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I'll start this one off.

Got knocked down by short trips over the weekend, so I only had 48.5mpg to look at when I walked out there this morning. It's *#&%* cold! 7-9F temps with head and side winds in the 15mph range. Best I could do was to bring it up to 48.6mpg. I'm actually happy about that...I expected a loss!

The only way to pull that off in a Prius in these temps is to bundle up and run without cabin heat. (If my commute were any longer than a half hour there's no way I would be able to do it.) The engine will shut off after the first four miles or so but the HV battery won't ever get warm enough to stealth. P&G works but only just...problem is that the car doesn't want to roll.

25 degrees this morning with 14 degrees forcasted for Tuesday. I can hardly wait. I don't mind the drive in too much as the car is coming out of the garage, but the drive home after the car sits outside cold soaking the battery is a drag. Lucky I can dawdle around trying to P&G in the low 40 to high 30 mph range, but it's getting old too.

Spoiled rotten, I know, but I'm ready for Spring.

73.5mpg and 34F - par for this 5-speed Insight.

Had some errands to run Sunday, for which I managed about 60 MPG. I probably lost 5 MPG just from the loss of engine heat while standing in the grocery store checkout line ... with the other procrastinators stocking up for the Super Bowl!

Made the commute on the new route from my fiancee's house this morning: 9.3 miles, 52.2 MPG, 19ºF. It probably would have been better but I got caught behind a school bus making repeated stops on an uphill leg early in the trip. It was still 8 MPG better than the old route, so it looks like this route's a keeper. Like Tim, I bundled up and kept the heat off, other than a couple of short bursts of the defroster to clear some light windshield fogging.

I'm down to 2 pips @ 420 miles, pushing to make another 500 mile tank.

This epic started last week:
Ran over a screw on Friday which flattened my tire. I didn't realize it was flat until my wife saw it Saturday evening. It was -2ºF so I figured that instead of putting on the spare I would inflate it and drive to Sears for a tire repair since it's only a half mile away. When I got there, they were really busy and the guy said that there's no way I could get it fixed so I should come back the next day. Sunday morning, the tire was flat again so I had to re-inflate it. This time, the pump wasn't as strong and it even stopped. Uh oh.

You see, I have an air compressor that plugs into the car's cigarette lighter. Stupid Mr. Schaefer had the car at IG-ON both times, ran the compressor, drained the battery without driving the car very far to top off the 12v. Stupid stupid stupid.

But Priapus started (though barely) and I made it to Sears. They were really busy again but I waited it out. Three hours later, I had a fixed tire, a wall-plug air compressor, and a battery charger.

After the Bears game last night, I put a 2amp charge on the battery and ran it overnight. This morning, it was -10ºF. Electronically, Priapus sprang to life without hesitation; mechanically, he was none too thrilled about turning over. But he did and I drove to work. There were some odd noises, interesting revving situations, and at one point it seems as though I lost my battery assist during a routine slightly-downhill cruise at around 47MPH. Instantaneous mileage dropped from mid-50s to mid-30s and stayed there until I was able to come to a complete stop at the next stoplight. Things went back to normal and I was even able to get engine shut-down at lights and glide for some distances.

All in all, with the short trips to/from Sears, the fact that I let him sit and run in the driveway for a while when I thought I might have killed the 12v, and the sub-Arctic drive this morning my tank mileage has dropped from 48.x to 44.3.

Strugglingbad. Really bad. :(

Turned in a tank for 35 mpg this morning. Just horrible.

Got 39 mpg for the trip in. The cold and winter weather is taking a toll on my mpg and me.

psy

Managed just 42.7 for my commute today with balmy air temps of -15F. (No, unfortunately that "-" isn't a typo.)

The only way to pull that off in a Prius in these temps is to bundle up and run without cabin heat.

Cabin heat? What's that? ;) :D

Almost hate to post given those northern temps. :). Weekend driving was fairly local and residential, so I was able to keep the tank near 60. Sitting at 60.5 after this morning. With a week of commuting and highs in the 60s forecast, I'm pretty much assured of my first 60 mpg tank! 4 pips left.

Odometer will turn 3000 on the way home. Looking forward to continued break in.

After the Bears game last night....
"Bears" game?? Aside from the opening kickoff and Jones' 52-yard run, it looked to me like the Colts' game. :woot:

(Sorry for straying off topic. I couldn't help myself.)

-9 this morning. I got about 32MPG. Bahh. This is definately going to be "worst tank ever".

Almost hate to post given those northern temps. :). Weekend driving was fairly local and residential, so I was able to keep the tank near 60. Sitting at 60.5 after this morning. With a week of commuting and highs in the 60s forecast, I'm pretty much assured of my first 60 mpg tank! 4 pips left.

Odometer will turn 3000 on the way home. Looking forward to continued break in.

I for one love to hear about someone banging out a great tank, keep up the great work! Although we suffer through winter in the North, we have an advantage in the summer, spring and fall over southerners because we can run all or most (usually with wife or children same rules do not apply) of the time without a/c. So when you see 70 or 80 mpg and say how did they do that(?) it is because no a/c was used. Even if you were naked, I think you would need a/c in the summer in Texas.

Dennis

...Even if you were naked, I think you would need a/c in the summer in Texas...

Don't give Brittney Spears more ideas. :D :eek:

Yeah, August in Dallas is bad, esp if the car is unshaded.

I had ~-5F this morning. I didn't FAS on the way to the wife's work and ended up with 39.7. From there to my work I had 46.4. This afternoon we got all the way to ~+3F and I had 47.2 on the way to pick up my wife and, from there to home, I ended up with 49.5 by the time I got backed into the garage. In this arctic weather, I'm happy with those numbers.:)

I started this morning with 61.3 mpg avg over 121.3 miles. Temp was 9 F, got 56.8 mpg over 11.1 miles dropping the tank avg to 60.9 mpg at 132.4 mi. It has dropped a little to 7 F this afternoon, I got a 50.4 mpg segment over 12.9 mi dropping me to 59.8 mpg@ 145.3 mi. The tank started high because of a downhill trip back from skiing (1170 ft downhill over 107 miles temps about 18 F).

A different, longer commute this morning on mostly expressway...temps down around 9°F, so the longer ride (=less warm-up hit) balanced out the colder temps on the way in. Sat at constant TPS as much as practical until a truck passed, then drafted the rest of the way in.

Went out during lunch on an errand; the street was littered with trash barrels from the wind -- a great obstacle course. I was doing 40 with the TCC locked up on a different way back, so I managed about 36 MPG or so for the whole trip.

Nasty crosswind from the left going home. Same routine -- low TPS until a truck passes, then accelerate into the surf draft and hang on. I couldn't get much benefit because the crosswind would blow the vortex out before I could get anything, so I was getting blown around a bit. Best I could do was hang out as far right as possible, but I had my hands full doing it. Somewhere along the way, the semi I was following at 65 passed a box truck doing 50-55, so I traded off. He wound up getting off at my exit, so I was able to draft a lot longer than I would have otherwise. :D 36.2 on the way home.

Tank's back up to a decent 35.2 from the 32.x tank I had after the snowy 200-miler on Saturday.

Back to my normal 16-mile commute tomorrow, then another long one on Wednesday. Mornings should be in the single digits for the rest of the week.

You guys probably thought I feel off the face of the Earth. No, I have just been working 70 hours a week for a couple of weeks.

Yeah, it's cold (not as cold as it is in some areas, but cold enough for me). MPG sucks; 3 short trips a day, 27-29F, odd hours, tailgaters, strong winds, rain, etc. Did someone screw with the timing of lights on my trip today?

I tried to block the grill today. I got 69.x on the way to work, 61.x on the way home. Funny thing is, the exterior grill block wasn't on the car when I got to work. I was really thinking I should have blocked the grill earlier. My streak of an 800 mile tank each month might come to an end this month; I only have to average 80 mpg for the next 400 miles and I will be okay. :(

P.S. I am an officialy hypermiler; I crossed the 5000 mile threshold. What are the requirements for each level? 125%? 150%?

I think it's 125% to be an "Expert" and 150% to be "Elite."

Today I had to take a drive, business trip. Went from Pasco, WA to Hood River, OR and back. Outside temps have been at or below freezing recently, but today it was a balmy 37 F. Methods used today included FAS, driving with load, and never using the brakes.

The 2005 Insight is equipped with Scangauge II & Garmin GPS. Most of the radiator is blocked with a sample carpet square. A duct hose (warm air mod) is routed from the Cat heat shield to the air filter box. Final data for today's trip:

Total miles: 302
Fuel consumed: 3.453 Gallons
MPG: 87.44
Fuel type: Chevron regular unleaded
Tire pressure: 51
Engine oil: Mobil 1 0-20w
Wind: calm
Highway: I-84 freeway
Speed driven: between 54--64 mph
SOC: remained full
Water temp: 197 F
Total fuel cost: $7.90
Business tax mileage write-off: $128.40

Hi Bill:

___Temps, conditions, $ outlay, $7.90. $128.40 business write off, Priceless :D

___Finally a little reprieve. Temps from – 3 to + 1 degree F on the way in tonight. Winds were still from the side but were less then 10 mph. 41.0 was the result. I highly doubt I will bring this tank back to 40 but there is always “hope and a prayer” ;)

___Good Luck

___Wayne

36.7 MPG for 15.8 miles at 14°F this morning, no wind, no drafting.

Better than EPA highway for a mixed, short drive at temps 55°F colder than the test, so I can't complain.

The past several days have not been kind to me. After this morning's 7-9F weather and traffic debacle (some of the local high school kids are, without apology, morons just like their parents) I'm down to 47.7mpg at about 200mi, and just got down to 4 pips. This tank might well drag my LMPG below 50.

Really can't say for sure about this morning, but I had an interesting commute yesterday evening. Was on the Bush Tollway - TX190. A vehicle went two lanes to the left somewhat abruptly to get in the tolltag lane. Three miles later we are on the access road of the tollway with me a carlength ahead. :p To make it look more idiotic, the guy was apparently going to get back on the tollway - i.e. he did not know where he was going.

All the while, I was getting 73.7mpg, almost double his, yet he was behind. Here is the kicker - his vehicle (http://autos.hamptonroads.com/images/wb_06/prius.jpg). :D

tank sitting at 4.5L/100km (53 mpg?) with over 210 km on the MFD

feels good to be back.... after driving that guzzly Rav 4 (22 mpg) on Toronto streets.... and yes I TRIED to hypermile that suv guzzling piece of crap... man why do mom have to like Suv's?

11 degrees this morning with 55.x mpg all I could manage. The tank is sitting at 54.x mpg with just under half the tank left.

Some guy was following me this morning while I was poking along at 38-45 in a 55 zone. It was freaking me out as I was just waiting for the flashing blue and red lights to come on, but they never did. He followed me for about 6 miles until I came to a left turn - looked over and it was just another guy, poking along like me? A fellow hypermiler?

Hi All:

___Temps a little better, side winds died down yet again and just a little snow for the drive home this morning. Temps from 1 to 6 degrees F with a 41.8 result. Fortunately I was not on the Chicago Interstates this afternoon as there was a Tri-State shutdown due to a 20 + car pileup about the time I would have been near the accident at I-294 and I-55.

___Good Luck

___Wayne

Had a good day despite the cold, close to 60 MPG, thanks to a 15 mile trip to the doctor this morning and a cross-town drive this evening to have dinner with my kids.

I filled up just before coming home, 56.9 MPG for the tank. This is my sixth 500 mile tank in a row ... barely. 501 miles with the last pip blinking. :woot:

Topped off the tires, then 33.6 at 24°F for 15 miles going home, including a stop at the store.

Tank is still at 35.2. Low fuel light is on at around 389 miles. I should have a couple of gallons left at this point.

Long commute again tomorrow, so I'll fill up near work before heading home.

These subzero temps have been brutal. To top it off it snowed during the day today and it was too cold for the road salt to melt it. :eek:

70 miles on the new tank and already down a pip. I brought the tank average *up* to 47.0 today - it had been below 45. I don't have the individual segments from the past few days in front of me right now, but suffice it to say they're depressing. Hard to believe that tomorrow's high is 12F and I'm looking forward to it. :confused:

Things should be looking up after this week though - on sat a bunch of us from the area are doing a group block heater install (thank you in advance Wayne!) and with that some of the bite of these MPG-eating winter warmup periods should be lessened. Looking forward to before and after comparisons.

I had 39 mpg for the drive in yesterday morning and 44 mpg for the evening drive home. Was hoping for better. We had what we call a Indian summer day yesterday. The high was 71F yesterday in Tulsa. If its not the temps its the **** ******* ***** **** **** wind.

I've reached equilibrium at 47.7-47.8mpg on the MFD. Warmup drops me down into the 47.5 range and then I have to work for the rest of the segment to re-gain the number I started out with. The worst part is that I'm down to three pips on the fuel gauge even earlier than I was on my last tank (barely 230mi). It's as if I'm dumping fuel on the pavement overnight, though that's clearly not the case.

75.2mpg at 50F this morning.

we are now a week into sub zero temps, and that's double-digits below. some days we haven't even gotten above zero during the day. i hibernated all day sunday, brought home some work (OT, yippee), just going outside long enough to do chores and feed the critters, all of whom were in the barn. the only ones we left out were the sheep, figuring they have a pretty thick wool coat.

staying warm has been a part of the driving challenge. on my 40 mile commute, most days the heat hasn't even moved the bars up until at least 10 miles. my daily outfit in the car ends up making me resemble the michelin man, and then i add a blanket on my knees in the car.

yesterday was pure h#ll. despite the -20 temps, we had snow, the light powdery kind. and what happens, when i am driving along in the right lane, is the speed monkies, who must have superman goggles to be able to see through the blowing snow, fly by at their usual fast rate of speed. and as they pass, they drag along about 100 feet of blowing snow, in some cases enough to totally leave those of us in the slow lane driving blind....just can't see the road at all. all i can do is hope i can keep it straight. it's very stressful. semis are worse, since they don't clean off the top of their trucks, and of course, they add to the blowing snow. remind me again why i live in minnesota???

on a slightly positive note, i tend to hypermile as a secondary effect of how i drive in this crap.....with a very light touch on the gas pedal. and slow down well before a stop, knowing full well there is probably ice at the intersection.

right now my readout says about 46.5, which i will be happy to settle for. we still have several more days of this crap to get through.....big whoop.

Laurie,

Second-hand 46mpg sounds exceptional under these conditions. Longer warmups is all I'm suffering - rarely have iced roads and below-freezing temperatures, not to mention snow tires.

I've heard that Honda limits the Assist to protect the battery pack in the bitter cold - it that true?

Laurie,

Second-hand 46mpg sounds exceptional under these conditions. Longer warmups is all I'm suffering - rarely have iced roads and below-freezing temperatures, not to mention snow tires.

I've heard that Honda limits the Assist to protect the battery pack in the bitter cold - it that true?

that could very well be. i have noticed that it doesn't kick in often, and seems to be fully charged all the time. not what i would expect from the way i drive.

Monday I followed this big 18-wheeler onto the freeway and had a lovely ride the whole way home. Truck never went over 45mph even though it had a clear lane ahead and drove smooth as silk so I was in heaven. It felt like taking a giant dog on a walk as no one wanted to get near us. I stayed close enough that he might have wondered why I’m there but not close enough to worry. Got home at a happy happy 65.5mpg. Also helped that LA had a heat spell for a day or two.

Laurie I'm glad you’re keeping those knees warm as that is one lengthy cold snap up there. My daughter in PA tells me it’s frequently below zero with the windchill there and it gets painful being outside after 5 minutes no matter what she puts on. They won’t seem to cancel any of her classes though. I wonder if you’ll have an earlier and longer summer now (not sure that’s entirely a good thing).

It's been a terrible week for me so far. Monday I was sick, but went in to work anyway. I took the highway so it would be as short a trip as possible. Same route going home. Tuesday too. I felt so bad I didn't even look at the mileage. It must have been bad (45MPG maybe) because my tank is just under 50MPG. Temps were in the teens and twenties.

Today I'm feeling much better and took my normal route. 53.8 MPG at 29ºF.

Laurie I'm glad you’re keeping those knees warm as that is one lengthy cold snap up there. My daughter in PA tells me it’s frequently below zero with the windchill there and it gets painful being outside after 5 minutes no matter what she puts on. They won’t seem to cancel any of her classes though. I wonder if you’ll have an earlier and longer summer now (not sure that’s entirely a good thing).

hmm, wonder why they won't cancel classes. some of the out state schools did up here, could be the -45 wind chill. even with my heavy duty eddie bauer down jacket, sweater and long underwear, until the car warms up i can still feel the cold on my arms.

covering the knees helps some. the knee i had replaced last april is still giving me fits, long after i expected better from it. i have to wonder if this bone chilling cold has an affect on it.

as for semis, the other morning i watched several of the pick 'em up trucks tailgating a semi at high speed.....and i mean CLOSE. i don't know what they are thinking of, for sure not their FE. i see so many crazy people out there, and those who just don't care........

This week the average temp in Bangor ME has been 5 F overnight lows have been below zero and last night it went to -10 F, warm compared to Minnesota. I filled up Sunday and have managed 57.3 mpg over 250 miles so its been about 54 MPG since my trip home from skiing. I'll take anything over 50 mpg in this weather! Great job Laurie in that sub-zero weather and snow! We have gotten very little snow in central and southern Maine this year and until the last couple of weeks the winter has been pretty mild.

Dennis

Second-worse commute ever!
I got out of the house about five minutes later than usual and had to scrape the windshield. I've been trying a new route and this morning, it was backed up the likes of which were epic. Single-lane and crawling for more than a mile in 0ºF was not a good prospect so I turned to go my usual route. Unfortunately, this was no better. Perhaps worse?

Crawled for a little more than a mile. My tank had already taken a hit from 47.x to 43 due to the flat tire/dead battery/cold temps but now I was adding "sitting and idling" to the mix. Mileage at end of crawl: 42.3

After that period, the rest of the drive was acceptable. When I got to work my mileage was up to 42.9.

Saturday night I took my wife to Starbucks, and it was packed. We got our drinks and sat in the car. I had the engine running on occaison, to keep the heater working. That combined with a bunch of short errand trips gave me 34.7 on today's fillup. Some things are worth more than saving gas. :)

Any advice for a non-hybrid driver to keep up with short-term mileage? I've been topping up the tank every week, but that's too long to really know what's working and what's not. Besides, a full tank of gas has to be weighing down my efficiency.

Have you read about the ScanGauge? That's what most of us use when we're in a car that doesn't have its own built-in feedback. Worth its weight in gold if you are interested in fuel economy.

Hmmmm...

I like it, but in my situation, it'd be a year before it would pay for itself. If prices go up... could be as little as 6 months.

My goal here is to make a much a difference as I can while still doing the same things I already do. I'm already driving every day, so I can just drive better. I already put air in my tires, I just change the amount. Buying a gadget is a psychological step I'm not sure I'm ready to take.

Lazy / cheap is the approach I'm taking at this point.

Hmmmm...

Thanks for the reply. I appreciate it.

Lazy / cheap is the approach I'm taking at this point.



You could always try Ebay for a second-hand original ScanGauge. It isn't quite as pretty as the ScanGauge II but it does everything just as well and could probably be had for half the price. And if it's about just letting the efficiency come to you (a perfectly fine approach as long as you are willing to put **some** effort into it) having that instant feedback might just do the trick for you. What tends to happen is that the user gets used to seeing the feedback while going though the day-to-day and, over time, adjustments are made naturally.

I'm willing to change my driving style dramatically. I'm already trying the various techniques to drive efficiently. I just can't tell what is making a difference, when I'm not getting feedback until 3 days later. I may have to break down and get a Scangauge, after all.

PaleMelanesian:

I don't know if this will help, but it might be worth a try. After a few thousand miles of driving, I have developed a "feel" in the seat of the pants for when the car is performing efficiently. The engine just smooths out and just kind of, I don't know, purrs or something. When the engine vibration drops, I can see the mpg indicator climbing, or peg high when this situation develops.

Maybe you can try driving, looking for that "sweet spot"?

Oh yeah, almost forgot - try installing a manifold vacuum gage. Probably $25 at the local gear head shop. I think high vacuum equates to high mileage - but don't quote me on it??

Just an idea.

Hope it works for you.

Bob

Note: For previous weeks, look here (http://www.cleanmpg.com/forums/vbgarage.php?do=view&id=492), and for later weeks, look here.

OK... here's my last six days and 19 trips. Discovered NICE-on a few days ago and it's helped a lot on my drive in. Also working with DWL. Most of my losses are due to warmup time and short trips, or missed lights.

The error (last column) is associated with rounding errors in my calculations.

# Notes Start End mpg_ Trip T 50W Er±
== ========= trip mpg_SoC trip mpg_SoC avg mi °F car_mpg
01:Drive in Tue Feb 6 tried CC @47mph 458.2 53.4 6 472.0 53.5 6 57.05 13.8 48.0 ? 3.8
02:Drove to Sam's to fill up. 472.0 53.5 6 474.5 53.5 6 53.50 2.5 66.0 ? 21.
03:Drove from Sam's after fill up. 0.0 46.2 6 2.6 46.2 6 46.20 2.6 66.0 ? 0.1
04:Krogers on way home 2.6 46.2 6 5.7 50.9 5 55.65 3.1 66.0 ? 0.1
05:Krogers to house 5.7 50.9 5 17.4 61.7 4 68.81 11.7 62.5 ? 0.0
06:Drive in Wed Feb 7, tried CC @41mph 17.4 61.7 4 31.2 59.6 6 57.15 13.8 57.0 ? 0.2
07:Went out to lunch 31.2 59.6 6 33.4 58.6 6 47.34 2.2 68.0 ? 1.4
08:Came back from lunch 33.4 58.6 6 35.4 57.5 6 43.78 2.0 71.0 ? 1.5
09:Went to Dinner 35.4 57.5 6 40.0 56.6 4 50.52 4.6 75.0 ? 0.8
10:Went home from Dinner 40.0 56.6 4 57.1 57.6 6 60.08 17.1 71.0 ? 0.3
11:Drove in Thur Feb 8; nice-on,_dwl, sw 57.1 57.6 6 70.9 58.6 6 63.14 13.8 66.0 3.5 0.5
12:Drove home (hit 2 lights hard!) 70.9 58.6 6 85.0 58.7 5 59.21 14.1 69.5 3.0 0.6
13:Drive in Fri Feb 9; new route; EV_ 85.0 58.7 5 99.4 58.9 6 60.11 14.4 51.0 3.5 0.7
14:Drive home messed up nice-on 99.4 58.9 6 112.4 58.8 4 58.05 13.0 49.0 2.0 0.8
15:Trip to get videos and food 112.4 58.8 4 135.2 59.4 4 62.55 22.8 47.0 6.0 0.6
16:Trip to clients 135.2 59.4 4 162.8 60.5 5 66.54 27.6 45.5 3.5 0.6
17:Trip home from clients 162.8 60.5 5 190.2 61.5 6 68.20 27.4 49.0 8.0 0.8
18:Went to Church Feb 11; cold start+hwy 190.2 61.5 6 202.0 60.8 6 51.37 11.8 48.0 2.0 1.2
19:Came back from Church; warm start+hwy 202.0 60.8 6 213.5 60.7 6 59.00 11.5 51.0 0.0 1.7

Current city 62.01% Goal EPA_mpg for current city/hwy split = 57.93_mpg
Current hwy 37.99% Current_mpg for current city/hwy split = 60.38_mpg

Difference = 104.23%


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

I may have to break down and get a Scangauge, after all.
I too didn't want to spend the money, but I found a used SGI for, as brick suggests, half what a new SGII costs. (Bought it from another member on PriusChat, not e-bay, but that's beside the point.) I agree with him that it's well worth it.

If you have a birthday coming up, ask for the SG as a gift. My experience is that it's unlikely to save enough gas to pay for itself unless you drive a lot, but sure is a lot more likely to than other fun electronic toys, and it's just as entertaining. Heck, you can even change the display color to match your mood. :)

Awesome long commute this morning...41.8 in the low teens. I pulled off a couple of D-FAS for the first time this morning. :D

Question: when doing a D-FAS, is it best to let the target go to maximize the glide or just stay in the draft? I suppose the answer depends on the frequency of potential targets (density of truck traffic).

38 MPG back to my normal workplace, filling up a 35 MPG tank along the way.

Expressway was jammed up through the on-ramp going home, so I took back roads and managed to squeeze out 33.6 MPG. I was doing around 31 MPG on a slightly more efficient route last summer.

Tank sitting at 60.9, with 3 pips left. Temps in the 60s in Central Texas have certainly helped. I'm still likely to score my first 60mpg tank, as I still have half a week of commuting left. Where is that woot icon? :) :woot:

Consistently averaging 75+ mpg on my 12 mile -400 feet commute to work and 55 mpg 12 miles coming back home uphill. My goals are still 85 in and 60 out by the spring. As awesome as 85 sounds, getting to 60 going back uphill seems more of an accomplishment to me.

One thing I've learned is...........hills are a killer that are hard to recoup. I have two alternate routes back home that have more glide opportunities, but they also involve at least one big climb. A third route with fewer glides and no big hills does better.

I've been wondering whether it would be easy to create something like a "temperature adjusted MPG" chart that is reasonably accurate. Given the brains on this site, I bet it either already exists somewhere or is just not worth the trouble. I find myself reading about 42 mpg tanks in 2 degree weather and wondering.........."wow, is that great, REALLY great, or PHENOMENAL?" All I know is, that's COOOOOOOOOLD. :)

I've been wondering whether it would be easy to create something like a "temperature adjusted MPG" chart that is reasonably accurate. Given the brains on this site, I bet it either already exists somewhere or is just not worth the trouble. I find myself reading about 42 mpg tanks in 2 degree weather and wondering.........."wow, is that great, REALLY great, or PHENOMENAL?" All I know is, that's COOOOOOOOOLD. :)

You mean something like this?
http://tripprofile.com/images/mpgvstemp.gif

This is my data since september '05, about 950 segments worth. Obviously there are many other factors, but what this says (at least for me) is, all other things being equal, every degree F increase in temps is worth about 0.3 MPG. For me that has meant about 45 at 0F, about 54 at 30F (heh, why does that seem low all of a sudden? ;) ), 63 at 60F, etc. It's probably not perfectly linear but it does give some idea. What I might do is the same for data involving just one particular trip (eliminating a bunch of other factors that vary widely between trips, and probably getting a better fit).

Congrats on your 60MPG tank by the way. :cool:

*Edit*: Here's one for a particular trip (my morning commute) - the temperature/MPG relationship is definitely stronger once a bunch of other variables (distance, time since last start, etc) are eliminated.

http://tripprofile.com/images/mpgvstemp-trip.gif

Ok... Started posting on my commutes. Tanks average is down to 57.6. It's perfect temp here, so I don't have many excuses. Hopefully breakin will start to boost my mileage in the next few months.

I definitely need to cut out my short trips. Even in Texas there is some warm up. I've been playing with NICE-on, but don't know if its a bad idea on a Prius.

Also having problem with tailgaters, can't seem to stay in my glide without seriously hurting my driving karma. Think I need to get a "Student Driver" sticker to encourage them to pass.

Anyway, I'll probably test out some different routes to see if I can't find a deserted road without stop signs that is devoid of all traffic during rush hour. Wish me luck!

36.2 MPG at 15°F for 15.4 miles this morning, a bit of wind.

A semi was tailgating me with brights on and the second light had a surprisingly short cycle, so I muffed both -- light up to make the green, then brake for red. The second light was so short I didn't even get a chance to put it in drive.

I accelerated into my gap to the next car to maximize the last glide before the expressway, came in too hot and had to touch the brakes during the glide.

No draft targets on the expressway until a semi pulled in front of me at the last hill before my exit, so I started the coast down to the exit with a D-FAS.

Not too bad, all things considered.

Filled yesterday. The tank came in at 47.5mpg on the MFD for the second time in a row (albeit 54mpg calculated...riiiiiiiiight). So now I'm parked at about 40mi on the new one with 48.0mpg showing. First pip left me at 30 miles. This 10F morning, 25F afternoon crapola has got to end.

55.8MPG at 23ºF on my morning commute. I'm pleased.

An accident diverted me to the tollway this morning, which took a hit on my commute. At 45F, it was 70.7mpg, but probably should have been around 75 on the non-toll commute. The tollway has more hills - that's probably what is doing it.

This 10F morning, 25F afternoon crapola has got to end.

I'd be happy with that right now. ;) 45.4 into work this morning at -6F. We're in the -5F morning, 15F afternoon pattern here. Sunday's high is finally above 20F. 2 days until my block heater is installed, that's all I can say. At least roads are clear and winds are fairly calm.

The average temp here was 1 F yesterday and the average for the week has been 5 F, I am at 57.4 MPG for 296 miles on the display (this has run about 2% high long term so my real FE is probably about 56 MPG), which I am pleased about considering the temps. The first 107 miles were a net downhill of about 1170 feet where I managed 61.5 mpg, since then my avg FE has been about 55 mpg (using the method outlined above.)

If someone is too cheap to buy a scangauge(maybe you aren't, but I am), you can use a paper, pencil, and calculator or spreadsheet to find out approximately what your FE is for any segment.
For example:
you have 100 miles on your tank and the avg mpg is 50 MPG, so you have used 2 gal of gas so far (100 mi/ 50 mi/gal)= 2 gal. Now you make a 50 mile trip and bring the avg mpg up to 52 mpg now you have used (150/52=2.885 gal). What is your FE for the 50 mi segment? It is 50 mi/.885 gal=56.5 mpg. Thanks Wayne for showing me this trick way back when you first tried Carl's Prius. This is a lot of calculating but a spreadsheet can be set up to do the calculations for you. You simply need miles at start and end of segment and the avg MPG at the start and end and you can get an approximate FE for your segment. The scan gauge is nicer because you can see how you are doing in real time, but this gives you some feedback after each trip if you are willing to punch the numbers into a spreadsheet. This is only necessary for Prius owners, although HCH owners that use one of their trip gauges for lifetime mpg could use this as well (are there only two trip odometers, I am not really sure about the HCH?)
I created a little spreadsheet tool for calculating MPG for a segment. It can be found here (http://priuschat.com/index.php?showtopic=29361).

Dennis

I'd be happy with that right now. ;) 45.4 into work this morning at -6F. We're in the -5F morning, 15F afternoon pattern here. Sunday's high is finally above 20F. 2 days until my block heater is installed, that's all I can say. At least roads are clear and winds are fairly calm.

Have you tried blocking your grill using foam pipe insulation cut in half and stuffed in the grill vents? See prius chat for details and pictures, I am doing this along with the block heater and it has made a huge difference this winter.

Dennis

Ok... Started posting on my commutes. Tanks average is down to 57.6. It's perfect temp here, so I don't have many excuses. Hopefully breakin will start to boost my mileage in the next few months.

I definitely need to cut out my short trips. Even in Texas there is some warm up. I've been playing with NICE-on, but don't know if its a bad idea on a Prius.

Also having problem with tailgaters, can't seem to stay in my glide without seriously hurting my driving karma. Think I need to get a "Student Driver" sticker to encourage them to pass.

Anyway, I'll probably test out some different routes to see if I can't find a deserted road without stop signs that is devoid of all traffic during rush hour. Wish me luck!

You might try an EV button install, I just use the headlight flasher as my switch, the install is pretty easy, I think I found the instructions over at Prius Chat. Also when the engine is cool you can often get the ICE to shut down once you get your speed over 35 mph, but the EV is an easier fix for speeds under 33 mph, just don't over use it when you first start the car, let the engine warm up by driving about 2 min or so before you start using the EV button, unless you are just moving your car a short distance at parking lot speeds.
You might not want to do this due to warranty issues, I did it on my 2004 at around 44000 miles, on a new 2007 I'd probably chicken out.

Dennis

Have you tried blocking your grill using foam pipe insulation cut in half and stuffed in the grill vents?

Yep, did that a month back or so. Cheapest mod to date. :) I have no doubt it has helped everything to stay warmer when it's frigid like this, but there are other big things that are hitting the MPG more than that helps:

- a commute of only 6 miles (fully warmed up only at the very end)
- starting from temps of 20-30 in a garage left overnight or for 8 hours during the day <-- block heater will help with half of this one
- once it gets below about 10, my EV button doesn't work despite what coolant temp says :(

Got to work today at 65.5mpg, a number I haven't seen for a while now, and worse--no particular idea why. And it wasn't even (relatively speaking) warm, about 48F and foggy. I'll never understand why I can't do this every day.

You might try an EV button install, I just use the headlight flasher as my switch, the install is pretty easy, I think I found the instructions over at Prius Chat. Also when the engine is cool you can often get the ICE to shut down once you get your speed over 35 mph, but the EV is an easier fix for speeds under 33 mph, just don't over use it when you first start the car, let the engine warm up by driving about 2 min or so before you start using the EV button, unless you are just moving your car a short distance at parking lot speeds.

I was afraid that using EV would drain SoC too quick and and I may be beyond the range of useful EV operation.

I'm usually at the Highway within 5 minutes. I have a short jog through my neighborhood with a few long deserted patches (take the back exit). NICE-on has been very helpful in getting the tanny to disengage while coasting. Noticed a real boost in MPG today in no small part due to the ounce or two I saved with NICE-on.

Hope it doesn't fry the transmission like I did in my last car :embarassed:. I figured the Prius was all drive by wire and well equiped to take jolts into "N" and back into "D", but I could be wrong.

But the good news (since I've started another post) is that the stellar 63 mpg commute I had in this morning finally tipped my average for this week and tank over EPA :woot:

I've posted the update in my commute log for this week.

Got to work today at 65.5mpg, a number I haven't seen for a while now, and worse--no particular idea why. And it wasn't even (relatively speaking) warm, about 48F and foggy. I'll never understand why I can't do this every day.

Fog is a result of low vapor pressure, which means a lower air density. Low air density has less aerodynamic drag. High temperatures also have a low air density.

Over many years of commuting by bike, I've come to appreciate that the fastest (ie. most efficient) conditions for cycling are 100% humidity, about 55°F and no wind. The air density is very low, and the temperature is low enough to allow for adequate cooling.

Yep, did that a month back or so. Cheapest mod to date. :) I have no doubt it has helped everything to stay warmer when it's frigid like this, but there are other big things that are hitting the MPG more than that helps:

- a commute of only 6 miles (fully warmed up only at the very end)
- starting from temps of 20-30 in a garage left overnight or for 8 hours during the day <-- block heater will help with half of this one
- once it gets below about 10, my EV button doesn't work despite what coolant temp says :(

You are doing great ! I didn't realize you had such a short commute, your numbers over the past 6 months are incredible given that short a commute, when it gets warm do you just ride a bike?

Dennis

Fog is a result of low vapor pressure, which means a lower air density. Low air density has less aerodynamic drag. High temperatures also have a low air density.Ha.. here I thought I had done so well today as well :o . Turns out there was a lot of fog on the way in for me too. Made it hard to judge the lights.

You are doing great ! I didn't realize you had such a short commute, your numbers over the past 6 months are incredible given that short a commute, when it gets warm do you just ride a bike?

Dennis

Absolutely! "Warm" is relative too. As long as the roads are clear I'll bike down to about 20 degrees. :eek: It'll be hard to get above EPA lifetime with this pattern (less driving in the summer, more in the winter) but I think no consumption trumps the 65+ I can get on this route when I do have to drive during the summer. :flag:

oh, foo. i ended up with about 43.5 on this tank. i just can't fight the cold weather.....:(

A few short trips last night and a longer one to my wife's place, then to work today with junk in the trunk (several gallons of Gatorade concentrate). 35-36 MPG the last day or so, tank's at the same. With the extra weight, average speed was lower for the same throttle position, glides were longer and more energy was lost when braking, as you'd expect.

19°F this morning. I was following a pickup doing 45-50 on the expressway, so I pulled a D-FAS on a couple of downhills.

I should add some fender skirts this weekend.

oh, foo. i ended up with about 43.5 on this tank. i just can't fight the cold weather.....:(

I don't think many of us (except Wayne maybe) could do much better wth the temps you have been seeing in Minnesota. Only 6 more weeks until Spring (although in Minnesota it may not feel like spring until mid to late April.)

Dennis

A good commute - 78.2mpg at 38F. Good even though towards the end this A-hole pickup would not let me exit the freeway on one of those old combined entrance/exit ramps. :mad: For a couple of seconds I considered doing something stupid, but came to the conclusion to let it go.

Hi All:

___I had the opportunity to drive Pravus Prime’s 2005 AWD FEH into and out of downtown Chicago for the Auto Show yesterday. Temps in the 0 degree range, usual heavy Chicago traffic as we took the arterials most of the way and a rather lousy 31.5 RT to show for it. I have seen the FEH FWD hang in the mid 40’s in summer temps doing the same and I just couldn’t break it out of the winter time slump :(

___Good Luck

___Wayne

Hi All:

___I had the opportunity to drive Pravus Prime’s 2005 AWD FEH into and out of downtown Chicago for the Auto Show yesterday. Temps in the 0 degree range, usual heavy Chicago traffic as we took the arterials most of the way and a rather lousy 31.5 RT to show for it. I have seen the FEH FWD hang in the mid 40’s in summer temps doing the same and I just couldn’t break it out of the winter time slump :(

___Good Luck

___Wayne

Wayne,

An FEH was the first hybrid other than my own I've driven. It was 80F and got the FE to 36.5mpg if memory serves me correctly. It was away from heavy traffic, too.

The circumstances were Wolfman from PriusChat was attempting to organize a hybrid gathering in the D/FW area - we met at a Sonic in Grapevine. Nobody else showed up. :( Maybe someone could fill me on Wolfman, but work forced him to trade in his Prius for an FEH, he stepped down as a moderator from PC, and I've not heard from him again. Hope he is doing well...

Made it up to 48.2 during the 15F heat wave this morning. We might or might not be taking the Prius on a little road trip this weekend. It would be nice to try for a solid highway segment through familiar terrain, as I haven't done it in a while. I'm also getting kind of tired of burning fuel in the XC when the Prius can easily fit us and our stuff at double the FE.

45.4 at -3 this morning. A couple of things pushed this down from where it could have been. One - I had an unexpected stop for ~30 seconds less than a mile into it (still too cold for the engine to cut, so I was just idling the whole time), and two - extra trolling around the parking lot to find a (poor) spot, with unnecessary ICE-on because of the MUCH lowered threshold for low-speed EV in these temps. Argh. I felt like it was worth maybe 48 otherwise. Good P&G, good traffic, and good DWB due to good traffic.

Is "days until my EV button works again" a valid unit of measurement? :rolleyes:

*Edit* Other notes from yesterday: Yesterday's trips pulled the avg up to 48.0. I don't remember the last time I've been down 3 pips with only 115 miles on the tank. The commute home yesterday was one of the more hostile segments in recent times - no fewer than 3 tailgaters, and one guy who started honking because I wouldn't pull out into traffic while waiting to turn left. I'm starting to wonder if I adjust (read: worsen) my technique based on other traffic way too much.

Good weather and a new route paid off, 60.11 mpg @51F. Nothing stellar, but I'm eking just past EPA numbers. Seems the addition of NICE-on and DWL were the last bits I needed to pull it off. I've updated my commute log with the results.

One thing I did come up with (laugh if I'm crazy) was to switch from mph to km/h. The reason is kinda' spinal tap in nature. "It goes to 11". I started doing it on DWL. The problem was that once my speed started to drop, it would drop fast. By the time I saw it go from 55mph to 54mph it was too late for a good correction. By the time I'd adjusted my acceleration I was all the way down to 53 or 52. That required a larger correction than I was happy with.

So now my goal is 90 km/h. Acceleration and deceleration show up faster on km/h so my corrections are not as drastic. My old DWL parameters were 50-60mph, my new DWL parameters are 85-95 km/h. My new P&G window is 50-65 km/h.

Seems the addition of NICE-on and DWL were the last bits I needed to pull it off.

Nice work. :D OK, since it's not in the glossary, can someone explain what "NICE-on" means? :confused:

Neutral coasting with the ICE idling. In these temps I spend the first ten minutes of my commute doing plenty of it...not in neutral, just failed attempts to glide.

Thanks, makes sense now. Is there any advantage to popping into neutral instead of just normal P&G (where the "G" won't be ICE-off)? I've been able to get no arrows in early stage 2 operation with displayed MPG ~ 3*MPH during a "glide", is dropping into N any different?

Temps were 5F this morning. By the time I got to work the SG was showing an average of 46.1 for the 15.4 mile trip. I was able to break into the 50 mpg range this morning on one of the legs.:woot: This afternoon, the temp was ~20F and I had 52.3 for both legs of the commute and the average for the whole day was at 48.7.:D

I started a new Prius thread with your question so as not to derail the Daily Grind thread.
Is there any advantage to popping into neutral instead of just normal P&G (where the "G" won't be ICE-off)?
But my thoughts on the subject are yes it does improve FE because the ICE is not carrying any load. When I attempt a failed glide in stage 1, the ICE engages and tries to answer my acceleration feathering by supplying the drive train with power. Sure the mpg is in the low 90's or high 80's, but when I throw it into "N" it jumps to 99.9.

Filled the tank today at 343.8 miles 57.0 MPG on the display and 55.5 MPG (6.203 gal). I'll take it with average temperature at 5 F for the week. This time I filled near my house so the next tank won't have a net downhill.
This mornings segment was pretty bad because I forgot to plug in the block heater last night and got 49 MPG over 11 miles at 10 F. Earlier in the week at 7 and 8 F, I got 57 MPG over the same segment. I had done this same test comparing FE with and without block heater at temps in the mid thirties and the results were inconclusive. I am not sure there is a lot of benefit cost wise above 35 F (not at 16 cents per KWhr and no I didn't forget any decimals.) I buy green power produced from low impact hydro-power and wind so at least the electricity used is not adding more CO2 to the atmosphere.

Dennis

Fog is a result of low vapor pressure, which means a lower air density. Low air density has less aerodynamic drag. High temperatures also have a low air density.

Over many years of commuting by bike, I've come to appreciate that the fastest (ie. most efficient) conditions for cycling are 100% humidity, about 55°F and no wind. The air density is very low, and the temperature is low enough to allow for adequate cooling.

Bruce, I'm so glad you mentioned that. I checked wunderground and saw indeed we had 85% humidity that morning. Great information we can use.

And Brick, my thanks for starting this weekly thread which has clearly grown in popularity. Who knew we all needed this little outlet?

More OT: Yesterday I see a familiar pattern of tiny black splots on my car roof...ha, I carefully step back and then andonlythen look up, and joy! Baby birds, hidden deep in the greenery growing over the driveway trellis. Never been so glad to see poop on the car again. Those mourning doves have been busy making whoopee.

Bruce, I'm so glad you mentioned that. I checked wunderground and saw indeed we had 85% humidity that morning. Great information we can use.

Thanks! Wunderground's data may be a bit conservative; fog and/or rain generally indicate 100% humidity.

A great time for fog in the northern states are late winter evenings/mornings during a warm spell when the temp hits around 55-60°F and there's still snow on the ground.

I suspect that the effect of humidity on aerodynamic drag may dampen the FE hit from temperature over the course of a day somewhat at higher speeds, since RH typically rises as the temperature drops over the course of a day. When I started line drying my clothes last summer to save some electricity, I learned pretty quickly to not leave them out overnight. :eek:

34.6 MPG for yesterday afternoon, still hauling junk around; tank's at 35.2. The extra weight comes out today.

I've been used to the efficiency hit from bike commuting. At least in a car, the decrease in efficiency is demonstrated by a loss of FE rather than a loss of speed. :D I've learned to get through winter by celebrating the winter solstice, after which the days get longer, and the end of January, after which the average temperature gets warmer (usually -- certainly not this year -- and usually very slowly).

Ugh. The MFD read 47.3mpg, but I only made it 212 miles before I got down to the third pip and I pumped in a whopping 5.4 gallons for a 39mpg tank. It'll balance out...again...but it's really annoying. The problem is that it's convenient to go to a different station every time so the fill is either way less or way more than the last time. Stupid bladder, stupid weather.

Trip to Pewaukee today for the block heater install (thanks Bradlee!!). 49.0 the way there on the freeway (all possible drafting targets insisted on going 72+, ugh), and 50.2 on the way back taking secondary highways. Some nice short segments fully warmed up after I got back running some errands, for a net MFD change of 47.8 / 133 miles / 7 pips to 49.1 / 282 miles / 3 pips (those middle pips always go fast). I might salvage 50 for the tank yet!! Early forecast for next week looks like a pretty consistent 0F low/20F high, pretty comparable to last week, so I should have good before and after comparisons with the block heater to post. :)

A cold day in Austin. I won't need a block heater but maybe 20-30 days a year, and today was definitely one of those days. Hope it all went smoothly in Wisconsin.

Filled up at 60.3 mpg with 1 pip blinking. Then loaned the car to the wife, who started off the new tank at 42. She's a work in progress :)

New goal is a 600 mile tank, and a fillup after a full two weeks. Gotta have goals to keep it fun. And of course, continuing to hit 60 mpg.

What we Texas folks will need in 6 months is a group "cabin block AC install", or something fictitious like that :)

What we Texas folks will need in 6 months is a group "cabin block AC install", or something fictitious like that :)I hear ya, but from what I hear, the summer gas will help. I am curious to see if mileage is worse with AC on at a 110F day, or with it bone cold. I would think the northerners have it worse cuz they take a hit with both cold and heater, but Texas only take a hit with AC (and you can bet mine will be on!).

My Hypermiler mod of the day.... Good metallic tint Job.

Just for grins in my wife's old nissan we installed a temp guage ($20 job from Autozone). Well the first day at the mall, we come back out to the car, and it melted, no kidding the palstic melted. The display read (after we cooled the cabin off) 120F but I would think it got a good deal past that.

Despite the cold, I've gotten off to a good start on this tank thanks to cross-town trips. As of yesterday, the MFD shows 58.7 MPG @ 172 miles. I was especially pleased with yesterday's commute: 63+ MPG in the a.m. despite starting out with temps in the teens, and 70.1 on the return trip. I'm still experimenting with minor route variations to maximize P&G opportunities.

It's probably taking a hit today. My fiancee and I are going out, and she won't tolerate cabin heat being off.

Note: For previous best trips, look here, and for later best trips, look here.

Good weekend driving. I had a 30 mile trip that had timed lights. It was perfect. Managed to get the timing on over half of them.

Turned into my best trip this tank. 68 mpg. I've updated my trip list, but now I have a good (for me at least) consumption screen. Four bars over 75 mpg. Sony Phone pic, kinda grainy.
http://www.dkbryant.com/images/ConsumptionFeb10.jpg
Note: For previous screens, look here, and for later screens, look here.

The highways have not treated me well. I was over 50mpg after about 30 miles of driving around town on the new tank. Then I headed home at 60-65mph up and down all those hills for 105 miles, knocking me down to 47mpg. The funniest part is that I'm sitting at 47.4 right now because of a six or mile shopping trip down and back up the hill. This thing is a FE monster around town when the engine isn't ice cold.

This thing is a FE monster around town when the engine isn't ice cold.

Oh definitely, it's getting there that's the problem. :) I love busting out segments at 70+ when fully warmed up (multiple errands to run or whatever) even when it's still frigid outside. It's that whole warming up thing before that.

First day with the block heater, and the initial trip was definitely on the high side of what I've seen in the past for comparable conditions - 51.8 for 4.6 miles at 18 degrees. The scangauge couldn't make up its mind what about the WT when I first started up... it was 94, then jumped to 109, then back to 94, then down to 82...??? :confused: But I was out of stage 1 much earlier for sure.

Net gain for the day from 49.1 to 49.3, still hanging on to 3 pips (and thanks to errands to run around town, and outside temps finally warm enough to use the EV button again :D ). I'm getting my 50 MPG tank back. ;) (And of course not stopping there.)