Pump and Glide - mpg observations

congrats, all the best!

 

over 29.9 miles and trying my hardest to achieve max mpg i averaged 84.3
Prius Hybrid 2010 T Spirit

 

I've been deliberately adding miles to every trip. 1st because I don't want all short trips during break-in, and 2nd because it's just so much fun to drive it.

My previous hog (Tacoma 4x4) needed gas every week, looks like once I settle back into my usual habits it'll be every 2 weeks.

 

Just started a new job with a 5 mile commute each way. since my last fill up driving this round trip mon-friday i've put on 55 miles and only averaging 31mpg.
I think i'm a pretty efficient driver, its my first hybrid and i've learned alot in the 1 year i've owned it so far. Hopefully it will average out to my usual 41mpg by the time i finish the tank. I'm thinking this commute would fall into the short trips category and hence is there anything i can do besides riding my bike and leaving the car home?
trouble is in that 5 miles the elevation change is 950 feet. Easy ride to work but a real lungbusting climb on the way home.

 

It still boils down to driving habits and the usual causes for lower mileage like tires.
If you average 40 MPG for the 10 mile commute, that means you average 60MPG one way and 20MPG the other way. Work on increasing both those numbers. If the downhill is below 45MPH, you could be doing better than 60MPG.
Use the past history display and update it every day before you start out, then compare the days to see if what you did helped or hurt.

 

tires are at 42f/40r. Max speed on this drive is 30MPH, but with traffic lights and sharp curves in the road i'd say average speed is more like 18MPH.
I guess i'm just used to going through a tank of gas every couple of weeks as i had a much longer commute in the past. Feels strange to not fill up in nearly a month.
Thanks for the tips, i will try resetting the trip for the uphill and downhill portion and see what the difference is.

 

Not the trip meter, the "Past History" screen in the fuel consumption section. You can reset that as often as you like and it gives you another comparison point on the screen, up to 6 times I think. It's like a more detailed trip meter, displaying 5-6 at a time.

Since I added Michelin ES tires, I've been averaging 50MPG on the screen each day, and everywhere I might go in this town is downhill one way and uphill the other. But I've also gotten pretty good at maximizing the "glide" time.

 

Ah yes i know what you mean now, certainly would be more useful to compare a few trips with the bar graph display.
My v came from factory with 16" Michelin ES tires. At 29000 miles now and looking like i'll get another 30000 miles out of them. Apparently they are the best of the best tires when it comes to maximizing MPG.
I guess I can't blame the car or tires, just gotta work on my hypermiling skills i suppose.

 

These are some significant challenges especially when adding British Columbia to the climate. Just to be sure, these are USA gallons/mile, not imperial?

Let me suggest some step-wise testing of one week duration each:

1. Start car and let it auto-stop - this will warm-up the catalytic converter enough that the engine will run in 'closed loop', fuel efficient mode, based upon the engine coolant. When the catalytic convert is cold, it run 'open loop' using the stored, fuel trim.
2. Get a block heater and consider transmission heater (some assembly required) - in colder weather, the block heater will save a minute or two. The transmission heater is especially important, more than the block heater, since the transmission has no heater.
3. Get a Scangauge or equivalent - reading the engine rpm, try to climb the hill keeping the engine rpm at or under 3,200 rpm. You know the local traffic conditions but climbing the hill at the same speed as a heavily loaded, semi-trailer speed is going to be your best option.

Are all the roads paved or gravel?

Bob Wilson

 

Yes, i googled the conversion from km/liters to US gallons/miles to make it easier for my American neighbors.

I will try number one. I usually just drive away within seconds of starting up and end up using a good part of the battery's charge getting up to speed until the ICE starts to kick in and do some work(i assume this is closed loop mode as you say). I'll usually do this in the morning as its mostly downhill going to work so i end up with a full charge on the battery anyway.
My v does have a block heater as I purchased the car in Edmonton, Alberta last year where they have real winters with snow and ice. "But" i can't use it where i live now as the place i rent has nowhere to plugin neither does the place i work, apparently people here stay home from work if it snows or drops below freezing.
I don't have a scangauge, might have to look into that. I could see room for improvement in my hill climbing technique.
All roads are paved. It is a 100% city/urban commute.
thanks for the tips