I Am Rare Like the UNICORN

[wolfie]

I actually can sorta see this one. Not that they would complain, mind, but liking a specific pump. The station I frequent has an outlier pump that I use because it has a slower flow rate. And I can then get an additional gallon, gallon and a half into my tank because of it. Which to me is a good 60-90 miles of additional travel between fills. If it's occupied, I just move to a different pump.

Holy crap! What do you drive? That kind of fuel economy is EXCELLENT, even for a distributor-pump (pre-2004) TDI.

[Ophbalance]

An '05 Prius. BUT, it's about how you drive as well. It's pretty well documented that the second generation Prius will do 60 MPG at 60 MPH on fairly level terrain. Above 60 and it starts to fall like a cliff. Of the 100 miles or so I drive 3-4 days of the week, 85% is spent on an interstate. My commute generally has a few choke points that allow for crawling traffic, but most of it is spent with the cruise set at 65 MPH. The trick is to take advantage of the slow speed sessions to kick the engine on when accelerating, and then put it into an engine off glide while you drift along with the traffic. The tires on it are the most rolling resistant you can presently buy in North America. I don't run my A/C at artic blast or nevada desert. So basically, "all things in moderation". .

[wolfie]

It's definitely about how you drive. One "rule of thumb" in the trucking industry is that it's possible to gain or lose 30% in fuel economy simply by replacing the nut that holds the steering wheel. Considering 6 MPG is considered an industry standard, that works out to be a LOT of money.

[dalesys]

...the nut that holds the steering wheel...

I knew a Hungarian who removed the nut completely on the Trans-Canada... and handed the wheel to his wife.

[Ophbalance]

It's definitely about how you drive. One "rule of thumb" in the trucking industry is that it's possible to gain or lose 30% in fuel economy simply by replacing the nut that holds the steering wheel. Considering 6 MPG is considered an industry standard, that works out to be a LOT of money.

Indeed. Which makes me wonder why pretty much the only crew I see within the limits are the Food Lion trucks. Everyone else is at least 5-10 over.

[wolfie]

Probably company drivers (i.e. don't pay for their own fuel) at carriers with the limiter either disabled or set to a fairly high value. At the carrier I drive for, owner-operators (such as myself) have the limiter set to 105 km/h (about 65 MPH), since the jurisdiction we're based in requires all trucks operating (not just based) there to have it enabled at no higher than that value, and company drivers have it set somewhat lower (to save fuel). Even so, I routinely get passed by company trucks - I set my cruise lower than their limiter to save fuel.