94.53mpg

[mikeyjd]

I decided to go all out before summer ends to see what this car is capable of. I had all day to do the drive so I thought I'd do a really slow jaunt for a max mpg attempt.

My approach was pulse up to 40mph and engine off coast down to 25mph (lowest speed I can hold 5th gear). I was able to pull that off on about 97% of these miles. I had the windows up, and flow through vent on low (it was overcast and about 73F so I didn't need it much.) I went a total distance of 190.2 mi on 2.012 gal (US).

My initial goal was 2 gallons and I feel I have basically accomplished what is realistically possible with my Festiva in it's current state. If you think this seems extreme, let me assure you it is. The drive took me 2 1/2 hours longer than it would have if I have taken the expressway at posted speed limits lol. 90% of the driving was on very lonely roads where I would be passed only every couple minutes or so. About 10 of the miles each direction involved me timing my pulses to allow more users to pass during pass zones.

I should have picked a different day perhaps, since I was kinda feeling sick, but I didn't want to let the summer slip away before trying this challenge I am really excited about the results, but I think I will enjoy them more once the sickness wears off.

Cheers~

[TominMO]

That is hilarious mileage! Talk about bragging rights. Best I could do, steady cruising at 45 MPH in my B3 Festy (now a B6), was 62.5 MPG.

This mileage will come in handy after the zombie apocalypse, when gas is much harder to come by. Hopefully they will be the slow type of zombies, and you will not have to pulse too soon to escape them.

[muleskinner]

That is hilarious mileage! Talk about bragging rights. Best I could do, steady cruising at 45 MPH in my B3 Festy (now a B6), was 62.5 MPG.

This mileage will come in handy after the zombie apocalypse, when gas is much harder to come by. Hopefully they will be the slow type of zombies, and you will not have to pulse too soon to escape them.

If the zombies are like the ones in the movie World War Z, then your screwed!

Best I can muster so far is 47.7mph.

[TominMO]

If the zombies are like the ones in the movie World War Z, then your screwed!

Which is why we need to install oil squirters under the rear bumper, to slow them down. Not to mention the entertainment value in our rearview mirrors. Shirley, you agree....

[zoom zoom]

yea dude I cought a catfist last weekend that was 10' long and as big around as a 80 year old tree.

[tooldude]

A Colorado member should go do a test. I think you could get 2000 MPG coming down Pike"s Peak.

[bobbyspider]

Which is why we need to install oil squirters under the rear bumper, to slow them down. Not to mention the entertainment value in our rearview mirrors. Shirley, you agree....

I do agree but please dont call me Shirley here we go again

[FestYboy]

hmmm, catfist you say....

[bobbyspider]

:laughing3:

[bhazard]

Haters'll hate.

However you *should* run through at least half a tank for an accurate calculation.

I'm sure its possible, just definitely not practical.

[mikeyjd]

Haters'll hate.

However you *should* run through at least half a tank for an accurate calculation.

I'm sure its possible, just definitely not practical.

It wasn't remotely practical. I used the same pump at the same station to get it as accurate a reading as possible. I suspect up to 10% tank error as a possibility, but that's what we have to work with when measuring a trip without highly calibrated instrumentation.

Even with this trip my 3 tank average only went up by 5mpg and my 90 day average only increased by 1mpg. The point was for me to see what was possible in an ideal route with very little traffic going the best speeds for mpg. I don't anticipate trying this again anytime soon, but it was a fun challenge.

As far as naysayers go, I would have been one of them myself a year ago. People might be surprised what is possible though, when you know how to manipulate enough factors in your favor. The biggest thing working against the Festiva is the coefficient drag of .36. I have mine down to around .3 with the mods I've done. With the 25-40 speeds drag plays a much smaller role allowing you to get very crazy mileage when in 5th gear. This is especially true when you spend about 65% of the time in glide portion with the engine off (you coast for allow longer at lower speeds because of the decreased drag).

All things considered it's not something I would recommend doing outside of the pure challenge of getting a max mileage run.

[tooldude]

It's really great to see how far you can push the mileage on these cars. Obviously some things are impractical and even humorous (when you are not the one doing it). One thing you can always do is drive slower. Every vehicle I have ever had seemed to get it's best mileage around 45 MPH. Thanks to all the guinea pigs for sharing.

[sketchman]

Awesome.

[Zanzer]

Man that is CRAZY!!!! Hats off to you Mikey for having the ambition and patients to do this! I have no self control whatsoever so I'm always ecstatic when my car gets anything over 37mpg because I'm usually driving like I just left the scene of a bank robbery.


Although my car will never see it personally, it's great to know what the potential could be :thumbup:

[Christ]

I can only hope my planned modifications net me somewhere close to 70MPG. The fuel is free, so it won't really matter... although I won't be able to go over 45 at full pedal, I suppose.