A.M.E.C. Economy Run III - Fonda, NY 8-23-09
 

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The Adirondack Motor Enthusiast Club would like to invite you to participate in Economy Run III

What: Fuel mileage contest through the southern Adirondacks of NY. The route will be on really scenic and challenging roads [mild grades] and will run approx. 94 miles in distance. Your ?economic? driving ability will be tested. Cars will be filled with fuel by an AMEC official and be sent off at one minute intervals. There will be a time limit to complete the run. Any street legal vehicle is allowed to participate, [including motorcycles]. This event will run rain or shine.

Where: The starting spot will be at the [ethanol free] Fairway Oil gas station on Route 5 in Fonda, NY. Take NY Thruway Exit 28. After the toll booth, turn left onto Riverside Drive. Then turn right onto South Bridge Street and go over the bridge. On the other side of the bridge is a traffic light. You can see Fairway Oil and Gas on your left. Turn left onto Route 5 and enter the station.

When: Sunday, August 23rd, 2009. Arrival time will be 8:00-8:30am, first car off at 9:00am. They have gas and diesel and have a large enough parking lot that we won?t be in the way.

Cost: $10 per vehicle plus $8 per car for lunch at the awards picnic by the lake. [see "Awards" below]

Awards include:

1. Best overall mpg for gas cars [1st, 2nd, and 3rd places]

2. Best overall mpg for diesel and hybrid cars [1st, 2nd, and 3rd places]

3. Best Historic car ['79 and earlier - 1st, 2nd, and 3rd places].

Note: If we get more than one motorcycle we will add a class for them.

Finish: will be at the Citgo located at 746 NY-30, in Northville. They are less than a mile from Northampton Beach Campground and their lot is plenty big. It will be on your right as you're heading on Route 30 south in Northville.

Awards and Lunch: This event will conclude about noon, and we will be having our A.M.E.C. summer picnic immediately following the event. All Economy run participants are invited to join us for awards and a picnic lunch at Northampton Beach Campground located on Housmann Street, in Mayfield, [it's actually closer to Northville] NY. Their website is HERE. Scroll to the bottom of the page to find the map links. The picnic pavilion and beach are right on the shore of beautiful Sacandaga lake. Hamburgers, hot dogs, and soda will be served. This park is only about a mile from the Citgo station where the event concluded.

To register for this event: Please contact Mike Kamm at (518) 674-0520 or via email: mkamm [at ] juno [ dot] com. Or just simply reply to this thread with your name, year/model car. The vehicle count will be limited so please sign up before this event is full.

Registered driver's list as of 6-30-09

1. Mike Kamm - 1977 Datsun B210 - Averill Park, NY
2. Tom Moeller - 1994 Mazda Miata - Saratoga, NY
3. Dave Burnham - 1991 Eco Diesel Jetta - Delanson, NY
4. Ben Jones - '91 Honda Civic - Hanover, NH
5. Martin Deschenes - 2000 VW Jetta TDI - Quebec City, QC
6. Dick Vedder - 2000 Ford ZX2 S/R - Johnstown, NY
7. Ron Kienhuis - 1972 Citro?n SM - Long Island, NY
8. Vlad Saakyan - 2003 Suzuki Svs650 - 518 forums
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There is a link to last year's event thread located HERE.

Registration is now closed for Economy Run III

The fact that we filled up the event six weeks in advance is surprising
and encouraging at the same time. It shows that quite a few people really
want to participate in these types of events. Unfortunately, these events
are far and few between. We need more of them! They are not really
difficult to do and I hope we have inspired other groups or car clubs to
create their own versions of these events for all to enjoy.

1. Mike Kamm - 1977 Datsun B210 - Averill Park, NY
2. Tom Moeller - 1994 Mazda Miata - Saratoga, NY
3. Dave Burnham - 1991 Eco Diesel Jetta - Delanson, NY
4. Ben Jones - 1991 Honda CRX - Hanover, NH
5. Richard Vedder - 2000 Ford ZX2 S/R - Johnstown, NY
6. Martin Deschenes - 2000 VW Jetta TDI - Quebec City, QC
7. Ron Kienhuis - 1972 Citro?n SM - Long Island, NY
8. Vlad Saakyan - 2003 Suzuki Svs650 - 518 forums
9. Bill Clark - 1957 Metropolitan Hartop - Endicott, NY
10. Bruce Turk- 1958 Saab 93B - Walden, NY
11. Ernie Yue - 2008 Kawasaki Ninja 250cc
12. Dan & Richard Dobbins - 1964 Studebaker GT Hawk - Long Island, NY
13. Matt Herring - 2009 Toyota Prius - Boston, MA
14. Robert Smalls - 2000 Honda Insight - Buffalo, NY
15. Peter Ramotowski - 2000 VW Golf TDI - Albany, NY
16. Eric Hoefer - 2008 Honda Fit - Guilderland, NY
17. Ryan Kramer - 1988 Toyota MR2 Supercharged - Albany NY
18. Lance David - 1996 Chevy Cavalier - Johnstown, NY
19. Darin Cosgrove - 1998 Pontiac Firefly - Ontario, Canada
20. Chang Ho Kim - 89 Honda CRX - Maynard, MA
21. Jeff Morgan - 1992 240sx - Rotterdam, NY
22. Hobbit - 2004 Toyota Prius - Boston, MA
23. Tom Compoli - 1981 VW Rabbit - Schenectady, NY
24. Dan Mandle - 2004 Golf TDI [Vegetable Oil] - Potsdam, NY
25. Ricardo Bowlin - 1999 Dodge Avenger - Schenectady, NY

If anyone on this list cannot make it, please let me know.

There is now a waiting list to get in and several people are hoping a spot will open up.

This is Carl Germain's 1950 Studebaker Champion Business Coupe. Carl will run in the Historic class of the A.M.E.C. Economy Run Rally next Sunday with this beauty.

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It's interesting to note that this is the oldest car in competition, and in fact it is the only car entered that could have run in our inaugural Economy run event in 1954!

There have been two cancellations. The waiting list has now been eliminated, as all applicants are now in. Here's the latest list by class:

Gas class

1. Mike Kamm - 1977 Datsun B210 - Averill Park, NY
2. Tom Moeller - 1994 Mazda Miata - Saratoga, NY
3. Ben Jones - 1991 Honda CRX - Hanover, NH
4. Richard Vedder - 2000 Ford ZX2 S/R - Johnstown, NY
5. Eric Hoefer - 2008 Honda Fit - Guilderland, NY
6. Ryan Kramer - 1988 Toyota MR2 Supercharged - Albany NY
7. Chang Ho Kim - 89 Honda CRX - Maynard, MA
8. Darin Cosgrove - 1998 Pontiac Firefly - Ontario, Canada
9. Jeff Morgan - 1992 240sx - Rotterdam, NY
10. Tom Compoli - 1981 VW Rabbit - Schenectady, NY

Diesel and Hybrids

1. Dave Burnham -1991 Eco Diesel Jetta - Delanson, NY
2. Martin Deschenes - 2000 VW Jetta TDI - Quebec City, QC
3. Peter Ramotowski - 2000 VW Golf TDI - Albany, NY
4. Dan Mandle - 2004 Golf TDI [Vegetable Oil] - Potsdam, NY
5. Matt Herring - 2009 Toyota Prius - Boston, MA
6. Robert Smalls - 2000 Honda Insight - Buffalo, NY
7. Hobbit - 2004 Toyota Prius - Boston, MA

Historic class

1. Bill Clark - 1957 Metropolitan Hartop - Endicott, NY
2. Ron Kienhuis - 1972 Citro?n SM - Long Island, NY
3. Bruce Turk- 1958 Saab 93B - Walden, NY
4. Dan & Richard Dobbins - 1964 Studebaker GT Hawk - Long Island, NY
5. Jonathan Bartlett - 1969 Saab Sonett V-4 - Sterling, MA
6. Carl Germain - 1950 Studebaker Champion Business Coupe

Motorcycles/Scooters

1. Vlad Saakyan - 2003 Suzuki Svs650 - Schenectady, NY
2. Ernie Yue - 2008 Kawasaki Ninja 250cc
3. Sachs 50cc Madass scooter

Economy Run III was a huge success, and I want to thank all who participated. I would especially like to thank Mark Long and Dave Burnham who assisted me in administering the day's activities.

Last year's event average for all vehicles was 49.56 mpg. I thought that was pretty good. This year's average? How about 64.12 mpg!

Here are the results:

Gas class

1. Chang Ho Kim - 1989 Honda CRX HF - Maynard, MA 118.1 mpg
2. Darin Cosgrove - 1998 Pontiac Firefly - Ontario, Canada 106.12 mpg
3. Ben Jones - 1991 Honda CRX - Hanover, NH 82.54 mpg
4. Mike Kamm - 1977 Datsun B210 - Averill Park, NY 77.04 mpg
5. Will Meredith - 1998 Honda Civic EX - Binghamton NY 64.62 mpg
6. Richard Vedder - 2000 Ford ZX2 S/R - Johnstown, NY 59.09 mpg
7. Eric Hoefer - 2008 Honda Fit - Guilderland, NY 47.27 mpg
8. Robert Smalls - 1996 AWD Subaru Legacy - Buffalo, NY 46.64 mpg


Diesels and Hybrids

1. Martin Deschenes - 2000 VW Jetta TDI - Quebec City, QC 90.43 mpg
2. Matt Herring - 2009 Toyota Prius - Boston, MA 75.91 mpg
3. Hobbit - 2004 Toyota Prius - Boston, MA 74.28 mpg
4. Dan Mandle - 2004 Golf TDI [Vegetable Oil] - Potsdam, NY 63.41 mpg
5. Dave Burnham - 1991 Jetta Diesel - Delanson, NY 61.18 mpg


Historic class

1. Bill Clark - 1957 Metropolitan Hartop - Endicott, NY 44.64 mpg
2. Jonathan Bartlett - 1969 Saab Sonett V-4 - Sterling, MA 44.26 mpg
3. Jonathan Schaller - 1968 Saab 96 - Hamilton, NY 37.96 mpg
4. Ron Kienhuis - 1972 Citro?n SM - Long Island, NY 32.20 mpg
5. Carl Germain - 1950 Studebaker Champion Business Coupe 27.37 mpg

Motorcycles/Scooters

1. Vlad Saakyan - 2003 Suzuki Svs650 - Niskayuna, NY 62.28 mpg

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Darin Cosgrove, of Ecomodder.com drove his little Pontiac Firefly [think Geo Metro] in from Canada. He was the last participant to top off after the run. Get this, he only used .98 gallons of fuel for the 104 mile run, and that wasn't good enough to win!

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Some of the Historic cars with their drivers in attendance.

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This was Will Meredith's 1998 Honda Civic EX. There were more aero modded cars this year than ever!

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The red Saab 96 belongs to Jonathan Schaller. Jonathan filled the slot of
a last minute cancellation and we're sure glad he was able to come out.

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The biggest surprise was Chang Ho Kim's '89 Honda Civic HF [High Fuel] effiency model that had the wildest aero modded front end that anyone's ever seen. He was the overall mpg champ with 118.1 mpg with
Nokian Hakka R low rolling resistance winter tires on it!

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I am very pleased to show you the winner of the Historic Class of Economy Run III. This is Bill Clark's 1957 Metropolitan Hartop. This car has spent the last ten years in either a trailer or in the Norwich museum so when he started driving it there were some problems. Lot's of them. He worked tirelessly until every detail was taken care of. What he ended up with is a car that is now running better than it has in the last 33 years. His goal was 37 mpg [last year's number with his convertible]. How did he do? Well his attention to detail in car prep and his driving earned him an impressive 44.64 mpg and a first place in class. And that was on bias ply tires folks! Well done Bill.

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Here we can see Vlad Saakyan on his 2003 Suzuki Svs650. He was the only bike that the weather did not scare away this year. Vlad rode carefully and kept his revs below 4,000 in sixth gear on the course. He logged 62.28 mpg with his 650cc sport bike. Behind him in this picture is overall high mpg man Chang Ho Kim in his '89 CRX HF. Check it out, he had every body seam sealed off with painter's tape. He had to climb through the window to keep the seal intact while stopping to pick up his card at the check point.

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More check point action. At the furthest point in the 104 mile loop, we had every driver stop and pick up a card. This proved that they drove the entire distance and did not take any short cuts. If you look closely, you can see Chang in his yellow shirt, picking up his card at the base of the
stop sign.

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This is Carl Germain gettting out of the oldest car in competition. His 1950 Studebaker Champion business coupe was able to achieve very impressive 27.37 mpg. It is a fantastic example with just 35,000 original
miles. This is a big car with a 160 cubic inch straight six flathead, a three speed overdrive transmission and 4.56 gears!

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From the driver's seat of Ronny's Maserati powered Citroen SM. With their 3 liter V-6 engines sporting three two barrel Weber DCNF carburetors, these 3,500 lb. grand touring cars generally only get about 15 mpg. Ronny
got more than twice that at 32.20 mpg!

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Topping up Ben Jone's CRX. Ben's car has a later Civic VX lean burn vtec[e engine swapped into his car coupled with a tall geared HF transaxle for even further fuel economy benefits. He had a fantastic result of 82.54 mpg.

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Richard Vedder appears to be passing Ronny here, as he is on his way to his best ever result of 59.09 mpg in his 2000 Ford ZX2 S/R.

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And here's a rather unassuming looking contestant right? Looks can be deceiving. Last year's events proved that pound for pound, diesels rule the roost for economy. This is Martin Deschenes 2000 VW Jetta TDI. Martin drove 7 hours one way, from Quebec City in Canada to run at our event. He clearly has the long distance award. Soft spoken Martin is a very knowledgeable and talented hypermiler. How do I know? Because he won the Diesel/Hybrid class going away with 90.43 mpg! Our previous record for a diesel was 71.55, set by Jonathan Bartlett in his TDI Passat wagon last year. Nice job Martin!

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For those wondering what my '77 Datsun B210 was able to muster after the flurry of activity in my garage all month, how about a solid 77.04 mpg! Not too shabby for a carbureted car. There's more left in it too. I'm not done yet. ;)

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During the awards under the pavillion, we had each driver get up and tell us all about their cars. This was really interesting as we got to hear a little about each driver's car and what their mods were. This is Matt Herring. He had the best Prius mileage at 75.91 mpg and finished second in the Hybrid/Diesel class.

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We tried to line the cars up for a group shot but there were too many. Here's one batch of them. Talk about diversity eh? There are 1950's carmixed in with hybrids!

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Here's another grouping. There were still others as well. This event will be hard to top. The roof was blown off all of the previous records.

Mike

Wow! Amazing stuff, that's it, I'm putting a "cow catcher" on :D

good stuff! thanks for sharing.

No problem,

Glad you guys enjoyed it. :)

Mike

Hey Mike, does anyone else have websites, or "home forums" where they've detailed mods and technique?

Yes the Ecomodder guys have a page for this purpose HERE that has an album for each car.

There is also a nice write up on the white CRX HF that won our event last weekend HERE.