Hypermiling in a DeLorean

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)?
-----------------

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

How To Get 70 MPG

With an unseasonable blast of warmth, it was the ideal weekend to take the snow tires off the Insight. I washed the car first, so that the slippery aerodynamical cleanliness combined with the super low-rolling resistance tires would get me super-mega awesome mileage.

I drove up to BPZ’s new house achieving a decent 4.5L/100 km. I crossed the 4-inch wide river of muddy doom created by his car-washing neighbour, and nestled the little hybrid into the furniture-filled garage.

In a few minutes I had the two front tires off, and we all stood around giggling and pointing at the tiny brakes. Yes, size does matter.

After we had our fun, I loaded the two snow tires into the back, causing drive-home suckage. Having six wheels, mileage wasn’t as good as it could be. Granted, the four wheels actually bolted on the car served me well, rolling appropriately down the highway and all. But the two in the back were useless. Dead weight, essentially.

When I arrived home, the Fuel Consumption Display read 4.0L/100 km (or 70.6 mpg), even after dodging through narrow neighbourhood streets to locate the fire. It wasn’t the best, but it’ll do pig, it’ll do.