David Kennedy talked strategy...
David Kennedy talked strategy to everyone before we left the Chevron station. It turns out most people just planned to drive conservatively.
When we got to Oceano, California, it was off to a gas station to see how we had done. All five vehicles were topped off with surprising results. Our conservative driving habits meant that not a single vehicle was below 20 mpg! It turns out that emissions, a lift, and all-wheel drive does hurt, as the Grand Cherokee finished in last place, taking 7.75 gallons and averaging 23.35 mpg. Right in front of the Jeep and amazingly close to a tie was Ken's '93 Dodge, taking 7.74 gallons for an average of 23.38 mpg. A big jump took place when we moved on to Third Place, which is Tommy's '07 Chevy. He ran the entire event on the same tune he uses to run 12.40s at the track, and it turns out that an efficient turbo and lots of timing are good for fuel economy as well. Jumping more than a gallon ahead, Tommy's four-wheel drive D-max used 6.61 gallons for an average fuel consumption of 27.38 mpg. Finishing second with no overdrive and horrible aerodynamics was Project Rust Bucket, which was certainly helped by the slow pace. The early 12-valver managed the run with only 6.53 gallons, giving an average of 27.71 mpg. The leader of the pack for our 2008 fuel economy shootout was Joe Komaromi's '07 LBZ-engined truck. Joe had one of the lightest vehicles with the most technology, and it paid off to the tune of a miserly 6.13 gallons used for an impressive average of 29.52 mpg.
So what did we learn? First and foremost, we learned that slowing down really does help, as does driving like a ninny. Technology seems to help too because the newer trucks got really good numbers. Emissions does hurt mileage considerably-the Jeep that should have gotten about 30 mpg ended up only getting 23. Finally, the old mechanical trucks still can keep up, and with an overdrive transmission and lockup converter in Rust Bucket, we think it could have won. Thanks for riding along with us on our first fuel economy challenge, and we hope to see some readers in person for next year's event!
The "Real" numbersWe Could Already Hear The Complaints About How Our Test Wasn'tRepresentative of "real" driving (speeding), so on the way back we split up and drove at our own pace. At 80-85 mph, Tommy's LMM dropped from 27 mpg to 19 mpg, while our '89 Dodge dropped to 20 mpg when we drove it home at 75 mph. Joe drove home at 70-75 mph and still got about 26 mpg with his "super economy" tune, and later admitted he had his tires at 80 psi for the test, which certainly helped.
 Another interesting powerplant...  Another interesting powerplant is the hopped-up LMM owned by Tommy Kolleck. The truck features a dual fueler from PPE, a Garrett GT4094 turbo, and EFILive. At the track with the DPF off, it runs 7.90s in the eighth-mile and 12.40s in the quarter. |  Before we even got moving,...  Before we even got moving, Ken ran over an errant screw. Luckily, it got caught up in his tread instead of puncturing his tire. |  One of the wildcards of the...  One of the wildcards of the group was Tommy's LMM. With no regeneration courtesy of EFILive, we didn't know what kind of fuel economy to expect for the big Chevy. |
 After we left the station,...  After we left the station, it was off through Beverly Hills to the freeway. We were looking good so far, as the weather was holding. |  Wait, no it wasn't. Right...  Wait, no it wasn't. Right after we left we ran into a downpour that had Memorial Day traffic slowing to 50 mph. |  After about 60 miles of driving,...  After about 60 miles of driving, we made a pit stop and talked strategy. David had been using his cruise control to maintain a constant speed, while Joe admitted to turning his engine off and coasting on a few long downhill stretches. |