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Even after my 6th tank under very similar environmental conditions, my mileage continues to improve. On average, the ambient temp while driving has been 30-35F. My latest tank was 56.94 MPG.:D

I don't expect further improvments until the temps get warmer. I am hoping for 60 MPG tanks with 50F ave temps and 65 MPG during the summer >70F ave. Only time and higher temps will tell for sure. Also this summer I plan on installing the CX transmission which will lower my final drive to 3.25 from 4.06. That will hopefully be worth another few MPG's. 70 would be sweeeeet:D

Hi Dan:

___The taller final is going to help immensely when and where you can get the del Sol in 4th and 5th. You are doing some fantastic things with that little red sports car and I sure hope you see a 70 mpg segment by mid June or thereabouts. Wouldn’t that be a kicker? At that point, you may be beating your Prius II’s commuting FE!!!

___Good Luck

___Wayne

Making me jealous :D It's great to see those kinds of numbers and then realize that they are going up!

I call dibbs on the gas saved by him!

I call his wheels ;)

Hi Dan:

___The taller final is going to help immensely when and where you can get the del Sol in 4th and 5th. You are doing some fantastic things with that little red sports car and I sure hope you see a 70 mpg segment by mid June or thereabouts. Wouldn’t that be a kicker? At that point, you may be beating your Prius II’s commuting FE!!!

___Good Luck

___Wayne

The commute with the Prius in the summer is 75MPG. While I might be able to get the occasional 70MPG segment on the way to work, I think beating the Prius over a whole tank will prove quite difficult. It might require some imagination to do that.

But first things first, the Tom challenge, 66MPG! Did I mention that Tom is a meany?:p He likes to make me sweat.:eek:

Last two tanks were 58.8 and 60.6 respectively. I am only filling to 1/2 tank as part of my weight reduction program. Jenny Craig for cars I guess.:D

LMPG 53.8 and climbing. :D :D :D

I was dreading the drive in this morning because it was dark and raining. Both FE killers due to wipers and lights on and increased rolling resistance from tires pushing water out of the way and spraying it all over. Temp was 45F. Last night I indexed my plugs and decided on a modified route to work that would cut out some FE killer lights (when I miss them). So I count 3 variables that have changed for this mornings trip, rain, indexed plugs and a new route.

Well right out of the box (garage) I noticed a difference in FE. By the time I get to the main road, about 0.2 km into my trip, my FE was 19 MPG where usually it was 16.5. Then I began the new segment of my route. Eventually when the new segment merged into the original route at about the 10 km mark, I noticed that I was about 6.5 MPG higher than my previous best to that point. At the 20 km point I was at 6.7 MPG higher, or 74.8 MPG! :D At this point I am at the low point of my commute so don't get too excited im telling myself. Now the merge onto I-79 and I duck in behind a fuel tanker and draft at 55 MPH, ASI showing 20-30 MPH. At the 30 km mark I am exiting I-79 and am at the high point of the commute, 61.9 MPG. The final 10 km leg has 10 stoplights and I made 5 of them. I cruised into the parking lot at 63.68 MPG which beats the old record of 62.75! The trip length is slightly shorter so the total fuel used was .384 gallons beating the previous record of .392.

So I'm sitting here wondering, WTF? It was raining, which in my experience is detrimental to FE and wind wasn't really a factor. On the downhill ign off segments, speeds seemed to be better than normal. Usually I take a hairpin curve, engine off and exit at about 35 MPH and coast for a mile or so to a 25 MPH speed limit sign at about 27 MPH. Today I took the curve slower, exiting at 32MPH and was still at 30MPH when I got to the 25 MPH sign. ASI showed same as the speedo so no tail wind.

I have heard some Prius and Insight drivers say that they notice an increase in FE with very light rain but could never prove it definitively. I can't prove anything at this point but what i know for sure is that starting a new tank this way is very satisfying. Mehbe the indexing helped? Mehbe the new route? We shall see on Monday which is supposed to be cooler but dry. Thunderstorms and wind for tonights drive, but 63F too. Maybe I will be surprised again?

Oops, I forgot. For more info on side gapping and plug indexing:
http://www.gassavers.org/forum_topic/diy_side_gapping_and_indexing_spark_plugs.html

Not sure if it makes a difference or not but I thought I would try it anyway.

Did you compensate for the different tire ratio?

Yes, the SuperMID is calibrated to my current tires. When I put on the RE 92's then I will recalibrate the distance parameter.

hm in the rain i saw this guy's sig, more gas equals less wet. I thought it was pretty funny.

here's a pic

http://img315.imageshack.us/img315/4655/moregaslesswet8av.jpg

Yes, the SuperMID is calibrated to my current tires. When I put on the RE 92's then I will recalibrate the distance parameter.
Do you calibrate based on GPS speed/distance from an actual road test?

Actually I do a road test on 50 miles of I-79 using mileposts. I then verify using google earth. Quite accurate. Most people think that the odometer is calibrated perfectly when they drive off of the showroom floor. Not so in most cases. Odometers generally over register in my experience. I have used the milepost method on every car that I have owned and found usually 0-3% overregistration. The best was the Prius which was dead on. My guess is that most people are overstating thier FE due to the overregistration.

Hi All:

___The Insight was a 2.5% over report whereas the Accord and Ranger are dead on. The easiest way I could tell was the GPS speed and distance over a 92.5 mile segment vs. speedo and odometer over the same. The PDA based GPS SW w/ a GPS receiver have excellent utilities for all kinds of things including speed, elevation, and distance tracking from point to point most may not have ever thought of using one for. I highly recommend a hand held GPS setup for this use vs. just getting directions from Point A to point B as most use them for exclusively ;)

___Good Luck

___Wayne

Agreed on the use of milepost and/or GPS. I've never tried the milepost method, since there's not really anywhere around here to do it, but I've done it by GPS several times, usually at least twice per set of tires as they wear down. The odo is actually usually pretty close in my Civic. The furthest it's been off is 1.7%, the least was 1.0%.

First update after new HX wheels and Insight LRR tires. It was dry but cold this morning, 32F. It took awhile for the engine to heat up, maybe because I have the vent open on my grille block. I took the very latest route, the one that elimninates 4 stop lights. While I did make a few hypermiling mistakes, I had a pretty good trip to work at 66.23 MPG. :) Previous best was 63.68 at 45F and raining. There is definately some room left to get closer to 70 when the morning temps get back into the 50's. Tonight's drive will be sunny and in the 60's.

Current tank, 165 miles, 62.94 MPG :D

my prediction never fails, once dan can adjust his coasting points (since his tires can roll for a longer period of time) that 70 mpg will be a reaility.

Ouch to those who own hybrids or diesels, can anyone match up to this sipping beast?

Let me reword that phrase, is there any man that will take this beast? Regardless of whatever car you drive?

Ask him what he was able to achieve in his prius.

Was he in the 110mpg team? I'd have to wonder if on such a highly optimized route as this if he'd be doing 120 or 130mpg in a modified Prius.

Twas my Prius yes. I have no idea on how to mod the Prius to get 120 on my current commute. The best I have ever gotten was 83 round trip. Speeds are low so aero mods wont help. Maybe a few MPGs from LRR tires but low 80's is the max for me.

This morning was dry and 44F. I left about 10 minutes earlier and had an 8 mph tail wind. I made all of the critical lights.

71.12 MPG! Wooooooot! At the mid point which is also the low point, I cracked 90MPG. Now looking for a route that will be downhill both ways. :D

Next stop, 75 MPG.

By the way, another new record for me was that the engine was only running 53% of the 39.34 km traveled. Much longer ign off coasts due to the tailwind and the LRR tires for sure.

Drive home, 66F, Dry, 8 mph headwind, 65.84 MPG, top on.

Latest round trip, 68.48MPG.

Current Tank, 291 miles, 64.26 MPG.:D :D :D

haha i wonder if it stops there... now I have to get a set of LRR tires on my next tire change.

But wow I'm very impressed that half the time your engine is dead, oh my i guess that grille block allowed your engine to retain its heat while its at zero. In the hottest of the summer i predict you'll crack 100 just because you'll try harder for the triple digit score.

Give it your best!

haha i wonder if it stops there... now I have to get a set of LRR tires on my next tire change.

But wow I'm very impressed that half the time your engine is dead, oh my i guess that grille block allowed your engine to retain its heat while its at zero. In the hottest of the summer i predict you'll crack 100 just because you'll try harder for the triple digit score.

Give it your best!

I wouldn't be able to get engine off 1/2 time without the hills and a carefully planned route. Thanks for the vote of confidence in 100 MPG but that may just be out of my reach. The grille block does a fine job keeping the engine warm in all weather. I doubt I could ever overheat with the small amount of fuel that I use.

The LRR tires are great but they are not for everyone. Less wet, dry and snow traction is what you give up. You should probably have snow tires for winter in Canada.

here in british columbia, you worry about rain more than snow these days ;)

This morning I tried yet another route to work, two new segments. The resulting 66.03 MPG at 50F convinced me not to try it again.

The drive home was much more fun. 78F, calm, roof off, 68.38 MPG which bests my previous best by 2.5 MPG.

That concludes my latest tank. 338.9 miles, 64.64 MPG. The forecast for the next week is cooler with lots of rain. I am hoping to stay above 60 for the next tank.

do you plan to show us your map of the routes you take? Details on the road and such like that? I want to know how you think everytime you approach a situation and your actions for doing what you do for high mileage.

Man if you had a better car of what you have now, what would it be?

http://img102.imageshack.us/img102/4682/route7ug.jpg

Here is my current route. When I choose a route it has a lot to do with the hills. I look for situations where I do not have to use the brakes. So long gradual downhills that dont end in a light or stop sign. Stops at the top of a hill, not the bottom.

wow you have quite a long trip to work. Hm would you say your ratio to downhills vs uphills is the same when going to and from back? Or do you always try to downhill > uphill everytime even if it means changing the way you go back home even if it means adding more length to your trip? Since where I live no matter which routes I pick I'm always having the ,"what goes down must come up" kinda situation on my way back.

wow didn't know google earth was a PROGRAM, thought it was a web site you go to. I'm downloading this nifty tool thanks!

oh and a line that caught my eye which i will try to incorporate, "Stops at the top of a hill, not the bottom"

I had a pretty good tank this time. I had 425.39 miles and used 9.97 gallons for a 42.66 mpg tank. I think I can safely say that summer blend is back. :D

Hi Dan:

___Your route spec via Google Earth is pretty impressive. I might have to try that sometime …

___Larry, we need to get into the particulars of your commute and setup a bit in the very near future. I know there are a few more mpg’s just waiting to be discovered in that Saturn of yours!

___Good Luck

___Wayne

Larry, we need to get into the particulars of your commute and setup a bit in the very near future. I know there are a few more mpg’s just waiting to be discovered in that Saturn of yours!

If I can figure out how to get the Google Earth image posted in the thread, I have it saved on my computer and I'll get it posted. My route for work is 5.83 miles to my wife's work then another 9.14 miles to my work for a total of 29.94 miles round trip. Once a week I make a trip for groceries that is 18.06 miles round trip . Also a trip to church once a week at 9.64 miles round trip. I come up with 174.4 miles /week that are pretty much standard every week. Then there are the misc. trips that vary in length and aren't always made every week. I have been averaging around 420 miles roughly every 9 days. These miles are mostly on county roads with some state highways and very little city streets. The county roads quite often have stop signs every mile although a few have 2 mile stretches and 1 or 2 have stretches longer than 2 miles without stops. The state highway I drive on the most has a 7 mile stretch without stops. I have noticed though that stop signs aren't necessarily a bad thing. They give me a chance to, "Use the FAS Larry." :D

Hi Larry:

___Here is a FAS solution I use on one of the Warmup P&G routes I have at my disposal that may be able to help you out somewhat?

___There is a 35 mph limited surface street/frontage road with no stop signs over a 1.9 mile distance about 1.5 miles from work. I am in a FAS as I enter this frontage road so I can coast through an S-Curve. Once I am down to ~ 10 mph and heading straight down the rest of the ~ 1.6 mile straight stretch, I pulse up to 52 mph with a tail wind and then FAS until I hit the stop sign ~ 1.4 miles away at ~ 20 - 25 mph. With a side wind, I need to get up to 55 mph and I hit that same sign at ~ 10 - 15 mph. A head wind and I cannot make it from 55 mph. Either way, the road is usually abandoned and even when there is someone behind, I am traveling 15 + over the limit to begin with and just 10 under at the end coming into that stop sign. Is there anything you can use on your route from my short segment description? In warmer temps, that one segment as described is worth ~ 60 - 80 mpg in the Accord depending on wind and temperatures.

___Good Luck

___Wayne

I'll see if I can describe my route for you. I will be using Google Earth for the distances. First, I FAS down my driveway which is .04 miles long then I pop the clutch to start and travel .23 miles up to 55 mph and FAS for .49 miles. There is a fairly significant hill I have to go up so that by the time I get to the stop sign I'm going 20-25. I then turn left and accelerate for .2 miles up to 55 then I FAS for .82 miles. I then turn right and accelerate for .42 miles up to 55 once again then FAS for .6 miles. I then turn left onto a state highway and accelerate slowly(if traffic allows) up to 50-55 for 2.03 miles then FAS for up to 1.02 miles. This last FAS distance is only possible if I can make it through an un-timable traffic light and make a left turn off of the highway and onto the side street. Once off the highway I'm in FAS for .06 miles before making a right turn then continue for another .06 miles before turning into my wife's parking lot and contiuing .02 miles before turning left and continuing .01 miles to where I let her out. After dropping her off. I head back to the highway and go to my work. Once I get back on the highway, I have to travel as far as 6.88 miles before I have a chance to FAS again for about .3 miles. Sometimes this FAS can be longer if traffic permits. By the end of this last FAS, the speed limit has dropped to 45(from 55). I then travel another .57 miles and FAS up to the next corner which is .14 miles away. I then turn right and accelerate up to 35-40 for approximately .3 miles and FAS for .42 miles. I then turn left and accelerate up to 35 for .18 miles then FAS to the parking lot for .18 miles before backing into my parking space. WHEW! I think I just wore myself out. :eek: Do you see any room for improvement in this? I have been traveling this route since January. Before that, the route was basically the same except for it being 4 miles longer although the extra length didn't allow for any more FAS. I have been traveling this basic route for close to 4 years; give or take.

Hi Larry:

___About that first stop sign. Any alternate route through a subdivision or a way to bypass that stop sign? Also, do you have to accel to 55 mph on all the side roads up until you hit the Interstate? The 6.88 miles before a FAS opportunity, what are your speeds and what kind of hills are you traversing? Any chance to DWL or sneak in a HS P&G or two? Also , only a .3 mile FAS from 55 + MPH? That one decel has to hurt quite a bit. After the .57 mile segment you can only FAS for just .14 miles? That ICE-On to ICE-Off ratio is a bit low as well? Sounds like traffic is really smashing your capabilities there :(

___As I continually find alternates, you may want to try to find some as well. Those 55 mph limited routes with heavy traffic appear to be killing your opportunities? Let me know as there has to be room for improvement. The Ranger can knock out 40 + segments in that kind of scenario unless traffic forces me to a non-steady up and down in the 50 - 55 mph range.

___Good Luck

___Wayne

Hi Larry:

___About that first stop sign. Any alternate route through a subdivision or a way to bypass that stop sign? Also, do you have to accel to 55 mph on all the side roads up until you hit the Interstate? The 6.88 miles before a FAS opportunity, what are your speeds and what kind of hills are you traversing? Any chance to DWL or sneak in a HS P&G or two? Also , only a .3 mile FAS from 55 + MPH? That one decel has to hurt quite a bit. After the .57 mile segment you can only FAS for just .14 miles? That ICE-On to ICE-Off ratio is a bit low as well? Sounds like traffic is really smashing your capabilities there :(

___As I continually find alternates, you may want to try to find some as well. Those 55 mph limited routes with heavy traffic appear to be killing your opportunities? Let me know as there has to be room for improvement. The Ranger can knock out 40 + segments in that kind of scenario unless traffic forces me to a non-steady up and down in the 50 - 55 mph range.

___Good Luck

___Wayne

I can't by-pass the stop sign you mentioned. I forgot to note that all of the roads, except for the state highway and the .15 miles to get to my wife's shop, are county roads;basically rural in nature. Also, the last segment of accelerating to 35 just before getting to my shop, is in the small town where my work is.
The .3 mile FAS from 55+ is because the speed limit drops from 55 down to 45. I figure that since I have to slow down, I might as well do it while FAS.
The .14 FAS after the .57 mile segment is slowing down to make a right turn. There is a traffic light that is quite often red for me so I quite often have to stop before turning because of traffic. I also forgot to note that during the .57 mile segment that the speed limit has dropped again to 40 mph. Also, I sometimes have to maneuver around people that are turning left off of the highway;fortunately there is enough room to do this without going clear off the road.
As for P&G,(I assume this is pulse & glide) the traffic in front and behind is usually heavy enough that I can't do this effectively. I will, however, keep an eye out more for chances to speed up while going downhill so I'll have more momentum to carry me up any hills come up. I already do this somewhat but again, traffic is the limiting factor.
Many of the FAS segments on the rural roads have uphill portions in them which require starting the FAS at 55 to be able to make it to the next stop.
I'm not sure if I mentioned this in any other posts but, in the time when I was calculating my mileage but not writting it down, my summer mileage would run 42-44 with tanks that would ocasionally vary up or down from that. As you mentioned, traffic is hurting me. Unfortunately there aren't any alternative routes to take for me to get to work or get home for that matter. I have tried various routes in the past and this one seems to be the best for mpg. Since there are around 1,000 people who work where I do there is a significant volume of traffic going to and coming from work. Again, let me know if there are any areas that can be improved. Even at 40+ mpg, $3/gal gas is still not cheap. :(

71.7 MPG to work today, just barely beating the previous 71.1 record. After the drive home it will be time for a fill. I hope I can hold on to the current 65.7MPG tank. Still short of Tom's 66 MPG challenge but with the RE 92's still breaking in, I have a shot at it next tank. :D

71.7 MPG to work today, just barely beating the previous 71.1 record. After the drive home it will be time for a fill. I hope I can hold on to the current 65.7MPG tank. Still short of Tom's 66 MPG challenge but with the RE 92's still breaking in, I have a shot at it next tank. :D

That is amazeing work you do. Just blows me away. :eek:

That is amazeing work you do. Just blows me away. :eek:

Thanks psy. I just lucked out having a good hypermiling route to work. I also leave for work at 6:15AM so there isn't much traffic to deal with. The drive home is more stressful. I leave at 4:30 PM which is early enough to miss most of the rush hour. If I could shift my work hours just one hour earlier it would probably be worth another 2 MPG.:D

yowzers, dedicated man for waking up early to save fuel too! I'm not there yet hehe.

Then again beating the early rush must be less stressful too, you can relax before work starts I guess.

If I drive the wife and I in and Im to be droped off Im here by 7:30am 30 mins before Im due to start. If I drive us in and drop the wife off shes in the office one hour before start time. Its just getting stupid. I refuse to leave before 6:30am anymore. If I leave at 6:00am Im still caught in traffic at two stop lights that should be great fas. As it is now our days are 11.5 hours long from the time we leave the house till we return home. Sad thing is I can still get in faster than many that live closer into the metro than we do. I truley wish i could find a job in my poverty ridden little town and cut the drive out of my life. Moveing closer into the Tulsa metro isnt a option. I wont live like a sardine in a tin. O well.

I truley love to see the numbers the Desol post's.

Wow.... krousdb that is a stock del sol you are getting 60+ MPG out of... impressed. If you can get that, maybe I can get 30... that would be nice, be able to beat my civic lol

Yes, it's basically stock. Just added a belly pan, lowered the ride height by 1.75" and LRR tires.

Hi Dan:

___You are an excellent example of improving FE with driving technique(s) if I do say so myself! Keep up the great work.

___Good Luck

___Wayne

Okay, quick question, how do you guys find your trip milage on cars that don't have the read out? Because the only way I can emasure mine is at the end of a tnak, which 36 gallon and goes generally for about 600 miles (fill up is generally around 30 gallons). 600 miles is about 2-2.5 weeks worth of driving for me, so it rather hard for me to see my day in day out MPG.

One way you can do it is by buying a scan gauge or similar device for your vehicle. There isn't any way to know how much fuel you used for a trip without using some sort of gauge.

I'll look into one, thanks!

If I drive the wife and I in and Im to be droped off Im here by 7:30am 30 mins before Im due to start. If I drive us in and drop the wife off shes in the office one hour before start time. Its just getting stupid. I refuse to leave before 6:30am anymore. If I leave at 6:00am Im still caught in traffic at two stop lights that should be great fas. As it is now our days are 11.5 hours long from the time we leave the house till we return home. Sad thing is I can still get in faster than many that live closer into the metro than we do. I truley wish i could find a job in my poverty ridden little town and cut the drive out of my life. Moveing closer into the Tulsa metro isnt a option. I wont live like a sardine in a tin. O well.

I truley love to see the numbers the Desol post's.

This sounds similar to what I do. I take my wife to work and we get there around 5:10-5:15am; she starts at 6:00am. I then got to work and start at 5:50am. I get off at 2:10pm and pick the wife up when she gats off at 2:30 pm.
I just refuelled tonight. My best tank in recent weeks was 42.66mpg. This last tank figured at 45.28mpg. I travelled 415.2445 miles(darn 3% correction factor) and used 9.17 gallons. My driving style didn't change and the temps were pretty much the same. What changed was, I added 1oz FFT Fuel Catalyst/10 gallons of gas. And no, I don't sell the stuff or work for them. :)
It looks like I saved about $.37 over and above the cost of the additive.

I still reserve judgement on those additives. Its pretty easy to look for success with them or make excuses when they don't work. You realy have to peak out without mods or additives before they can realy be tested.

I think I have peaked. Send me an ounce!

I take that back. This morning, inspired by Wayne's invite to the Tour de Sol, I smashed my previous best 71.71 commute to work with a 75.09.

Current tank, 175 miles, 67.55 MPG.

Maybe this thread should be moved to the Daily Grind forum?