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Finally, a 70+ Tank!

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Fuel Economy' started by TonyPSchaefer, Jul 2, 2008.

  1. zenMachine

    zenMachine Just another Onionhead

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    No freakin' way, bro! No freakin' way!
     
  2. bac

    bac Active Member

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    Nicely done, Tony! I'm working on a 60+ tank right now. 70+ will be a heck of a challenge, but a worthy goal for me! :)

    ... Brad
     
  3. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    Urge to kill.. rising.. rising.. falling.. rising!


    hahaha.
     
  4. sandman

    sandman Member

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    Congrats on your 70MPG !!! I am still trying to get a 60mpg tank I got 59.3 on my last tank but I cant seem to get 60mpg no matter what.. But I am more than happy with my 59mpg..:)
     

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  5. Sheepdog

    Sheepdog C'Mere Sheepie!

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    I look pretty silly even mentioning my 55.3 mpg tank! sigh! I'm at 42/40 now. I wonder what difference 52/50 would give me?
     
  6. ZC1

    ZC1 Junior Prius Owner

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    Congrats on the results of hard work and thoughtful driving, Tony.
    All I can do is... :hail:

    ZC1
     
  7. ZC1

    ZC1 Junior Prius Owner

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    I've found both of these things to be true.

    The good numbers appear when I forget to stealth and when I'm not really easy on the gas.

    'Course despair comes when I'm trying really hard and the numbers go lower and lower.


    ZC1
     
  8. Sheepdog

    Sheepdog C'Mere Sheepie!

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    I find this a puzzle. If I drive it only I dont use much of the pack. (unless the car does it itself like on downgrades) so if I dont try to get the engine to stop like at 40mph or less my mpg will go down!

    how did his go up? I dont get it.
     
  9. diamondlarry

    diamondlarry EPA MPG #'s killer

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    Nice work Tony! I guess now that 80 is the next stop on the journey?:bounce:
     
  10. FireEngineer

    FireEngineer Active Member

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    Well 'bout time for Priapus. Larry let's let him take some baby steps up, don't put the pressure for 80 yet.

    Wayne

    MFD-07-14-07.jpg
     
  11. diamondlarry

    diamondlarry EPA MPG #'s killer

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    Good point. Ok Tony, how about 72 next?:)
     
  12. TonyPSchaefer

    TonyPSchaefer Your Friendly Moderator
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    Next stop: 75, baby!!
     
  13. Sheepdog

    Sheepdog C'Mere Sheepie!

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    wish we had an icon for clueless, cause that is me. personal best is 55.9 for the drive home 33 miles only. very difficult to get past the 55 number it seems.
     
  14. nerfer

    nerfer A young senior member

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    I'm not sure I understand your post completely, but Tony is letting the engine turn off (gliding & coasting), he's just avoiding using the battery as much as possible.

    The car won't be happy with a battery less than half full, so it may run the engine at less than ideal times (like sitting at a light), so if the battery is kept full, it recharges when the opportunity comes up, instead of forcing it.

    But Tony, without a scangauge, aren't you worried about overheating the engine by blocking the grill at such warm temperatures? My scangauge showed the engine reached 180'F pretty quickly at 60'F ambient, and then I assumed it ran the fans to keep the coolant at about that temperature. With your long commute, the percent time spent under 180'F is very minimal, which is the only time blocking the grill will really help, AFAIK.

    These have been ideal driving temperatures lately in Chicago area. I got 58 mpg on my last tank, mid 50's so far on this tank, and most of my trips are under 7 miles, with an occasional 12 or 20 mile trip. My tires are 39/37 (10% over recommended minimum PSI).

    For those who think air temperature is a minor factor, the same kind of driving (with slightly more short trips) netted me 36 mpg during the worst stretch of winter driving. Using a 3-tank average, my worst was 40.5 mpg, last 3 tanks were 55.5 mpg => 37% improvement due to weather (call it 30%, and 7% because of more short trips, which is indirectly due to the weather since I couldn't bike for those trips).


    For our metric-minded friends, 40.5 mpg = 5.8 l/100km, 55.5 mpg = 4.2l/100km, and Tony's 71 mpg = 3.3l/100km
     
  15. nerfer

    nerfer A young senior member

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    Well, here's confused: :confused: and the no-idea: :noidea: but I kind of like the twitch: :twitch:, but it seems you're feeling more like this: :frusty:

    All that aside, 56 mpg is very good, well above EPA estimate. Give it time, you've only had the car a few months. Living in Florida you must need the A/C a bit, so maybe your winter numbers will be better?
     
  16. TonyPSchaefer

    TonyPSchaefer Your Friendly Moderator
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    Sheepdog,
    There are a couple things I always try to impress upon people: I've been practicing and honing and working for four years with incremental improvements every year; do not get wrapped around comparing one data point with another. Secondly, FireEngineer (Wayne) showed me the first 70+mpg tank I'd ever seen (73.something); there will always be someone a step ahead of you. Don't get wrapped around that either. I always feel a little weird trying to help people with their mileage because I know that my own mileage can get put to shame by someone else.

    Nerfer (Rob),
    In short, yeah I'm a little concerned about ICE temp. However, I use the numbers, findings and posts of those who do have it. For example, Wayne told me that when he and his family traveled the Western part of the US for the "Great American Engine Block Heater Installation Tour" his grill was fully blocked top and bottom with four occupants, luggage and A/C. He reported being able to see the ICE temp creeping up and then dropping as the coolant was used to control it.

    Also,
    I'm not saying that I never stealth. I enjoy a lengthy stealth as much as the next guy/gal. But a stealth is not always required. On even the slightest of declines, it is possible to maintain a glide for several hundred feet. Or between stoplights/signs a brisk acceleration will get you up to speed, a glide for most of the way with a regen to slow down.

    In all the time I've been driving Priapus, I have come to realize that there is no silver bullet, no single trick. On any given day I will pulse/glide, stealth/glide, pulse/stealth or whatever it takes. But what works for one person doesn't always work for someone else given their driving conditions, car, traffic patterns, whatver.
     
  17. DaveinOlyWA

    DaveinOlyWA 3rd Time was Solariffic!!

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    Tony, no matter how you did it, it's still a monumental achievement and you should be very proud...it gives everyone here something to shoot for, plus now, the road is clear for 75MPG!
     
  18. Genoz World

    Genoz World ZEN-style living

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    TONY - you just created a further distance between the "men" and the "boys", consider myself a toddler.............................:(

    maybe someone will really show me how to get out of the 47 mpg range. that's all i get. but i can dream...............................
     
  19. TonyPSchaefer

    TonyPSchaefer Your Friendly Moderator
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    I'm thinking that if you give me room and board for a week in Hollywood I would be happy to come out and work with you. :D
     
  20. kscableguy

    kscableguy Prius Owner

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    We don't have our Prius yet, but we rented one a few months back for a road trip. One thing I did notice was that the computer display of MPG and what I figured up at fill-up were off by 10MPG. The computer was saying close to 49MPG but once I took the amount of gas to fill the tank dived by miles driven it was more like 39MPG. Now this was all highway at about 80 MPH. So is the computer correct or is better to figure your MPG the old fashion way?