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Only 70mpg this morning in 39F weather - probably could have done better.

I put this big chart of expected MPG (http://www.cleanmpg.com/forums/glossary.php?do=viewglossary&term=20) for the Insight at various speeds, and to my embarrasment, underestimated 70mph. I said 50mpg at 70mph when it's about 58-60mpg under ideal spring conditions. A guy with a Prius II said he got 55mpg at 70mph, but kind of bit the bullet on my chart - did not want to get into a "My car vs Your car" feud.

30ºF this morning. I actually turned the heat on in the car (first time this winter).

Because it's the week of Thanksgiving, traffic was light. As such, I had more leeway in driving style. Even with the cold temps and the heater, I managed to get the tank average MPG up from 54.3 to 54.6. At this point - and for as long as I can - I'm just trying to break even and not drop too much.

29f this morning. No wind. 44.4 for current on the SG when I parked at work.

It was 41F here at the beach. I averaged just under 70 mpg for my communte to and from work today; a total of about 42 miles. I should have done better, but I haven't driven my car for a couple of weeks as I was in Portland, OR. Did I forget how to P&G?:p

I am sitting at 75.3 mpg after 289 miles on this tank. I can't wait to add this tank to my database; hopefully the overfill last tank will be balanced out by a slight underfill on this tank (different temps during fills between this and last tank). A block heater is on the way. It should eliminate one of my cold starts for the day.

Give me 70F days and I will bust a 80 mpg tank. :woot:

I look back at my first couple of tanks (like I have a lot now); what was I doing to get 45 mpg out of a Prius? Was I riding with the emergency brake engaged? :D

Dare I challenge myself and go for a 900 and 1000 mile tank in the spring? Hmmm, we shall see . . .

Ouch. My LMPG hurts.

The guy on the radio said 24F, it might have been 26F in my location. The car did NOT like that! It was nearly impossible to build any kind of FE, even when the car was warmed up. (Time to add a couple more pounds to the tires, I think.) It took me 10 miles for the trip reading to break 30mpg, and another 10 to get to the final reading of 33.4mpg. As usual, this is where I tell myself that this number is really "good" considering that Consumer Reports would find a way to get 19mpg under the same conditions . Oh well. At least I don't have to do it again tomorrow!

I haven't posted for awhile so now is as good a time as any. The temps started out at ~28 this morning and got to a high of 43 with SW winds at around 5-10 mph with gusts to around 16. The first leg of my commute to the wife's work was 37.4 mpg. From there to my work, I managed a 50.8. On the return trip to the wife's work in the afternoon, I got 52.8. From her work to home stunk real bad because I got behind a school bus and I think he added a few extra stops just for me.:mad: I was only able to pull off a 45.6. I redeemed myself later on though. I had to pick my daughter up at school and managed to pull off a 55.7 for the 5 mile trip. I took the back way home and really pulled out the tools and managed a 70.9:woot: From home to my daughter's voice lessons I managed 69.3 for a ~10 mile trip. On the way home from the lessons, I managed a 56.*. I wish I could afford to buy Dan's VX so I could be doing some 100 mpg segments.:D It looks like I could be on track for a 600+ tank. I'm at just over 515 miles and the guage is reading right at the 1/4 mark. From past experience, I could have 125-150 miles left.
It looks like the things that were keeping me away from the website are resolved for now so I can be on more often. Now, to catch up on all of those unread posts...:eek:

I've managed to work that scary 44.whatever average back up to
56 and change, and I think the block-heater is helping. Today I
blocked off the upper grille opening with hunks of coroplast,
leaving just the [much larger, unfortunately] lower section open
for now. I'm thinking airflow through the radiator/underhood
might be compromising what the WAI can do. More testing is needed.
.
Tonight, however [Wed. before thanksgiving] may not be the best
time to go out and tool around on the roads...
.
_H*

Larry,
I said best offer on the VX, and so far there are no offers, so at this point, the car would be quite affordable.:D

Hobbit,
I used duct tape to cover my upper grill opening and duct tape covered cardboard to cover the lower opening. It lasted thru the whole winter last year. It's amazing how close the color of duct tape matches the color of my Prius. You have to look closely to see that it it there.

Larry,
I said best offer on the VX, and so far there are no offers, so at this point, the car would be quite affordable.:D


I've got $700 bucks in my pocket from cashing my wife's and my check?:D

I had some pretty good numbers today. From home to the wife's shop was 38.0 and from there to my place was 51.8. This afternoon's return trip to pick up the wife was 55.9 and from there to home was 54.9.
I filled up today and hit a new record for the new car. 601.8 miles on the tank.:woot: I used 11.766 gallons for 51.147 mpg. If I keep this up, I may hold onto a 50+lmpg through the winter.:D

I filled the tank on Wed. & came out with a calculated FE of 37.2mpg. Then I was ready for a fresh start Thur. AM

Since temps were going to be in the 50's, I thought I better take the cardboard off the grille for the trip to Sheboygan (the trip through the carwash had done a number on it anyway:p), & then I *forgot* to plug the block heater in overnight :eek:, so we started out cold. The traffic was pretty light, so even after we crossed into 65mph territory, I stayed at 55mph - on a 65mi. trip, it doesn't make that much difference in the time it takes. As I drove, I kept an eye on the FE display - the numbers were still going up when I got off the highway, & when I pulled in at the YMCA (they sponsor a 2mi. walk that my family has done every Thanksgiving for the last few years), the NAV display showed 40.4mpg:) :) :)

There was some driving around town while we were there, & then the trip back (again at 55mph:)). The mpg's didn't go up as much on the trip home - I think it's more uphill going from Sheboygan to Milwaukee;) - & at one point, the FE display was as low as 36.9mpg, but by the time I parked (face-out:)) in our garage, the NAV showed 38.5mpg.

Not bad, all things considered, I guess, but I miss my 40+mpgs:(

Best tank ever in the Accord!

660 miles, 15 gal. for 44 mpg. :woot:

psy

:woot: :thumbs_up:

Best tank ever in the Accord!

660 miles, 15 gal. for 44 mpg. :woot:

psy

Way to work it!:woot:

Coming home in an hour or so of *heavy* rain Thurs night,
coupled with the additional turkey poundage, totally *whacked*
me back from 54.x to 51.x average at about half the tank gone.
Temps that night were around 40F, but I could really *feel* the
tires slogging through deep surface water, requiring me to keep
pushin' more than I wanted. Maybe the Hydroedges are so good
in rain *because* they push more water aside, and while they
seem to roll okay in the dry I suspect they're going to be total
pigs in the wet stuff.
.
Manage to eke the average up a little again today, much drier and
nicer, while getting much more positive [i.e. hot] results from
yet another tweak to the WAI. I still see no real diff in MPG
between WAI in vs. open airbox inlet, but maybe I'll get a
chance to do a real cold-soak series of tests this winter.
.
_H*

My holiday travels were a mixed bag. The trip to my parents place (74 miles) was reasonably pleasant and efficient, netting somewhere in the high 30s IIRC and passing without incident. The trip to my girlfriend's place was much more interesting.

Our travelling arrangements were thoroughly convoluted, owing to the fact that we were both starting and ending at a different place. She drove the 70mi up to visit my family, then we were to travel back in tandem (I know, it hurts) back to hers. To top it off, we were travelling at the height of the New England monsoon. She was well in the lead because I "drive too slow," yet ended up getting lost in the rain and missing a major exit because she was "aquaplaning all over the place." The result was that I got there an hour before she did, despite "driving too slow" and somehow managing to pull 34mpg through the downpour. I would have made this into a "teachable opportunity" except that she probably would have bitten my head off. Let's just hope that she understands how and why her trip went so badly and mine went so well.

The trip back north to my parents on Black Friday was uneventful, and yesterday's final leg back home was a piece of pretty decent work. I left at ~11:30 to try to beat the traffic, but couldn't quite pull it off. I was stuck in stop & crawl on the Mass Pike from Worcester all the way to the I-84 exit at Sturbridge. (10 miles maybe?) DWB was my friend, and I somehow gained a little FE during that stage rather than losing it. There was a family of four behind me and the driver seemed to understand what I was doing, and crept along patiently while the gap ahead opened and closed. The next good opportunity came on I-84 when traffic opened up and accelerated past the "good FE" threshold. Almost immediately I came up on someone towing a big white camper in the right lane at speeds between 45 and 60mph while DWL on the Connecticut hills. Hazards and ridge riding came in handy, allowing for an incredibly smooth traffic flow around us. The segment ended at 37.4mpg despite my being too lazy to FAS even once.

Oh, and I finally bled the old brake fluid out of the system since I had some nice weather and a willing assistant. That's been in the back of my mind for a while, so it's nice to have finally done it.