Tuesday 22 April 2008

Day 1, 30/03/08: Poznań - Międzilesie, Part II

Already before starting the trip, i had already reached the conclusion of what would be the speed i should drive. The expected fuel consuption was clear (between 5 to 6l/100km). As for the best driving position, and also because my seat could not go more to the back, i was a bit more uncertain.
Since this car obviously does not have rpm indicator, and quite frankly i have no idea what is the maximum rpm this engine can hold on. So, just learning by experience and by hearing the engine, 80kph (marked, not real), is the maximum advisable cruise speed. Above that, the engine starts to suffer a bit more. The maximum speed that i marked with the car was 110kph, but just once and with some effort, although the car could have marked 120kph. Anyway, another important thing that i tried to do, was to once in a while if there was not traffic (more or less each 10min) was to reduce the speed a little bit, so that the engine wasn't for hours always at the same rotation.
With a fuel consumption around 5l, this means an autonomy of around 250km. Taking in consideration the very poor average that i do on national roads (more or less 60km/h), i could drive the Fiat during four hours without stopping. Never did that, and the maximum i did before the trip was 2 1/2h. During the trip, at least two hours i wanted to stop (even if with the engine on) just to play it safe. So, now i believe it becomes more clear why i did only 350km in 6h.
Last, but not the least, the driving position. Since the speed was not outstanding, i could drive only with one hand. But, i didnt went for the classic taxi-driver position (left hand on the steering wheel and right on the gear). Mine was left hand in a 6.30 position and right hand in my equator area. Since i was not going to change gears that often, i could be playing an individual version of the popular "nob or bollocks" game.

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