Increasing MPG

block heater, low rolling resistance tyres... haven't seen much else that actually produced a noticeable difference.
pump up the tyre s pressure and remember, the most effective mod is driving habits.

 

I'm experimenting with ethanol-free gas. In Greater Van the only practical way I've found is to buy station's highest octane, which is typically ethanol-free, at least here. You want to verify too. I believe most stations work this way; Chevron does (their octane 94, this is what I've been trying), and Shell as well (their octane 91).

One other way I suspect, is to gas up in outlying community. I'm not sure, but I've been reading outside of metro Van octane-free is much more prevalent, due to technical difficulties? I twigged onto this, when we did about a half-tank fillup, up the coast. Got an easy 10% uptick in mpg, compared to previous tanks. There could be driving conditions involved, but this really got my attention.

Sadly, this might not be happening in the 'States, all the grades have ethanol, about 10%? Not sure.

 

If there were any practical and legal things available.........don't you think that Toyota would have included those things already ??
Answer: yes they would have.

Slow down, anticipate stops and keep your tire pressure up.

Almost everything else that claims to "increase gas mileage" is a SCAM. Sorry.

 

Good. Each car and driver and situation is different.
But in general, going from E10 to E0 will give you about a 3% mileage increase.
The problem is that the price difference usually is more than 3%.......or close enough to make it not worth the effort.
YMMV.

 

Fueling up with Chevron 94 (octane free), well a half-tank, just over 20 liters, was roughly 20 cents per liter more, about $4 extra. The odd thing I've found, if I switch back to regular, that next tank seems to do very well. Jury's still out, lol. But something seems to be going on. Again, I suspect we got regular octane (87) ethanol free, up the coast, back in early July. Regular price, and the best mileage of all, win-win.

I'm still not totally sure what's going on, it'll take more back and forth, watching what happens, and trying to be impartial, not prejudging what the results are going to be. The latter is hardest.

I suspect also, certain cars, and possibly certain driving styles, are more conducive to benefiting from ethanol-free.

 

Ain't gonna happen. SPEED is the single biggest factor in gas mileage, no matter what vehicle you are driving.

 

Yep, slow down. Anything over 75mph is going to drastically lower fuel mileage. Higher octane fuels equals less energy fuels. Google octane and what octane in fuel actually does...

Z917VL ?

 

While there's a strong correlation between speed and mpg, another big factor is braking. Getting good mpg is related to how little you brake.

When I give tips to my friends (who like to drive fast) about increasing mpg, I tell them to drive as fast as they want under one condition- they cannot use their brakes. That's not literal, but the concept is driving as if they have no brakes. In other words, they can't jack rabbit up to 80 mpg, only to slam on the brakes when they catch up to the driver ahead of them driving 70 mph. Then accelerate hard back to 80 mph, only to slam on the brakes when the next car in front is driving slower,

If one says that is not possible, then find an 18 wheeler and follow it. Stay 30-50 yards behind it, or more. Truckers know how to drive without using their brakes because it takes too much energy to get the big rig up to speed, to waste it by tailgating the car in front of them. Following an 18 wheeler will force a driver to adapt the habits of a truck driver, which many times includes driving as if you have no brakes.

 

No it doesn't.
It depends on how the higher octane levels are achieved.

 

I hate to repeat it again, but the only way you'll get your mileage into the 50s on the highway is to keep your speed under 70. On my commute, I find I can go to a max of 71-72mph to keep it in the 50s. Anything higher and it drops into the high 40s, where you are now.

The other comments regarding breaking are important also, although they don't apply as much to highway driving. Momentum is the key. Never slow down or stop unless you have to; and when you do, anticipate the stop in advance and do it gradually. Unless you have changed them your C came with low rolling resistance tires. You can coast a long way. Take advantage of that. And try not to tailgate. Its a gas waster.

 

Yes - and there's two reasons why this improves your fuel economy:

1) You don't waste any fuel or energy in a useless effort to maintain speed when you're going to have to stop anyway, and

2) When there's a temporary obstruction ahead (a car turning left, a red traffic light, etc.) the longer you take to arrive at it the better the chances that it will be gone by the time you get there, eliminating the need to stop altogether.

The latter one is the key, IMHO. Especially in areas that you're familiar with, if you take a bit of time to note the cadence of the traffic lights you can often learn what speeds to drive at to minimize your need to stop. Many of the streets where I live have traffic lights that are timed for the direction of rush hour traffic. If you drive at the speed limit you'll go through long stretches where the lights magically turn green for you.

But I'm always amazed at how many drivers seem oblivious to this. You seem them peeling off when a light turns green and tearing down the road at a breakneck pace, only to have to slam on their brakes at the next light. Meanwhile traffic behind them just rolls along at a steady pace, neither accelerating nor braking, laughing all the way through every intersection.

 

rjdriver said: Never slow down or stop unless you have to; and when you do, anticipate the stop in advance and do it gradually.

I used to be that way myself. Not quite as dramatically as you describe it, but it just never occurred to me to worry about momentum BP (before Prius). Now these techniques are second nature. And the other benefit is that its just a more relaxed, stress free way of driving.

 

Air Intakes, Wheels, Engine Block Heaters, Feul additives, exhaust upgrades, etc.

Air intake can alter the sound of your car.
Significantly lighter wheels can aid MPG, expect about $1500 each for forged wheels lighter than stock.
Engine block heaters are going to help when it is 'cold'. It may never be cold in the central valley.
There are really no fuel additives that increase MPG, there are only additives that clean up after bad gas.
The Atkinson engine allows the exhaust to fully expand in the cylinder, so all changes in the exhaust will do is change the noise level.

 

Key here is don't follow too closely, or sooner or later you will end up with a rock to the windshield and have a couple hundred dollars out of your wallet from trying to save a few bucks.


Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

Good point. I should mention that if you're 50 yards behind a truck on a Southern California highway, you're likely 1-2 cars behind it. When following a truck, I encourage and allow other cars to cut in front of me. And when you approach an exit, many cars will merge or exit inside that space. And always make sure the truck has mud flaps!

Either way, it's something that I recommend to my mpg challenged friends to try once. It will show them it's possible to get good mpg on a highway by adapting driving techniques from experienced truck drivers.

 

Here where I am at in Southern California, if you drive 5-7 mph OVER early in the morning when they are still running based on magnetic sensors you will make more green lights. Going the speed limit on the dot you will miss every light.