100 mpg Plateau Surpassed!
2:30 pm, Yorkton, SK
smart car achieves 113 mpg in Saskatchewan
After arriving in Birch Hills Wednesday night, I consulted with Mike T, and we went over any changes I could make that might help put me over the 100 mpg barrier. It was decided to boost the tire pressure by 5 psi to 37 all around. Also - I redistributed a bit of weight into the passenger seat.
Scaling the next morning in Melfort, I determined the payload was about 980 kgs total. (This was verified at a second scale later in the day.) What this means is that I have about 125 kgs of cargo and belongings with me. This probably effects my mileage by about 10%.
In any event, with the tire pressure boosted slightly, and the cars aerodynamics improved by having the front end slightly heavier, I set out for the 100 mpg plateau. Speed remained a very constant 83-85 km/h. I stopped in a few small towns, and had a great time.
I travelled 393.4 km’s on 9.826 litres of fuel. I had filled up up in Naicam - 158.3 kms on 3.952 litres, and again in Yorkton - 235.1 kms on 5.874 litres.
That’s 113 mpg (imperial), both times, which is 2.5 L/100km. Or 40 kms per litre. Or for my friends in the US who are watching - that’s 94 miles per US gallon. Even including the fill in Neepawa, MB later in the day (267.9 kms on 8.288 litres), I achieved 103 mpg overall, which is 2.74 L/100km.
My next goal is to break the 100 miles per US gallon plateau on the return trip. This may neccessitate putting my 125 kgs of cargo on a Greyhound in Winnipeg for the journey to Regina. Why not - fuel economy is fun. :-)
(BTW - the smart is currently unavailble with cruise control - nor have I installed the aftermarket cruise control module that is available. My car is not modified in any way that would affect mileage. And lastly, I do not use a cetane boost additive - the car is currently running on straight petroleum diesel.)
