fred and shorty's trip to daytona (and back)

well, guys and gals, sunday morning i will leave nashville on my way to daytona ( hubba hubba). my plan is to take notes on the way down and put out a pretty thorough review of trip and car. then, i will do the same on the way back. total mileage should be around trip of 1200 miles or so. if anyone has any questions they would like me to explore (and they are not toooo tough) ill be glad to research them on the way down.. so, look for my report under this thread starting sunday night.

 

just a little teaser: i plan to leave nashville at about 5am. will probably use cruise until i start going up lookout mountain. i will try to maintain speed. am going to be in daytona area for a week. have brought 2 pieces of exercise equipment (my bicycle and a 35lb kettlebell.) will also rent a fat tired bicycle for the beach. last year i had the priveldge of riding my bike for about 2 feet on the beach until i sank deep into the sand. oh well.

 

im hoping thatmy drive will give real world resuts too. i dont speed. i dont go slow. i dont tailgate,or draft. i will stay with the traffic flow. will probablly be within 2 or 3 mph of speed limit. my car is broken in (about1200miles). so i look forward to this adventure

 

so tomorrow begins the adventure. will leave nashville at about 5am getting into daytona around 6ish? unfortunately it looks like i may be helping in the rain thread all the way to daytona. hope not.

 

i made it!

what a long drive!!! i said i would give a long report and here it is warts and all!
i left nashville at 5 am. dark (duh) but worse than dark it was raining like hell! not just a gentle rain but one that was a downpour. just missing the thunder and lightning. i thought i would be put it on cruise and drive at about 70 but the rain and water ponding kept me in the lower 60s. when i reached my first stop half way up mount eagle. the rain was even worse! i cant believe i did not write down my mileage at that stop.
here is the bad news that might help with the other thread about the c in the rain. the good news is that it handled fairly well and the skinny tires helped. the awful news is that the mpg was only 40.6. could not believe it
as i drove on, stopping at every rest stop the weather was terrible. slowly the mileage began to creep up after i went over the mountain. thr bad weather was on me for about 5 hours. i could not escape it. this was not the gentle shower but rather a huge storm system. that stuck with me until macon ga. driving thru atlanta is always a night mare compounded by the rain. i never used cruise until i was way past that city.eventually mileage crept up to 43 and then to 45.
by the time i reached daytona, the meleage was at 46mpg.
i only used the cars computer
now, the surprisingly good news. shorty was very well behaved. the high winds caused it to twitch just a little but it was ok. wind noise was good as was tire noise. felt pretty sure footed even thru the rotten rain. the ride is very stiff, but actually nnot bad. the stiffness of the suspension and seat were pretty comfy.
before leaving nashville it put the tires at 39/36 which seemed to work ok.
after the rain i drove at 70 or 71 using the cruise as much as traffic would allow. one foot note. dont even think of driving thru atlanta at the posted limit. you will be a smudge on the pavement. i hardl looked at the speedo but stayed with the traffic flow.
all in all very happy with the performance ( it does need more power). un happy with mpg. but,,,, when i return to nashville satuday ill report again. i think the mpg will be much better
thanks for your patience. feel free to ask any questions.

 

sorry, bggirl, the waves are crashing so loud i cant hear you. i hope i dont get sunburned

 

ok my final results on the trip. total miles down back and puttin around was over 1600 miles.! got back yesterday. the weather was beautiful this time, i was hoping to get about 50 mpg. but no. the car averaged about 47.9. i came back at about 70 mph. here are a couple of my conclusions. these are my opinions and you may feel completely different.
this is an ok highway car. it does everything ok. acceleration is very wimpy, although i did not find it a danger as long as i kept in mind its limitations. its realatively quiet. some windnoise, tire noise etc. but not obnoxious. handling is good, can be slightly affected by wind blasts. not bad though. absolutely hates those tar strips on cement roads. will jar you pretty well. better road manners and handling than i expected.
in short, "shorty" is a great city car and will deliver huge mileage. it is a good combination highway city and will deliver wonderful gas mileage. as an occaissional long distance car its it fine delivering good mileage. however, if you are a mostly on the long haul driver i hate to admit it but the regular prius will out perform it in every category, including gas mileage!
so, i still love my c and now i thoroughly know its abilities and liabilities.

 

oh thanks for your nice words. yoou will definitely have the power over the c. i saw a totally blacked out crz the other day. man, it was hot!