Are we saving fuel, or just saving OUR fuel?

Totally possible in the GenIII. You have the right tires so that is not an issue. If you are using the AC heavily it could be more difficult but in warm weather above 70F I have no trouble at all getting 50+ at 70mph. I think it comes down to AC use, how long your trips are and if you take advantage of glides on overpasses and off ramps. If I can get 64mpg at 60mph steady then >50mpg at 70mph should be cake.

 

Well under the 55mph/50mpg so you should be getting over 50 mpg based on your average speed.

 

I think something is wrong with your car.

It should look like this at 43mph avg. speed.

 

I just don't try. I go 5 to 10 over the speed limit, put it on cruise and call it a day. I have never turned the AC off or crank the windows open. I just turn up my favorite podcast, sit tight and drive. It's more fun than to worry about every little thing. I don't live my life 1MPG at a time.

 

I'm pretty much the same. I use the PWR button a lot. Also the EV button. But AC on, Pandora on, about 5+ speed limit, don't want the tickets. My average now that it's summer is 54 mpg...just driving the car.

 

Bah! Don't be so dry. I'm just trying rib you a little into trying.

 

Actually, that would bore me silly. I enjoy driving on the edge, seeing how far I can push the car. Can I time that light just right? Can I glide down this hill while remaining a safe distance from both the car in front and the car behind? Can I make this corner without brakes? 'Just driving' would give me too much brain power to worry about other things.

 

I could do this to relieve the boredom of driving.



Counting pennies isnt for everyone

 

Now see for me that would be boring. In a Prius at least. Wrong tool for the job, trying to hammer nails with a screwdriver.

A lotta pennies. Figuring 15K miles per year, 65.5mpg vs 46mpg would save about $390. I'll take that, thanks!!

 

The last time I slalomed through cones on the highway, I got a ticket. I don't think I am that bored.

 

+1^
I would be bored too. It does make driving more interesting and keeps the mind occupied which I like.

"I just don't try. I go 5 to 10 over the speed limit........"

Just try it once for a full tank applying the methods in the video like pulse & glide. You might get hooked and want to drive for better MPG all the time.
When I first got my Prius for almost a year I drove it aggressively and didn't care too much about MPG. I got anywhere from 43.5-45.5 mpg.
I just started recently (finally) a couple months ago applying what I read/learned from the youtube video and reading the comments on priuschat to get better gas mileage.
I got hooked on it like a video game and try to keep my average MPG over 50mpg.
I live in Arizona and my AC is on constantly morning and night. Lately the highs have been in 110-112F and lows 88-90F.
Tires are Toyota recommended tire pressure @ 33/35 and I average around 53 mpg now since applying better driving habits.
I don't know how some people are getting 60+ mpg. It is real tough for me to get 55, my best is 54.4.

 

Kalome, you answered your own question in that post. You said you run your AC constantly. Those of us that get 60+mpg do not run the AC or if we do it is very sparingly. In 112F temps it is not a good idea to run without the AC, however. You need to keep your HV battery cool. Apply all of the car cooling techniques we have detailed and it will help reduce AC use a little. It will not only save fuel but may extend the life of your HV battery. They have a higher rate of failure in very hot climates!

 

There I go answering my own questions again

I try to put my AC setting at the lowest setting (one bar) for the fan 75/76 F..Sometimes it is tough during the hottest part of the day and I up it to two or three bars. I never max out my AC unless I have other people in the car, then I have to, especially if there are people in the back.

 

I don't know, but I guessed that the temp setting would affect the mpg drag more than the fan setting? I usually use a middle fan setting.

When I have the AC on, I turn on recirculation and use the top-vents-only mode (with the louvers set upwards and to the sides so it doesn't blast me in the face). The reason for this is that cool air is denser than warm, so blowing it up and letting it fall gives more even temp distribution.

Haven't done any serious tests to determine if this is better or worse than any other setup.

 

The the temp set at 72F and using auto it didn't seem to matter when I tried to lower the fan setting. Tis was just by watching the Scangauge so it is not real scientific.

 

I charge $40 - $60 per hour on consulting jobs. By not driving like a turtle, I can get home 5 minutes quicker on average each way. I can charge the client an extra 10 minutes per day. Since I work about four times a week, even working half a year will offset whatever I save in fuel for the year.

I applaud you for being able to go slow and milk your gas mileage, almost like a game to your point. Yet I would argue most drivers aren't doing that. The car does not get over 50mpg if you drive like a normal person. (I get about 43-44 and my wife who drives slow gets about 46-48 )

I have tried to milk my gas mileage. It's not only boring, but I found it to be extremely dangerous. I do not want to get sideswiped nor do I want to get rear-ended. If you can stand it, more power to you and my heads off to you

 

For me it's not that bad. Work takes 17-18 minutes in the morning and if I try to get good gas mileage it only takes me an extra couple minutes 19-20. My work commute I get a range of 55-62 dash reading.

From my own personal experience I do tend to agree with you that driving "normal", (defining normal as not applying any methods for better gas mileage) you can't get above 50mpg.
When I first got my Prius over a year ago I drove normal non-aggressively and the first few tanks were (manually calculated) 47.7, 46.2 & 47.2 mpg.
After the first few tanks I went back to my normal driving habits of driving aggressively and got 44.6, 44.6, 44.8 and when it got colder I was down to 42.9 and 43.6 in December.

I do disagree about the boring part and extremely dangerous. Boring part is just a matter of opinion so no sense of arguing about that.
My driving habits before was pretty aggressive and I would speed on the highway 15-20mph over the speed limit going anywhere from 75-85 passing everybody.
Now you will find me usually in one of the two slow lanes going the speed limit.
Same goes for city driving.
You can hypermile safely. There are times when there might be a mile stretch for example where I know it is not a good idea to hypermile. Of course if I am city driving and it is a little busy on the road I'm not going to pulse and glide if cars are close behind me. I try not be an donkey.
You just got to use your best judgement.
You can be safe on the road without comprising 50+ mpg fuel consumption.

 

I agree with you. Interesting that "being safe" in many minds has become equated with speeding: "it's safer if you speed".

Also, any calculations of increased earnings through time saved on the road have to take into account taxes, etc. If you bill $40-60/hour you net roughly 2/3 of that after taxes, minus any additional expenses. No taxes on fuel savings, all of that is after tax. Not to mention the intangible benefit of working more effectively due to reduced stress, something that's hard to fully appreciate until driving safely within the speed limits has become a habit. Been there.

 

You will get more for your cooling gallon, by pointing the vents at yourself (and passengers); the air movement will contribute to evaporative cooling.

 

If you think Hypermiling is driving like a turtle, or extremely dangerous. You are doing it wrong. Hypermiling should get you home faster in traffic, and do it much more safely. (It is not faster than speeding on an open road, of course)