Well… the event was lightly attended again this year, although we can boast that we had 100% increase over last year! There were in fact 6 cars participating. I don’t really understand why attendance is so low for this event, it’s another great opportunity to get out with the club, talk cars and have a nice drive in the country in your favorite LBC. What could be all bad about that?
Anyway, everyone indicated that they had a very good trip, enjoyed the chosen route and that the route instructions were actually quite understandable. That’s a real bonus. This is also very good because I like to sponsor fun events that are perhaps just a little bit unusual in some way. (Wait for the Twice over the Oquirrh’s trip coming soon!)
Briefly the chosen route this year, started at the Flying J at 21st south and 9th west, went up to and through Liberty Park, then up to and through City Creek Canyon, out past the Zoo and up Emigration Canyon. Then back down the freeway and south on Wasatch Blvd , west on 45th south, north on Highland Blvd, through Sugarhouse Park and finally back to the Flying J. Total distance covered, approximately 47 miles and time duration, just about 2 hours.
Okay, so I promised results… drum roll please… and the winner is… Ron Christensen with an incredible 57.816 mpg in an MGB roadster! He did fess up though and say that he coasted with the engine off at every opportunity that he could. A very respectable and believable second place goes to Rich in his TR250 at 31.108 mpg. Third goes to Darrin in a “modified” MG 1500 TF at 27.014 mpg. Roger and Jill’s Alpine finished 4th with at 25.326 mpg and Jerry in an MG TD at 19.604 mpg. There was one very unfortunate DNF (did not finish), that of Rob Foye’s Jag, thankfully not do to mechanical issues but rather that, sometimes, try as you might, you just can’t actually get away from work. He got a phone call that he had to take and spent an hour on Capitol Hill talking. After that he decided it was best to throw in the towel and just go back to the Flying J.
So, that’s about it. Even if you didn’t go on this drive, I hope you got to spend a least a portion of your day out for a nice drive in your LBC and not stuck in the garage wrenchin’ on it and wishin’, you were out drivin’! Maybe we’ll see you next year.
– Duff
The weather was perfect for a BMCU event, today. The cooler temps were a relief from the 90+ temps earlier in the week. Overheating was not a problem, even when driving up hill with stop and go conditions.
If you weren’t one of the six participants in this year’s Economy Run, then you missed a really fun time. It was the perfect opportunity to check the physical operation of your LBC and your driving. The course, unknown until about 5 seconds before leaving the starting line, was a combination of city streets, serene parks, freeways, and suburban neighborhoods. Duff did an outstanding job of combining all kinds of conditions to operate our vehicles, giving everyone a chance to try to stretch their MPG’s.
Jill and I chose to drive in a normal manner, no turning off the engine and coasting, etc. to find out what kind of mileage we were getting in everyday driving. We went 46.9 miles, according to the GPS, and used 1.8 gallons of gas, for 26 MPG. Not the best mileage of the day, but we were pleased that we were getting almost 30 MPG on a car that is 46 years old.
OK, so you probably missed this event, so come on down to Liberty Park next Saturday for British Field Day. See your newsletter for more details or perhaps someone more knowledgeable can be forth coming with the details in another email.
Great job, Duff. We’re looking forward to the Third Annual Economy Run, next year.
– Roger & Jill
How do you get 57 MPG without a hybrid? It’s easy!
Having participated in one of these events previously (the 1979 Utah Economy Challenge Road Rally) I had a slight advantage on how to squeak that extra mileage. It started with tire pressure. If the book calls for 28 pounds, doubling that helps a lot. (the ride quality is a bit compromised however!) And driving with the engine off as much as possible is the key. Anything that resembles downhill means switching the thing off and coasting. One of the advantages of our old British cars is not having a steering lock when the switch is turned off. THAT can be a real problem especially coming down Parleys Canyon! A friend of mine racing a showroom stock Datsun did this once to get what we call a “clean shut off” to do a plug check when pulling into pit lane. The steering locked up he crashed into the end of the pit guard rail. I found I could coast with engine off from the top of Emigration (Little Mountain) all the way to I-215 having to turn on the engine only briefly to get back up to freeway speeds on I-80. And the same was true when we exited I-215 onto 4500 South. I was able to coast nearly all the way to Highland Drive. I tried not to use the starter motor to restart if possible and simply let out the clutch in 3rd or 4th when I had to use the engine. The rest of the time I used no more than 2000 RPM, short-shifting at less than that whenever possible. Leaving the overdrive on all the time was also a factor. I went up Emigration Canyon in 4th /overdrive at about 1500 RPM. The MGB has pretty good grunt on the bottom end and could pull the hills quite well, needing 3rd only once on the last steep part before Little Mountain. My MGB is an 1800 with one of those aftermarket Weber 2-bbl downdraft carbs. Although I am a purist and prefer SUs I think this set up does have a mileage advantage with the progressive two barrel. I rebuilt the engine a year ago with a mild cam and flat tops with stock cast iron exhaust headers. It was originally a rubber bumper car which I converted
I read an article once about getting the best mileage out of a car and tests revealed that the best mileage is obtained by accelerating briskly up to cruising speed and NOT babying it up to speed for several miles. In my case I would get up to speed as quickly as possible using as little throttle as possible then backing off or shutting down the engine and coasting to the next traffic light. Obviously it works but not what you would want to do for everyday driving!
– Ron Christensen
