CleanMPG Fuel Economy Challenge V - Spring 2009

Presenting the Spring 2009 Challenge, running from March 1, 2009 until May 31, 2009.

[xfloat=right]http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/car_and_flower.jpg[/xfloat]Andrew McGuckin - CleanMPG - March 1, 2009

Spring is coming, and with it comes better gas mileage! Join us in our quarterly challenge to beat the EPA mileage ratings. The winner is the driver who beats the EPA by the highest percentage.

Drive your daily routes in your normal car. Real-world cars, real-world routes, everyday conditions, etc. This is where the real results prove the value of hypermiling. Remember the CleanMPG motto, "Learn to raise fuel economy and lower emissions in whatever you drive".

Results from previous economy runs:
I: February - May 2008. Winner: PaleMelanesian
II: June - August, 2008. Winners: CobraPond (A), lamebums (B)
III: Sept - Nov 2008. Winners: CobraPond (A), MT bucket (B), jps000 (C)
IV: Dec 2008 - Feb 2009. Winners: lnmcmahan (A), GaryG (B), jhu (C)

Final results posted: http://www.cleanmpg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=22490

How to Join
To participate in the March to May economy run, all you have to do is the following:

1. Create a new mileage log. This will be an alter-ego of your vehicle, except make sure you use the 2008 EPA ratings for your car found at www.fueleconomy.gov. CleanMPG staff will move your vehicle into a separate category for this challenge. Please use a new log and leave the winter logs as-is until the Challenge IV results are tabulated.
   
2. Post here in this thread to announce your participation. Be sure to include a link to your new mileage log.
   
3. Post in this thread with updates. Start wherever you are now, and use your next fillup, whenever it comes, as the start of your log. You must have a minimum of 1000 miles or 3 fillups in the 3 months to qualify. (special consideration given if discussed in advance)

The standings here on page 1 will be updated periodically.

Handicaps
For a level playing field, we will all use the new revised EPA estimates for fuel economy.

Hybrids receive a bonus of 25% on top of the calculated Percent over EPA rating. Hybrids are already optimized for good mileage by automatically doing many of the things hypermilers do.

If you are using E85 instead of regular gasoline and EPA ratings are not available, you can estimate your E85 rating. Just lower the gasoline numbers by 25% and round to the nearest MPG. Enter this as your EPA rating.


Which Division?
This was created to help divide people into three levels, in order to increase competitiveness.

For Returning Members:
For most, I recommend staying in your previous division. If you placed in the top of B or C, you should consider moving up. If you placed poorly in A or B, you might consider moving down.

For New Members:
If are are new to hypermiling or to this challenge then I recommend either the B or C divisions to allow a good chance to get on your feet and familiarize yourself with hypermiling.

I recommend the C division under these circumstances:

• If your mpg in a 2007 or older car is under 125% of the old epa rating (100% for hybrids)
• If your mpg in a 2008 or newer car is under 150% (125% for hybrids)

I recommend the B division under these circumstances:

• If your mpg in a 2007 or older car is under 150% of the old epa rating (125% for hybrids)
• If your mpg in a 2008 or newer car is under 175% (150% for hybrids)

Higher than these limits and you should be in Division A. You probably know who you are.



Official Standings
Division A

Show 102550100 entries

Search:

Column1	Column2	Column3
CobraPond
Daox
diamondlarry		* 192.08%
Driver	Vehicle	Hybrid +25% bonus
lnmcmahan
MT Bucket
PaleMelanesian
Right Lane Cruiser		* 187.69%

Showing 1 to 8 of 8 entries

Division B

Show 102550100 entries

Search:

Column1	Column2	Column3
Driver	Vehicle	Hybrid +25% bonus
efusco		* 179.26%
froggman
groar
Hybridized		* 141.95%
jhu
JusBringIt
Kacey Green		* 172.05%
nissynis
PDK		* 152.09%

Showing 1 to 10 of 14 entries

Division C

Show 102550100 entries

Search:

Column1	Column2
chilimac02
Damionk
Die2self
dixonge
Driver	Vehicle
drummerboy2004
espace
Mr. Pancake
Oldtruck1952
Taliesin

Showing 1 to 10 of 12 entries

Final results posted: http://www.cleanmpg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=22490

 

Here's my entry for Division A.

 

Considering you're at the top of Div A for round IV, I think A is right for you.

That family trip will be tough to overcome, though. I'm always conflicted about those cases.