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Picking it up this afternoon.

Driving from Cincinnati to Western Mich. I don't normally drive slowly on the expressway but I am an automotive engineer and this hypermiling thing is quite intriguing. Any suggestions for me as a prius newbi who will only have the car for a few days?

I think hitting 60mpg for a tank would be pretty sweet on the e-way. I've read around a bit and picked up some of the acronyms and can work on a technical level if necessary.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Regards,

Jared

I find with my HCH2 that running at 55 mph is the secret! Maybe a little faster with the Prius, say 60 should do the trick for you? H

Hi Jared;

The 2010 Prius will give you good MPG on the highway but it all depends on the speeds you pick among few other things. Here are a few tips:

-Drive the car in ECO mode and set the MDI to the HSI screen. Avoid hitting the PWR zone on the HSI graph and avoid incurring significant amounts of REGeneration (the left most component of the HSI graph).

- Get those tires inflated to a good level. For a start set the Fronts=42 psi and Rears=40 psi.
- Stay below 60 MPH. Remember the Prius displayed FE can lie by as much as 6-7 MPG so to get a REAL 60+MPG without a ScanGauge or enough experience will be pretty hard if driving at more than 55 MPH.
- Avoid cruise control on any hills
- Glide as much as you can. For many it is easier to switch the transmission to N but if you have a precise foot you can do the same with just the accelerator pedal.
- Keep the AC in auto at a reasonable temp
- Have fun

Cheers;

MSantos

Thank you all. It should be fun. I like quirky cars and this should be no exception. I daily drive a 95 Honda Del Sol and I have an 06 Subaru STi but it is anything but fuel efficient (21psi of boost).

I love the site. Despite being a speed freak it appeals to my nerdy science guy side. Especially enjoyed the articles on the Prius SHM.

Does the Prius have a programmable ECU? Us Subaru guys love reflashing ecus and changing fuel and timing maps.

Sure does.
The Prius has a programmable "ECU" among many other relevant sub-systems that are also equally programmable.
However, Toyota has it locked down for anyone but dealers and it is very unlikely that you'll find any third party offering competing software updates.

Cheers;

MSantos

Well I made it up to Michigan. Averaged 60 mph for the entire 320 mile trip with one drive through dinner stop. Used a little more than half a tank of gas and averaged 50.3mpg. Not sure how that stacks up but I think I may be a little too impatient to be a true hypermiler.

Well that is not bad. Who can complain about 50 mpg? I'm happy when I get 50+mpg:D H

Were you using drive with load?

50 mpg at 60 mpg- cruise control set- is dead on what you would expect on a very slightly hilly highway at close to sea level-or if you had a slight headwind. I would expect maybe 53-55mpg on a dead level hy-sea level, no wind..

Our 2006 Prius delivers just about dead on 50 mpg at 60 mph on our south Louisiana-highways.The 2010 Prius is usually 2-3 mpg better hy than the 2004-2009.
Was your trip on level highways, or is it a bit hilly?
Hills -even without any net altitude gain- kill mpg. Mildly hilly highways steal 10% or more.

The Honda hybrids with their simpler system-not being forced to put some ICE energy thru a generator like Toyota-( chemical>mechanical>electrical>mechanical) have an inherent advantage((Chem>mechanical) over Toyota. Besides, Honda's motors are always a tiny bit better(FE , HP, and rev quicker) than Toyota's motors.
The Prius is all around FE better than the Honda hybrids, but the the Hondas properly driven can beat the Prius on the highways. The Prius kills them in city driving-no matter the driver. For USA drivers -gas/brake/gas/brake-the Prius is unbeatable.

Did you have some hills?? Prevailing winds?

Charlie

Hey, Charlie… the Prius doesn't kill quite all the Honda hybrid numbers in the city. ;)

Sean, you know I can never resist taking a shot cheap shot knowing Honda's partisans will speak up.
Just kidding a little, but for an average USA driver-my wife for example is a gas/brake/gas/brake driver-no glide in her- the Prius is a better choice.

For an average USA driver-pure hy- the Prius will beat the HCH2.This assumes the driver won't have the good sense to just use the CC and let it be. Using the CC-any setting-the HCH2 will beat the Prius on the hy.-But it doesn't in the EPA tests because folks insist on overusing the pedals-brake and gas.
The HCH 2-and the Insight-are well motored cars-all Hondas are. But for mindless transportation-and USA road trips- the Prius is unbeatable. Lots of useful volume under that hatch.

I hear you, Charlie... and I agree that for the average driver the Prius is probably the best thing going.

I'll pit my Insight against a Prius in all but forced full stop traffic, though. ;)

I just got home from a 450 Kilometer tour thru some mountain conditions and managed 56.7 indicated on the IFG. 90% CC and at 90kph or about 60mph. This was with my 2006 HCH2. 10 % city and the rest Hy. Grand Forks east toward Nelson then north to Silverton and New Denver ,east to Kaslo and South to Nelson and West Homeward. Beautiful area. :) H

Hi Charlie;

For the average person who "just drives it"... the Prius is the overall better car in an urban environment as it is far more tolerant of the usual "bad driving behavior" than the average Honda hybrid is. That is how excellent the HSD system is for the average driver.

However, for folks like us and unless we are stuck in the deadlock of a daily traffic jam, the Prius holds no significant advantage worth bragging about and the decision of which is better comes down to a matter of packaging and personal taste.

I can't speak for the Gen 1 insight too much as I did not have much seat time on it, but after 4 years with my HCH-2's (2006 and 2007 Models), 3 years with 3 Prius (2007 models) and 1 year with a 2010 Prius, I can't say the HCH-II is the worse car of the bunch unless it gets buried in a traffic jam all the time.
Fortunately I avoid traffic jams quite successfully on any of the cars... and under the remaining scenarios the Prius Gen 2 or Gen 3 are not the overwhelming MPG champions at all. At times, it is quite surprising to see the opposite take place especially if one gathers driving experience of all cars equally.

Here's what I have seen thus far:
When My wife drives a Prius she gets the same kind of mileage I get when I drive the HCH-II (3.5-3.9 L/100km).
When I drive the Prius it is very hard for me to get better mileage on it than what I get on my HCH-II... and I been driving these cars for quite a few years.
When my wife drives the HCH-II she gets measurably worse mileage that what she gets on the Prius (4.3-5.2 L/100km).What this means to folks like me, is that the Prius is the better car for drivers of drive "normally" with little or no regards for its features and instrumentation - like my wife often does.
For those of us who drive by the built-in instruments the cars have, the Prius is definitely NOT the overwhelming winner... which brings me to the eventual conclusion regarding an upgrade for Honda hybrid owners (particularly HCH-2 owners):

If you have some experience on the HCH-II, then moving to a 3G Prius is definitely NOT an upgrade unless you need the cargo flexibility and/or you are locked in a traffic jam regularly. In fact, it may be a downgrade in several areas since the HCH-II does not rattle as much, often feels more stable and composed, it does not deceptively lie at the pump and it is a monster FE performer at steady state speeds from 35MPH all the way to 62MPH.

With that said, my garage would not be complete unless I have one of each... as each car has its strengths over the other. But that is just me. ;)

Cheers;

MSantos

Well said, Manuel! :thumbs_up:

I often pull 100+mpg out of moderate stop and go in my Insight but if I get caught with traffic that dictates much of the "move 15' and then stop for 5-10min" those numbers aren't attainable. That's about the only type of driving in which a good Prius pilot will best me. Like Manuel, I've become adept at avoiding those scenarios. ;)

Wouldn't they do the same in "full stop" traffic? :p Both would go into AS, and no gas would be consumed by either of 'em! :D

Not quite... the Insight doesn't have electric only propulsion so for low speed stop and go the Prius won't use any fuel at all. If it is long enough the Prius will eventually end up with a battery depleted enough that it will have to fire up, and if the cat gets cold enough it will fire up, too. So... within those limitations the Prius would beat my Insight. Outside of them, all bets are off. :D

Oh, sure, NOW you change your words from "full stop" to "stop and go." :p :p :p

Sorry, was picking on the way we use the language more than anything else. I knew what you meant, and I mean/meant no offense - was just trying to sport some fun.

No problem. :)