A/C is *EVIL* 1111

Do you just have the windshield screen or do you have them for all the windows? Are there any trees you can park under for some shade?

 

I just have the windshield screen. I'm too lazy to do the other windows. Because I leave early in the day I don't see a need for anything else besides maybe a rear hatch shade. The trees in my complex are too small for shade and since the sun is overhead the buildings won't help either. Honestly the interior is cool enough for my comfort so I don't sweat it. Literally!

 

If you just used your solar ventilation with windows up and no window shade what do you think the temp would be in your car if it was sitting in the sun all day at 95 degrees? Pretty close to that?

 

interesting but anyway

1) i live in the ONLY state that did not set a record for a)hottest 12 months b)hottest Spring or c) hottest June of all time. so hot weather? whats that!!

2) my LEAFs AC is extremely efficient to the point where it barely reduces my range and this week (SO drove LEAF) i noticed the Prius AC is also a lot slower to provide cool air. the LEAF provides COLD air within a minute. the Prius? weeell, not so much

3) now if i am going to use AC, i start out with all windows rolled down to get a good breeze circulating then turn on AC after a minute or so so it does not have to work as hard to cool the cabin, but i also cotton to the "cool air in the face" being more than enough to keep me happy

 

I think the air may be a tad warmer but there would be residual heat to deal with due to a heat soaked dash and steering wheel. Yesterday the steering wheel was nice and cool but after driving on the freeway for 15min or so it started to get pretty warm with the sun beating on it because the sunshade was removed. So i guess I am not 100% sure. After this tank I may try it. I don't want to risk using the A/C just yet.

For me this is crazy mpg. I would have never dreamed of such a number in my GenII. I know a lot of you can smash this number but please allow me to feel good about this. LOL

 

Dave, I need your input in the other thread regarding EV mode take-off or whatever. Hill already gave me his opinion. Please check it out when you get a chance.

 

Hot here also so I use AC most of the day. I set car on ECO as manual says that controls AC better. I use EV button at stop signs to get up to 25 mph on all electric. I'm a normal driver, 5 mph over speed limit, other than the EV starts, they are slower than normal by not offensively slow to folks in back and as soon as it kicks off at 25 mph, I get up to speed quickly.

My commute is a bit longer, 48 miles each way, 15 miles of that on the freeway, 55-70 mph the rest a mix of rural 55 mph and small towns down to 25 mph.

I'm getting 57 mpg.

So I don't think you should be seeing that kind of drastic drop in mileage. Are you using ECO mode is probably the first question.

PS I do have the solar roof and it does seem to work to keep the car "room temperature" when parked in the hot sun all day. I see some folks here talking about battery temp so if you car is really hot when you get in, maybe the battery temp never gets down since it starts getting used and the hotter battery is the issue especially on your short hops, the AC air in the car never gets a chance to get the battery temp down while on my long commute it does combined with the solar roof keeping the battery at "room temp".

 

Would love to see you get 57 over an entire tank driving as said. Please post pics. Thanks!

 

OK. Just coming to empty tank. But none of the pix of dashboard mileage are reliable. It tells you nothing of the temperature, the persons driving technique, AC on or off. They are cute but essentially meaningless.

I do wonder if it is the solar roof keeping battery at a cool 90 degrees to start. I personally like to think it is use of ECO mode to control the AC power drain and my frequent use of EV mode at stops signs to get a mileage boost at every stop.

Do you have a solar roof. It may be the relatively short ride and hot battery.

 

Pictures alone don't tell the whole story so I agree but in the pic is average speed which helps, to an extent, determine how much highway driving the person has done. 40mph+ avg speed means they have spend quite a bit of time outside of the city. I think it's safe to assume that people in the 65mpg+ range are not using the A/C or they are using it very sparingly. They are also using some hypermiling techniques even if it is as simple as gliding over overpasses and DWL. The solar roof does a pretty good job with keeping the HV battery cool after sitting in the sun all day. You made a great choice!

 

Which means seeing a drop of 20 mpg, from 65 mpg to 45 mpg for using AC seems an extreme drop and that could not be explained by just the added power draw of the AC

I picked the solar roof because the all black roof look cool, the car looked cool with the sun roof open, the sun roof is a nice open air option. The cooling effect I thought was a gimmicky but it actually works in the current heat wave. I do have to remember to close the interior sun roof sun shade.

 

I never said they would see a 20mpg drop from using the A/C. A 10mpg is likely if they do nothing but short trips and use the A/C heavily but I would expect a 2-5mpg drop is more the norm. I have no trouble at all driving 70mph with the A/C on and getting 55-57mpg on the freeway using no hypermiling techniques. Fortunately I only have to do that when my girlfriend is in the car and that is only one 80mile trip per tank.

 

And I never said you did. I was noting that the author, who you ID'ed as a hypermiler for the 65 mpg results of his normal driving, saw a drop of 20 mpg with the usage of just the AC as the difference.

Even a 10 mpg sounds like a lot per Toyota and instructions on using ECO mode to lower the mpg cost of the AC.

 

You really like taking giant mental leaps to create an argument don't you? I would suggest reading more and typing less. I'm done bandying words with you.

 

I know! Don't remind me, still got a few months before that misery! Lol!

 

I was at 67.2 mpg last night when I pulled into the house. However, my AVG speed is 38 mph. You are doing great on this tank!

 

Thanks, brother! I can't help the higher average speed. Most of my driving as you know is freeway miles on I-80 and I-5.

 

Your average speed makes your MPG's even more impressive! I have the benefit of having several miles per day of Slow and Go (Pulse and Glide) traffic. It lowers my overall MPH, but ups my MPG. You don't have that benefit, yet you are still holding very impressive numbers!

 

I can't lie. I do have a section of road approx. 3 miles long that I can slow down to 50mph and then I can pulse and glide between stoplights for another 1 mile. Unfortunately the commute elevation profile looks like this. Great in the evening hence the 85mpg avg but reverse it for the morning commute which is between 53-58mpg.

 

And what would your numbers look like if you had 60 miles round trip where you could hold 55 - 60 mph as a top speed and for some segments can only hold 30 - 40 mph as a top speed, and 8 miles where you could pulse and glide with little fear of coming to a complete stop?

Answer = totally awesome