Gas prices...

[Nemesis]

Are the gas prices going to affect any of you all deciding to drive to Fest?


It hit 4.00+ a gallon here in Atlanta... :(

[Goldie]

I've been planning on it being up to $4.00... so only way it will affect me, is I already have told myself I will not be cruising above the speed limit, and have opted to take the flat (boooring) shorter route to avoid extra traffic, cities and other things that might take more fuel. (haven't broken that to my caravan buddy yet :flushed:)

[Nemesis]

Yeah, either Ive got to make it to Fest so Micah and I can have our "happy" time.

[branchedout]

Yes and no... I mean, yeah I'm still going to go, but there was a serious consideration to fly as opposed to drive. I'm looking at roughly $450-$500 in gas roundtrip, so fest will NOT be cheap :(

I remember when I could fill my tank for $30, on Monday it took $50.12 to fill it up, I thought I was going to cry, lol.

[LadyX]

It's a $1.26 a litre so far here. And keeps going up. We'll be taking only one car, and will be doing as little driving as possible, once we get up there I think.

[AtomicInternet]

Check these hippies out: Hypermiling :: No more need to compare gas prices (http://www.hypermiling.com/)

As for myself, at $4.15 - $4.50 a gallon for the 93 ocatne my SC needs, the terrorists have already won.

[EricF]

Gas prices definitely affect my travel plans... I can't say for sure if I'm coming
but for those caravaning.. "drafting" will become more important.

Find a friendly 18 wheeler, and suck up behind him(not a safe move)
:) I did that once with my old 78
nova, managed 22mpg(normally would get 15mpg) for that trip.

[jaged]

they theme for this years long caravans will definately be econodriving. on my last vacation i experimented with speeds and got the best with 70mph. 80mph dropped 4-4 mpg. and for the majority of the trips that will put most people just over the speed limit, and less likely to get pulled over

[azbobbybooshay10]

Gas prices definitely affect my travel plans... I can't say for sure if I'm coming
but for those caravaning.. "drafting" will become more important.

Find a friendly 18 wheeler, and suck up behind him(not a safe move)
:) I did that once with my old 78
nova, managed 22mpg(normally would get 15mpg) for that trip.

I'm going to buy a basic CB radio before the trip to chat with those guys along the drive, and if I find someone going a good enough speed, chat with them and see if they don't mind letting us "draft" off of them for a little while. ;)

A CB is a neat thing to have on long trips like this, those guys watch for all the cops and stuff so you kinda know where to see them hiding before you get there.

[thearrow]

The price of fuel in Sydney/Australia at the moment is U$1.44 per litre = U$5.52 per Gal.

So don't complain..........

[kustomcougar]

$3.95 a gallon here for regular, i remember filling up my first cougar for $18 back in 02

[skater]

I'm going to buy a basic CB radio before the trip to chat with those guys along the drive, and if I find someone going a good enough speed, chat with them and see if they don't mind letting us "draft" off of them for a little while. ;)

A CB is a neat thing to have on long trips like this, those guys watch for all the cops and stuff so you kinda know where to see them hiding before you get there.

Asking them will just get you a "no" answer. It's dangerous and truckers don't want to be involved in an accident even though it's not likely to do much to them. (Remember, truckers are ON THE JOB out there. They're not driving around in them for fun.) You'll probably also hear some less-than-complimentary things said about your vehicle; you need to let those roll off your back.

I have a CB in the camper and what I've found is that the ratio of idiots on the CB airwaves has dramatically increased even since the 90s.

[sonza68]

$3.95 a gallon here for regular, i remember filling up my first cougar for $18 back in 02

I filled up the rental car for $10 yesterday. :biggrin:

Gas prices haven't reached the point that they are affecting my driving yet. CF is only a 600 or so mile weekend for me, so the total gas bill is only around $120 for me.

[EternalOne]

Gas prices definitely affect my travel plans... I can't say for sure if I'm coming
but for those caravaning.. "drafting" will become more important.

Find a friendly 18 wheeler, and suck up behind him(not a safe move)
:) I did that once with my old 78
nova, managed 22mpg(normally would get 15mpg) for that trip.

Didn't Mythbusters prove this was false, and the benefits were only felt when you were like 2 feet from their bumper? ;)

It works in racing because the cars are all aerodynamic and they all work their way into a tunnel of faster air -- trucks are not only big boxes on wheels, but they sit much higher than the Cougar, the turbulent air at their back tires eliminates any benefit...

E1

[ND4SPD]

, the turbulent air at their back tires eliminates any benefit...

E1
Like they/you said: unless you are 2 feet from their bumper ;)


yup! I saw that episode too:)

[Goldie]

Didn't Mythbusters prove this was false, and the benefits were only felt when you were like 2 feet from their bumper? ;)

It works in racing because the cars are all aerodynamic and they all work their way into a tunnel of faster air -- trucks are not only big boxes on wheels, but they sit much higher than the Cougar, the turbulent air at their back tires eliminates any benefit...

E1
I saw that same show :) and yeah, If I recall correctly, you had to be right on the trucks ass to really see any significant improvement - with alot of it offset due to having to constantly brake/accelerate to keep the distance. But following at 1 car length behind, the gas savings was like 5% - and in the end is that small savings worth the danger of tailgating a simi that you can't see around?

[COOGAH]

well then install a tractor beam and aim it at the track and have them tow you. just keep the thing in drive and you'll be good to go.

[JScullin]

Well, we can have a contest to see who got the best mileage.

Last time I went I was carrying a set of 15" wheels & tires in my auto. With the occasional spirited use of the loud peddle I was averaging high 20's for mpg's. On the way home I was getting mid 30's easy.

I want to go this year, and still hope to make it. We'll see how well she does now being an mtx and 60k miles more on the clock.

[skater]

That's not my recollection of that episode... Even at a 100 ft there was an 11% improvement. Source. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MythBusters_(season_5)#Drafting_For_Money)

[deftones665]

they did not prove this to be false, it was true. The closer you are, the better it will work...but you DO NOT need to be 2 feet away from the thing. Im sure you can find it on youtube if you really wanted to see it

[StealthyWeasel]

Gas prices definitely affect my travel plans... I can't say for sure if I'm coming
but for those caravaning.. "drafting" will become more important.

Find a friendly 18 wheeler, and suck up behind him(not a safe move)
:) I did that once with my old 78
nova, managed 22mpg(normally would get 15mpg) for that trip.

If you draft someone correctly it'll overheat your car quickly. Think about the situation and what's actually happening.

[Excelcier]

Yup... we'll be rolling in just one car this year for sure and it may very well be the LadyX Mobile only this time. :( Gas is just too much on top of all my other financial slams lately.

[EternalOne]

Well, we can have a contest to see who got the best mileage.

A few years ago Saleen had everyone whooped and no-one could figure out why. We all filled up just before leaving, and when we got close to Indy everyone had about 1/4 tank, except Mark who still had 3/4 tank of gas and the MPG was reading like 29, none of us could figure it out but his car did take less than $10 to refill, so it wasn't a misread. We were stumped...

E1

[skater]

Well, we can have a contest to see who got the best mileage.

Depending on how you measure it, those of us towing the Cougars are definitely going to win or are going to be dead last. :)

Win: The Cougar will be moved 500 miles without burning a gallon of gas out of its tank. That's infinity MPG! ;)

Lose: The Cougar will be moved 9-10 miles for every gallon of gas I burn. ;)

[KurtsKougar]

will not effect me

[EternalOne]

Depending on how you measure it, those of us towing the Cougars are definitely going to win or are going to be dead last. :)

Win: The Cougar will be moved 500 miles without burning a gallon of gas out of its tank. That's infinity MPG! ;)

Lose: The Cougar will be moved 9-10 miles for every gallon of gas I burn. ;)

Hahah, RJ and me FTW! ;)

E1

[skater]

Hahah, RJ and me FTW! ;)

That just sounds wrong for some reason... ;)

[COOGAH]

Hahah, RJ and me FTW! ;)

E1

I win more! I'm not even paying for the gas (well indirectly I am) I'm flying in and having the cougar shipped. I can't stand driving more than two hours. Ya, I'm spoiled.

[skater]

I win more! I'm not even paying for the gas (well indirectly I am) I'm flying in and having the cougar shipped. I can't stand driving more than two hours. Ya, I'm spoiled.

That's always funny to me. I would much rather drive 8 or 16 hours (one way) than fly for two. :)

[Tygerr]

75 miles away.. not really. Still sucks I have to spend more money, but I can't complain.

[COOGAH]

you're not trying to shoehorn an ass the size of a small European nation into the cougar seat. Besides, its more the drive back thats a bother. I can't take that Monday off.

[DagerOne]

I'm just on the other side of town, so...no. :cover:

Then again, I'm Cougarless...hopefully I'll have my Hardknock by then so I don't have to drive the Fit and be mocked mercilessly.

[skater]

you're not trying to shoehorn an ass the size of a small European nation into the cougar seat.

:rofl: Which nation, Sami? :rofl:

[sonza68]

If you're talking the Monaco or San Marino it can't be that bad. Portugal would be another story though.

[azbobbybooshay10]

Lichtenstein perhaps? :rofl:

Yeah I'm going to see how good I can be with mileage, although I think I may get higher numbers by having another Cougar in front of me the whole time. :rofl:

[skater]

Vatican City is probably the best possible choice.

[COOGAH]

Vatican City is probably the best possible choice.

well, one could say my ass IS hole-y



ok, no more stupid jokes for the week, i promise

[bensenvill]

they did not prove this to be false, it was true. The closer you are, the better it will work...but you DO NOT need to be 2 feet away from the thing. Im sure you can find it on youtube if you really wanted to see it

meh, most of the benifit to hitching a ride behind a truck is picking up on his conservative driving style. slow easy pace, not jabbing on the gas and brakes all the time.

previous cf caravans I've averaged between 33 and 35mpg for the round trip.

had my first fillup over $4 the other day... $4.07... ouch. first tank of gas I put in the cougar was $0.97. Its a good thing, seriously. It completely obsoletes the last of the malasie era yachts on the road. wont be missin those things.

[Tygerr]

Its a good thing, seriously. It completely obsoletes the last of the malasie era yachts on the road. wont be missin those things.

Honestly. Good riddance.

[skater]

It completely obsoletes the last of the malasie era yachts on the road. wont be missin those things.

Meh, I'd rather have those than the SUVs we have now. (Which really are the same thing - just taller instead of longer.)