4700 km trip

3776 Views 6 Replies 5 Participants Last post by ssu2k, Oct 26, 2011

kaptain

Discussion Starter · Jul 30, 2011

Well. I just finished a 4700 Km trip from Edmonton to south Oregon. I will calculate more accurate mileage numbers and post later but my initial numbers were about 36mpg going straight roads through Calgary to Montana. once I hit the mountains then I averaged around 31mpg the rest of the trip. The rest of the trip was in mountainous and curvy coastal roads that aren't conducive to great mileage. not to mention that I started increasing my average speed as the trip home got boring. I'll add that these are Canadian gallons which are 20% bigger than US gallons. We were 4 people and packed to the rafters with luggage too. The nox ran flawlessly and I couldn't be happier. I sold a 03 Dakota 4.7l that I loved in order to get better mileage and have all our gear inside and out of the elements. I noticed that the Dakota used to kick down a gear even on minor grades (it was a 5 speed). The nox being a 6 speed I expected it to kick down to 5th all the time even on slight inclines. It didn't. It actually took a fairly good incline for the nox to kick down and maintain speed on cruise control. I was tempted to take a roof rack as we had 2 buddies follow us on motorbikes and I thought they might need some space in my Nox but I hate roof racks and decided not to. It was tight as the shopping increased and the space decreased but we managed to pack better and get everything in. I was expecting to have the front end chipped all to heck because of bugs and rocks but after a thorough cleaning today, its not bad at all. Barely even pitted. Now the bugs werent too bad in the states but this paint job is pretty good. Dodge could learn how to paint from Chevy. My daughters were happy in the back and even though our shopping cut in to their space in the back seat, they still used their fold down arm rest cup holder and had all their electronics plugged in and were content. The connectivity was great. I played my iphone tunes, sirius satellite and the air conditioner worked flawlessly. One last point. I was concerned with passing power. While it wasn't as good as my 8 cylinder Dakota, it was better than I thought. An overabundance of power just makes poor drivers overconfident. If you know what you are doing this 4 banger is not that bad at passing when you punch it. Just some good timing and patience. Im happy with my purchase. We were planning this trip since January and when we got to Oregon, we even had my 2 biker friends ride with us. 5 pasengers in seatsand one riding shotgun in the cargo area :>) With my Dakota i would go 65 mph and drive like a wussy to get 25 mpg if I was lucky. With the Nox I drove faster and more agressive and i got around 33 as a blendede average through curvy/hilly roads.

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RIT333

· #2 · Jul 30, 2011

:cheers: :thumb:

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NoobNox

· #3 · Jul 30, 2011

Sounds like a great time! So how did you find the ride quality on the wide variety of roads that you must have encountered? Also, good point about the passing power....too much leads to risky moves and passing when it really isn't necessary.

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kaptain

Discussion Starter · #4 · Jul 30, 2011

NoobNox said:
Sounds like a great time! So how did you find the ride quality on the wide variety of roads that you must have encountered? Also, good point about the passing power....too much leads to risky moves and passing when it really isn't necessary.

I am mixed on the ride quality. The cabin is immensely sealed for wind noise as you all know. Triple sealed doors and windows. When we were on black top the ride was amazing. I could hear the kids whisper in the back seat. The handling is quite impressive. On some of the narrow and windy roads we encountered going up to light houses and scenic roads to off highway attractions, the motorbikes could barely keep up to me on the twisties. But on some of the older and beaten down highways I found the seams in the highway that run across the road to be annoying but I think it's more a contrast of coming off an amazing highway on to a lesser highway.

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ssu2k

· #5 · Oct 25, 2011

Sorry, stupid question but how do you "drive" this i4 car up hills ETC..."properly".

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2010Nox

· #6 · Oct 26, 2011

ssu2k said:
Sorry, stupid question but how do you "drive" this i4 car up hills ETC..."properly".

Allow me to answer that question.

Don't keep the cruise control on since it's only function is to maintain speed at all cost. It will coast on the downhill and keep applying more throttle on the uphill to maintain the speed setting, which is not fuel economy friendly.

The best way to drive hills for economy is with the "sling shot effect" by keeping a constant throttle position and letting the car increase speed downhill and lose speed uphill. I always drive this way with amazing returns in fuel economy.

The only downside is that you can, and usually do exceed the speed limit at the bottom of the hill and might piss off other drivers when your doing less than the speed limit at the crest of the hill. The last part doesn't concern me though since I don't view life as a race. That's because I don't like what's waiting at the finish line!

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ssu2k

· #7 · Oct 26, 2011

2010Nox said:
Allow me to answer that question.

Don't keep the cruise control on since it's only function is to maintain speed at all cost. It will coast on the downhill and keep applying more throttle on the uphill to maintain the speed setting, which is not fuel economy friendly.

The best way to drive hills for economy is with the "sling shot effect" by keeping a constant throttle position and letting the car increase speed downhill and lose speed uphill. I always drive this way with amazing returns in fuel economy.

The only downside is that you can, and usually do exceed the speed limit at the bottom of the hill and might piss off other drivers when your doing less than the speed limit at the crest of the hill. The last part doesn't concern me though since I don't view life as a race. That's because I don't like what's waiting at the finish line!

thank you!

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