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Guess what I found about the Prius !

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Fuel Economy' started by Chris2128, Apr 13, 2011.

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  1. Chris2128

    Chris2128 New Member

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    Hey guys. I commute 90 miles every day. (45 one way). My 2010 Prius III was givin me around 42 per gallon. I thought it was because of highway. (btw I always use full gasoline, no ethanol). Ou of these 90 miles only 4 miles are in the city.
    When I got my 2010 v with ATP , it gave me around 45 mpg on same way.
    I had always used Eco mode.
    Yesterday I read in a thread that Eco mode increases your rpm and thus uses more gas!!?!!
    Well I switched off Eco mode and drove the car in morning on normal mode.
    I GOT 56 MILES PER GALLON !!!
    I am totally amazed!!
    Whats going on here could someone explain?
    It's the same road, same gas, same car,same weather and I just use cruise control, not the fancy pulse glide at all!
    Picture attached!
     

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    #1 Chris2128, Apr 13, 2011
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  2. wstevensiv

    wstevensiv New Member

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    Re: Guess what I found about he Prius !

    wow, i want to know too...i always use eco, but my commute is all city and it seems to work better.

    i just got back from a 1600mi trip and used eco on the highway too, and was surprised to see that I only got 46mpg overall.

    right now in the city on eco i get 58...
     
    #2 wstevensiv, Apr 13, 2011
  3. krelborne

    krelborne New Member

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    Re: Guess what I found about he Prius !

    Dumb question retracted. 70 MPH @ 56 MPG looks pretty good. Maybe I'll try this.
     
    #3 krelborne, Apr 13, 2011
  4. Hokeysmoke

    Hokeysmoke Junior Member

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    Re: Guess what I found about he Prius !

    Tail wind?
     
    #4 Hokeysmoke, Apr 13, 2011
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  5. Advance The Man

    Advance The Man New Member

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    Re: Guess what I found about he Prius !

    Impressive
     
    #5 Advance The Man, Apr 13, 2011
  6. spiderman

    spiderman wretched

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    Re: Guess what I found about he Prius !

    Perhaps your wife released the parking brake?
     
    #6 spiderman, Apr 13, 2011
  7. Chris2128

    Chris2128 New Member

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    :p ya I'm beginning to think I could have been tail wind. But does it make that much of a difference? I forgot to mention that I even had the ac on all along with that recorded mpg.
     
    #7 Chris2128, Apr 13, 2011
  8. stereos

    stereos Junior Member

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    Re: Guess what I found about he Prius !

    I drove from Idaho Falls to Helena,MT 280 miles 65mph in ECO mode and got 56.1mpg
     
    #8 stereos, Apr 13, 2011
  9. Chris2128

    Chris2128 New Member

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    Yup it was tail wind! I just drove back home at night and got 45 mpg. I could feel the wind on the windshield. That's part of living in WINDLahoma. (oklahoma).
    This means that wind matters a lot and people should get different highway miles in different weathers. In city traffic, there is more brakes and minimum wind resistance.
     
    #9 Chris2128, Apr 14, 2011
  10. Chris2128

    Chris2128 New Member

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    Try the normal mode next time Stereos!
     

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    #10 Chris2128, Apr 14, 2011
  11. skilbovia

    skilbovia Member

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    Re: Guess what I found about he Prius !

    I see all these great MPG comments and wonder how many are one way trips. It seems to me that with altitude changes and prevailing winds if we get all excited about 1 way trips we are kidding ourselves, especially in mountainous regions. I live roughly 500 feet above sea level. On a recent trip to Boston I logged 56 MPG on the way in, but the round trip was 50. Has anyone else seen this type of disparity based on elevation changes? Idaho Falls shows an elevation of 4700 feet, Helena MT is 4090 ft. So 56 MPG is similar to what I see dropping 500 feet. Stereos, do you have any round trip data?
     
    #11 skilbovia, Apr 14, 2011
  12. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    Re: Guess what I found about he Prius !

    I think a lot of posts are based on one-way trips or they don't account for things like wind, road surface diferences etc.. On my morning commute I struggle to get 45mpg but on the commute home I can get 55+mpg even though the route looks fairly flat (discounting the large 1200ft. elevation gain near my work).

    My commute usually nets me 50-52mpg over the course of a tank (3days worth of driving) and looks like this: (imagine if I only considered one way operation.) lol

    Total Time: 44:02
    Moving Time: 43:17
    Average Speed: 95.93 km/h (59.6 mi/h)
    Average Moving Speed: 97.59 km/h (60.6 mi/h)
    Max Speed: 122.41 km/h (76.1 mi/h)
    Min Elevation: -28 m (-92 ft)
    Max Elevation: 358 m (1175 ft)
    Elevation Gain: 452 m (1482 ft)
    Max Grade: 8 %
    Min Grade: -1 %
    Recorded: Mon Mar 28 05:52:42 PDT 2011
    Activity type: Freeway driving
     

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    #12 F8L, Apr 14, 2011
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  13. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    #13 F8L, Apr 14, 2011
  14. DaYooper

    DaYooper Member

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    Thanks for the heads up. I used "normal mode" this a.m. and averaged 55.5mpg :D

    SCH-I500 ?
     
    #14 DaYooper, Apr 14, 2011
  15. Chris2128

    Chris2128 New Member

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    Exactly! My point was not mileage. I know we all get different mileage but it was the "mode". I think we should all try to see if normal works better on highway than "Eco"
     
    #15 Chris2128, Apr 14, 2011
  16. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    Re: Guess what I found about he Prius !

    I agree as long as those test are done in a controlled manner and not willy nilly "let's see what this button does". :)

    Others have reported similar results when switching out of Eco mode (E-COH, not Echo) to normal or power mode. It may be simply a result of using the higher torque mode that Hobbit talks about in his article on "sweet spot refinement".
     
    #16 F8L, Apr 14, 2011
  17. RICKKONK

    RICKKONK Junior Member

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    Re: Guess what I found about he Prius !

    I had my 2011 Prius for about 4 weeks. I drive the same route 75 miles each way to work everyday. I average 48MPG in ECON mode. One trip home I got 63.3 MPG, must have been a tail wind that day because every other trip ewas between 46-52MPG. I will try normaol mode for a day or two to see ifthere is a differance. Thanks for all the good suggestions.
     

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    #17 RICKKONK, Apr 14, 2011
  18. richard schumacher

    richard schumacher shortbus driver

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    Re: Guess what I found about he Prius !

    It takes time to explore all realistic operating conditions. One trip, one tankful, one month of driving are all nearly meaningless.
     
    #18 richard schumacher, Apr 14, 2011
  19. tonyrenier

    tonyrenier I grew up, but it's still red!

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    Re: Guess what I found about he Prius !

    That is strange, I have had the total opposite experience, and I always use ECO and can't get anything but 10% ETOH. I would have to beat my III to the ground to get under 47 at 0 F. My 24000 average is 54.1(calculated, not MFD) just coming off of an eternal winter.
     
    #19 tonyrenier, Apr 14, 2011
  20. sipnfuel

    sipnfuel New Member

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    Re: Guess what I found about he Prius !

    66 mph average. Sounds like you cruise 70-80 mph so 45 mpg is not unreasonable.

    P&G gives me better results, but not without a headache.

    Once I learned about SHM, I achieved better mileage all around because it is easier to use. Now going slower doesn't always mean getting better MPG.
     
    #20 sipnfuel, Apr 14, 2011
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