|
The overall detailed statistics for the supercharged Camaro LT1 trip came out even more impressive:
Total length of the trip: 2296 miles in 7 days.
Broken down as:
956 mile drive from Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada to Denver Airport mostly at 78 MPH and 83 MPH: 11.5 hours, 26.2 MPG
383 miles driven in mountainous terrain between Denver & Vail, CO, mostly at 60 MPH: statistics not isolated
956 mile drive home from Denver Airport to Lethbridge mostly at 78 MPH and 83 MPH: 15.33 hours IN ONE DAY with only 90 minutes outside the car (!!), 27.9 MPG
The fuel mileage average for the entire trip - going out, driving in the Colorado mountains, and return - was 26.8 MPG for the 2296 miles driven.
I think the difference on fuel mileage between going out and returning was due to wind. There were strong, noisy crosswinds on the trip to Denver, and rather mild, quiet winds on the return trip.
The 78 and 83 MPH speeds were possible because both Montana and Wyoming have open highway speeds of either 75 or 80 MPH most of the time, with 65 MPH speeds limited to only a few areas (like Interstates through the cities, and narrower than typical highways), other than of course actually passing through small towns, of which there were a LOT because I took the "shortcut" US Hwy 87 route versus interstate route through much of Montana. Those small towns were typically posted at 30 to 45 mph but were VERY brief.
That also means that my average speed while actually driving (15.33 hr minus 90 minutes = 13.83 hours) was 956 miles / 13.83 hours = 69 MPH. This of course was only possible because of the high speed limits in all 3 states, except for cities and towns. The cities, towns, construction zones, and slow moving big rig and RV vehicles all contributed to the average speed getting so low despite my pushing the high speed limits by 3 mph using cruise control (ready to plead “speedometer built-in conservative error but knew it would likely be unnecessary in these western states). Passing required the application of lots of power, as the mountainous terrain in both Wyoming and Montana really limits the length of “good visibility” sections of road, and the construction segments, and the truckers’ use of the same US 87 shortcut as I was using, made the big rigs constant slow blockers that needed to be passed very quickly.
Note that I was able to sit in the car on the return trip for all but 90 minutes during the entire 15.33 hour trip. THAT’s how comfortable the seating and driving positions are in this “sports car”. Even for a driver who is 72 years of age. The only discomfort at ALL came about 10 hours into the return drive, and was NOT due to the car. Rather, the top backs of my new shoes started to hurt the tops of my heels, because my 28” inseam requires an unfortunate forward position to reach the pedals, and when my right foot is OFF the accelerator, which is most of the time when using cruise control, the right foot has to be far enough rearward that the rear tops of the shoes dig into my heels. After I changed to my running shoes, that issue went away.
The car impressed me in this “touring" usage with both its ergonomics and the fuel mileage from the non-stock supercharged engine.
Jim G
|