97 MPG commute ... aiming for 100!

Or 95.5 MPG, depending on whether you believe CAN-View or ScanGauge:





Here's the route. I'm helped by light traffic at 6:30 a.m, a ~140' elevation drop, and of course, warm weather. Afternoon commutes don't come close to this -- more like 70-75 MPG.

This is to a temporary work location I've been assigned to for the last 3 months. The assignment is over at the end of this month and I'm back to my normal office, with a somewhat less hypermiling-friendly route. Assuming the weather warms a bit more over the next couple of weeks and as school buses and other school-related traffic disappear, I'm hopeful for a 100 MPG commute before I move back "home."

 

Thanks, guys.

Jud, the tank currently sits at about 74 MPG. I had a 100 mile freeway trip (unsuitable for SHM) a couple of weeks ago and some necessary short-hop trips on a heavily traveled commercial route. Both put dents in the tank number.

I'm at 3 pips now so I'll be refueling in a few days. My goal is to hit 80 for a tank sometime this summer, though I'm not sure it will be the next one. I have another road trip or two to make before the end of the month.

 

Paul, several things:

1. Extensive use of pulse and glide.
2. Selecting routes favorable for P&G.
3. Learning and exploiting the timing of the lights.
4. Gentle acceleration during pulses.
5. Keeping speed as low as traffic tolerates.
6. Judicious use of EV mode as described here, paying close attention to ...
7. Careful battery management, i.e., generally keeping state of charge above 55%.
8. Getting up a few minutes earlier than necessary when traffic is lighter.
9. Engine block heater.

I neglected to mention in my original post that this route has 12 lights and 6 stop signs.

 

Add #10 to my list above: Avoiding the brakes as much as possible. It's pretty routine these days that I arrive at work with no regen icons on the MFD:



This, BTW, was my previous tank before another highway trip that knocked it down to 73 MPG before fillup.

Yeah, others can do that, so why can't I? hwell:

No, it's considerably gentler than that, just enough for the ICE to light unless I've got traffic behind that can't pass or I'm going uphill. That generally puts iMPG above MPH, often well above it.

 

Well, it's my real world.

When I was riding my bike regularly I still never came close to that kind of average speed on the typical hilly terrain in my neck of the woods. Maybe 15 MPH when I was in top condition (for me), more like 12. Besides, these roads are too dangerous. I'd have to leave home in the dark most of the year. And in the p.m.... forget it!

 

I usually do when Marilee's not with me.

For the trip that caused such a hit on this tank the backroad option would have taken 3-4 times longer. Neither she nor I had the patience for that on this day. Not only would it have been slower, it would have been considerably more circuitous, and I'm not sure there would have been any net fuel savings. Bottom line, it wasn't worth it.

As for Hybridfest, I'll have to pass this year. I have to admit, when I went two years ago I briefly considered what it would take to P&G most of the way. I concluded I didn't have enough vacation time.

 

No, the commute is not mostly downhill; it's just a net decrease in elevation. The actual topography is a mixture of rolling hills and relatively flat terrain. Unless following traffic dictates otherwise, I accelerate as gently as possible in all terrain to still accelerate up to my chosen speed. What changes is ICE RPM. On level terrain or downhill, it might be 1200, which translates to an iMPG up to 1.5 x speed. Uphills of course require more power.

I've considered describing in detail exactly what I'm doing for each segment of this commute, but just haven't taken the time. Stay tuned!