I Know How To Get EPA Rated MPG!!

Driving on I-90/94 through Chicago at around 30 mph for an hour, then racing home on I-55 at 75+, I averaged 51 mpg, the first time I've stayed over 50 for a long trip (100+ miles).

If I hadn't been in a hurry and speeding home, I'm sure I'd have come out closer to 56 or so.

 

My favorite drive is the 405 San Diego freeway from the Valley into West Los Angeles. The entire way once you get over the hill is downhill. I will always get 3 100+ mpg bars on this trip. Of course, the reverse is true as well. On the way home, I usually have two to three bars at about 30 mpg because of going back up hill. It sure is fun to see the 30 100 mpg bars though. On the trip today, I started at 52 and ended at 53. The AC was on the entire time as it is quite hot in the L.A. area right now.

Jeff

 

Lucky for Brad, he is moving there from SoCal in Sept. so he will get the goods too.

 

DaveinOlyWA said:

that makes me wonder if anyone has a Prius in or around Albuquerque.

they have the hill of hills coming in from the East. im talking a hill steep enough for any car to coast at 60 mph for MILES it seems...

of course, going east, you will probably be averaging about 20 mpg in the Prius.

Response:

Ah yes, you're talking 9 mile hill. One of these days soon I'll try it and let you know (for both directions).

Ken

 

"And may the lord have mercy on his soul" I would not wish Seattle traffic on anyone even with a Prius, though if you have to do it do it in a Prius! I however dive to Portland rather than Seattle when ever I have a choice. I park my car (even my Prius, when I get it) and have no problem getting around time. Not so in Seattle and the Bus system. Not good.

 

I consistently achieve the EPA rating during highway driving. I don't drive in the city long enough to test the city EPA estimate.

 

DaveinOlyWa said:

"they have the hill of hills coming in from the East. im talking a hill steep enough for any car to coast at 60 mph for MILES it seems... "

Hi Dave,

I responded with "9 mile hill" but actually, that comes from the west. I learned something very interesting today coming back from a California trip. For all practical purposes, there's what amounts to a hill coming from the great divide all the way into Albuquerque from the west, about 80 miles. My mileage from there to Albuquerque driving at 79 mph was about 51 mpg. When I reached the 9 mile hill part, the mileage there was about 68 mpg (still at 79 mph).

 

The bus system isn't good because of the initiative that that jackass passed right before I moved (I forget the name, but it was the $30 tab initiative) HOWEVER... if it's still in effect...(is it?) I'll happily hand over my $30 for a year's tags

As far as WA traffic, yeah it sucks. I grew up in Kirkland which is right in the middle of it all. I'm moving to Everett this time and will most likely be working in Lynnwood so I'll miss a fair chunk of it as the majority is around Northgate, the U District or the eastside between Canyon Park and Boeing in Renton.

I can't possibly get worse mileage there than I'm getting here though...

 

Ah ha "jack-nice person" I believe that there was a state wide initiative "officially labeling" Tim Eihmen a "horses nice person" The courts threw it out but not before I had a chance to sign it. I think that they said you could not use the initiative process in that fashion. Too bad. He really sometimes resembles the south bound end of a north bound donkey.

 

It's truly easy to get the EPA numbers or even better. After a lot of experimenting (using the ecoastal engine-run indicator, brake regen indicator, my tach, and built-in instruments), here's what I've learned:

1. Accelerate briskly, then back off quickly to just enough throttle to maintain desired speed. Whenever you must accelerate, do so briskly and for very short periods.

2. Drive at 35 or so in town, 60 or so on the highway. Whenever you see 99.9MPG, the engine is shut down, and that means zero fuel being burned. With a touch of throttle to prevent regen, you can use kinetic energy or a downhill to go a long, long way.

3. Plan ahead! Any time your foot touches the brakes, for whatever reason, you're wasting fuel - period! Regen is very inefficient, friction braking is even more wasteful. When coasting, use just enough throttle to avoid recharge arrow (from wheels to battery). Unless it will anger those behind you, always coast to stops - and that takes serious planning.

I've gotten a 67mpg tank, though it's pretty boring.

 

I agree with Eisenson and I have been averaging over 57 MPG in mixed driving over the last couple of tanks. I think that mobil 1 helped my mileage by around 2 mpg. Ive been using the AC in the 95 degree temps we've been having and I think that's been hurting to the tune of about 2 MPG. The real killer is short trips, hands down. On the acceleration thing, I've always been concerned that brisk acceleration is more harmful than it might appear because of the excessive drain on the battery so that the effective mileage is substantially less than the monitor says. What do you think about that Eisonson?

 

"On the acceleration thing, I've always been concerned that brisk acceleration is more harmful than it might appear because of the excessive drain on the battery so that the effective mileage is substantially less than the monitor says. What do you think about that.."


I think the car's electronic management systems are brilliantly conceived and executed, and that there is nothing that we can do to an unmodified car that will be harmful to it. It's idiotproof, and I'm just the idiot to prove it.

 

I meant harmful to your mileage. I didn't mean to imply harm to the car. Any time we use the electric motor for assist we discharge the battery and then must recharge it which involves inherent losses. As we have said, the most efficient way to drive the car is with the Ice alone. So now what do you think?