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I'm a new old guy! LENGTHY introduction!

Discussion in 'Newbie Forum' started by ataylorracing, Jan 15, 2012.

  1. ataylorracing

    ataylorracing ataylorracing

    Joined:
    Jan 15, 2012
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    Location:
    Fishers, IN
    Vehicle:
    2011 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    I drag race, but I am also concerned with getting the best mpg that I can...not to save the planet, but to save CASH!

    My best mpg vehicle was a 96 Geo Metro 3 banger (The White Gnat)that had no mechanical mos except having the timing slightly advanced. A set of home made headlight covers , grill block, and 140 lb wt removal were tyhe extent of the changes. In fact, this has been my only car that mods for more hp cost me more mpg so every thing was left stock. BTW, I made money in 2 of the 3 times that I drag raced it!

    The Geo was sold mid 2011 since I obtained a base SOHC Plymouth Neon. With a few minor mods the Cheap Skate gets a steady 46 mpg at 55-60 mph and barely runs in the high 15s. Since it has 4 doors and A/C was the reason for the sale of the Geo...the wife refuse to ride inthe "clown car" Geo. I had borrowed this car from my mechanic in 2010 when my Pit Bull was broken. The first race was at National Trail, E of Columbus, OH and I was runner-up. The very last race of the year was the Stick Shift Nationals...which I won! I told him that I wanted to buy it so in March od 2011 I bought it. Entering 12 races with it I managed to make money (win, RU, or semis) in 8! I ended up 3rd place in pts in the United Manual Transmission Racers series in 2011 racing in the SS unlimited class and being the only car driven to and from the track.

    The Pit Bull is a SRT4 Dodge Neon that started life running 13.8s at 101 mph with its 230 hp 2.4 motor and getting 30 mpg (the EPA rating) at 55-60 mph. It currently has about 335 hp, runs the 1/4 with a best of 12.17 at 117 mph, still with pump gas and sticky street tires. Plans this spring call for a DSP tune and Crane cams, that should easily put it at 400 hp and allow runs in the 11.5 second range at 120 mph easily. It currently gets 33 mpg at 55-60 mpg but had gotten a VERY impressive 36 mpg on a smaller turbo and 285 hp. I used this car to finish 2nd in the UMTR pts series in 2010 and in 2008 it was thje runner-up at the Stick Shift Nationals. This car is also a street car and driven the hundres of miles to the track and...hopefully home.

    My 1984 Plymouth Horizon is the car that has won the vast majority of my championships. Matchbox currently has a 1992 2.5 bone stock 94 hp motor in it, but is extremely consistent weighing in at only 1760 lbs. Its best mpg is a dismal 24, but it is a purpose built car...and a real antique with nearly 300,000 miles!

    Now, the 2011 BRAND SPANKING NEW Prius! We bought it yesterday! The reason being...duh...great economy! About a year and a half ago we moved from Kokomo, IN to Fishers IN because the wifes 2001 Voyager was using $250 a month in gas in her commute to Indy where she works. We finally found a house with nearly 3 times the footage, pond in the back, 1/2 acre of land, closer to her work and very near great shopping. The house was a tiny bit more than the gas that she was saving moving closer to work..AND the 1 hr commute changed to 20 minutes. BUT NOW...she is back up to spending $260 a month! I serched out used cars that get great mpg, but to find one that didn't cost way too much was impossible. After doing some math and research I found that leasing (I can't believe we'd ever have done that) was a very good looking proposal. Comparing the 14 mpg city that the Voyager was getting to the 51 mpg that the Prius should get showed that if gas waas $3.699 a gallon like it was the other day we would be saving a hair over $180 a month in gas costs. Another thing was...a few months ago the van was side swipped in a parking lot with no cameras, witnesses, or notes left. The van was EXTREMELY reliable, but not as nice looking as it was. I am possitive that it might have been the only Dodge in the country with Mustang Bullet rims! So, after all the paper work was done and a call to the insurance company was made we drove it home. Keeping it below 60 the graph showed it in the 60 mpg range! We have to only pull out an extra $ 135 a month from our pockets to drive a NEW car! I will be keeping an eye on the savings, which should cut that money out of pocket down even more!

    After I get in a few more posts I'll be able to post some links to the cars that I race.
     
    1 person likes this.
  2. qbee42

    qbee42 My other car is a boat

    Joined:
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    Location:
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    Welcome, and congratulations on the new Prius.

    Tom
     
  3. Michgal007

    Michgal007 Senior Member

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    Welcome to PC. I am assuming you are not going to race the Prius? :p
     
  4. spiderman

    spiderman wretched

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    Whatever that reason... welcome aboard and enjoy the ride!
     
  5. Sabby

    Sabby Active Member

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    Location:
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    Vehicle:
    2015 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    Enjoy the ride. Now study up on all the interesting Hybrid Synergy Drive technology!!!
     
  6. fulltank

    fulltank New Member

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    Location:
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    Vehicle:
    2011 Prius
    Model:
    Four
    At least not and win many races... - Jaosn Bateman in Horrible Bosses... :D
     
  7. cycledrum

    cycledrum PSOCSOASP

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    Welcome to Priuschat! You and F8L could swap a few drag racing stories. I'm a fan myself. Was great to see Del Worsham finally win his first championship. :)
     
  8. ataylorracing

    ataylorracing ataylorracing

    Joined:
    Jan 15, 2012
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    Location:
    Fishers, IN
    Vehicle:
    2011 Prius
    Model:
    Two

    Thanks all you guys...as far as Del, he has lost their ride for 2012 and he will be a crew cheif for Kallita I think. Even the 2010 Top Fuel Champ, Larry Dixon is without a ride for this year!:eek:
     
  9. ataylorracing

    ataylorracing ataylorracing

    Joined:
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    Location:
    Fishers, IN
    Vehicle:
    2011 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    Ummm, I don't really think I'll ever put the Prius on the track. I am sure that it would out run the 19.9 second at 65 mph 96 3 banger Geo that I did make money with two out of three races, but I have three cars that I can use for regular bracket racing and two for the stick shift series...I NEVER (knocking on wood) have had all three broken where I needed to use the wifes car. I did happen to use the wifes 01 Chrysler Voyager in the mid 2000s to win the Shelby/Dodge Nationals one year at Milan, MI. It was nearly 100 degrees and that was the only vehicle that I had that had A/C. I left the poor thing run all day long and only shut off the A/C when going up to the staging lanes so that condensation would not be carried up to the track. On decent weather days at Indy the van would run 17.7s but in over 100 degree heat index conditions it slowed to a 18.8.
     
  10. wjtracy

    wjtracy Senior Member

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    ...sounds great, I keep looking for that house with a pond in the back (any fish in there?). We also traded in a Voyager or was a Caravan for the Prius, but we still have one of those....the Prius certainly improved our fleet average MPG.
     
  11. hill

    hill High Fiber Member

    Joined:
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    Vehicle:
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    Model:
    IV
    ataylorracing,
    Welcome to the cheepskaters' union :)
    Nothing better than NOT throwing away perfectly good $20 bills down the gas tank. I'm kinda lucky that my 40 mile commute works well driving 100% electric. When I have to put gas in my wife's hybrid - I think, "You gotta be KIDDING me!" ... as the total pass the $50 range & beyond (SUV hybrid). The trade off with the SUV hybrid is that its 6 cylinder HSD system has more power/speed than its 8cylinder standard version. it's all about the tradeoff's.
    :welcome:
    .
     
  12. dustoff003

    dustoff003 Blizzard Brigade #003

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    Location:
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    Vehicle:
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    Model:
    Five
    Good job Champ, aloha and welcome time to trade ET's for MPG's, Enjoy!
     
  13. ataylorracing

    ataylorracing ataylorracing

    Joined:
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    Location:
    Fishers, IN
    Vehicle:
    2011 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    The pond is about 5 acres big and has easy to catch blue gill, and hard to catch bass. It belongs to the neighbor hood association on the other side of it...they are NOT allowed to fish in it, but even though we don't pay any fees we can fish in it!:D
     
  14. ataylorracing

    ataylorracing ataylorracing

    Joined:
    Jan 15, 2012
    171
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    Location:
    Fishers, IN
    Vehicle:
    2011 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    I just drove the new 11 Prius to the dealership nd back, about 75 miles, with the cruise set at 55 mph and got a very suprising (for me) 62.1 mpg! I was not evenm trying for that, where as ecomiling the 3 banger Geo only got a best of 60.0!

    Now that my number of posts are up I can include some links to albums of what I race. You can look forward and back through them to see what I race against...with the only street driven car out at the UMTR series.
    The 33 mpg, 12.17 second, 117 mph, 335 hp 05 Dodge Neon SRT4
    UMTR at Edgewater - Aug. 21, 2010 - Hyper-Performance Motorsports Inc. Photography
    The 46 mpg, 15.9 second, 85 mph, near bone stock 95 SOHC Neon
    UMTR at Edgewater - October 8, 2011 - Hyper-Performance Motorsports Inc. Photography
    The 60 mpg, 19.9 second, 65 mph, lightened by 140 lb stock 96 Geo 3 banger
    UMTR Nationals at Edgewater - 9/26/09 - Hyper-Performance Motorsports Inc. Photography
    The 24 mpg, 1760 lb, bone stock 94 hp, nearly 300,000 mile 84 Horizon
    Opening Test and Tune | Facebook
     
  15. fulltank

    fulltank New Member

    Joined:
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    Location:
    Arkansas
    Vehicle:
    2011 Prius
    Model:
    Four
    WOW, I must be doing something wrong or my car just isn't 'broken' in yet? I drive very conservatively and am very cautious with my driving style. Have yet to have a tank that averaged at or above 50 MPG. Still pleased with what I am getting but would always love more!!!
     
  16. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    Cool story but I was a bit put off by your opening comments. You do realize that the Prius was designed to reduce pollution as the primary goal and said pollution does more than harm some planetary functions? I would hope that you are just as concerned with reducing your negative impact on human health, national economy and foreign policy.
     
  17. andyprius

    andyprius Senior Member

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    Plug-in Base
    Sounds like the OP is doing a perfect job of driving the Prius. As for the primary goal of reducing pollution, IMHO the average Joe ( like me ) bought the Prius to save gasoline expenses. Tailpipe emissions are not normally controllable by the driver, I'll leave that to the Toyota Engineers.

    :cheer2:
     
  18. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    Indeed he is. He sounds like an excellent driver as well. You sorta missed my point though.... If saving money is your main driver then you should have bought a used Civic. lol

    The anti-environmental note the post started off on bugged me. It is common to see such posts from a new owner who wants people to know right up front which side of politics they belong to. IMO there is no need for any explanation unless one doesn't care to open themselves up to criticism. As a fellow drag racer I'm sure he has a thick skin and will take my comment with a grain of salt. Giving each other a hard time is second nature to racers. :D
     
  19. andyprius

    andyprius Senior Member

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    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    OK I'll buy that! :cheer2:
     
    1 person likes this.
  20. ataylorracing

    ataylorracing ataylorracing

    Joined:
    Jan 15, 2012
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    Location:
    Fishers, IN
    Vehicle:
    2011 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    My great mpg is due mostly to VERY level roads and maybe a 15 mile section of 35-40 mph speed limits with maybe 4 stops total.

    We reset the trip odometer and the wife went shopping with her sister, averaged only 22 mph due to the slow speeds anmd numerous parking lot drives searching for spots. She thought she only got 22 mpg average when her sis pointed oyut that this was the average speed. Her 70 miles of shopping showed a 46 mpg average...and she drives no where as gentle as I do, not coasting up to stops but continually staying on the gas a lot longer than me and taking off a lot harder. I told her that if no one is behind you just accelerate enough to keep the bar on the dash below the half way point. She'll get the hang of it better.