Pulse / Glide

Well your tires will wear a little, that might help. I don't know about all this 'break in stuff'. I am new at this, too. I don't buy the 'break in' stuff, aside from 'breaking in' you skill level. I think your bigger problem: I know Philly and it is not friendly at all for P&G. Very stop and go, too many cars, for too few roadways; that's true for a lot of cities, but Philly, to me, is bad wherever you turn.

 

Yup, I cannot find a single route that lets me just drive for more than several blocks. Plus, PA has their lights timed so once your red light turns green, you'll get to the next light just in time for that one to turn red. It's amazingly frustrating. Plus, the people here only know how to slam the gas then brake hard. And they all drive SUVs, so I can't see ahead to tell if I should coast a little or really start moving. I need to live in Indiana. Those people seem to get insanely high mileage.

 

Well, some of us folks in VA are doing pretty well too.

I agree that your road and traffic conditions are at least partly holding you back. Lots of stop and go on hilly terrain in a congested urban area will not get you 80+ MPG. On the other hand, take some comfort in knowing that you are exceeding EPA estimates.

As you've found, P&G is not always sustainable in those conditions. You can't control the conditions except to the extent you find better routes, and you've tried that. Keep looking, though. Maybe you'll eventually find some. I still experiment to this day.

So just worry about what you can control. In your conditions you're constantly accelerating and decelerating. Focus on making those as efficient as possible. Keep the iMPG at least half the vehicle speed as you accelerate. Try to learn the timing of your lights and anticipate reds. Look ahead as far as you can for congestion and the status of the lights. Then begin your glides as soon as possible and to the extent following traffic tolerates.

Preservation of momentum is a key to urban hypermiling. Look at it this way: Every time you brake or allow regeneration, you've indirectly wasted a little fuel. Better is to let kinetic energy carry you as far as possible when possible.

 

DiamondLarry lives in the middle of nowhere. Few traffic lights, stops etc. Rural roads. That helps (not that I'd get his mpg's there either, but location, location).

 

It's also been in the 80's-90's. I guess I'll do a little better through December when I dont have to use heat or AC. As long as I can get over 400 miles per tank, I can live with the low 50's (for now).

 

I didn't think to mention AC, but as you seem to realize, that's a factor too. In stop and go traffic it can be a real MPG killer. I generally don't run it at speeds below 40 MPH unless temps are at least mid-90s.

 

Yeah, I try to use the air vent when possible. I keep it at low and set the temperature to 78 to help compensate. At these temperatures, I have to keep the AC on to help cool the battery, though.

I'm also trying a new route home tonight to avoid the area where traffic gets really congested. I have to drive about a mile or two farther, but I think I end up saving gas and time because it'll be two lanes with less traffic lights. Plus, the route I currently take is bumper to bumper and mainly up steep hills. Imagine crawling up a steep hill at 5-10 mpgs tops. That's KILLER.

 

So, the new route made my MPG (current tank was at 50 miles) jump from 43 to 47.5 in 13 miles. It was pretty much all flat or downhill, low traffic, not much stopping. About a mile more of driving, but clearly well worth it.

I'm going to try the turnpike for my morning route as I usually get in the 50's even with lots of stop and goes when I travel west. I'm going to get 53 on this tank, dangit!

 

Keep us posted on Philly progress.

 

Don't forget to stop by Gino's or Pats.

 

After dropping my girlfriend off at the hospital just now, I'm at just about 49.0.

Next time you're in the city, visit Tony Luke's.

 

I'll be back in the 50's tonight!

 

Thank's I'll try to remember. I checked it out on the web. It's look's like a great place. You may be too yought to remember, but in the '50's & '60's veal cutlet platters were a staple on a diner and most restaurant menus. Usually with gravy(or tomato sauce), mashed potatos/gravy, second veggie of the day and a roll. Haven't seen that since we came to Ga in '77 Gas was 25cents/gallon. I'm from Bristol, Pa originally.
Thanks again for the tip on TonY Luke's.

 

Tony Luke's absolutely destroys the two on Passayunk. You'll love it. And yeah, I just turned 27 so I kind of missed the boat there. I have mild IBS so that would probably annihilate me. Then again, it sounds like it would be worth it. RIP Broad Street Diner, btw.

PS, back to 50mpg with still less than 100 miles on the tank! Took me about 30 miles to bring it up from 44 to 50, so maybe I have a shot at 53 still.

 

Now I'm down to 48.8. For some reason it's becoming more difficult to initiate and sustain a glide. Maybe it's the Hess fuel? Anyone get better results from different fuels?

Also, my area just sucks. For some reason they have to put stop signs at the bottom of every hill. I'm going to try a fourth route to work but I'm not getting my hopes up. The route back from work at least yields about 60mpg. The route to work is about 45 tops. I'm lost.

 

None of these techniques have any benefit if you only make short trips, or spend a lot of time driving UP hill a lot. Your mpg will suck. Period. And if anyone claims they get high mpg in these conditions, they're lying. There seems to be no shortage of "my fish was this big" exaggerations going on in these forums. It's pretty pathetic.

 

My trips are about 15 miles each way. Last tank I got 51 mpg doing the same routes. I tried a couple different routes on this tank that didn't work out well. I'm back to my first routine and now it's back up to 49.5. after dropping to 48.4 over the weekend from 50. I'm trying a new route tomorrow that really avoids the hilly high traffic/traffic light areas. Who knows!

 

I definitely think our mpg's are killed by the short drive. It is my wife's car 08 pk 2 and she only drives 6miles each way to work and we average around 48mpg. I can average about 50mpg if i am driving it to work and that is only 5miles each way. Best i have gotten was 55mpg on the highway with cruise at 55mph but i noticed it doesn't go down much by doing the pulse/glide between 75mph - 65mph.