Northern Illinois Newbie

[Laker]

Wow!!! You folks here have a wealth of knowledge/expertise to share! Thanks for making this possible.

I've been reading through the site for about 2 weeks now and began to use some of the techniques for the past 2 fill ups. I drive a 1998 Mazda 626 (4cyl auto) 25 miles (one way) to work everday here in the Chicagoland area and take regular trips to see family in Peoria & the Upper Pennisula of Michigan (U.P.) about 2x's per month. Peoria is 170 mi & the U.P. is 400 mi one way. To say the least I can save a forture by learning to increase my FE by even 5 mpg let alone the 15-20 mpg I am reading may be possible.

I became very excited on my first tank using the hypermiling techniques of FASing (while at lights), Nice on Coasting, DWB, DWL, Drafting, RR & increasing tires to max pressure (44 psi). Best MPG before was 32.05 & I attained 37.97 over 241 miles (170 was highway). Now I am a little dissapointed as I thought my techniques would have improved but I find that over the next 370 miles my mpg is only 32.70. As I reflect on the possible contributing factors (besides my lack of skill) I'm wondering what how much effect switching from RFG to straight gas & temperature has on MPG? In the Chicagoland area we have RFG but when taking trips it becomes a switch to straight gas for a 2 or more fill ups. I've noticed a trend when switching from RFG to straight I'm losing 3-4 mpg. I've read that the other, straight to RFG, you typically lose but not the other way around. Is this normal?

Now about this Pulse & Glide... what is the rate of acceleration? I've read much but and learn a ton but don't seem to know how quickly to accelerate. Do you creep up to the desired speed, 1/4, 1/2, 3/4 throttle? Seems that much can be determined by the terrain and traffic but let's just consider a 40 mph flat stretch of road with little traffic. What would be the expected acceleration rate. Range of speed would probably be 45-30 mph. Same question for warm up P&G. What is a good accel. rate? I think the 45 degree mornings the past few days have robbed me of a couple mpg and if I can master the warm up P&G I'm thinking it would greatly offset this loss.

Also - What mpg do you think this car is capable of?

So, Your comments, corrections & suggestions are welcomed as I can see considerable savings 'down the road'.
_________

Steve

[tbaleno]

RFG and cold has a HUGE impact. All us northerners are suffering the same thing you are going through.

For pulse and glide idealy you are accelerating at the peak efficiency of your engine (every engine is different). You have to experiment. Also, take in to account the conditions, if you can't do a long glide then hitting the gas hard for a pulse won't be worth it. Try somewhere around 2 to 3K rpms to start.

[Laker]

That's what I thought too but wanted to make sure I'm not missing anything. Any suggestions for highway P&G as I'm taking a trip Saturday up to the U.P.? Maybe I'll just skip this advanced technique until I figure out the city P&G speeds first. Time to find a rig to distance draft.

[xcel]

Hi Laker:

___Please take it easy as you have so much more to gain by learning how one or two techniques work down to the letter before moving on to the next or more advanced. The results can truly be extraordinary but it will not come overnight. I love the enthusiasm but I would hate to see you get hurt or disillusioned in the short run with results for the effort not appearing each and every segment is all. Think of it as a long term mountain climb with a goal to reach the pinnacle but that you will never truly reach. While you climb, you keep moving further up the slope and with each new elevation; the old plateau beneath is now the new floor. You will get there but please be very careful during the climb for all our sakes.

___Good Luck

___Wayne