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Happy April....

A B commute; segments of 32.5/39/43.8 MPG for 42.3 MPG at 38F and drizzle for 15.4 miles.

Hi Bruce:

___You beat me to it by 5 minutes ;) I wonder where Tim is this early in the morning?

___Temps from 41 - 44 degrees F and 10 mph side winds. 49.2 into the parking lot. Mid 60’s with the same side winds forecasted for this afternoon. I hope it’s a nice ride home :)

___Good Luck

___Wayne

April is great. My car is behaving sooo much better than it did just a few short months ago. We just crossed the 5,000mi mark yesterday while finishing up the weekend's travels. The first great thing is that I was able to pump in a whopping 8 gallons of regular unleaded from the 2-pip mark, and after 80+ miles the gauge is still pretending to be full. This means that the days of 400-500mi range are back for the first time since trading the Accord. I guess 55F is the point at which that bladder finally loosens up.

The second great thing is that I'm sitting at 57.8mpg after yesterday's drive back west over some of the nastiest hills that southern New England has to offer. Same as on the way out, my technique was just to try to get up under slight DWL while using 3,000RPM as my maximum ICE speed and then warp-stealth down the hill and kick into regen if my speed started creeping up beyond what was prudent. Seeing 56.4mpg even with a net elevation gain after 65mi of that with traffic to consider the entire time was fantastic IMO. 60+ would be a gimme if a wider (call it "normal") DWL range were available.

It's oil change day if at all possible. Now all I have to do is find an appropriate place to take my box of M1 to have it "installed" since my apartment complex won't allow that sort of thing in the parking lot.

67.4 MPG this morning.

80.8mpg at 60F - slow start, but it's Monday.

47.9 this morning.
45.4 tank so far.

52 mpg for the drive into work this morning. Tank is setting at 46 mpg. Will have to fill it this evening.

95.5 to work (according to SGII) starting "cold". The block heater is still working like a charm.

Not quite 100, but some abnormal light behavior makes me confident 100 will fall fairly soon.

Tank now at 70.1 / 394 miles. Now if I can just find a plug at work....... :)

Bahh. I had headwinds and temps around 46 or so. Only managed about 47mpg.

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

Looks to be another good week as long as the wind and rain stay away. Hoping to break 68 for this week.

# Notes Start End mpg_ Trip T 50W Er±
== ========= trip mpg_SoC trip mpg_SoC avg mi °F car_mpg
01:Drive in Mon 4/2 28.1 63.7 4 42.4 65.7 4 70.02 14.3 74.0 2.0 0.2
02:Drive home Mon (few miles by OD) 42.4 65.7 4 57.9 64.6 4 61.77 15.5 76.0 ? 0.3
03:Drive in Tue 57.9 64.6 4 72.1 65.8 4 71.19 14.2 76.0 5.0 0.5
04:Drive home Tue 72.1 65.8 4 86.4 66.3 5 68.94 14.3 83.0 4.0 0.6
05:Drive in Wed 86.4 66.3 5 100.7 66.8 5 69.99 14.3 75.0 5.5 0.7
06:Drive home Wed 100.7 66.8 5 115.1 66.7 5 66.01 14.4 68.0 3.5 0.7
07:Drive in Thurs 115.1 66.7 5 132.1 66.2 4 63.00 17.0 61.0 3.5 0.7
08:Drive home Thurs 132.1 66.2 4 146.3 66.1 5 65.18 14.2 72.5 5.5 1.0
09:Drive in Fri 146.3 66.1 5 160.6 65.9 6 63.92 14.3 64.5 4.5 1.0
10:Errands Friday afternoon 160.6 65.9 6 170.7 65.7 6 62.68 10.1 71.5 3.5 1.5
11:Other Driver errands 170.7 65.7 6 181.9 64.5 7 50.45 11.2 75.0 ? 1.0
12:? 181.9 64.5 7 195.0 64.8 6 69.27 13.1 73.0 5.0 1.6
13:? 195.0 64.8 6 207.9 64.7 6 63.23 12.9 72.5 3.0 1.5
14:? 207.9 64.7 6 217.7 64.9 3 69.45 9.8 66.0 0.0 2.4
15:Highway, headwind CC 100%,cold 217.7 64.9 3 290.5 58.6 6 45.42 72.8 39.0 ? 0.2
16:Other Driver 290.5 58.6 6 299.8 58.2 6 47.97 9.3 50.0 ? 2.2
17:Other Driver 299.8 58.2 6 318.3 56.5 6 38.35 18.5 37.0 ? 0.8
18:? 318.3 56.5 6 340.8 55.2 6 41.64 22.5 57.0 ? 0.9
19:Highway, drafting, cold 340.8 55.2 6 413.1 54.8 6 52.99 72.3 54.0 ? 0.5

Weeks stats *:
Current city 34.86% Goal EPA_mpg for current city/hwy split = 54.14_mpg
Current hwy 65.14% Current_mpg for current city/hwy split = 55.82_mpg

Difference = 103.10%Key:
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

11011011

95.5 to work (according to SGII) starting "cold". The block heater is still working like a charm.

Not quite 100, but some abnormal light behavior makes me confident 100 will fall fairly soon.

Tank now at 70.1 / 394 miles. Now if I can just find a plug at work....... :)

I knew when he got a 1.1liter/100km segment on my Insight he had the touch...

April sucks so far for me. 15F no winds. Still have the darn studs on as it's an ice rink here. My communte is also back to being only 6 miles and traffic was heavy today. 37mpg today, tank average so far 40mpg. No way I'm getting 46mpg this tank!

April sucks so far for me. 15F no winds. Still have the darn studs on as it's an ice rink here. My communte is also back to being only 6 miles and traffic was heavy today. 37mpg today, tank average so far 40mpg. No way I'm getting 46mpg this tank!


box-shaped car
only 6 miles
15 degrees
ice on roads
studded tires
heavy traffic

... and you got 37mpg ???? That's amazing!!! Great work!!!

... and you got 37mpg ???? That's amazing!!! Great work!!!

Seriously. Send him on vacation to visit some of our Texas members and he'd probably be pulling 50+ on a bad day.

I'm working an hour over today and tomorrow so my wife and I are driving seperate and I won't be driving as much for a couple of days.:) Here's how today went:
1) 50.5-5.9 miles
2) 55.9-6.0 miles
Average for the day: 55.7
The 1/10 extra was because I had to duck into a sub-division to let traffic by on the way home.:) Also, I may have hit 56 or more if I didn't move my car at lunch so the "today" mileage doesn't reset.:(

I was thinking it'd be a bit optimistic to think that I get better gas mileage than some Prius drivers, but after tonight's commute I'm not so sure. I left a bit later than usual this evening, so I had a bit more traffic to contend with.

I pulled up behind a Prius at the first signal. Her engine was running, mine was not.

Near the other end of my commute, I have a nice twisty and hilly road. The limit starts at 25 and later rises to 30. I'll usually DWL over a stair, FAS just before the crest, peak at about 20, race down the back and peak around 42 at the bottom, coast down to 30, fire the engine back up to DWL over another stair, then FAS again just before the last peak, then down through a small bowl and up to a stop sign. It's pretty cool when it's done right.

A blue Prius started riding up my butt and honked when I slowed down going over the first stair; I waved back. Honked again when I peaked the hill, then rode the horn all the way down the hill. I threw away the FAS at the bottom so I could pull over into a side street and let him by; he rode the horn again as he passed.

Apparently, an iFCD is not a panacea for road rage. :mad: I suppose I could've just kept going as I always do and just let him honk, but the choice I made was considerably more pleasant, and it probably saved me from being pressured into a too-short gap at the cross street.

40.5 MPG for 15 miles at 40°F in light drizzle, in spite of everything.

44.7 mpg for the drive home. Straight into a 20 to 30 mph head wind. :(

Filled the Civic up for a 46.7 mpg tank. :embarassed:

psy

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I was thinking it'd be a bit optimistic to think that I get better gas mileage than some Prius drivers

don't be optimistic... its VERY POSSIBLE, your car weights less than a prius by far, all the prius can do is kill and restart the enigne as much as it wants, you on the other hand have a limited amount of options when it comes to engine reviving (torque from the clutch or 12 volt juice for the starter) but when you combined the knowledge with what you have you'd be surprised on how much pwnage you can pwn a prius.

if someone gave me a civic and i gave them my prius, i'd give them a run for their money... unless some crazy traffic is ahead of me then that's a different story. Both cars has their ups and downs.

Just because you don't have a hybrid badge doesn't mean you can't get hybrid mileage.

The drizzle continues, with its associated decreased aero drag and increased FE....gotta love spring. A B+ commute and new personal record. The car was coasting so well, I came into one glide too hot and reduced my throttle position a notch for a while on the expressway. :)

Segments of 33.5/40.5/49.4 MPG for 15.4 miles of 43.9 MPG at 41°F, 100% humidity, no wind. Tank's at 42.5 MPG with 10.8 gallons remaining.

A 50 MPG segment will be nice, and I'm getting close.

Don't know what happened - 74.7mpg at 65F.

52.5 mpg for the drive in. 71f with a tail wind. A front is coming thru today. So I should have mid 60's and a tail wind for the trip home.

psy

I was running late, so I took another route in. Big Mistake! Stop and go traffic, waiting 3-4 cycles at each and every light, with the associated creep-stop-creep-stop. I managed 47.9, though. Not bad, given the conditions.

Tank at 44.8 over 167 miles.

I finished up yesterday at 60.6 MPG. I made a run to the grocery store and took a different route home. Unfortunately it was the tail end of rush hour, so my route choice wasn't great. Oh well, live and learn.

66.7 MPG at 57ºF this morning. I left a couple minutes early and hit the lights off sync. [jokingly shakes fist in anger]

Catch-up from the weekend...

66.7 / 4.6 miles / 48F - on the high end for this particular route and conditions
infinite / 0.7 miles / 46F - I have an amusing scangauge pic I might post later :D - EV brought me from 6 to 3 bars though
63.3 / 6.4 miles / 46F in light rain - recharged from 3 to 5 bars... 80 is usually possible here
54.6 / 5.3 miles / 45F in heavy rain... I'm just starting to realize how much of a difference rain makes :(

This morning:

75.7 / 7.0 miles / 50F

Tank average is at 72.5 / 380 miles / 4 pips. I'm shooting for reclaiming 73 tonight.

92.3 to work starting cold, says SGII. Lights & traffic made one commute segment less than ideal again. It's becoming clear that the trip in will be mid 90s on average, and that 100 will be topped only when the commute does not have any hiccups. But it still seems likely that 100+ will happen, even if not as frequent as I would have liked.

There are no available outlets for me at work for the EBH. The MPG bump from the EBH has been such a nice surprise that I really find it disappointing that I'm going back home cold. I plan on doing some investigation about other options. Couldn't the heater theoretically be charged by a generator? Does anyone do that? We'll see what I can find.

70.6 / 419 miles / 4 pips

Oh yeah. Trashed my old ice vest and made a really good one out of an old jeans jacket (now vest). It's more durable, colder, and I plan on keeping the AC off until May. The ice vest will be good all summer. The trip home will be an unbearable 100+ with AC, but the morning trip in will be "only" low 80s..........which with an ice vest will keep the AC off. Heck, I may never need AC on the way in.

Locutus, I need to go back and re-read your posts. I know you've been getting some pretty darned good results, but it just hit me you've been doing it in a pretty darned cool climate. Congrats!

As for me, my 70+ MPG tank is still on. 77.8 MPG on my cross-town commute this morning after yesterday's average of mid-60s for the shorter, full time commute. The tank is at 71.7. It might be a challenge to hold it though. I'm not making this commute again until sometime next week, and we have another drop in temperatures forecast for later this week.

I'm a slow learner sometimes. I think the official diagnosis is "delayed intelligence." For example: I have a P.O. box for my mail. The Post Office is a short distance from my office, maybe 0.2 mile driving. Traditionally I've picked up my mail every day after work. But that drive is through slow traffic with a stop light that's almost always red, and the driveway into the PO parking lot is a short but steep hill. So when I make that stop my first five minute segment MPG is rock-bottom.

Well, after it hit me a few weeks ago that nothing happens to my mail if it sits there for a couple of days, the pickup cycle became every 2-3 days. Yesterday I said, "Hey, dummy, you can walk it!" Walking distance is less than driving it as I can cut through the grounds of other offices, and it's less than five minutes total. Heck, I've sometimes taken that long to drive! And of course the exercise won't hurt.

It's a small thing, but small things add up. Things like the front grill block, route adjustments, leaving the car on during brief stops, etc. Thanks to everyone here for inspiring me and helping to trigger ideas. You won't cure my mental malady, but you've helped relieve some of the symptoms! :D

Locutus, I need to go back and re-read your posts. I know you've been getting some pretty darned good results, but it just hit me you've been doing it in a pretty darned cool climate. Congrats!

Locutus is the king, and we are all servants in his court. :) I expect 75mpg tanks in May!

I'm a slow learner sometimes. I think the official diagnosis is "delayed intelligence."

Ditto. My kid's day care is 0.2 miles away. I used to drive on the way in, now I walk with him. My increased walking and biking is one of those rarely mentioned positives. "Protect the tank, protect the environment".

Well, after it hit me a few weeks ago that nothing happens to my mail if it sits there for a couple of days, the pickup cycle became every 2-3 days.
I had my duh moment when I quit making a weekly stop at the ATM when driving out of my office complex. The ATM is close by the gym facility so now I walk there after I work out, instead of driving to it, stopping the engine, turning it back on, etc.

Also on my way into work I used to breeze non-stop through the guarded entrance, flashing my badge. Sadly now I’m forced to make a brief stop so they can hand me a carpooling ticket which they lately extended to hybrid drivers as well. Once a month I turn in all my tickets for the incentive prize drawing. So far I’ve won a …oh yes….free cafeteria lunch. So I have a dilemma. It’s taken the guards 3 months to learn to recognize the hybrids and get a ticket out, and they’re now well-trained to reach for one when they see me coming. I’m wondering which is worse – confusing the heck out of them by not stopping any more for it, or asking them to just frisbee it through the open window so I don’t have to stop. :D

I’m not getting much more than low ‘60s on my round trip commutes, but the tank is >61 so I’m carefully nursing it.

Quote:
Originally Posted by PaleMelanesian
... and you got 37mpg ???? That's amazing!!! Great work!!!

Seriously. Send him on vacation to visit some of our Texas members and he'd probably be pulling 50+ on a bad day.

Thanks for the vote of confidence guys. After work yesturday I pulled 40mpg for the 6mile trip home. Again today same commute, but a little earlier so less traffic. 38mpg for 6miles. It was about 18F this morning.

Out for lunch. 44.1 over 4.1 miles there, 47.8 over 4.1 return.
Tank still at 44.8.

Well, the oil and filter have been changed at last. I tried to do it myself yesterday after learning that the drain plug and filter are in such a place that the car can stay flat on the ground, but the lack of a proper oil filter wrench made it into a fiasco. The thing just wouldn't budge and NAPA didn't have one that worked. (I tried two.) Long story short I punted and kept my appointment with the dealer: $25 plus the synthetic oil that I brought with me. Not too bad. I'll have to get under there later to check the level and make sure everything was bolted on properly.

Tank is sitting at 55.x mpg.

The plant is finished with the turnaround, so I'm finished with night shift.

This morning's commute was back to the norm - way more traffic and everybody expecting to drive 10 over the limit. So, this tank isn't looking to well a third of the way into it.

This morning going in - 75.3 MPG
Coming home this afternoon, had a slight tailwind- 77.8 MPG

This tank is holding at 83.4 MPG.

The combination of 50F temps for the night drives, 70 to 80F for the day drives, and not too much driving in the rain gave me 72mpg for the latest tank.

53 mpg for the drive home. Had a tailwind with temps in the 70's.

psy

Pretty decent day for me. 55.9 on my way to work and 63.1 on the way home. 5.9 miles each way. 57.7 mpg for the day.

Hi All:

___From yesterday … Bruce, if you can catch a Prius driver in 20 degree F temps or less and with a commute < 10 miles, you have a shot while throwing everything including the kitchen sink at your respective commutes but for the most part, even a so-so Prius driver laughs at our gyrations and leaves us sucking on their PZEV exhausts :p Although we try, I keep thinking back to an old Jim Croce song.

You don't tug on Superman's cape
You don't spit into the wind
You don't pull the mask off an 'ole Lone Ranger …

___Playing with a Prius in its element is like pulling out your knife in a gun fight. There is a little shock, maybe a little awe and then the laughter begins :D

___A nice 10 mph tail wind and 58 - 61 degree F temps. Traffic was horrible for ~ 10 miles North of O’Hare. 60 to 0, 35 to 0, 15 to 0 repeat again and again and I was running 15 to 20 car length buffers trying to avoid the snarls :angry: I saw 63.4 at the peak but she slowly fell away to an ok 56.2 as I parked in the drive. Maybe 58.5 actual … She is getting close as I saw some really nice numbers for a little while this afternoon :) Temps are heading back down into the 30's and 40's later this week for those of us stuck in the Chicagoland area :(

___PaleMelanesian, you are doing great for a relatively new member!

___Marc, still kicking @$$ I see :D

___Jim, a 75 + mpg tank from a Prius driver hasn’t been seen but by a rare few. I bet if you look around you won’’t find but a handful so you are doing better then great!

___Tarabell, if half of us had to deal with LA and its traffic on a daily basis, I think everyone of us would be pleased to say we were holding onto a 60 + mpg tank ;)

___AKXB, I don’t think the Accord could come anywhere near your XB in those temps over such a short distance. I don’t know many driving anything that can do that other then Jared :)

___Tim, did you get rid of those Snows yet?

___Don, welcome back to the living. Night shift outages are the worst, aren’t they :(

___Psy and Larry, you give the non-hybrid guys more hope then you two realize :D

___This morning in 42 - 59 degree temps and a 10 mph side wind … Had a 51.2 locked in until a traffic accident (rolled over SUV and a minivan) trashed I-55. I moved all of ½ mile in 45 minutes! Pulled into the parking lot at 48.7. Lucky to receive that … Drive home this evening in 59 - 69 degree temps and the same 10 mph side wind. 54.3 as she sits in the drive. Saw 59 but it was before the next 2 + hours of a traffic nightmare most of the way home tonight :(

___Good Luck

___Wayne

___Tim, did you get rid of those Snows yet?

You bet. I've been driving in the Integritys for ~1200mi now. In fact I ditched the snows right before what we hope is the last snow of the season (thought we had already seen the last) and got to drive around in the nasty stuff on stock tires. Worked just fine, although the traction control had to work a bit harder. But my hill is a pretty extreme test of a car in the winter.

Good news is that with any luck I'll never have to mount them again since I report to work in South Carolina the first week of June. The bad news is that I'm staring down the barrel of a highway biased commute (call it 65/35) depending on where I set up shop. (I will probably be off the site for a while next week or the week after while I fly down to figure that whole thing out.) Here's to hoping that the Prius handles 90F+ temps that I'll be seeing three months out of the year. No matter what it can't be any worse than my black Accord with the black leather interior!

:Banane54:

(That's the closest I could come to a banana on fire.)

Thank you guys. :) This board has been great encouragement (not to mention a source of knowledge and tips!) when other people hear about a particular segment or tank and just look at me like I'm from another planet. ;)

The ironic thing is it might be "tank" (singular) in May, or maybe none at all... when it gets warmer I drive less. Makes it awful hard to pull my lifetime above that magic hypermiler threshold. I'd like to just "do over" my entire first year or so. :D

Unfortunately I didn't reclaim 73 tonight - it decided to get all cold and windy. :(

62.2 / 6.6 miles / 50F
94.0 / 11.5 miles / 48F, cross/tailwind at 15mph
64.5 / 16.7 miles / 37F, cross/headwind at 20mph

And the forecast is calling for *highs* in the low 30s by friday, just in time for my trip home. Maybe the wind will let up at least. Winter's last stand. I hope.

Tank at 72.5 / 415 miles / 3 pips.

I keep thinking back to an old Jim Croce song.
You left off the last line: And you don't mess around with Jim!:D

80.8mpg at 59F, but was over 90mpg about half the trip.

Hi Jim:
You left off the last line: And you don't mess around with Jim!:D
___Can’t argue with that :D

___A wild day in the Chicagoland area. 20 - 30 mph side winds in temps from 28 - 35 degrees F allowed a lousy 43.5. I thought we were through with weather like this :(

___Good Luck

___Wayne

Heavy traffic and a stop to shop on the way home last night; 39 MPG for 15.5 miles at 40°F.

I finally managed a 50 MPG segment this morning. :) I have a slight downhill section for about a mile on the expressway, and I've been reducing my throttle on it lately instead of trying to use the momentum to DWL up the next hill; it appears the gas I was losing to the slightly higher speed wasn't made up with the increased momentum on the next uphill. Unfortunately, the hill is mild enough that my speed will tank when I try a FAS.

Segments of 31.5/?/50.0 MPG for an overall 42.5 MPG for 15.4 miles at 40°F, 80% humidity, no wind.

The last two days in NJ have stunk! the weather is not cooperating.A week ago my daily trips were returning numbers in the mid 40'sMPG with 65 degree weather. The last two days have slowed me down considerably. I'm back to mid Feb weather in the low 40's and only getting high 30's MPG. The problem on days like this it takes too long for my car to warm up + my trips are only 4.5 mile. Tomorrow I will be driving to Medieval times. Its an hour away from me. I should do a lot better with a longer trip.

This morning, as soon as I'm warm enough to hit stealth, I begin a glide that lasts about a quarter mile. As I start the glide, I take a sip from the water bottle that I opened at the previous light. Wouldn't you know, the water went down the wrong tube. :eek: Well, I leaned up just in time to avoid coughing the water all over myself and the windshield. I grabbed a couple of napkins I keep in the car for occasions such as these and clean up the major puddle under my feet. Once I recover from that, I check the MFD. Apparently during my fit, I hit the gas ever so slightly, but enough to take me out of my glide and keep the ICE idling. :mad: I guess that's the real reason you shouldn't drink and drive.

64.8 MPG due to aspiration.

45 mpg for the drive in this morning. 40f with a head wind. Also had to take the OEM CAI off to get the intake air temps back up or I would have been sunk.....

psy

Last night the car was slightly warm from the lunchtime outing, and I pulled 52.4 over 11.6 miles! That's a personal best! :woot:

This morning was 50.2 mpg cold (65F) over 10 miles! First cold 50 and another personal best! :woot:

Tank is at 45.5 over 197 miles. My goal is to put the tank over 46.1. That's the best so far in my log, but it was just a gas pump error. I want a legitimate tank as my best.

As mentioned by a few others here today, this latest blast of winter is taking it's toll.:( Temps started out at ~35F. By the end of my driving day, they were ~28F. And, like Wayne, I was dealing with 20 mph sidewinds. Here are my numbers:
1) 50.0-5.8 miles
2) 45.7-9.6 miles
3) 47.5-5.9 miles
4) 48.5-5.8 miles
5) 51.2-7.7 miles
6) 47.3-12.1 miles
7) 42.5-2.2 miles
8)53.7-7.4 miles
Average for today: 47.1:(

Coming home: 77.5 MPG

I need to get in a better groove - might try leaving work earlier or later. May help with the traffic.

This evening drive with a tail wind and 57f was good for 49 mpg.

psy

A decent day today, with 70+ MPG commutes in the a.m. and p.m. Still holding at about 72 for the tank, but I'm not at all optimistic it'll hold. The winter-like weather you Midwest folks have had is headed this way. Overnight lows in the mid-20s predicted for the weekend. The good thing is I'm not working this weekend. :woot:

This morning, as soon as I'm warm enough to hit stealth, I begin a glide that lasts about a quarter mile. As I start the glide, I take a sip from the water bottle that I opened at the previous light. Wouldn't you know, the water went down the wrong tube. :eek: Well, I leaned up just in time to avoid coughing the water all over myself and the windshield. I grabbed a couple of napkins I keep in the car for occasions such as these and clean up the major puddle under my feet. Once I recover from that, I check the MFD. Apparently during my fit, I hit the gas ever so slightly, but enough to take me out of my glide and keep the ICE idling. :mad: I guess that's the real reason you shouldn't drink and drive.

64.8 MPG due to aspiration.
:D :D :D

My colleagues told me they had a report of a motorist turning blue behind the wheel going down Midlothian Turnpike this morning, but they never could locate the victim! ;)

On a more serious note (especially helpful if you drink and drive a lot!), I keep a folded towel on the center armrest. The main purpose is to protect the (rather flimsy) fabric cover of the armrest, but it comes in handy for spills.

Hi All:

___25 - 40 mph side winds in temps from 28 - 31 degrees F allowed a 44.7 home yesterday afternoon. My wife had me doing a few honey do’s into the heart of two nearby towns at the worst possible time before arriving home. Watching the aFCD drop another .8 mpg’s over that 30 minutes of local jockeying in those winds was not fun :(

___10 - 15 mph side and then tail wind in 26 - 28 degree temps this morning allowed an ok 46.7 to the parking lot …

___Good Luck

___Wayne

I changed my route today. It yielded better numbers.Went from 35.9 yesterday (ouch) today 41.2 and it was only two tenths longer. All side roads with no one behind me:)

Slush on the roads last night and this morning...36 MPG last night, 40 MPG for 19 miles at 33°F this morning. Tank's down to 40.8 MPG, and it'll go lower this morning for a mid-morning appointment.

I finished up yesterday at 61.9 MPG, including a couple of short tips yesterday evening.

This morning was better because I didn't aspirate anything. 63.6 MPG at 45ºF.

My tank is around 59 MPG with about 120 miles. The cold weather plus a little mountain driving this weekend is going to hurt. Let's hope I can keep it about 55 MPG.

Last night was 44.7 over 12.7 miles,
this morning was 44.9 mpg,
tank at 45.4.

75.9mpg at 45F - going to be cool for a few days.

44.9 mpg for this mornings drive to work. 38F with a slight head wind.

psy

93.1 to work. This morning's interrupted glides brought to you byyyyy.............a red light kicked off by some tardy kid, utility work reducing two lanes to one, and.........wait for it........a squirrel. For a brief mili-moment, I thought "the squirrel dies". Then I came to my senses and slammed on the brakes. 100+ still in the wings.

Tank up to 71.4 / 532 miles / 2 pips. First 70 mile tank looks good.

For a brief mili-moment, I thought "the squirrel dies". Then I came to my senses and slammed on the brakes.

:D :D LMAO, I think Wayne's gonna charge you 20 carbon credits for that squirrel.

....For a brief mili-moment, I thought "the squirrel dies"....

A dozen years ago, I almost killed "Bambi" - really.

It was past 10pm on the two lane roads at Yellowstone National Park, going about 40mph. It turned out deer were crossing. Parents were already across by not the doe ( I was saying "DOH!!!" as I was slamming the brakes. :D ) The impact was about 5mph, the doe went back to the other side - hopefully returned to it's parents later. There was a small amount of fur on the front fender of my 1988 CRX HF. :o

I fueled the Yaris up for the 6th time this morning and while I have not hit my goal of 50 MPG yet I keep getting closer.

This is my best tank yet at 48.047 MPG. :)

Streets were still wet for my appointment and I wanted to keep my civvies dry, so I drove instead of riding. :( 25 MPG out, 32 back. Better than the 20/30 a couple weeks ago.

I tried a different route on the way back. I should be able to improve on it by turning into our industrial park a block later...no stopping at the bottom of a downhill to wait for a left turn, no idling my way across the lot in second gear.

I seem to be having the best luck lately with steady-state throttle openings of 4-5%, pulsing from 0-30 or climbing at 6-7%, pulsing 30-45 at 8-11% and coasting with the engine off. If it looks like I'll be below 4% throttle for more than 10 seconds, I'll start a FAS.

I haven't used the LOD display in quite a while...these days, I've been keeping the SG setup to watch VLT, °FWT, TPS and MPG.

Oh, what a lousy day so far. The commute in wasn't bad compared to what it would have been six months ago -- mid 60s -- but I've been getting 70+ on this particular route. Cooler temps and poor luck with traffic conspired against me.

Poor planning is the big thing though. I had to make several short work-related trips today that easily could have been combined after some preplanning. I hate to even look at the daily MPG on the ScanGauge when I get home, but the bottom line: Tank MPG was sitting at 72 before I left home this morning, and now it's below 71. That's with about 350 miles on it. Holding it at 70+ is really going to be a challenge.

EDIT/UPDATE: Ugh! Daily MPG is at 57.4 after the ride home. Tank's at 70.4. :(

I just rolled into RI for another weekend of fun: moving my gf's sister and BIL into their new house, probably painting, and hopefully not stripping wallpaper. My back hurts already.

The tank is still pretending to be half full with 280mi on the clock. Just nailed 56mpg over 65mi, up from 55.2 when we got moving which makes for a ~59mpg trip up and down the hills. Not bad considering I had to keep the DWL targets pretty close together. Got loads of glide time, though.

The evening drive was good for 49 mpg. 50f with a slight tailwind.

psy

Hunted around for the local park-n-ride on the way home, and burned a bit of gas doing it...it's tough to hypermile when you're not sure where you're going. About 35 MPG for the ride; tank's at 39.7.

The park-n-ride lot is the opposite of PP...you descend into it. The road ends at a state police barracks just after the lot, so the best strategy may be to coast to a stop just past the lot, then enter the lot in reverse to coast backwards into a space. I may be able to avoid re-firing the ICE by dipping in and out of the entrance as I come to a stop at the top to get the rear wheels facing downhill.

I should be able to park at the park-n-ride and pedal the 7 remaining miles to work, so it should be a good intermediate step back to bike commuting full-time.

It's looking like I'll need to use the roof rack (with a bike or two) on Saturday. :( It is what it is. Even with it, I'm sure I'll get better mileage than I did last summer.

Hi Bailout:

___I can smell that 50 mpg tank from half way across the country :D

___Bruce, I see you are starting to take advantage of FAS points when and where applicable. Welcome to the “Dark Side” :angel:

___Jim, your worst segment of 57.4 in quite some time and its Ugh? This one is for you …

http://www.aerospaceweb.org/question/history/airship/hindenburg.jpg

___Oh the humanity :D

___Tim, you are starting to see 55 + on the Interstate now? I still think this is just the start of a long and fruitful relationship once you get settled in down south :)

___Psy, another 20 degrees and you will be flirting with 60 + if you can keep this up!

___35 - 39 degree F temps and a ferocious 20 - 30 mph head/side wind for the drive home. Traffic was ungodly for about 1/3 of the trip home yet again. There was an off-ramp taken out near O’Hare and its stacking up people for miles :( The worst of the winds should be over. One more day of below freezing and it should be done for the year!!! I hope ;) 45.8 for the trip.

___Good Luck

___Wayne

Temps were back below freezing this morning, so I didn't bother with segments. I wish I had; everybody was flying so there were no cars in front of me, the traffic signals were perfect and I had a heck of a tailwind, so I managed a new PR for the commute anyway. 44.4 MPG for 15.4 miles at 27°F; tank's back up to 40.0.

Still not an elite-level commute (46.5), but I should be able to touch it with warmer temps and some 0W-20.

___Jim, your worst segment of 57.4 in quite some time and its Ugh? This one is for you …
You might have gotten to the root cause: I've been listening to a lot of Led Zeppelin recently. :)

Hi All:

___26 - 28 degrees F with a 5 - 10 mph tail wind. 48.8 into the parking lot. Tank is showing 46.6 (~ 48.5 actual) and 600 miles out. Should hold her lmpg into next week but its going to be close.

___Good Luck

___Wayne

78mpg at 45F. :)

Traffic was almost nonexistent this morning. 49.0 mpg at 50F.
Tank at 45.5 and halfway down.

44 mpg for the drive in. Had a head wind with 38f temps.

psy

Commute was not doing much better than 61mpg at the spot I usually peak out at. :angry: Then I come up on this truck cab (no trailer) doing 47mph in the right lane. Oh are we going to chacha. I zoom into a blissful extended glide behind him and he takes me all the way to my exit. This stretch is a lengthly upslope where I always lose mpg but this is the first time I've ever raised mpg on that hill and got to work at 63.5. Truly a first.

I finally broke the 5000 mile mark, averaging 115.87% of combined EPA.
Skilled Hypermiler at last! :D

That tank was not my best, at only 24.9 mpg, due mostly to rain and headwinds.

Today I refilled after only ~80 mi. and recorded 28.37 mpg, my best since being here. :)

...this is the first time I've ever raised mpg on that hill and got to work at 63.5. Truly a first.

Good going!

I finished up yesterday with 59.x MPG. Not too bad, considering the traffic I hit going home.

This morning was cold. Well, compared to earlier this week. 60.3 MPG at 37ºF. My tank is holding at 59.3 (or was it 59.8) at 150 miles. I probably will not be able to hold onto that tank, as I'm heading west for the weekend. Uphill about 1000ft. Coming home will be better.

Commute was not doing much better than 61mpg at the spot I usually peak out at. :angry: Then I come up on this truck cab (no trailer) doing 47mph in the right lane. Oh are we going to chacha. I zoom into a blissful extended glide behind him and he takes me all the way to my exit. This stretch is a lengthly upslope where I always lose mpg but this is the first time I've ever raised mpg on that hill and got to work at 63.5. Truly a first.

That's awesome! Congrats on the good luck!

94.1 to work. Tank still at 71.4. 561 miles / 2 pips. The "easy gain" due to the EBH seems to be subsiding at 71-72. Above that will be "roll up the sleeves" time.

I'm in the middle of an email exchange with some friends who brought up the bogus dust-to-dust Prius / Hummer energy study in order to give me a hard time about my car. These conversations, as I'm sure is not very surprising, have one underlying premise..........the fact that those insufficiently interested in good gas mileage have a particular anti-Prius bias, from which they extrapolate that Prius owners must have an equally intense pro-Prius bias. Of course, that's not true.

It usually goes something like this:

Them: This study says a Hummer is more friendly than a Prius

Me: That study is bunk because of XYZ

Them: Still, you don't need a Prius to get good gas mileage.

Me: That's true! In fact, in some scenarios (highway) a Prius might not be a preferred hybrid for you. In fact, in other scenarios (short trips) a hybrid might not be as good an option as an efficient gas-powered. Heck, it's not even about getting a new car. Just get 20% better in whatever you own. Or just start walking and biking more. All of the above are good solutions to punch Osama & combat the climate crisis.

Them: Yeah, that's right! Hey? What just happened? I thought we were needling you. Now I feel like we are fighting a war together. Where's your loyalty to your Prius, doggone it?

;)........one email at a time.

I'm going out of town for the weekend. It'll be about an hour and a half each way. We'll see what I can squeeze out of that. I'm hoping to maintain my 45+ tank. Good luck to locutus and everyone else who's traveling.

Hi All:

___Before I even started the car to leave work, I had the local News station on and heard all kinds of problems cropping up from one end of my commute to the other … I was like WTF, its 34 degrees and I have a 10 - 15 mph headwind to battle. Pulled into a Close-in almost as soon as I hit the Interstate and held it for 14 miles. Was sitting at 47.x and then the fun began … 4 miles in 25 minutes … 7 miles in 55 minutes with the final was 20 miles in 85 minutes. Total time to home was 3:15 and a lousy 42.3 to show for it. This stop and crawl this afternoon had to be one of the worst commutes I have seen in over a year and I have had 3 doozy’s this week already! To top it all off, I have a headache from fighting it so hard :(

___I see some great commutes by all! Thank you for offsetting my lousy one :D

___Good Luck

___Wayne

As expected, my tank MPG slipped below 70 ... if the MFD can be believed. The ScanGauge shows it's still over 72.

Nonetheless, today wasn't bad even with the downturn in temperatures. The commute was from and to my fiancee's, which because of its length and traffic is among the worst of my various commute routes. I got 60.4 this morning and 65.3 this afternoon. I'm particularly pleased with the latter.

Ok,,,, Left work and drove across Tulsa all freeway to a Yamaha dealer. Yep the 07 Warriors are in. That was good for 41 mpg. Blasted with a crosswind the whole way. From the dealer to home was 51 mpg with a tailwind. Temp was 44f. With this week out of the way. I'm on vacation now. :)

psy

Ran into some traffic on the expressway going home, but made the most of it by using P&G instead of my usual DWL. 38.9 MPG for 15 miles in the mid-30s F, some headwind.

My wife and I agreed this afternoon to swap cars for supporting our bike ride tomorrow, so now instead of me driving my car 110 miles with a roof rack and bike, she'll be driving it about 160 miles with no external attachments. I'm not sure which will be worse for the tank, but it's not worth worrying about...c'est la vie. She's a pretty decent driver, so she shouldn't have much trouble making EPA mixed with the current setup.

I'll be driving her car, a 2000 Saturn LW300 with a roof rack and bike, instead. I'll be feeling pretty naked without the SG, but I'll manage. :) Her wagon is a coasting machine compared to my car.

Well, I'm finally back. I guess I will update my winter tanks. For me, I took a royal beating on a couple of winter tanks. My commute has changed slightly and I had to commute about two miles several times during the day on several cold starts. Oh man. I am three tanks behind. I will update them.

I just read my introduction on the hypermiler page. Wee. I had a great work related trip to Israel and I have been working about 60 hours a week lately. I am getting ready to take a boat that I helped design from Norfolk, VA to Tampa, FL around Key West. 1500 nautical miles. Not the most fuel efficient beast. I estimate we should burn about 4200 gallons of diesel each way. Anyone from Tampa?

Back to business; I am sitting about 76.9 mpg on the MFD after 300 miles on this tank. Dang, I still have 8 pips left. He he. I filled up in late March. Am I still using reformulated gas? This one will go to 900 miles if temps stay high. It is supposed to snow tomorrow. What the heck? What happened to 80 F?

Maybe the planets will align in May for a 1000 mile tank.

xcel,

I don't know about a 90 mpg tank. I don't think I have the patience to drive that slow.

I guess I had a fairly decent day even though the weather outside doesn't match my calendar on the wall.:rolleyes:
1) 50.8-12.0 miles(to restraunt for breakfast)
2) 42.7-4.7 miles(to store for some shopping)
3) 51.3-9.3 miles(home)
4) 56.1-13.8 miles(hardware store)
5) 55.8-13.8 miles(home)
6) 48.5-13.1 miles(out to dinner with my wife-our 22nd wedding anniversary:love: )
7) 51.9-13.6 miles(home:D see above:D )
Average for today: 51.6 Temps were right around 25-30F.

Well it's warming up here in Anchorage. Was actually at freezing 32F this morning and with the worst traffic I've seen in the morning in the last couple months, I still managed 40mpg on the way to work for 6miles. That's with a cold start too! On the way home it was about 40F and I managed 43mpg. Tank average sits at 41mpg and I'm half way through the tank. I'll probably be filling up some time next week and hopefully by then I'll have the summer tires back on.

I got a little treat this morning which should help my overall tank a bit. Rather than going over Mt. Rose to work I headed to Carson City at first light to get my Yaris' windows tinted. That's a nice, flat run for the most part and I was able to keep it at 55 MPH the whole time.

Once that was done I headed for work via State Highway 50 over Spooner Summit which is not only a much straighter and much less graded climb than Mt. Rose but also peaks at 1,800ft less altitude.

When I first got the Yaris the first pip on the fuel gauge would disappear at around 65-70 miles. Once I learned to hypermile it a bit it would disappear around 80-86 miles.

With this morning's Mt. Rose-less jaunt that first pip lasted until 108 miles. :)

When I first got the Yaris the first pip on the fuel gauge would disappear at around 65-70 miles. Once I learned to hypermile it a bit it would disappear around 80-86 miles.

With this morning's Mt. Rose-less jaunt that first pip lasted until 108 miles. :)

Nice work! Sounds like a 50 mpg tank may be in your near future.:)

Not part of the daily driving grind but still .... The ground's white this morning. This is April in Virginia for cryin' out loud!

Well, I'm finally back....
Welcome back, Chris. Check out the post about the Central VA Prius meetup (http://priuschat.com/index.php?showtopic=31523#). We'd love to have you make the trip up if you can.

As soon as I leave Richmond, it snows. Oh well. No snow here in Roanoke, VA. I did hit a little weather on the drive last night, but it was just a light drizzle - not even enough to make the roads wet. The wind was a little gusty though. Anyway, I had a personal best for this trip (in this direction) - 54.6 MPG over 160 miles! I think that's pretty good for ascending about 1000 ft at highway speeds. The drive is pretty much hill after larger hill after larger hill. I got some good warp stealth glides on the downhills and tried to keep my RPMs below 2400 on the climbs. The trip home should be better, of course.

I'm about to run some quick errands. I think I'll take my wife's car and try a little FASing in the neighborhood. Wish me luck. :p

Finished off the tank with part of an interesting trip home - detailed elsewhere (http://www.cleanmpg.com/forums/showpost.php?p=24326&postcount=23).

66.7 / 75.1 miles / 30F avg
65.4 / 73.9 miles / 32F avg

The tank finished at 70.8 / 563.7 miles (1 pip). Record and first 70MPG tank! :D

The rest of the trip home (out of the river valley :():

54.1 / 153.7 miles / 29F avg

Most of the rest of this tank will be the way back - I'd like to pull it up to 60 at least.

Took a drive today of a 150 miles or so. Had to go visit some of the wifes family. I got 45 mpg for the effort with bad cross winds and temps varying from 38f to 44f.

Turned in a tank today of 46.7 mpg.

psy

The Prius has spent today sitting in the driveway while I tooled around in a Chevy Express van helping somebody move...one of those really big, really tall work van things. It actually wasn't too bad to drive except that the blind spots are enormous given that there aren't any windows to speak of behind the driver. But it does haul stuff! The only problem is the fuel bill. We filled the tank last night from the ~1/4 mark and spent $72 putting just a touch over 25 gallons in it. No idea what the real FE of that beast is but we're estimating it somewhere in the range of 18mpg based on the gas gauge. It could be since most of the driving has been at 55mph cruise.

Can't wait to get back in my little spaceship tomorrow.

Had to go in to work today to get some paper work that I forgot in my office. It was about 45F outside and I managed for the 6mile trip to get 48mpg! Woo hoo! It helped that my engine was already a little warm from the previous morning trip to the hardware store. Overall today so far I'm at 45mpg. Happy Easter everyone!

4 days of snow. Real stick to the ground and your car stuff. Ice too. High of 35 degrees these last few days. From 35.5 MPG last week to 30.4 MPGs tonight. Blech.

After all the grief and "don't wanna" my car gave me the last few weeks –plus temps still below 60 and no autostop in the mornings--it still turned out to be a pretty good tank ~64mpg. My second best, but the highest miles to date – 665. :) :)

My wife and I traded cars to support the bike ride this weekend, and I had some fun hypermiling hers. I'm a bit discouraged by her segment -- she didn't hypermile, drove a 191 mile day of 50/50 city/highway mix in a big hurry (she covered a ~70-mile stretch in an hour, including a stop at Mickey D's drive-thru) and the stats confirm it -- >5000 max RPM, 78 MPH max speed.

In spite of everything, she still got 36.2 MPG for the day, which is (old) EPA highway! Were I driving without the time constraints, I doubt I would've managed much better than 40-42 while throwing everything at it; My commutes range from 36 to 44 MPG these days on a familiar route with the warm-up hit, and my best segments have been in the upper 40s with one at 50.

It makes me wonder if all this is worth it just for a lousy 10% extra, but I'll keep trying just because it's fun to do.

It also appears to indicate that there's about as much improvement from setup as there is from technique in my case. AFAIK, most hypermilers have much greater gains from technique than setup.

30 degree temps and snow continued to wreck havoc. Short trips didn't help either. Fell at one point to 28.3 MPG, but have since managed to get back to an IMHO impressive 31.0 MPG.

91.4 to work. Tank at 71.3 / 595 miles / 1 pip.

Congrats to Locutus on the 70mpg tank! That's phenomenal in 30-50F weather.

You'll have company pretty soon :)

My return trip to Richmond was a very pleasant drive. 60.6 MPG for 160 miles. I took some less-traveled roads that I think will be the normal route in the future. Most of it is two-lane, but there are plenty of places for passing. I filled my tank as I left. I probably could have made it back to Richmond without stopping, but I didn't want to risk it.

The weekend trip, all highway driving, with the in-laws:
There were 3 vehicles to choose from, and we needed 2 of them:
My civic
2004 Honda Odyssey
1998 Ford E350 15-seater van (think F350 truck with a van body instead)

I was overruled and we took the odyssey and the E350. :mad: At least I got to drive the odyssey. I was 2nd car in the caravan. I managed 25mpg round trip - old epa hwy exactly. That'll do, I guess. No scangauge or anything to help me out, either.