I was invited to the Michigan Technological University to help with the commissioning of their NVH 4 wheel chassis dynamometer.
The dyno was donated by a company that I used to work for (Masland/Lear). They asked me to help because I am very familiar with using this dyno, which was custom built "in house". By the way, Masland (based in Carlisle PA) made the carpets for our Lincolns before they were bought out by Lear in the later 90's.
The university is located in Houghton, Michigan, in the upper penninsula. It's a beautiful area, and the drive up north was great during the Autumn color time.
It was a 1,160 mile round trip for me, since I live in south east Michigan. It took me about 10 hours to drive each way. I took my green Mark VIII. I was able to drive less than 80 miles per hour in the lower penninsula and less than 65 miles per hour in the upper penninsula (55 mph limit).
My trip computer showed 29.5 mpg on the way up. It dropped down to 29 on the way down (driving through storms). My gas pump/tank calculations put the mileage at 28.65 for the whole trip. Not too shabby for what some people call a "land yacht".
I wanted to see some of the great waterfalls in the "U P" on the way home, but it was pouring down rain. I did manage to stop off at the Hartwick Pines State Park, in the lower penninsula, when the rain broke for a while. Hartwick Pines is the only old growth forest left in Michigan. The trees there are huge.
Here's some photos:
Here's the Mackinac bridge connecting the two penninsulas. Sorry about the rainy shots.
Here's the view from my room. The canal separates the Keweenaw penninsula from the rest of the U P.
I didn't know that this was where professional Hockey started.
This is the 2 level bridge that goes from Houghton to Hancock. In the winter, they lower the bridge so snowmobiles can use the lower level.
This is a big, old growth pine tree at Hartwick Pines state Park. It's hard to show how big it is with a camera.
My car turned over 170k miles on the trip.
I like to check my distance to empty when I fill up after a long trip.
I got 1 car photo op at the rest area near the Mackinac bridge.
The dyno was donated by a company that I used to work for (Masland/Lear). They asked me to help because I am very familiar with using this dyno, which was custom built "in house". By the way, Masland (based in Carlisle PA) made the carpets for our Lincolns before they were bought out by Lear in the later 90's.
The university is located in Houghton, Michigan, in the upper penninsula. It's a beautiful area, and the drive up north was great during the Autumn color time.
It was a 1,160 mile round trip for me, since I live in south east Michigan. It took me about 10 hours to drive each way. I took my green Mark VIII. I was able to drive less than 80 miles per hour in the lower penninsula and less than 65 miles per hour in the upper penninsula (55 mph limit).
My trip computer showed 29.5 mpg on the way up. It dropped down to 29 on the way down (driving through storms). My gas pump/tank calculations put the mileage at 28.65 for the whole trip. Not too shabby for what some people call a "land yacht".
I wanted to see some of the great waterfalls in the "U P" on the way home, but it was pouring down rain. I did manage to stop off at the Hartwick Pines State Park, in the lower penninsula, when the rain broke for a while. Hartwick Pines is the only old growth forest left in Michigan. The trees there are huge.
Here's some photos:
Here's the Mackinac bridge connecting the two penninsulas. Sorry about the rainy shots.
Here's the view from my room. The canal separates the Keweenaw penninsula from the rest of the U P.
I didn't know that this was where professional Hockey started.
This is the 2 level bridge that goes from Houghton to Hancock. In the winter, they lower the bridge so snowmobiles can use the lower level.
This is a big, old growth pine tree at Hartwick Pines state Park. It's hard to show how big it is with a camera.
My car turned over 170k miles on the trip.
I like to check my distance to empty when I fill up after a long trip.
I got 1 car photo op at the rest area near the Mackinac bridge.
