This weekend, I'm leaving from Dayton Ohio and driving down to New Orleans. There will be 120 students from Miami University going down to do Katrina relief work. I'm taking 3 other people, so there will be a significant weight difference than what I'm used to. My goal is to average 50 mpg for the trip... After reading this forum, I've noticed a major difference from driving under the speed limit! I added 2 hrs onto the expected duration based on thinking I'll stay around 60 mph--- we leave at 9pm on Saturday night, expecting to get in town around noon or 1pm.. does anyone have any tips? what about tire pressure? i've read the different theories on the best pressure...but what about having a full load and driving 1700 miles roundtrip? will that influence my tire pressure? ---i need some help!!
Hi Redhawks.., Nope, load does not effect tire pressure. The tire side wall height will change, but the pressure in the tires wont. Run at 42/40 psi, and cuise around 60 mph and you should reach your goal. Blocking the top grill could help too. Do NOT block the lower grill with the extra load and warmer weather on your route.
The only tip I have is to forewarn you of some students' possible reaction to their living accomodations while doing the Katrina relief work. It's not Club Med, nor is it like camping out in the woods. And some students do react poorly to this.
I think that a higher load WILL increase tire pressures somewhat. An example would be an empty water bottle. Close the lid and squeeze it. Thats it under "load", if you don't think that the air inside is pressurized then I don't know what else to say to make you believe it. Oh, and I'd bump up your tires to 44/42 psi for the trip. If your daring like me, I have mine set to 50/50 psi.
Load won't affect pressure in any measurable way. The load is supported by increasing the surface area of tyre on the road as load increases. Normally you would increase tyre pressure for a long journey at highway speeds to reduce temperature build-up, if your running tyres at 42/40 you are already at highway pressures so just make sure pressures are at 42/40 when the tyres are cold before you go. Cold tyres are tyres that haven't been driven on for more than a mile or two. Pump the tyres up to 46/44 the day before you are going then adjust the pressures to 42/40 with a hand held gauge before you set off in the morning.
alright, thanks for all the info-- i think i'll set it at 42/40, which seems to be the general consensus on this site ....in a week i'll post my mpg results!!
One other piece of advice, caveated by the fact that I don't know the personalities of your passengers: many passengers won't appreciate you driving under the speed limit or using Pulse and Glide. Those things give better gas mileage, but they're not exactly fun to ride along with.
Fuel Consumption Results Tank 1 - MFD mpg: 50.4 distance: 469 mi gas to fill up: 10.011 gal price: $3.11 calculated mpg: 46.85 Tank 2 - MFD mpg: 49.4 distance: 356 mi gas to fill up: 7.652 gal price: $3.19 calculated mpg: 46.52 Tank 3 - MFD mpg: 49.0 distance: 464 mi gas to fill up: 9.681 gal price: $3.09 calculated mpg: 47.93 Tank 4 - MFD mpg: 50.1 distance: 420 mi gas to fill up: 9.001 gal price: $3.16 calculated mpg: 46.66 Tank 5 - MFD mpg: 50.4 distance: 335 mi gas to fill up: 6.486 gal price: $3.17 calculated mpg: 51.65 Total Trip Distance - 2044 mi Total Gas Used (from mpg MFD) - (41.0098 Total Average MPG (from MFD data) - 49.84 mpg Total Average MPG (from manual calculations) - 47.72 mpg Tire Pressure - 42 front/40 rear Back from spring break!! I must say, I am very impressed with how my Prius handled itself for the entire trip. There were 4 of us in the car, with a full trunk. I took out the carpet and floor in the trunk to allow more space, and was still able to see out the back window. We stayed in a hotel 7 miles away from the French Quarter, so I was doing a lot more city driving than I expected. We worked in a man's house off Franklin Ave for 4 days, mudding his drywall to prepare it for painting. If you've considered volunteering down there, you should still go, as that city is still in great need. On the drive home, we changed our route so we could stop in Memphis. Google says that only adds about 30 minutes to the trip... I drove from 9pm to 7am on the way down, driving between 60-65 mph. From 7am to noon, someone else drove and all I asked was they stay within 5 mph of the speed limit. On the drive home, I went 9am to 3pm, this time going around 70 mph. After a 2 hour break in Memphis (Corky's BBQ is amazing), others drove from 5pm to 2am, then I finished til 3am. I thought there would be a significant difference in my MPG compared to the others, but there really wasn't (maybe I need to work on my hypermiling skills a little more!) When I wasn't driving, I sat in the backseat, and I still can't get over how comfortable it is for me (6'2 230) Last night, I entered in my numbers into the excel spreadsheet, so I'll include that data too.... Every time we got gas, we filled up and I reset the MFD trip When I used the fuel consumption spreadsheet, it came out to 47.72 mpg Is this difference due to the differing amounts of gas put into the tank by each gas station? Like, do gas stations differ in what's considered "full" before clicking to stop the nozzle? All in all, I can't complain about averaging 49.84 mpg with a full load! My goal was 50, so I am happy with the results.
