The Trip and the H3....

[f5fstop]

Originally Posted by DWPC

I agree 95%. The H3 is a great road vehicle for long distance driving; great handling, comfortable, fairly quiet. BUT, the H3 can't handle long grades (unless you you don't mind screaming at 4000+RPM). We frequently drive the H3 from the LA area to N.AZ, and I dread the long grade stretches on I-10, especially between Indio and San Bernadino on the return trip. Traffic is always heavy, and if you can't hold 75, you get run over. On grades, the H3 reminds me of my old non-turbo Mercedes 300D diesel, and its not a fond memory.

I had no problem holding 65 to 70 up those 6 percent grades on 550 from Durango to Montrose. Yes, it makes some engine noise due to the downshift to 2nd, but I just turn up the radio or sit back and relax, listening to the engine screaming. There was a lot of traffic, and no one passed me or tailgated me wanting to pass.

[f5fstop]

Engine racing sound upon engine startup is caused by the high volume of air racing through the PCV valve in the camcover. Normal upon cold or warm startup; with the time of the high airflow dependent upon engine startup temp. As to why it was happening while coming down from around 10K to 5K has not been answered, and there have been a few reports of this happening.
Some believe it could be due to the altitude and temperature change. Didn't cause any problems, and never set any codes.

[Sewie]

Excellent report F5! Thanks for all the info. Sounds like a great trip too.

[DWPC]

Originally Posted by f5fstop

I had no problem holding 65 to 70 up those 6 percent grades on 550 from Durango to Montrose. Yes, it makes some engine noise due to the downshift to 2nd, but I just turn up the radio or sit back and relax, listening to the engine screaming. There was a lot of traffic, and no one passed me or tailgated me wanting to pass.

The stretches I'm referring to are usually bumper-to-bumper all 100 miles into LA by Sunday afternoon with nothing but semis struggling to hold 50-55 in the slow lane, and everyone else doing 75-80 in the fast lane. Its uphill like this without let-up for about 30 miles. Then you go down hill for a few miles into Palm Springs, then another similar 30 mile climb to San Berdoo. There's usually a very stiff headwind too; its where the windmill farms are! If you can't keep up, you're relegated to 'truck lane hell' stuck between slowpoke semis and U-hauls for miles.

I agree that the H3 can manage the grades at about 65 comfortably; but thats 10-15 mph too fast for the slow lane, and too slow for the fast lane by about the same margin.

[BABHUMV]

Thanks for the report f5. Very informative. i agree with you completely on the driveability of the 3. I always seem to be passing the other cars. Mine was broken in on an I5 run north to Sacramento at 85+. It seems very comfortable at this speed.

[ictH3]

Great Info f5!


Thanks for proving me NOT crazy! I thought I was when I took a trip to Colorado and got better gas mileage in the mountains then what I did on the flatlands of Kansas.
Best I got on my trip was from Florissant Co. to Dodge City -
19.661 gallons and 376.1 miles = 19.129 mpg
The least I got was 16.10 mpg from Wichita Ks. to Lamar Co.
I even got better (16.276 mpg) when I was wheelin in and around Buena Vista than on the highway's in KS... .

BTW - I thought the H3's only had a 23 gallon tank?
I know... typo! I do it all the time.
"I-70 to KS Turnpike service area, east of Topeka, KS ? 29.584 gallons; 321.90 miles ? 15.638 mpg"
That damn 9 is too close to the 0!

Thanks!

[evldave]

Great info. I just finished a 2200 mile trip from WA to CA and back again, mostly on backroads (actually 75% on backroads). Interesting to see the difference between a H3 w/o rack (yours) and H3 w/rack (mine). Here's my experience without the details (I'm too much of slacker to keep track of locations).

Tank 1 - All freeway, 75-80, 305 miles, 20.17 gals, 15.12 MPG
Tank 2 - all freeway, 70-75, 293, 17.8, 16.5 MPG
Tank 4, 25% offroad (w/Bebe, Sewie, the Bullies, and Racer), 75% 60-80mph, 178 miles, 13.5 gals, 13.2 MPG (note: this is wheeling and driving combined)

Next few tanks are mixed highway, offroad, and back country roads:

15.5 MPG
13.6 MPG
13.4 MPG

Then, interesting part here...I started full offroad, washboard, 30-50mph from Modoc NF up to Eugene, OR (via offroad, then 97, then offroad, then 58, then I-5). Once I switched to consistent offroad (or winding highway backroads), it went like this:

17.4 MPG
15.9 MPG
17.0 MPG

Without going into the detailed level, I'd say maximum MPG is achieved at 30-60 MPH, on mid-throttle roads that involve long stretches of medium throttle (w/ or w/o hills), and don't require lots of 4th gear (auto) driving.

Most of my driving was done under a lead foot, with a decidedly un-aerodynamic roof rack. I did get much better mileage on non-highway roads. Of course, look at it this way:

@ $2.95/gal (what I paid in Oregon). The difference in 1 MPG increase over 1k miles saves you $5.00. Does it matter?

[entheos]

Did you see if Elephant Hill Trail still open in Canyonlands? Walking that trail was one of the reasons I bought an H3. I did a bunch of hiking in Canyonlands a few years ago and the environmentalists were collecting bugs in order to justify closting 4wd trails (they had already closed a few). Hiking is cool & all, but not everyone is physically able to hike in some areas, and a little rubber on the rock isn't really all that evil. By the way, there is still a big push to get whole areas of National land to be closed to everything, including hikers . Nice post.

[Viet Nam Vette]

Very Cool,
Nice report.....
Now...How did your son make out at the Bar with The Ladies..?? I won't ask how you did..

[f5fstop]

Got me, guess I should proof read better

Originally Posted by ictH3

Great Info f5!


Thanks for proving me NOT crazy! I thought I was when I took a trip to Colorado and got better gas mileage in the mountains then what I did on the flatlands of Kansas.
Best I got on my trip was from Florissant Co. to Dodge City -
19.661 gallons and 376.1 miles = 19.129 mpg
The least I got was 16.10 mpg from Wichita Ks. to Lamar Co.
I even got better (16.276 mpg) when I was wheelin in and around Buena Vista than on the highway's in KS... .

BTW - I thought the H3's only had a 23 gallon tank?
I know... typo! I do it all the time.
"I-70 to KS Turnpike service area, east of Topeka, KS ? 29.584 gallons; 321.90 miles ? 15.638 mpg"
That damn 9 is too close to the 0!

Thanks!

[NewHummerGuy]

Honestly f5fstop, that story should be submitted to any of the offroad magazines. That really was an interesting and most of all informative article.

Very nice and thank you.

[Mike E]

f5fstop. This was a great write up. Thank you very much. It makes me feel a lot more comfortable taking the 3 on a long trip. Thanks!

[f5fstop]

Originally Posted by NewHummerGuy

Honestly f5fstop, that story should be submitted to any of the offroad magazines. That really was an interesting and most of all informative article.

Very nice and thank you.

Shucks....

[Hmmm2]

What great info! Thanks. Nice pics, too. We drive to Las Vegas, San Diego and Palm Springs frequently and find it a great ride. Never a prob on straightaways at 75-80 .. just a little struggle trying to keep up with the others going uphill, unless we get momentum at the bottom of the hill. Glad you're back!

[westhillsat]

Thanks for sharing, love the arches pic

[Donald Smith]

Thanks,fstop. Greay report!