North Carolina MPG

Unless there is a light at the bottom of the hill, I usually try to get a bit of speed up on the way down to use on the way up. I think the biggest thing though is not push the car far into the pwr range if at all on the way back up.

One trick I've learned since getting my prius is that I get much better gas mileage when I plan on where to use up the battery power ahead of time. For example, my commute consists of side street driving, then highway, and then more side streets. I usually try to squeeze everything out of the battery just by the time I'm getting on the highway. I do this because I know the battery will charge back up on the highway anyways.

Also, if it isn't too hot, turn off the A/C. It kills the battery fast. If I'm driving about 40 or below, I just put the windows down a quarter of the way. I know that putting the windows down all the way is supposed to be just as bad as running the A/C at around 30 MPH, but I think that only a quarter of the way down isn't as bad. I've been getting higher numbers anyways.

 

it's all relative.


if you had a car that got 20 mpg on the straights you would be getting 15 mpg giong up and down

 

I avoid the hills. You will use a lot more energy going up where as you wont gain all you've lost when you come down the hill.

I've noticed that and so I avoide the hills all I can but if you can't then you still have a much more eco car than others.

 

I have driven around Raleigh many times and average around 50 mpg. I do not do much of anything but drive the car and try to drive like the car has no brakes.

What kind of speeds are you running? Are most of your driving short trips with a lot of stop and go? Short trips with a lot of stop and go are the tough on any car, Prius included. Do you accelerate hard in to the Power zone on starts?

I can assure you that NC or Raleigh has nothing to do with your low mpg. It has to be something with your particular routes or your driving style.

 

What's your tp? Harder tires=higher mpg.

 

I have no problems, even when i have gone to Ashville or to the blue ridge parkway.

You must be driving short trips? Please tell us more

 

Here in the Piedmont I have no problem maintaining 50 mpg average. But we don't have a 'Beltline' (where the traffic ranges between 0 and 80 mph) and the I-40 traffic is not as heavy here either.

I have found that in climbing up to the parkway my mileage drops closer to 40 but on descending back to the Piedmont the average for the whole trip goes right back to 50. I would not have expected that much recovery. (Admittedly, I try to avoid accelerating heavily while going uphill--Of course I am going to take care not to be a pain to other drivers).

The one thing I notice that really drops the mileage are the 'mis-timed' traffic lights about 1/4 mile apart in traffic where everyone is compelled to hit 50-60 mph before stopping for the next light.

But why sweat the small stuff? If you can average 40 mpg you are beating out just about every other 4 wheel vehicle on the road and you don't even have to do anything special to accomplish that.

 

please fill out the questionnaire

It's hilly here in the Seattle area and wasn't flat everywhere in the SF Bay Area where I lived last.

Please fill out the questions at http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii...-answer-these-questions-esp-if-youre-new.html, otherwise we're all asking the same questions over and over and taking guesses.

 

No just drive down them. Stop driving up them....

 

Sometimes there are routes that go around the higher (and lower) points which are within a direct path. These alternate routes may be longer, but don't do as much elevation change (which appear to affect mpg more).

I am sortof blessed by living in flat Chicago, but once a year I make a trek to Brevard, NC to visit the in-laws. There aren't always viable alternatives, but in some towns, I can take some alternate roads to avoid some really steep slopes, and minimize vertical travel over the entire route.

However, it is almost impossible without experience and knowledge of a particular area's topography (and gps is no help either).
Good Luck

rich

 

I drive all around Raleigh. Yes it is hilly, but I average between 45 and 55 mpg- depending on whether I'm running the AC or not. I don't try to keep up with the fastest traffic (75+) just the traffic that's going just fast enough to not get caught .

 

Speed has a direct impact on Prius mpg, or any car for that matter. If you search for a link on here, Bob Wilson has a chart showing speed versus mpg.

Once you get above 60 to 65 mph, your mpg will start dropping below 50 mpg. When I run 75 to 80 mph on I-40 around Raleigh my mpg will drop to about 45 mpg.

With the Inner Beltline and the I-40 Outer Beltline, it would be easy to run in the 75 to 80+ mph speed range. Expect your mpg to be impacted, though.

I have learned to try to stay at the 70 mph or less range in the Raleigh area to help improve mpg.

 

Are most of your trips short trips with a lot of stop and go? If so, try taking a 50 to 100 mile trip on the highway and see what your mileage does.

Short trips with a lot of stop and go will lower the Prius mpg, like any car.

As for acceleration, I do the same thing when accelerating and go to the right hand side of the Power zone in order to keep up with traffic. But once I get up to speed, I can let off the accelerator and coast as much as possible when traffic will allow.

With hills and the Raleigh traffic, I understand the need to keep up with traffic but you should be able to coast as much as possible when going down the hills.

 

I'd guess this is the most prevalent reason for sure. Are you mostly just driving in downtown Raleigh? Crapital Blvd? Beltline?

 

I live in the mountains of NC and spend time in Raleigh visiting family. When I drive instead of my wife, who pays no attention to fuel econ and drives just above posted speed limits, I average 5 MPG higher than her. I get around 50 MPG daily driving at home. She just drove to Raleigh and returned driving 578 mostly highway miles...the display showed 45.8 MPG and ac ran a lot due to near 100 temps.
One of my worst MPGs was during an extended stay in Raleigh when the temps were also very hot...38 MPG. I kept up with traffic and kept the air on high to survive.
I guess I'd suggest you make sure you:
Drive as "conservatively" as possible. Note numerous driving suggestions on PC.
Keep the air up in your tires (42,40).
Use 0w-20 synthetic oil.
Reduce use of ac when possible.
Experiment with MPGs when out of town and in less conjested areas for comparison's sake..
Make yourself feel better by keeping a log of all seasons driving averages. They will go higher and you should "average" in the 45+ range per yearly numbers...if you use winter mpg strategies as well.