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Last week, had my best 30 mi commute segment roll in at 66.1 mpg. Been trying to bust it since, but stymied by various things I guess.

I'm lucky, I drive in at 5 AM, so I can drive unmolested most of the time on the secondary roads. Try to stick to the speed limit, or a little under if I can. Occasionally someone on my 6 o'clock, but they usually pass me w/o honking/flashing lights.

This morning I finally managed to take a particular exit off the main road at just the right speed that I didn't have to brake until I got to the bottom of the exit. Yes! Even managed to slide thru a particular traffic light that, up to this point, has always been red. 63 mpg at this point and I'm beginning to think I might exceed my previous best commute. I proceed down a few other segments that have a gentle downhill slope and the mpg display is climbing nicely.

As I made the final turn onto the base (Air Force base), the mpg display just shifted up to 66.3! Yes! I'll snag a couple EV mode sessions on the way to the parking lot, and maybe I can hit 67? ...and then looking ahead, I see a line of cars backed up at the security gate. (Everone has to show ID bages to get on the base). Ugh. I try to creep as efficiently as I can, but it's tearing me up as I watch the display slowly dwindle away. All my work up in smoke, so to speak?

Pulled into the parking spot...65.4

Hi Rhwinger:

___65.x from a relatively new HCH-II owner is spectacular! When in close quarters in a low speed parking area/guard enforced entry way, consider taking manual control of the HCH-II as her EV-Glide is nice but it has its limitations. Let us say the gate guarded post is ¼ a mile off the main arterial. Consider maybe a steady 45 mph on that main arterial until such time as you can FAS (do not rely on the built in EV/Glide in the HCH-II for this) and turn into the main drive at just the right speed so as to coast almost to a stop by the time you hit the gate (< 5 mph is perfect). When your credentials and ID have been checked, the gate is risen, start up, quick shift into D, let the tranny engage smoothly, and start a fast pulse to just enough speed to FAS to you’re your parking space for a 0 mph parking space glide. These 2 steps alone can gain FE vs. whatever you are experiencing currently. I always gain FE running through our own guarded gate/credential check/guarded entry way by doing exactly this in every car I have ever owned. The key is to be traveling at < 5 mph when you actually do have to hit the brakes at the guarded gate so as to let the glide keep that FE rising even in the tightest of circumstances. If you come in hot to the parking area, circle it until you are down to almost 0 before actually pulling in at a stop.

PS: You are doing really great for a new hybrid owner ;)

___Good Luck

___Wayne

Nice work with that Civic! How many miles on it now? Still breaking in or past the 3,000 and 10,000 marks where things supposedly loosen up?

Wayne, question: Why do you recommend a manual FAS over a dead-band glide in that situation? Would you say that a manual FAS is the rule in an HCH-II for maxing the FE? My guess is that it's about letting her run free vs. fighting the friction of driving those pistons up and down albeit with the valves closed, but figure there might be something else I haven't thought of?

Hi Tim:

___Although at higher speeds and continual use from a non-zero speed, I would use the HCH-II’s built in EV/Glide modes but when coming to a stop, a full FAS will knock the EV/Glide mode out by a nice margin every time.

___Good Luck

___Wayne

Tim:

2600 miles.

Kinda new to all this, but what's EV/Glide?

If I'm right, EV propulsion is providing motive power when I come off the gas pedal w/a few green regen bars with RPM around 1K, with a VERY light increase in pedal pressure, the white "assist" bars become visible.

I can only induce this when the road is extreemely flat and at speeds less than 20 mph, or slightly higher speeds with a slight grade. It's like sitting on a knife edge though, and if the tire hits as much as a pebble, the white bars drop and the engine starts with a slight lurch.

Today I managed to induce EV from the turn off the main road into my development to my driveway - about .4 miles. But at one point, I was crawling along at 15 mph or so.

Wayne, thanks for the + feedback. I hope you are feeling better soon!

Thanks,

Bob

rhwinger looks like you're getting the hang of it and discovering the many techniques of driving for efficiency.

Pulled into the parking spot...65.4
That's fantastic and heard a rumour that you achieved over 73MPG for a segment lately?

Yesterday I was blessed with a fully loaded dump truck plodding along in the Right lane going 45-50MPH today in a 65MPH limit. I usually take that road at ~50-60MPH and followed at a safe distance for about 8 miles. Glad to say about 3 other cars also followed me at safe distance all that way before the truck exited.
Funny sometimes how things like a slow moving truck can turn into opportunity.

Great post and keep it up, you're really developing a great skill!
-Steve

Steve:

Boy, rumors travel fast around here!

Thanks a bunch. Seems if I'm learning anything, I'm learning from the best hypermilers around!

Great people on this site.

Bob