Time to send it home

[aschulz261]

I picked up my FFH Titanium on June 5th and have been on an almost continuous road trip since that day.

I picked it up in Wisconsin and have hit the following states with it:

Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana, Iowa, Nebraska, Colorado, Utah, Nevada and finally California.

7 weeks and 6100 miles. I got to stop and see family and friends all along the way. Now it's time to send it home to Hawaii.

Here is a few things I learned along the way:

This car is amazingly quiet. I used to drive with the windows open in all of my other cars. After spending time in this one, I find the world is just too loud with the windows open.

Gas mileage is about what I expected. Obviously spending days on end on the freeway with the cruise on, it isn't going to get spectacular mileage.

with the ECO cruise set at about 70 and the AC on, I was getting about 38-39 mpg while on the east coast. I think I hit a best mileage of a little over 40 with the AC off.

Altitude really sucks. It turns from the "little engine that can" to "the little engine that tries real hard but just makes a lot of noise". It seems that below 3000 feet, the engine wants to stay around 2000 rpm and you have to work it a little bit to go above that. Above 4000 feet, it is rarely BELOW 3000 rpm. As soon as the engine starts, it's instantly at 3000 or above. Above 8000 feet, or on a step incline, I recommend just turning the tach off because seeing it just hanging at 5000 rpm scares me too much!

Heat seems to hurt the mileage somewhat. Probably because the AC needs to work harder.

80 MPH speed limit definitely puts the hurt on the mileage.

add 4000 feet of altitude, 112 degrees and 80 mph speed limit all together in Utah, mix in a bit of a head wind, and I got the worst mileage so far. 36.8 mpg. That bit also brought my lifetime average down to 39.2 mpg. For a while, I had it a little above 40 mpg.

The car has had exactly ZERO mechanical issues. I HAVE crashed the MFT 3 times.....all in Indiana....all about 30 minutes apart....hasn't happened since.

The navigation is useable. The interface isn't the easiest to use, but I found that using the SendToCar app on my phone makes the navigation utterly simple.

The only real complaints I have are with the cruise control. WHY does the cruise have to be turned on EVERY time you start the car? WHY does the last speed that was set reset itself to 29 mph if you come to a stop?

The only question I have is how do you turn down the brightness of the screens on the dash. The brightness know only adjusts the speedometer. The display settings on the MFT only seem to adjust the MFT screen. It is set to AUTO now, but doesn't seem to change the brightness of the screen at all. If I set the MFT to NIGHT, it dims considerable, but not the screens on the dash. If it is set to NIGHT, the screen is unreadable in daylight to turn it back up.

 

I simply could not pass up this photo:

http://s1367.photobucket.com/user/aschulz261/media/rsz_Vegas_zpsbc080725.jpg.html?sort=3&o=1

 

and 1 final parting shot dropping it off at the boat. exactly 6100 miles on it.

 

http://s1367.photobucket.com/user/aschulz261/media/rsz_readytoship_zpsbcfc5912.jpg.html?sort=3&o=0

 

 

Hopefully I can get one coming off the boat once it gets home next week.

 

[GrySql]

Quite a trip! Great review of the different topography and conditions you experienced in the HiTi.

Climbing the mountains going west over Colorado, thru Utah is quite a strain on most vehicles.

Thanks for the input.

 

I think it will be happy in Hawaii, unless you drive up Haleakalā every day.

Of course coming back down will show spectacular mpg's! :)

Edited August 7, 2013 by GrySql

[djminfll]

What a start with the new baby! With gas prices in HI, I'm pretty sure why you chose the FFH!

[Aquineas]

Cool trip! Just curious; how much does it cost to ship a car to Hawaii?

[neod192]

That sounds like a fun time!

The only question I have is how do you turn down the brightness of the screens on the dash. The brightness know only adjusts the speedometer. The display settings on the MFT only seem to adjust the MFT screen. It is set to AUTO now, but doesn't seem to change the brightness of the screen at all. If I set the MFT to NIGHT, it dims considerable, but not the screens on the dash. If it is set to NIGHT, the screen is unreadable in daylight to turn it back up.

Check out page 68 of the OM. The +and - buttons to dim the instrument panel are on the left side of the steering wheel, to the right of the headlamp dial.

WHY does the cruise have to be turned on EVERY time you start the car? WHY does the last speed that was set reset itself to 29 mph if you come to a stop?

Mine doesn't reset the cruise speed to 29 MPH when I stop (keeping the engine on). I do have to turn it on every time I turn on the car - very annoying !!! Edited August 7, 2013 by neod192

[hybridbear]

Very cool trip! I hope the car is kept safe on its voyage to Hawaii

[jeapa]

It sounds like you had a fun trip. I can't wait to take my first road trip.

[aschulz261]

That sounds like a fun time!

Check out page 68 of the OM. The +and - buttons to dim the instrument panel are on the left side of the steering wheel, to the right of the headlamp dial.

 

I have played with that and it only seems to adjust the brightness of the speedometer, not the screens.

[aschulz261]

Cool trip! Just curious; how much does it cost to ship a car to Hawaii?

 

Dropping the car off in LA, I am getting it shipped for $1100 to the Kahului harbor on Maui. I thought that was a pretty good price.

[fusionTX]

Dropping the car off in LA, I am getting it shipped for $1100 to the Kahului harbor on Maui. I thought that was a pretty good price.

Good luck with everything. Do you travel with the car or just meet it when it arrives?

Maui is one of my favorite places in the world. Rented a home in Makena recently and it was incredible. swimming with turtles and all kinds of fiish and even sharks right off the back of the housie. And the weather is just preferct. If it just weren't so far and expensive...

 

Have a safe trip back and let us know how it bahaves on the island.

[acdii]

"the little engine that tries real hard but just makes a lot of noise"

 

 

Best Quote EVER!