Originally intended to document my experience of DeLorean ownership, focus is often radical and strange, boring and obtuse.

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Hypermiling in a DeLorean

Sexy DeLorean gauges are always in style.

In 1981 the EPA rated the DeLorean's fuel economy at 19 and 21 mpg. Pretty fair for the time, remembering J.Z.D. chose taller gear ratios for good mileage. But can the DeLorean do better?

I recently returned from DMC Midwest where I drove over 500 miles in my DeLorean. On the return trip I recorded my mileage twice to make a comparison. The car was loaded with both myself and my dad at a combined 280 lbs, as well as approximately 150 lbs of luggage, miscellaneous spare parts, and scotch.

The first half of the drive was pissmeoff stop & go rush-hour traffic in the Chicago Loop. Not good. But perfect for a fair "mixed driving" test. The second half of that drive I was on the freeway doing a constant 70 mph.

Roughly 3 hours later I pulled off to eat and fill up as well. I had covered 155 miles and paid for 6.875 gallons at a Marathon station.

For the next test I decided to drive a constant 75 mph. If the car performed well at this high speed, I would be impressed. A few hours and 259 miles later I filled up at Hess. This time the tank held 9.338 gallons.

So what were the results?

The first drive generated a surprise. 22.54 U.S. mpg. What? 22 mpg in stop-and-go traffic? Wow. I just hypermiled my DeLorean. But could my numbers be even higher? The second drive was clearly better despite driving at a higher speed and rpm. I did the math and achieved 27.74 U.S. mpg. A far cry from my Insight, but a pretty incredible number nonetheless!

Curiosity! What will I get at 62 mph (100 kph)?
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Here's the math:
155 miles divided by 6.875 gallons = 22.54 mpg = 10.43 L/100 km
259 miles divided by 9.338 gallons = 27.74 mpg = 8.48 L/100 km

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2 Comments:

Blogger awildermode said...

I get about 14 mpg. Most of my drving is stop and go 'city driving'. My commute is 5 miles one way. I think I can get about 18-20 mpg on the freeway (about 65-70 mph). I envy your stats, I have 'mileage envy'.

I have not measured it since I got it back from the shop. Hopefully, the new upgrades help with fuel consumption. I got new headliners...that helps, right?

7:11:00 PM

 
Blogger Martini said...

I hear LED lights are 0.15% lighter and you're gonna do the carbon fiber window switches right?

It must be my tires. I have 245/60/15s on the back, which have a larger diameter. Most people have gone down to 225/60's, which have a smaller diameter. I plan on further tests.

9:51:00 PM

 

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