I'm continually amazed at the contortions a lot of folks go through to squeeze out a few extra miles from their Prius. I have a 60 mile round trip that I do weekly through rolling hills and each time I put the cruise on 62 and forget it. About all I tweak on the drive is either XM or the iPod....and I consistently get 54-56mpg on the trip. What am I missing here? No P&G, no neutral shifter positions, etc?? On the other hand I'll spend hours figuring out how to shave a few grams off my race bicycle -- guess it becomes a hobby sort of thing with some Prius owners.
I'm like you; I just drive it, although I'm more sensitive to mileage issues that I was with other cars. I suspect most Prius drivers are like that. You have to remember that PC contains a self selected group of Prius nuts, who are more likely to embrace extreme techniques. It's that way with all enthusiasts. Tom
I'm probably somewhere in-between. I do make some effort to optimize my mileage, but I try to not be obsessive about it. I think it reflects the strength of the design that you can just turn on the cruise control and get good mpg without obsessing about getting fantastic mpg.
Well, we all have our obsessions. By watching the consumption screen, I've noticed that going a bit slower uphill can make a big difference to the mileage. If you'd rather stick it on cruise and not worry about it, that's fine. If I'd rather not worry that the wax I use on my bike to keep the dust off is actually heavier than the dust and will slow me down, that's ok too.
My professional life right now has me developing documents, charts, presentations, and other materials. Personally, I enjoy building things out of wood such as bookcases, credenzas, hutches, and the like. I realize that I am a tweaker. And a bit of a perfectionist. I will work on something making minor adjustments here, measuring there, reanalyzing it until I get to a point I can live with. Then, the next time around, I question how I could have ever let myself live with that. I can't help but to apply that mentality to driving Priapus. The mileage on the MFD and in my mileage chart is like a video game. I want the high score. I'm not competing with others - though sometimes I feel like it. I'm doing it for myself and my real reduction in gasoline use. I still drive 49MPH in the 40MPH zone with the other traffic and just this morning drove ~34MPH through a 20MPH school zone on a school day with children present. The guy behind me was riding my butt probably ticked off that I had reduced speed at all. So while I over-inflate my tires and try to pulse-n-glide as much as I can (I also enjoy stealth-n-glide), I still maintain the flow of traffic and retain what's left of my sanity.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(mootsman @ May 4 2007, 08:35 AM) [snapback]435367[/snapback]</div> With your last sentence you've partially answered your question. Like Tony, I enjoy the challenge. Others obviously are like you and just enjoy the drive. And still get respectable results. To each his own, and I respect all approaches. That is, except when the driver is a road rager.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(mootsman @ May 4 2007, 08:35 AM) [snapback]435367[/snapback]</div> Driving on rolling hills is pulse and glide, minus the annoying changes in speed that you'd get on the flat. That's a geeky thing to say but it's still true. You use the engine at some moderate power level (in an efficient load range) to get up the hill, storing energy as potential energy (height) rather than as kinetic energy (speed) as it would be on the flat. The engine shuts off on the downhill where it would be at an inefficiently low load range. You release the potential energy (lose height) rather than release the kinetic energy (lose speed) as you would on the flat. The only difference is that energy is stored as potential energy (height) rather than kinetic energy (speed). Instead of annoying changes in speed, you get pleasing changes in height. I have one route -- to visit my mother -- that's 9 miles of rolling hills with few stops, and no matter who drives it (me or my wife) we get better mileage on that route than we do anywhere else we drive. Rolling hills is ideal Prius terrain. And I bet you'd get slightly better mileage if you took it off cruise control and let it slow down and speed up a bit at hilltops and valley bottoms -- it would avoid some of the losses inherent in cycling charge in and out of the battery. Of course, I have no data to back that up. But I believe what Dr. Fusco has occasionally pointed out, that from a mileage point of view, the best thing to see on the energy screen is nothing -- no arrows at all. And you'd get more of that if you let it pick up speed on the downhills. But point taken, at mid-50s mpg, why bother.
