2007 Yaris: To throttle, or not to throttle...

As far as the 2007 Yaris is concerned I keep reading conflicting things on vanilla automotive sites when it comes to whether or not to dig into the throttle. I will read something like, "It takes less fuel at 50% throttle at 1,200 RPM than it does 10% throttle at 2,800 RPM.", but then the next site says something akin to, "Don't be afraid to dig into the throttle as your engine has to work harder to pull air past a closed intake gate."

The 2007 Yaris is one wound-up little bugger (it uses the same ICE as the Prius but in an Otto cycle rather than Atkins) so "digging into the throttle" raises the RPM's in a flash, especially in the 1st and 3rd gears (5-speed manual). There is the additional element in that the drive-by-wire throttle system doesn't let off right when you do (i.e. while shifting) but rather stays wound up for another 1-1.5 seconds.

With all that said I can't seem to reconcile the statements I pointed out above. Lower RPM == lower fuel usage but little throttle == starving for air, so where does that leave you when giving more than just 10% throttle raises the RPMs to a high level in a heartbeat?

 

I hear you, Tideland, and I'm coming to agree with you.

The difficult part is having the patience and discipline to figure out which style is best. There's no MFD with a fuel consumption screen in the Yaris, and even with my over-the-mountain commute on winter gas it still takes me 7 or 8 days between fill-ups (averaging 39 MPG on my first 2 tanks and expecting 40-42 on this one).

This means I have to blindly drive one way for 8 days before I can get a good idea if it's a benefit or a detriment.

 

That is one hell of a little gadget, mcsj. I've added myself to the buy list and hope I'm not too late.

Thanks for pointing it out to me.