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I'll start this one. First, a somewhat off-topic lead-in. A few weeks ago FireEngineer (aka, Wayne M.) posted on PriusChat an offer to install engine block heaters for free for folks in the Chicago area. I jokingly told him that if he's willing to make a trip to the East Coast, I'd take him up on it. Lo and behold, I got a PM from him about a week ago offering to do just that! He, his wife, and his son made a swing through NC this weekend to visit two other PC members, and he installed the EBH for one of them. Yesterday they stopped off so he could do mine.

Back on-topic: Temps this morning were in the mid-20s. Didn't matter to Prius with her warm engine. The initial coolant temp shown on the ScanGauge was 136F. Predictably it dropped after the thermos coolant dumped into the system, but it quickly rose again, up to about 160 at the 2-mile mark. The first 5 minute segment saw about 40 MPG, unheard of (for me, that is) even in summer. The entire 9.3 mile commute was 60.3 MPG.

Many, many thanks to Wayne and his gracious family. :woot:

Hi Jim:

___Another great contribution to others FE by Fire Engineer!

___27 - 28 degree F temps, lighter winds and a 44.4 mpg result.

___Good Luck

___Wayne

Nice ride this morning...I didn't want it to end. I saw a loaded semi pulling out of a side road well ahead of me on the state highway, so I started a D-FAS and pulled in right behind him with just a touch of the brakes, then paced off him until the expressway (he kept touching the brakes for no apparent reason, so I didn't draft). The car was doing 60 at light throttle on the expressway with the iFCD around 50 MPG. The only major hit was needing to brake hard for another loaded semi at my exit.

41.8 MPG for 15.3 miles at 29°F. I forgot to break down segments again.

Tank is at 41.3 MPG for 455 miles, 82.6 to empty. My first 450-mile tank, and I still have another round trip left.

JimboK, out of curiosity, what style of block heater is it (frost plug, etc.)?

77mpg at 36F this morning.

My ride in was pretty good, bringing the tank up into the 52.8mpg region per the MFD. I'm down to 4 pips and I'm making it my job to survive tomorrow and Wednesday's cold spell (high of 20F tomorrow...yuck) without losing too much ground on the tank.

I managed 58.2 MPG at 33ºF this morning. It had warmed up a bit from when JimboK left for work. Unfortunately, I don't have an EBH at this point, so my first 5 minutes was about 25 MPG. Jim, I hope to have everything in place for an EBH next fall. My problem is the plugging in part. I'll work on it.

Some short trip nonsense this weekend to pull down the average to 61.7.

Back in the fight this morning with a 70.8 / 7 miles / 25F to pull the tank avg up a notch to 61.8 (still hanging on to 3 pips).

The EBH is great - the coolant temp fluctuates wildly around 110-120F for the first 20 seconds as the thermos coolant is restored, but it certainly beats out the 40-60F it might start out as otherwise (or colder!). S3 (159F) within 2 miles, can't argue with that. :) Many thanks to FireEngineer for installing mine at the MHG group install. :flag:

My car turned on me last week because I was frustrated and hammering it into ev mode every possible chance. SOC has been sulking, way down and finally decided it had enough. So it refused most days to hit 60mpg and said here's a few green recharge bars every day just to remind you. Yeow.

Today we had a nice warm morning, gave the pack a break and got 67mpg into work. Now practicing careful acceleration while maintaining the ifcd at ~50, and then gliding at just <100mpg this week and see what happens.

I somehow managed a personal best on my homeward commute today -- better than Friday's, even though there was more traffic, lower temps and a gusty headwind! :woot:

I must've done something right, though I'm not sure what. Part of it may have been leaving the vent on cold, which allowed the coolant to hit the high 180s. 39.1 MPG for 15.1 miles at 34°F.

Part of my homeward route through my neighborhood consists of a steep downhill with a stop sign at the bottom. Even if I coast down to 15 at the start of the hill, I'll be going 25-30 by the time I'm at the bottom and just have to burn off all that juicy momentum. I'm looking at a possible alternate route that would eliminate the stop, but would introduce a bunch of sharp turns instead. I guess I'll need to try it and see.

Single-digit temps are predicted for tonight, so I probably won't be breaking 40 on the way in tomorrow. It'll be the last commute on my best tank yet, but the next should get a good jump-start from some more interfacility travel (highway miles) tomorrow.

Filled up today at 60.1 mpg / 549 miles / 1 non-blinking pip. Tank was up to 66.7 mpg / 240 miles before the big highway trip, which was a pleasant 55.8 mpg round trip and kept the tank north of 60.

Next goal is 70 for a tank. Tomorrow will be a chilly 40F start. But after that, the forecast is an ideal 55-75. The daily commute averages between 70-75 mpg. My plan is to really start to push the commute to get 75 consistently, and focus on 65 on the family / weekend trips.

If Locutus were down here in this weather, he'd hit 81. There's my motivation. Just a measly 70 mpg tank is all I need to do.

Hi Mparrish:

___Sounds like you are ready for a blow out tank with that plan!

___Bruce, you are doing great!

___Tarabell, 67? I have not heard of a 67 mpg segment from an HCH-I or II this year other then maybe Ed?

___Jared, you are scaring me with those kinds of numbers in those kinds of temps!

___10 - 15 mph headwind in 29 - 34 degree temps allowed a nice 47.1 tonight. That was close. I am off tomorrow and it is supposed to drop to 8 degrees by morning. Sorry Chicago, you are not taking me down tomorrow :)

___Good Luck

___Wayne

Note: For previous weeks, look here, and for later weeks, look here.

Here's the place holder for this weeks stats. I've been omitting other drivers from the statistics calculations, but list them in the trip list to avoid gaps.

# Notes Start End mpg_ Trip T 50W Er±
== ========= trip mpg_SoC trip mpg_SoC avg mi °F car_mpg
01:Drive in 105.6 61.1 7 120.0 61.8 5 67.47 14.4 55.5 4.5 0.9
02:birthday 120.0 61.8 5 124.0 61.2 4 47.40 4.0 64.0 0.5 2.1
03:Drive home 124.0 61.2 4 138.3 61.6 5 65.30 14.3 65.5 2.5 1.0
04:Drive in, let engine idle! 138.3 61.6 5 152.7 61.4 4 59.54 14.4 53.5 4.0 1.0
05:Drive home & returned videos 152.7 61.4 4 192.3 62.3 4 66.03 39.6 64.5 4.0 0.5
06:Drive in Wed 192.3 62.3 4 206.7 62.7 4 68.58 14.4 58.0 4.0 1.6
07:Drive home Wed 206.7 62.7 4 220.9 62.9 4 65.96 14.2 69.0 3.0 1.6
08:Drive in Thurs 220.9 62.9 4 235.3 63.3 5 70.14 14.4 60.0 2.5 1.9
09:Drive home 235.3 63.3 5 250.0 63.6 4 68.82 14.7 73.5 6.0 1.9
10:Drive in Fri 250.0 63.6 4 264.4 63.6 6 63.60 14.4 73.5 6.0 1.8
11:Drive home + teacher conf + pharm 264.4 63.6 6 290.3 63.4 6 61.43 25.9 77.5 7.5 1.0
12:Shopping Sat 290.3 63.4 5 300.7 63.0 6 53.57 10.4 80.5 7.5 2.1
13:Moved Car Sun 300.7 63.0 6 300.7 62.7 4 0.00 0.0 80.0 0.0 4.7

Weeks stats:
Current city 71.09% Goal EPA_mpg for current city/hwy split = 57.40_mpg
Current hwy 28.91% Current_mpg for current city/hwy split = 63.60_mpg

Difference = 110.80%

Tank stats *:
Current city 77.12% Goal EPA_mpg for current city/hwy split = 57.94_mpg
Current hwy 22.88% Current_mpg for current city/hwy split = 65.32_mpgKey:
Start_Trip = The trip/tank mileage when I started the drive.
Start_mpg = The tanks mpg via the FCD at the start of the drive.
Start_SoC = The number of bars on the battery icon at the start of the drive.
End_Trip = The trip/tank mileage when I finished the drive.
End_mpg = The tanks mpg via the FCD at the end of the drive.
End_SoC = The number of bars on the battery icon at the end of the drive.
mpg_avg = The calculated mpg for this drive.
Trip_mi = The length of this drive.
T_°F = The average temperature for this drive
50W_car = The number of green regen cars that show on my consumption screen
Er±mpg = The range of error associated with mpg_avg

* Other drivers omitted from statistics

Temps again in the 20s this morning, but the block heater's doing its job: 61.8 MPG, 11.4 miles for the commute from my landlady's house (yesterday's shorter commute was from my fiancee's).

It's a really lousy mornig to drive. 4-7F with 20mph head and side winds, tank down below 52mpg now.

Brick's commute must be in the direction opposite mine...8F but a decent tailwind. Wayne, thanks for the good cheer. :)

There was a lot of sand and salt on the roads, so I managed to come up short coasting to the first stop sign, fired up the engine for the last few feet and, of course, wound up sitting there idling while waiting for traffic to clear. I guess I'd rather come in too hot and use the brakes.

A semi with a loaded trailer was getting onto the expressway at my exit, so I had to brake to 30 MPH, then restart early to hold my speed on the cloverleaf.

Segment A: 33.0 MPG, 7.1 miles
Segment B: 46.2 MPG, 8.3 miles
Total: 39.1 MPG, 15.4 miles
Tank: 41.1 MPG, 485 miles

55.9 MPG at 29ºF.

Good run this morning. I was able to roll through every single light on the way to work! :woot: Filled up for a weekly average of 40.9mpg.

37 mpg 5.5 mile commute
12 mile head wind
12 degrees

http://www.cleanmpg.com/garage/images/294.png

81mpg at 45F this morning - no complaints.

Brick's commute must be in the direction opposite mine...8F but a decent tailwind.

Yup. I go west in the morning, you probably go east given your location.

Yesterday's commute home was less than optimal due to starting from almost outside. Starting WT was around 30. :( I had EV-denied for the first few miles due to battery temp as well. Ran an errand on the way home.

53.9 / 8.6 miles / 23F
52.3 / 2.2 miles / 23F

Colder this morning - wtf happened to those 30s we were supposed to see? :confused: Forecast still calls for thursday and friday to be warmer. Looks like the guys in the NE are seeing a deep freeze too. I really hope this is winter's last stand!

67.9 / 7 miles / 14F.

Tank at 61.7, still 3 pips.

Focusing on very measured, deliberate foot pressure and keeping the ifcd high without being greedy -- now the pack is happily brimming over. A 60mpg tank may still be possible if this weather holds up all week as expected. I ended with 68mpg at home yesterday and now 67.3 into work today.

Though I’ve come close, I’ve never been able to sustain 70mpg for a full 40 mile roundtrip. This year seems like I’ve got a running start at it.

Had a troublesome drive in this morning. On my way out of the subdivision, I came across a neighbor. We chatted for a few minutes and when I pulled off, I realized that I never auto-stopped. Saw orange arrows everywhere. Well the oversight in just that 1 minuted dropped my tank average from 61.6 to 61.0 :eek: .

My best work on the rest of the trip worked it back up to 61.4. Including the one minute idle, my trip yielded a 59.5, but if I factor it out, I scored a 65.5.

Ohh well... I'll know better next time.

Monday's average was 63.3. The weeks trip log has been updated as well.

Yup. I go west in the morning, you probably go east given your location.

Yes, although my commute is burb-to-burb, not burb-to-urb like many in the area.

Did a midday interfacility trip after filling up...I did the best I could, but the tank's around 41 MPG at this point. The last time I made the same trip, it was around 45-46 MPG. It is just downright nasty out there...we're up to 18°F out with 35 MPH gusts.

I accelerated into semi drafts a couple of times from DWL around 50 MPH, and the engine was very unhappy -- lots of clattering. Perhaps it's starting to show its 110K miles.

My "daily" average didn't reset last night because I was out too late. My mom had knee replacement surgery and I didn't get home until after 9:00 pm and I leave at about 4:55 am. I'll report both days' segments.
3-5-07
1) 53.5-5.9 miles
2) 58.9-5.9 miles
3) 61.8-9.2 miles
4) 62.3-9.2 miles

3-6-07
1) 45.7-5.8 miles
2) 59.9-9.6 miles
3) 62.6-9.6 miles
4) 59.7-6.3 miles
5) 56.2-5.5 miles
6) 68.9-5.5 miles
7) 72.5-4.8 miles
8) 58.9-4.8 miles
Average for the two days: 51.9
EDIT: :oops: That should be 59.1

Still gusty and around 15°F for the ride home; I tried the different route through my neighborhood and only came up with 33.3 MPG. Hard to tell if it's the weather or the route, but I think I like the old route better anyway -- fewer starts and death turns, so it's easier to optimize.

Tank's currently at 39.0 MPG. Not a good start compared to the last one, and it sounds like the cold temps won't let up until Friday. OTOH, I'm still above 35, which was my goal for the winter. I may add some foil or cardboard directly in front of the radiator in addition to the grill block to help keep things warm the next few days.

Marc's pursuit of a 70 mpg tank (Day 1):

Commute:
80.1 mpg / 12 miles / 45F to work
60.5 mpg / 13 miles / 70F back home

Tank currently sitting at 68.6 mpg / 28 miles

That's not gonna cut it. The commute will be a little more than half the tank, and needs to average 75 or so to pull this off. Luckily, the 40F mornings will be replaced with 55F for the next week or so.

Tomorrow will be a good day. Wednesday is "push it" day, as I get in to work around lunch with little traffic. I also will be taking a morning trip downtown (the little 2-year-old has an activity :) ) which roughly follows my commute. Gotta get that tank up into the 70s and survive the weekend.

I don't care how much it may hurt my tank; we are not taking the gas-powered Highlander to the zoo and leaving the Prius at home :). Emissions, not video game.

This morning's ride:

Segment A: 1.7 miles, 26.7 MPG
Segment B: 5.4 miles, 35.1 MPG
Segment C: 8.3 miles, 46.1 MPG
Total: 15.3 miles, 39.0 MPG, 8°F, no substantial wind

What a difference a few degrees can make...The same segments were 30.8/37.9/47.6, 41.5 total last week at 21°F. For me, that's an extra round-trip commute out of a tank.

10F with no wind and an uneventful drive this morning except for one nice lady in a Grand Cherokee who was trying awfully hard to read my iFCD ;) . Ignored her until it was time to take the sweeping 270 degree on-ramp, at which point I decided to get a jump on my acceleration to freeway speed. A Prius may not remotely resemble a sports car but I'd say it sticks to the pavement just fine. I'm afraid she will never know what my gas mileage was like during that particular stage.

58.2 MPG at 33ºF this morning. I can't think of anything interesting to add, so I'll leave it at that.

73.7mpg at 45F would seem par for a five-speed Insight on a 25-mile commute that's 21 miles freeway. Well, there was an accident, so seven or so miles on the freeway, it was better to exit and bypass the gridlock for the roads, ending my flirtation with 80mpg.

Another (relatively) ugly commute home yesterday, but trips since then have brought me back to 61.8 (now 2 pips).

50.0 / 6.1 miles / 25F - again forced EV denied for the first 2 or 3 miles
73.3 / 11.6 miles / 25F - with a net elevation change of -150ft, my target in these temps is 80, which I have managed to hit before :D . Some traffic "wtfs" on yesterday's run.
58.2 / 11.6 miles / 23F - the return trip.

This morning, :mad: . For a good mile and a half through residential roads at 25 and 30MPH I had an acura MDX *right* on my tail whose driver must've thought 45 was a more "reasonable" speed to be going. I didn't let my glides go below 25 which I do with no traffic but that wasn't good enough. *Sigh* The result was a 66.1 / 7 miles / 19F. Apparently it didn't hurt my overall trip that much, but I'm still fuming thinking about it. What if I had needed to stop?

When I wrote this yesterday:

Though I’ve come close, I’ve never been able to sustain 70mpg for a full 40 mile roundtrip. This year seems like I’ve got a running start at it.
I didn’t think I was going to do it THAT DAY. (Note my RT door-to-door is actually ~38 miles).

As I've said I've hit >70mpg a few times going to work, but always took a hit with the cold engine going back home and watched it fall again. This time I was able to hit 70 and hold on to it all the way home.

:woot: :woot: :woot: :woot:

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/500/hch-ii.jpg

And what's more incredible is I didn’t even rely on ev mode at all. You try and try and bang your shoulder against the door all winter and then suddenly the door opens and you fall through it. Don’t worry all you out there in winterland, you’re going to be falling through that door too in a few weeks.

Oh yeah, and 68.2 again into work today. :Banane36: Woo hoo. :)

Oh, you have no idea how jealous I am! :D We should be breaking out of winter for an extended warm spell (daytime highs in the 50s, possibly even mornings above freezing) starting this weekend. Snow tires are coming off this Saturday because I can't stand the whining and want my FE back!

tarabell,

A big hand for the 70mpg in March! I'm spoiled with 85% freeway, 800 or so less pounds, a 5-speed.

Last Sunday, the LA Marathon was held (primary sponsor: Honda) - you broke the 70mpg "wall". :)

Hi Tarabell:

___It is nice to see you back in the thick of it. As well as teaching some of the “Boy’s” how its done :D

___Congratulations on the start of a great tank! All that is left is to send some of that warmer weather into the Midwest and upper East coast as we need it in a real bad way ;)

___Good Luck

___Wayne

Good drive home last night 66.0. The average was pretty abysmal until I recalled I had movies to return. The route to the video store is an easy route to score on.

Good drive in this morning at 68.6. Just got lucky with tailgater's turning off and random pressure pad lights working my way.

Weeks average went from 62.1 to 64.5

Adjusted* tank average went from 66.80 to 66.77. The weeks log is also updated.

Had the day off ... sort of. Worked the part time job across town, with 68.2 MPG for the day. It probably could have been 70, but I made a stop on the way home to continue working off my Christmas dinner(s).

Temps were from 17-28F today.
1)40.1-5.8(wife's work)
2)50.3-9.6(my work)
3)58.6-9.6(wife's work)
4)64.0-14.3(bank)
5)56.8-5.1(grocery store)
6)59.2-9.1(home)
7)63.5-5.2(took daughter to church)
8)71.0-1.2(gas station)
9)69.6-6.4(home)
10)61.5-5.2(pick up daughter)
11)70.0-5.2(home)
Average for the day: 58.0

Just filled up for my second best tank since joining up here:)
379.143 / 10.334 = 36.81

http://www.cleanmpg.com/garage/images/294.png

Filled up and actually got a number that roughly matches the aFCD: 49.96mpg at the pump, 51mpg by the MFD. Sold!

Marc's pursuit of a 70 mpg tank (Day 1):

Commute:
80.1 mpg / 12 miles / 45F to work
60.5 mpg / 13 miles / 70F back home

Tank currently sitting at 68.6 mpg / 28 miles



Marc's pursuit of a 70 mpg tank (Day 2):

Morning Trip: ~65 mpg
Commute:
82.8 mpg / 12 miles / 60F to work
59.3 mpg / 13 miles / 75F back home

Tank currently sitting at 67.9 mpg / 87 miles.

Fair drive home of 65.9. Had a few failed glides that I had to recover..

Weeks average went from 64.5 to 64.6.

Adjusted* tank average went from 66.8 to 66.7. The weeks log is will be updated in the morning. Too tierd.

A short trip across town just before leaving work...20 MPG there, 30 MPG back. Then, 40.5 on the way home...40+ but cheating; the engine was still warm. After that, some other short trips in the 35-37 range.

Went to work from my wife's place this morning; the route is a bit flatter so there aren't as many glide opportunities, plus I was starting from cold outside instead from the garage (35-40°F). 37.5 MPG for 19 miles at 14°F; tank's about the same.

My wife will be driving the car ~200 very hilly miles on Sunday so we can recon a bike route; between that and the cold weather this week, I'm not expecting much of this tank.

Who knows, I may be surprised...the car does a lot better on long trips because the engine stays warm, and it'll be warmer this weekend.

87.8mpg at 50F. :)

I'm convinced some driver are tranced out while driving.

Pulling out of my neighborhood, I was coasting while a woman was waiting to get on the road. I moved from the slow to fast lane to hint to her go ahead and get on, then honked. She waited until I passed by, then got on the road driectly on tha fast lane. Is there intelligent life in my neighborhood? :rolleyes:

55.5 / 6.1 miles / 21F home last night (above average for this trip and conditions, good traffic)
68.5 / 7 miles / 16F into work this morning. The first half went more or less perfectly, then I missed a light and had someone trying to read my FCD the rest of the way in. Oh well. :rolleyes:

The forecast is downright tropical here over the next 5 days or so, we might hit 50 on monday. :woot: I think I might have to break out the bike tomorrow.

61.8 on the tank with 2 pips remaining. The goal is to reclaim 62 tonight. :)

filled up for the first time in 2 weeks, of course i stayed home for 3 days because of the snow :)

i at least got back in the 51mpg range. what bugs me though, and can i rant a moment, is how many people i see pull in and leave their car, or frequently a truck, running while they fill and pay. good grief, what a waste. it isn't even that cold, but i see it so frequently.......

was it on here i heard the joke about the guy who left his hummer running while he filled it up. after 3 hours the attendant suggested he turn it off.

:p

Hi Laurie:
Was it on here i heard the joke about the guy who left his hummer running while he filled it up. After 3 hours the attendant suggested he turn it off.

:p___That was a good one :)

___Decent temps for the ride in this afternoon. 33 - 36 degrees with a 5 - 10 mph head wind. Sunny too! 46.8 to show. Still a half tick above ½ a tank at 492 miles out so it looks like a decent tank is in the offing. 46.2 to O’Hare yesterday and 45.2 back for a clinic. Just drove it for the last portion of an interview and received a paltry 39.0 into a Northern Chicago suburb and back out again later on in the evening :(

___Still hoping for an lmpg tank with warmer temps later this week but the next tank is when Chicago will see possibly 60 degrees for a day or two. FINALLY!

___Good Luck

___Wayne

My wife's car needs work, so I picked her up after work, drove home and lent her the car. She'll have it the next day or so...what the heck, I can't beat my last tank this time anyway.

I accidentally rebooted the SG at her workplace, so I missed the average there. I had 38 by my place, and that's probably where it was before.

Upside is that I get to drive to work tomorrow with a warm engine. :D ...at single-digit temps. :(

The one thing I can say about today's FE is: consistency. With the exception of the first run, all of the runs were within 1.5 mpg.
1) 47.0-5.8 miles
2) 58.9-9.6 miles
3) 58.8-9.6 miles
4) 59.7-6.3 miles
5) 59.8-4.8 miles
6) 60.2-4.9 miles
Average for today: 57.1

Oh, the temps were from 15F up to ~35F and back down to ~28F.

I'm doing okay with this tank. I might pull out 44mpg. The 40F temps definitely seem to be about where I can pull of the 50+ segments. Ohh to be able to use a block heater. Next winter I'm installing radiator block. I just can't take another winter below epa on my car.

Marc's pursuit of a 70 mpg tank (Day 2):

Morning Trip: ~65 mpg
Commute:
82.8 mpg / 12 miles / 60F to work
59.3 mpg / 13 miles / 75F back home

Tank currently sitting at 67.9 mpg / 87 miles.

Marc's pursuit of a 70 mpg tank (Day 3):

Commute:
87.0 mpg / 12 miles / 60F to work
59.1 mpg / 13 miles / 75F back home

Tank currently sitting at 68.8 mpg / 112 miles.

Had my camera handy for today's 87.0 mpg / 30 minute commute to work. First bar is warmup bar. Last bar is downtown Austin. It's a beautiful, beautiful screen :)

https://webspace.utexas.edu/mparrish/misc/DSC02154.JPG

Marc Awesome brag screen! Keep up the quest.

Drive to work scored 70.1. Changed up the way I do warm ups. May have payed off. If I fail a glide I just maintain about 40mph with a slow deceleration till the engine cuts out.

Drive home got a 68.8. Learned a new trick to cut the engine in S2 & S3. If ICE is on and your about to stop, normally you'd have to hold the stop for 5-10 seconds for the ICE to cut out. But if you shift into B right before you stop, wait 1 sec, then shift into D, you can get the ICE to cut out in less than 2 seconds! Nets me 3-7 seconds of ICE run, plus I get 20 feet of EV mode instead of ICE on my route.

Anyway day's average worked out to 69.5

Weeks average went from 64.6 to 65.6.

Adjusted* tank average went from 66.7 to 67.1. The weeks log is updated.

- mparrish, awesome MFD pic! :D
- Dan, that's a nice hack! Do you know if it causes a S4 transition if your temps are high enough?

I'm going to start bringing a camera with me. I had a screen similar to mparrish's tonight, with one bar at near 50 and 5 bars at 80-100. Ahhhh. :D But without a pic you guys will just have to take my word for it. ;)

4 more trips tonight.

- 55.1 / 6.1 miles / 32F (commute home)
- 80.9 / 11.6 miles / 32F
- 61.5 / 11.5 miles / 30F
- 72.7 / 3.6 miles / 30F

The goal is to reclaim 62 tonight.

Current tank average? 62.2! :woot: Down to the last pip.

Hi All:

___I can almost feel the forum about to heat up as we are all getting closer to the break out with spring temps on their way … 5 mph side winds in 28 – 31 degree temps and practically nobody out on the Interstates tonight. A respectable 48.7 for the effort and I know there is a lot more where that came from once Chicago really gets above freezing.

___I can’t wait to see many more of the hybrid drivers punching out the 90 + segments because it is so close I can almost taste it :D

___Good Luck

___Wayne

No drive this morning...she stopped by in my car, I hopped in, we went, she dropped me off and left. The heater was on full blast with a water temp of 165°F. I directed her toward the more fuel-efficient route and left it at that; we got to work in 29 minutes instead of my usual 35. I went for a short walk with my extra six minutes.

We set a new record low in Boston this morning; 5°F. This is the coldest it's been on any March day since 1950.

52.9 MPG at 28ºF yesterday morning (had to use the defroster).
55.x MPG at 48ºF on the way home.

My heart skipped a beat yesterday as I near my house. There were firetrucks at my house and the road was blocked off (I parked across the street at the neighbors). Once I realized it wasn't my house, and it wasn't the (other) neighbors' houses, I settled down a bit. It turns out that there was a brush fire in the woods across the street. The FD did a great job resulting in no property damage (except for some trees in the woods). My Prius was on the news when the traffic chopper was over my house. As it scanned for a shot of the fire, my Prius was visible, but only to someone who knew where to look and what to look for.

The residual heat from the fire must have been capture in my batteries and ICE. I got a pleasing 59.2 MPG at 27ºF this morning. I'm hoping to get a nice afternoon run to finish off the tank. It was sitting at 55.8 MPG at some point this morning.

The FD did a great job resulting in no property damage (except for some trees in the woods).
I had them take extra good care of your house! ;)

80.3mpg this morning.

Knew this was going to happen sometime - as I was starting my P&G in the alley, I saw headlights from a truck just pulling in and had to re-engage the ICE and let him by.

This week has been good. Filled up early Monday on the way home from my weekend blockheater install trip. Started with a 53 MPG Monday, went up every day even if the temps didn't (low 30's). Tank now at 59.5 MPG. Since the ScanGauge said I did a 69 MPG this morning I'm looking forward to breaking 60 MPG by the time I get home (traffic permitting).

Wayne

This week's going to be a write-off. The van is in the shop for transmission work. My wife is driving my Civic. I'm driving the dealer's loaner accord. (4-cyl auto...). Nice car. I'm taking the week as a sabbatical from hypermiling - just setting cruise and letting it go. I'll resume next week.

Hi PaleMelanesian:

___Oh, an I4 equipped Accord with an Auto in her, ha? Oh you don’t want to give up hypermiling now as this gift will show you how the other half lives. Take it out and punch out some great numbers. She will do wonders for you with a little coaxing ;)

___I have a feeling there will be some really nice numbers posted later on this afternoon if most received the temps and conditions we had in Chicago today :)

___What a nice ride into work this afternoon … Temps from 49 - 56 degrees and 51.3 on the SG-II with a solid 53 + actual. Even with a headwind of 10 + mph. You could just feel the Accord let loose and Glide, Glide, Glide from some higher speed FAS’. I sure hope this continues but my headwind is supposed to turn by ~ 150 degrees and I will have a headwind, some rain and low 40’s to take her home in tonight. I will take that over the minus 10 to 20 degree F garbage we have experienced in the Midwest without question. Another 20 to 30 degrees, some lighter winds and all of us Midwesterners will be whistling Dixie - Hooray :D

___Let us all officially declare winter over and start making up for the last 4 months OK!

___Good Luck

___Wayne

After being on night shift for 30 days now ( our plant is in turnaround), the traffic patterns have all changed.
Going to work in the afternoon the traffic density is the same as working day shift, but I come up on the school buses, which make for multiple stops.

Coming home in the mornings I have the road to myself and pull out all the stops.

Yesterday:
Going to work - 82.2 MPG
Coming home - 87.3 MPG

Here's a proposal - lower the national speed limit 10 MPH. Most everyone drives 10 over anyway, it would just bring it back to "normal". The law enforcement around here seems to allow 10 over. How about it?

You're right. I just can't do it. I found myself bumping it into Neutral without even thinking. Just gotta start recording it now. :D

Traveled down the parkway today went 45 miles = 41MPG. I'm very happ with that!


http://www.cleanmpg.com/garage/images/294.png

Still waiting for warmer weather here in CT. This morning it was about 9 degrees or so.

Tomorrow (Saturday) is forecast to be warmer. The best I could do on my last tank was a hair over 24 mpg over 237.6 mi. That's still better than last winter's numbers.

Hi Don:
Here's a proposal - lower the national speed limit 10 MPH. Most everyone drives 10 over anyway, it would just bring it back to "normal". The law enforcement around here seems to allow 10 over. How about it?

___I am all for that!

___CoasterToasterXB, you are starting to pick it up! Keep up the push and it won’t be long before the first real break out segment occurs. After that, you will be wondering what is the big deal about busting linked segments and tanks wide open ;)

___Brucepick, the warmer temps are headed your way as well. About another week and your numbers should start getting scary high given what you know today.

___Good Luck

___Wayne

Thanks for the kind words master. I'll try not to dissapoint:)

Thanks Wayne.
I might dare take off the snow tires this weekend.
I'm pretty confident of a complete week without snow, I can always put 'em back on next weekend!

Thanks Wayne.
I might dare take off the snow tires this weekend.
I'm pretty confident of a complete week without snow, I can always put 'em back on next weekend!

Do it! That way I'm not the only crazy fool in CT taking off his snow tires this weekend. :D

JimboK, out of curiosity, what style of block heater is it (frost plug, etc.)?
Bruce, forgive me, I missed your question earlier.

I can't tell you the precise technical term for the style, but it's the factory block heater distributed by Toyota Canada. (Metrotpn.com (http://www.metrotpn.com/) sells them in the U.S.) There is a hole drilled in the block at the factory specifically for the heater.

I hope that helps. FireEngineer can fill in the blanks if needed. He's the expert!

Hi All:

___Light rain/mist all the way home in 35 - 39 degree temps with a 10 - 15 mph side wind. 47.5 to show for it. At 790 miles and a ways until Low Fuel, I am really liking this tank a lot :)

___Good Luck

___Wayne

Oh, how Prius loves her block heater-warmed engine first thing in the morning! I had my cross-town part time commute today, 27 miles, 32F starting out. Light Saturday morning traffic allowed P&G opportunities not usually available during the week. My first 5-minute segment was close to 50 MPG! I thought I'd hit 75 MPG for the trip, but the last red light caught me at an inopportune moment. 74.2, though, so I'm happy.

BTW, I got a PM from my "neighbor" two hours east of here, VaBeachPrius. He's been working 75 hours a week and has had little time to chat. He says "Hi" to all.

(Skwyre7, he talked about a road trip he expects to make, next week I think, and proposed connecting with us for lunch or dinner. I told him dinner was probably better if it suited his itinerary, given that you and I work on opposite sides of town. I'll PM you when I know more.)

Oh, how Prius loves her block heater-warmed engine first thing in the morning!

I just ordered a block heater for my Saturn and it should be here next Thursday. Looks like I have a project for next weekend. It should be easy on my car since there aren't actually any frost plugs.

Today has been good for FE. We have temps at ~50F:woot: After a trip to my mom's, then to the bank, the hospital to see mom, and then to home, I have 61.2 showing on the SG for the day. High segment was 65.8. I had around 10 miles or more in the country before the last little bit into town to the hospital. At one point I was at 70+.

Out to the MHG meeting, to lunch and home today. It's currently a fantastic 47 degrees and sunny out, starting from about 40 this morning. :cool:

74.4 / 7.0 miles / 40F (net elevation drop)
55.8 / 3.0 miles / 47F
58.0 / 6.0 miles / 47F (net elevation increase)

Squeezed another 0.1 out of this tank, it's currently sitting at 62.3 with 456 miles and 1 pip. There's an outside chance at 500mi. Maybe. ;)

The good day continued. Temps climbed into the low 70s by the time I left the job this afternoon. Total MPG for the day: 73.6. It likely would have been several MPG higher, but I went out to pick up lunch for the gang and stopped at the park on the way home for a walk/jog.

Hi All:

___I had the opportunity to see some fantastic driving this afternoon and evening. I think Jared will like the following and it should scare all of us guys as to what this lady is capable of. She was over 100 for ¾ of the drive until 3 or 4 stop lights and 2 stop signs caught her over the last 1.5 miles.

Cheryl Appel at the MaHG - After meet Clinic - 46 degrees. She shut down before I had the chance to take the pics with the 5-minute bars live (Arrrggghhhh :() but the results were outstanding! I was in the passenger seat and a Cameraman from the Discovery channel was in the back recording the whole thing. Her Prius-II has just 648 miles on it too!

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/504/Cherly_Appel_-_91_5_mpg_clinic.jpg

___On the way home from the MaHG meet this afternoon in temps from 38 - 45 degrees and a 10 - 15 mph side wind, Tom (Tbaleno) locked up a wonderful 68.5 mpg to my house. I should have taken a pic of that one.

___Looking at JimboK’s, Jared’s, and Larry’s numbers make me smile :) Hot d@mn we have some great drivers starting to wake up with the warmer temps :D

___Good Luck

___Wayne

Oh man, that is awesome. :D Very impressive. Wayne, were you coaching and the crew filming while Cheryl was driving? Did you do the first part of the MPG challenge course from last year or the whole thing? Regardless that is a fine showing!! I should be getting started on my next tank here probably tuesday while we still have 50s here - which probably means I'll get owned by Prius bladder expansion this tank (in terms of what actually goes in the database) and make it up next tank. Oh well, the MFD is much more consistent, if biased like 2%. I think I'm going to start posting MFD pics of better segments. :D

For those waiting for Spring, it just left Houston and is on it's way North.

Ohh well... So long spring! It' now summer in Houston and time for MAX A/C :mad:. Yesterday was 88 F with 80% humidity. Needless to say, rolling down the windows in Houston simply circulates hot air, no cooling effect with that much moisture in the air.

Weather underground only registered 80 F, but both my Prius and the bank down the street registered mid to high 80's.

For a 10mi trip, the best I could pull was 53 mpg with A/C set to AC=on, Temp=Lo, Fan=Med.

Might be able to pull better trips with the kids out of the Car, and me resolved to sweat it out, but can't bring myself to cooking the kiddos there.

11011011

Hi Jared:

___I was performing a mild form of Drill Sergeant while in the passenger seat with Cheryl driving. Discovery Channel Cameraman in the back of course. With all the distractions, we just drove around the back roads and started clinic’ing. We found our way back to the main road which led to the Alliant Center and then over to the Sheraton from there but Cheryl did great job nonetheless.

___They did a great interview with her afterwards and I hope its not cut from the video news article.

___Dan, with the young ones, A/C over 75 in mid-day sun is a must. Maybe at night you could get a way with a touch more but yes, keep em cool. For yourself, have you ever worn or tried an Ice Vest? I should do a review on one as they can make that afternoon 90 + degree drive home very comfortable w/out A/C.

___49 - 54 degree temps. Was up to 43.8 at the 8-mile point when I ran into a 3-mile stop and crawl caused by an over turned Semi. 25 minutes later, I finally got through that nightmare with just 37.5 showing :( This is going to be tough to make up with a 10 – 15 mph headwind but I kept working it. Pulled into the parking lot at 50.0. 875 miles out with DTE from the NAVI showing 39 miles left before empty. Hopefully another lmpg breaking tank?

___Good Luck

___Wayne

- Dan, that's a nice hack! Do you know if it causes a S4 transition if your temps are high enough?Don't know if it triggers S4, but my guess would be that it does. I didn't come up with it, but got it off of a car-wiki on hypermiling. I think it originated in Yahoo Prius-Technical-Stuff or some similar group. I noticed that it doesn't always work, but it does seem to give some control. If it doesn't go on first try, just toggle D-B-D-B-D-B till it does. Might be a placebo, but I feel it does shave a few seconds of ICE-on for us non-EV-mod ones out there.


___Dan, with the young ones, A/C over 75 in mid-day sun is a must. Maybe at night you could get a way with a touch more but yes, keep em cool. For yourself, have you ever worn or tried an Ice Vest? I should do a review on one as they can make that afternoon 90 + degree drive home very comfortable w/out A/C.Ice vest sounds neat. Do you just have jell packs you stick in the freezer?

11011011

Can I declare spring officially here? At least for today? ;) 50 degrees and sunny today made for some encouraging segments. :D

64.5 / 4.6 miles / 45F - there's a light on this route that's in the middle of an uphill and it caught me today, but the temps more than made up for that apparently.

66.9 / 5.6 miles / 48F - made a quick stop at home, left everything on, reset the SG trip meter... then:

http://tripprofile.com/images/070312-100mpg.jpg

106 / 4.8 miles / 50F!! (OK, so it was a net downhill and I was fully warmed up... but still :woot: )

58.4 / 4.6 miles / 52F back uphill and to a gas station.

The tank finished at 62.7 / 475 miles. As expected the bladder is playing tricks with me filling up when it's warmer like this, and calculated was only 55.4. Oh well, that means next tank will be 70+ calculated. ;)

Got a nice start on the new tank... so is the MFD or the SG right?? :confused:

http://tripprofile.com/images/070312-newtank.jpg

Hi Dan:

___Most of the better vests today use the gel packs which I throw into a fridge and then allow to solidify. I throw mine in the freezer to gain a bit more Delta T but the real heat absorption comes from the phase change which arrives in the mid to high 40 degree mark.

___Jared, I saw the SG-II pic you handed off to Tom yesterday. The SG-II does not measure FE via an injector pulse width or injector size but air flow through the ICE so it is always a lossy solution at best in the short run. Besides the fact it bleeds down even while sitting still ICE-Off. OBD-II has no standard for the parameters the FCD’s are looking at until possibly the OBD-III std. is in place so it is a close estimate at best for FE with all the ICE-On/ICE-Off time. The further you drive, the closer it gets once you have the ongoing calibration input at each fill. The SG-II is also not Temperature compensated so you will find lower readings in colder temps then warmer ones and your negative offset fillup compensation (if you are negative?) comes closer and closer to parity as temps rise.

___Either way, nice segment! And to think you are just getting started ;)

___Good Luck

___Wayne

Spring-like conditions with temps ranging fom 70F to 30F and no rain allowed me to get 83.2mpg over 724 miles from this tank.

Great job basjoos!

Marc's pursuit of a 70 mpg tank (Day 3):

Commute:
87.0 mpg / 12 miles / 60F to work
59.1 mpg / 13 miles / 75F back home

Tank currently sitting at 68.8 mpg / 112 miles.

Weekly / Family highway driving took a big hit. Tank is down to 65.0 @ 235 miles. But a week of commuting will hopefully put me back on the right path.

While I'm blessed with a great alternative commute, I'm cursed on highway driving. There is no commercial traffic for drafting on the highway I'm nearly always on (Mopac), and its undulations make it difficult to hold the sweet spot. Yes, I do what I can, but I never seem to hit the mid 60s.

Hi Basjoos:

___EXCELLENT tank! Was your last tank similar or do you seem to cycle fuel fills like the bladder equipped Prius’?

___Mparrish, keep punching out those 85 - 90 mpg segments to work and you are going to be ranked as a pretty darn hot driver from any of our perspectives :)

___Temps from 28 - 38 degrees F w/ a 0 - 10 mph tail wind yielded 50.2 mpg to the gas station from work last night. SG-II w/ the 9% negative offset showed 47.2 w/ the actual coming in at 49.508 after 926 miles. Not quite the 1K tank area but another 3 or 4 weeks she might allow it … From the station to home is for the Week of March 12th – March 19th thread but it was even better considering the temps. No warm up hit from the station to home of course ;)

___Good Luck

___Wayne

Commute:
87.0 mpg / 12 miles / 60F to work
59.1 mpg / 13 miles / 75F back home

mparrish, I notice your commute FE has a consistent swing from work to home? What's different--is one way uphill vs downhill, traffic vs no-traffic, headwind vs tailwind? Just curious.

Hi Tarabell:

___I thought Mparrish said he had a 500’ drop heading into work and the same 500’ climb coming home a few weeks ago? Hopefully he can elaborate if he sees your question?

___Way OT but brings up a question I was thinking about the other day. Imagine a 10 mile long down slope where you terminal velocity in an ICE-Off coast was maybe 20 mph but you could coast all the way to work for free in let us say 30 minutes. Would the average American take the free ride or would they punch it up to 50 + and take 18 minutes (stops/starts/traffic etc.) wile consuming fuel like they normally do? At what point (time wise) would the average American take the free ride? 20 minutes? 22? 25? I know I would take the no consumption leisurely paced gift everyday but that is just me ;)

___Good Luck

___Wayne

I thought Mparrish said he had a 500’ drop heading into work and the same 500’ climb coming home a few weeks ago?

Good memory, thanks

Would the average American take the free ride or would they punch it up to 50 + and take 18 minutes (stops/starts/traffic etc.) wile consuming fuel like they normally do? At what point (time wise) would the average American take the free ride? 20 minutes? 22? 25? I

I would take the 30 minute ride any day -- assuming the drivers who want to get there in 18 minutes aren't behind me. I would think the average person, once they tried the slow ride and saw it only cost them 12 minutes and zero gas would use it more. lf it's a consistent 30 minute trip, that's like getting on a free train ride, so you just plan your departure accordingly.

Well I finally cleaned out the garage to make room for the Prius. Had to move it around a bit and ended up burring some gas idling.

Weeks average went from 65.6 to 63.6, after that Saturday heat wave.

Adjusted* tank average went from 67.1 to 65.3. The weeks log is updated.

Hi Basjoos:

___EXCELLENT tank! Was your last tank similar or do you seem to cycle fuel fills like the bladder equipped Prius’?


___Good Luck

___Wayne

The last tank was 68mpg, but that tank had over 150 miles of rain (some very heavy), wet roads, snow, brine roads, and colder tenps to help suck down the mileage on that tank. My car doesn't cycle fuel fills. There is a slight variance depending on where the pump happens to click off (I try to use the same pump each time), but that source of variance averages itself out over 2 or more tanks.