I commute one way 35 miles straight I-95 drive two miles to get to interstate and 4 miles when I get off. I drive with cruise 78 the entire way. Been averaging if I'm lucky 14.5 miles per gallon. By Thursday at lunch I need to fill up, never made it an entire week.

With gas prices it was 82 to fill up the other day.

I work at City Hall and have numerous police friends. They set me up with someone to car pull with as we live minutes away from each other.

Due to the proximity of the interstate to where we meet, I now drive HWY 1 minimal stops but the speed limit is anywhere from 55 to 60 to 65 and if you know Oak Hill Florida you DO NOT SPEED. Anyway the lady I car pool with is early 60s and I'm 35 and she doesn't like going to fast and what is 5 minutes. So here it is Thursday and I have a quarter tank of gas left. According to the dial I have 130 miles remaining and average 18.8 mpg.

Unbelievable, I wouldn't drive that speed on the interstate, but when you consider that I just cut my monthly gas expense by two driving every other week and saving probably $15 on the extra take a week, the change in driving habit is well worth it. I've slowed down probably about 13 mph and the change is noticable at 29.6% increase. Just messing around I've slowed the acceleration and everything just to see how much I can bring the mpg up.

Nowthe dodge which is an 07 CC 5.7 with K&N FIPK and JBL exhaust and it does go but with prices of gas as they are, this little change was worth it. This change can of gets my wife from bugging me about driving her 08 Mazda 3 GT to work that gets 30 mpg. Now I like the car but it isn't the Dodge.

Anyway, the lady has commented on the sound of my truck as she is a Gen 2 former owner. So, I think I will wake the neighborhood tomorrow so the neighbors don't think I'm a ford guy.

And by the way, it is by choice that Idrive the speedas sheis a cop and I don't really have to worry about the ticket with the uniform she wears.

 

Good lesson. It costs money to go fast. I understand the MDS quits working at 65. It seems to work on my truck as I get 19+ at 65 or less. That 15 bucks a week equals a lot of money at the end of the year (52x15=$780). Good for you.

Rick

 

Yeah, sounds like an awesome deal for you. Hooray car pooling!

 

Driving habit plays a huge role as you found out...I try to keep it under 2000 rpms in city and drive 65 on the freeway. To me 65 seems to be a good speed that's not too slow but slow enough to get good mileage...plus it stays in MDS. Cruise control is good on a flat freeway but if you have any hills i'd leave it off...mine always seems to use more throttle than necessary to maintain speed.

 

Yeah, I noticed this on the drive home from the dealership the day I got my truck. On any incline it (the cruise) would put my head into the headrest accelerating up the hill.