mess around with the systems when we or the designated operators aren't there. we've got a pretty inclusive liability waiver ;-)

The limits are kinda retarded though. I can fill my car to the limit with space to spare in the trunk and only me

[Red]

I'm fairly light weight for my size, 6' 130ish or so lbs.

kamesama980 what do you consider the limit? Payload or GVWR?

[kamesama980]

I'm fairly light weight for my size, 6' 130ish or so lbs.

kamesama980 what do you consider the limit? Payload or GVWR?

Unless they botched the math, GVWR should be the car with full fluids plus payload/passengers. I packed my trunk solid (and it's not a small trunk) with tools, not light ones either, then loaded 8 tires in the passenger area. most recently anyway...

Now I've got a pickemup truck for that kind of thing. The cressidas getting new rear suspension anyway...the rear shocks didn't so much like the trip I just mentioned. it's being slowly relegated to 'fun' car

[oneinchsidehop]

is to reduce your weight. Weight piles on from a lot of different angles. People may strip down their cars, but how many people forget to check the bathroom scale for possible improvements

As an added bonus, I tacked on a poll to this. Let's all be honest now...

This hurts... when I moved back to VT I was racing bicycles and weighed in at 153, now I'm 211. Forget FE for a moment, this sucks.

I need to start commuting on bike, or change my screen name to lard4ss.:(

[Thermactor]

Used to weigh 245, now humming around 167 :D

[Minger]

I weigh 165, weighed 155 when I started driving...not being in track has killed me as far as weight goes =/

[Erdrick]

I have pretty much, since the beginning of high school, weighed the same. We are talking 10 years here. Makes me wonder if I have an extended family of tape worms living in me. I have started to gain recently though, but thanks to the Wii Fit, I am starting to normalize again.

[VNelson]

Unless they botched the math, GVWR should be the car with full fluids plus payload/passengers.

Seems to me that most people aren't carrying much payload when they drive. If so, being overweight probably doesn't reach the car's GVWR and present a hazard.

On the other hand, I have seen estimates of the enormous number of gas gallons it costs to haul around overweight Americans. Here's a link:

http://www.news.uiuc.edu/NEWS/06/1024auto.html

[dkjones96]

lard4ss hahahaha

[jcp123]

I'm 5'7", weigh in at about 135lbs...which is a 10lb gain from what I weighed when I was 16-20.

[Peakster]

I weighed myself on December 27th and I'm (no joke) 117 pounds!

[kamesama980]

Seems to me that most people aren't carrying much payload when they drive. If so, being overweight probably doesn't reach the car's GVWR and present a hazard.

On the other hand, I have seen estimates of the enormous number of gas gallons it costs to haul around overweight Americans. Here's a link:

http://www.news.uiuc.edu/NEWS/06/1024auto.html

No, but the arguement is that IF someone were to fill each seatbelt, the average weight of the occupants would have to be under 150lbs to meet the govornment calculated/mandated payload capacity. in the caddy XLR, A 400hp 2-seater with stiff sporty suspension, the total payload capacity is ~350 lbs. if I drive, that leaves 175 lbs for a companion AND luggage. Granted that car's a weekend car at most but even a sedan with 800lb capacity and 5 seatbelts can be overfilled in no time flat on the family vacation a couple times a year.

[brucepick]

Volvo 240 wagon.
Payload: 1200 lb!
That's GVWR 4300 lb. - curb weight (max version) 3097 lb.

Now if I didn't carry all my tools and a full size spare with me all the time I could reduce the existing load maybe 100 lb! But I like my tools and good spare. Saved my a$$ several times already.

[kickflipjr]

I weigh 150-155 depending on how much I eat. People always say how skinny I am.

[lamebums]

Too Much. As in, it's hurting my gas mileage.

[Hateful]

I'm about 185 right now,but hope to lose some( mostly so my clothes will fit again).
On the other hand if a few passenger's at 300lbs each can really add up; which I believe added to Firestone's problem a few years ago; as family and other group's crowd into SUV's in search of yet more food.

[JanGeo]

I am 180 6' up a bit from my usual 165lbs but everyone was saying I was too thin and most of it is muscle. The xB once carried me and 3 other full size adults and a few hundred pounds of sailing gear including three sails for a 42' sailboat. It rode nice even over the railroad tracks but took a lot more engine revs to get going and get up hills. The 10 mile trip still got me over 40mpg. My Geo would usually bottom out the suspension on road bumps with just me in it but near as I can tell the xB has not bottomed out yet.

[baddog671]

Lol Jangeo, one time I was working with a couple guys tearing down a barn and we all jammed in my metro to pick up some snacks at a nearby gasstation. I estimated there was about 875lbs of just people in the car. Tops of the tires must have been about 1/4" away from the wheelwells cuz every little bump bottomed it out :P

[Thermactor]

This hurts... when I moved back to VT I was racing bicycles and weighed in at 153, now I'm 211. Forget FE for a moment, this sucks.

I need to start commuting on bike, or change my screen name to lard4ss.:(
ephedrine is your best friend

[PaleMelanesian]

6'2" and 145lb. Not much room for losing weight. ;)