I Beat the EPA--Post 'em here

Best one so far, 2,800 total miles.

I need a bigger fuel tank

This is from just commuting normally, no special trips. Next time I'll try to coax 500 miles out of it but at the early flash point of my guage I think it might be nerve wracking.

 

Well, damn Tempus, there goes my attempt to say "well, Evan doesn't live in an area as hilly and congested as mine, that's why his mpg is better than mine" - now I have no excuse! Way to go though!

At the end of May, I'm taking a trip to Portsmouth, Ohio, which is approximately 450-500 miles. Our goal on this trip is to never stop for gas, I can't wait to see if we can pull it off!

-m.

 

Where are the photos in this thread.

 

Nevermind I think I have to be logged on to see them

 

I experienced my first "low" fill-up today. I had 522 miles on the trip meter and the MFD was reading 56.8 MPG over the last 309 miles. I had the windows tinted earlier in the month and the guys at the shop must have screwed around with the MFD, because when I picked up the car the MFD mileage was 0 (they probably hit the reset button).

Also, I noticed that the mileage was terrible for a few days afterwards. First day my average was only about 24 MPG. They didn't take it for a ride because the odometer value was the same as when I dropped the car off. I figured they must have had the A/C on with the ICE running while they were tinting the windows.

Because of the uncertainty of what the car had been though, I decided to fill-up as soon as the last bar began to flash. My previous three fill-ups have all been 10 gallons or more. So I was really surprised when the pump shut off after 7.9 gallons. I put in another 0.11 gallons only because I couldn't believe how little fuel was added, but the pump kept on shutting off.

So the calculated mileage for the tank was 64.7 MPG, but I seemed to have lost 2 gallons of tank capacity compared to my normal fill-ups. Again, I understand that I don't know what happened at the tint shop so I'll just have to use that as the explanation.

 

Filled up last night. Computer stated 57.9 pulling up to the pump. Calculator showed 54.3

Not bad at all for an 03 running 90% highway miles. :mrgreen:

 

This is so cool. I've tried out the strategy of optimizing the engine use by accelerating with arrows off and coasting arrows off when possible. I don't worry about engine on when the consumption is reading in the nineties. I try to use light pressure on the brakes when possible. I just refilled with 637 miles on the tank. I always let it click off three times. It took 10.7 gallons which means I've just gotten 59.5 miles per gallon in mixed driving. I find that to be just amazing. The car has just over 3000 miles on it, so it's not nearly broken in yet. After 10,000 miles I'll switch over to mobil1 and I expect that 60 MPG will be easy. My license plate is 54 MPG but I should have waited to order it. Actually, 54 will probably be a realistic LMPG since my first couple of tanks were only 42 MPG and it has slowly risen fom there. I wish I could have taken a picture of the screen but at 290 miles, my fiance' "helped" me by cleaning the screen while it was on the consumption screen. RESET! hehehe oh well, next time I'll wait till 700 miles and that will be so much more impressive. Go Prius!
Ray

 

I live around Jacksonville in North Florida and commute about 20 miles each way. Roads are relatively flat and I travel mostly on US 17. My best was 60.3 mpg and worst was 49.0. Lifetime average with 4268 miles traveled is 52.4 mpg. About a month ago, I increased tire inflation to 44 and saw about 5-10 percent increase in mpg. I've noticed that it is best to accelerate slowly to the speed limit then ease off the accelerator rather than trying to always go in stealth mode. Some of the best mpg (other than stop and go traffic jams) that I get is when I'm going 45-50 mph and the ICE is doing most of the work. Of course, this is when the ICE has already warmed up after several miles.

 

I drive conservatively with an eye towards high mileage. My commute is 62 miles round trip with several shorter trips during the day. My commute is 75 percent highway with about half of that being back country roads. All of my commute is mildly hilly. I currently have just over 4000 miles on the car. I am running 42/40 psi in the tires. Temeratures are in the 70s. Tank before last I filled up with 10.7 gallons for 637 miles which equals 59.5 MPG. My last tank, I refilled with 12, yes 12 gallons for 603 miles which equals 50 MPG. On that tank I completely ignored mileage but drove somewhat conservatively, except when demonstrating the acceleration capabilities of the car. My current tank is showing 61 MPG after 185 miles. These numbers are substantially higher than the EPA estimates and there are factors that caused them to be lower than they could have been. Just driving it like I used to drive which is to say, agressively, would get me figures in the mid 40s for my conditions. I also expect to get better mileage with time and synthetic oils when the time comes.I believe the true value of this car is that it empowers us to get great mileage. None of my past vehicles gave significantly better mileage when driven conservatively. Actually, the true value is in it's emissions, which are just incredible. In summary, EPA estimates are not inflated but driving styles and environmental conditions can cause your mileage to vary. I think they may say something like that right on the sticker. YMMV

 

Wow, so you can get 600 miles on a tank! Perhaps I can still pull off the early June 628 mile road trip without refueling.

12 gallons though, huh? See, this right here leads me to believe the pumps are less accurate than we are told.

-m.

 

On this tank I will get 700 miles or run out trying. I refuel in the afternoon when it is warmest and the tank first clicked off with 11.4 gallons. This is the first time that I kept adding after the pump stopped. Usually I give it three clicks, but this time I knew I was shooting for 700 miles. I want to do it for grins before summer temperatures shoot my mileage in the foot. We've got cloudy weather this week so the AC use is really minimal right now. I'm driving conservatively but not holding anybody up that wouldn't already be stopping for the light ahead. I have no interest in giving the Prius a bad name or a reputation as a slow car. Wish me luck.

 

I just had a better tank than this, but didn't have my camera with me. 55 mpg, 500 miles.

 

In my 02 classic the most miles from a tank so far was 567 last year - I put 10.17 UK gallons in then to give me a MPG of 55.75 - weather was in a warm period and I don't think I did much motorway (freeway) driving.

I probably could have gotten 600 miles from the tank but never risk more than 30-40 miles on the blinking bar just in case.

 

60.5 mpg! 515 miles

Thanks to the warm weather, light head winds in the am and strong tail winds in the pm this week, this is the best yet!

 

2749 Total miles

Actually filled up with 11.96 gallons because the pump did not automatically shut off. I usually only fill up until the auto shut off of the pump. This really screws up my calculated mileage for the tank (42.1) and I know the MFD can't be that far off.

 

jmutz you're great!

What's your weight baby?

 

I'm beating the EPA estimates with every tank now. The latest was 661 miles at 57.5 MPG. Most of the miles were on the highway at about 60-65 mph.

 

aww, didn't break the 700mi barrier?! Perhaps next time. Did you go until the last bar was blinking, and if so, how far? Also, know the gallons? Sorry, just curious to your stats.

Congrats on what I would believe to be the longest distance on one tank yet with the Prius!

-m.

PS - I'm feeling good at 460mi with 3 bars left on the guess gauge at 54mpg - careful Evan, I'm catching up!!

 

The last bar started blinking at 587 miles. I did the math and there was no way to make it to 700 this time. I went from 61 mpg to 58 mpg while driving 40 miles in the rain and I never made it back up. This time at the pump I clicked off at 10.7 gallons but kept putting it in until gas was visible in the filler tube. This occured at 12 gallons. Calculated, that's 55 mpg but would not be too accurate since gas was not visible last time. Pumps are not that accurate anyway. The real answer is somewhere in between. I really was only looking for a vehicle that could give me 45 so I'm impressed that it is this easy to get in the upper 50s.