Another new FE challenge team...

[BEEF]

my wife has a 3527 pound 4wd SUV that sits like a work van....it is also a 4 cylinder and I personally have gotten 26 mpg in it.

that would be a good one but I don't fore see her mileage getting any better.

epa is 18/22/20 and she routinely gets 23-25 in it.

honda element, good little SUVs.

*edit* she also has to reach forward to get to the radio and she can't touch the windshield from where she is sitting (has to lean up for that as well)

[Jay2TheRescue]

I love the way this thread is going... Yes, I totally adore the column shifter, and a split bench seat. Now here's a strange one... My regal that most would consider a "tank" weighed 300 pounds less than my grandmother's old 1981 AMC Spirit. It was built like a tank though. Seemed like everyone in the family had mishaps in that car, but it seemed impossible to dent. I even ran into a tree at about 30 MPH backwards (Long story, maybe I'll tell it later) and it didn't even scratch the car. I also remember the doors didn't shut right, so dad & I had bought new hinge pins & bushings to rebuild the hinges. After we took the doors off the car, my dad & I could barely carry them into the garage.

And back to the Buick... I recommend getting a distributor out of a 75 GM vehicle, and put a high performance coil in the cap. That's all you need. Then get some AC Delco Platinum plugs and some quality wires and you're good to go. I always loved the Niehoff wires. I haven't bought wires for my older vehicles in a while, don't know if Niehoff is still around, but the wires were nice, and even had the nipples on the tops of the boot for the distributor ring. New AC Delco wires for these vehicles no longer have the nipples.

-Jay

[theholycow]

Column shifter + split bench FTW!!!! My favorite combination, too. Although, I wouldn't want a column-shift manual transmission.

Niehoff is definitely still around. When I looked up carburetor rebuild kits for my Buick a month or two ago, that was one of the brands available at local stores.

[Jay2TheRescue]

Before I bought my first truck (The 74 Chevy) if we needed a truck my dad would borrow his friend's beater, a 74 Ford F100 with 3-on-the-tree. It was kinda fun to drive, even though the play in the steering box was 3/4 turn of the wheel.

[BEEF]

mvp,

you talk about these mileage increases....what do you drive?

bobC,

your 10-20-30 plan. what about just a big shot of nitrous (staged of course) that way you can still get the 20 mpg that you desire. just don't blow anything up.

(re-read the thread and thought that one up)

[philip1]

Looks like we have enough interest to form a team. Now choose your vehicle I think a 3000# minimum curb weight is enough to qualify and big.

I'll be first to officially sign on with the wagon

1. Philip1 Saturn LW200 curb weight 3083# EPA 19/27/24

[Jay2TheRescue]

3,000 pounds? My Regal would qualify... The only problem is that even adjusted the original EPA figures are way out there unless I do some extreme hypermiling, and I'm not doing that with a car nearly 30 years old.

I will enter my 1998 GMC Sierra K1500 4x4.

-Jay

[philip1]

1. Philip1 Saturn LW200 curb weight 3083# EPA 19/27/24

2. Jay2TheRescue 1998 GMC Sierra K1500 4x4 curb weight 5500# EPA 12/16/13

[Jetta90GL]

I'll add my 97 Ford F250 HD, I just don't know if my EPA rating from a F150 is acceptable? I don't think there is one for this model.

[philip1]

1. Philip1 Saturn LW200 curb weight 3083# EPA 19/27/24

2. Jay2TheRescue 1998 GMC Sierra K1500 4x4 curb weight 5500# EPA 12/16/13

3. jetta90GL Ford F250hd 4x4 curb weight 4316# EPA 11/16/13

[samandw]

Originally Posted by BEEF

mvp,

you talk about these mileage increases....what do you drive?

bobC,

your 10-20-30 plan. what about just a big shot of nitrous (staged of course) that way you can still get the 20 mpg that you desire. just don't blow anything up.

(re-read the thread and thought that one up)

per the 10-20-30 plan, Buick Grand National anyone? One of my friends ran 9.90's and got 17mpg. That was an all out fast car too, not attention paid to mpg. With a lean burn chip, I've heard of 11 second cars getting 27 mpg. I get about 20 with mine, and it's run low 12's on street radials . . . and needs a tune rather badly.

[bobc455]

True dat, the Grand Nationals are the perfect 10-20-30 car. No better car ever built for that IMO. Just keep them off the road in winter so they don't rust- not because they were particularly rust prone, but because they should be preserved. I have several friends with GNs.

(And I do have a 2-shot nitrous, 100+150 jettable to 150+300, But I've made it to 11.6 with a single 150 shot, so 10s are close enough. Motor & drivetrain can probably handle 300HP of juice, I'd never want to run the full 450HP, I think I'm beyond the limits of the block & transmission at that point.)

-BC

[MTUboi86]

Hey, I'm interested. Never "played" before. I'll have to read the rules.
My curb weight apparently is 2950#. My current rating is somewhat disappointing, and should improve. The 29mpg included a lot of mountain driving. I generally average 32mpg hwy (and am leaving for a 500mile trip on Sunday).

edit: I'm in if you still need more people. I'd qualify for the automatic transmission, and for living above the Mason-Dixon Line (Heck, I live in one of the most northern areas of the U.S., aside from Alaska)

[MTUboi86]

Originally Posted by bobc455

(And I do have a 2-shot nitrous, 100+150 jettable to 150+300, But I've made it to 11.6 with a single 150 shot, so 10s are close enough. Motor & drivetrain can probably handle 300HP of juice, I'd never want to run the full 450HP, I think I'm beyond the limits of the block & transmission at that point.)

-BC

what type of run are you talking about for 11.6sec?
My granny-mobile '93 Buick Century 3.3L V6 can do 0-60 in 9.7 seconds (unofficially...as timed by a video camera)

[StanleyD]

Originally Posted by philip1

1. Philip1 Saturn LW200 curb weight 3083# EPA 19/27/24

2. Jay2TheRescue 1998 GMC Sierra K1500 4x4 curb weight 5500# EPA 12/16/13

3. jetta90GL Ford F250hd 4x4 curb weight 4316# EPA 11/16/13

Hey would I be able to get in with '97 Toyota 4Runner V6 4WD SR5??? Not sure about curb weight but its gonna be up there as its a V6 SUV. Toyotas were always decent with their mpg. Dont have to try THAT hard to get 20mpg if its all highway. 20mpg is not bad when hwy rating is 18mpg on a car thats got over 235K miles on it and still going strong. Just removed half the roof rack and cleaned out half the dead weight in the trunk which should help a little bit.

[Jay2TheRescue]

There are generally 4 vehicles in a team. Since it was Phillip's idea, (and I see that there's 2 more unanswered requests) I'd say that Phillip is the team leader and defer to him. If need be I could step down from the team as I mostly drive short trip city, so I rarely realize the full potential of my hypermiling.

-Jay

[philip1]

looks like the limit is 5 so no one has to be bumped

1. Philip1 Saturn LW200 curb weight 3083# EPA 19/27/24

2. Jay2TheRescue 1998 GMC Sierra K1500 4x4 curb weight 5500# EPA 12/16/13

3. jetta90GL Ford F250hd 4x4 curb weight 4316# EPA 11/16/13

4. MTUboi86 1993 buick Century curb weight 2950# EPA 18/26/21

5.StanleyD 1997 Toyota 4Runner curb weight 3895# EPA 16/18/17

[philip1]

We now have a fully staffed team

[BEEF]

MTU,

bobc was talking about a qtr mile run. just as a reference, my old truck (sold it) would do 0-60 in less than 6 seconds but would only run about a 14.5 sec qtr mile.

an 11.6 qtr is really haulin'

[MTUboi86]

Originally Posted by philip1

looks like the limit is 5 so no one has to be bumped

1. Philip1 Saturn LW200 curb weight 3083# EPA 19/27/24

2. Jay2TheRescue 1998 GMC Sierra K1500 4x4 curb weight 5500# EPA 12/16/13

3. jetta90GL Ford F250hd 4x4 curb weight 4316# EPA 11/16/13

4. MTUboi86 1993 buick Century curb weight 2950# EPA 18/26/21

5.StanleyD 1997 Toyota 4Runner curb weight 3895# EPA 16/18/17

Hey... I'm not driving the Buick anymore because the winter is approaching and I've parked it... so I don't think I can participate anymore Sorry. Back when I originally posted I still would have been in ... but now I wouldn't meet the minimum requirements in the rules.

[Jay2TheRescue]

Why wouldn't your Explorer count?

[MTUboi86]

Originally Posted by Jay2TheRescue

Why wouldn't your Explorer count?

I'm only going to be doing one tank every month, if that... and it would be 98% short-trip city driving. Even with modifying my driving I can't seem to get the EPA's city mileage.

[Jay2TheRescue]

The bulk of my driving (at least 95%) is short trip city as well. It may be incentive for you to work just a little bit harder...