The 35-40 Avg Mpg Club

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(benighted @ Oct 1 2007, 01:22 AM) [snapback]519736[/snapback]</div>

What kind of traffic are you driving in? Is it mostly flat where you are? With the tailgaters, hills and traffic we have in southern California, I can't seem to do better than 45! I've even inflated my tires to the recommended 40/42 PSI with no appreciable difference. Count yourself lucky!

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(abq sfr @ Oct 4 2007, 11:48 AM) [snapback]521299[/snapback]</div>

I agree with you on the short trips! I'll get my mileage up to 45 and just when I think I'm going to best it, the weekend comes and the short trips just kill me! However, I am also enjoying getting better mileage than the folks driving next to me. Even if I don't get the mileage I want, I still LOVE my car!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(abq sfr @ Oct 4 2007, 02:48 PM) [snapback]521299[/snapback]</div>

Hey!
a thread for me!! joy!
I am true to my semi menapausal state....I get a rush out of BOTH hypermiling and just goin' along, usually late to something and trying to "make time".


my particular commute causes strange mileage variances. If I do 1 thing differently and drop mpg below 50 right when i fill the tank, i'll never get there - SO.... I just go like the proverbial bat out of the hot place! If i somehow manage to do everything "right" and hit 50 mpg right off, i'll work toward maintaining it - i guess that's the best of both worlds!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Tideland Prius @ Oct 1 2007, 12:48 AM) [snapback]519702[/snapback]</div>

Exactly, I couldn't have said it better myself. I'm not holding anyone up, but I am exploiting the capabilities of this car.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(duderman @ Oct 5 2007, 02:00 PM) [snapback]521855[/snapback]</div>

I will also barely make 50mpg if i do the hypermiling thing, but its so true, as hard as I may drive, I can't get under 45 mpg. That's double or triple I've gotten in all my other cars. I'm not complaining!

 

I live in a small city and it even only takes 15 minutes to get to the next city. My commute to work is 7 minutes, so I get fairly low milage in my opinion 43-45 except when I get to go to Detroit then I get 60+ you can tell the Prius is really programmed for the large cities. I wish they had a button like the Highlander for max economy and maybe it would help all of us that only have short trips. But I guess I can not join this club as I still have gotten above 40 on e very tank of fuel except one and they was an ethanol blend in winter.

 

I found this thread looking for a MPG calculator... 3.8L/100km is crazy

I have a boosted 96 GTR R33 and I get 35-40L/100km most weeks as my daily driver.

My brother has a 79' Fiat X1/9 with a 13B rotary engine in it and he was getting 1 dollar per km last time it was running. And when he was over in the US this year he hired a charger and was getting 60L/100km on his way to the grand canyon

How does the prius get good fuel economy at speeds >50km/h?? I thought the battery was only on when you were at low(ish) speeds??

 

My wife has the worst kind of drive, 6.5 miles to work in rush hour traffic so the engine never gets to totally warm up. She refuses to hypermill or any other kind of mill and gets 40.8 MPG. I drive the same route and the same way to work in my Buick Reatta and get 13.8 MPG. We may not be getting 50 to 60 MPG from the Prius,but it sure beats anything else I ever owned. What I truely truely hate is getting stuck behind one of those huge SUV's that are trying to save gas by driving 5 below the speed limit and not accelerating but merely gaining momentum from a stop light.

 

I drive my Prius pretty much like any other car I drive, as fast as "legally" possible. I commute 90 miles a day, and routinely see 80+ on the speedo. My Prius lifetime average is just under 52 for 43,000 trouble free miles. I have lots of fun smoking other "faster" cars. They really don't expect to be left at the stop light by a funny looking greenie mobile. My only complaint is the wet weather traction OVERcontrol. My Subaru AWD just hooks up and goes. The Prius has left me motionless even in dry southern California if there is a trace of moisture on the ground. For the life of me, I don't see how anybody could get less than 40 mpgs in their Prius. I drive mine like I've never heard of the color green, except that it means GO! Happy un-hypermiling! By the way, my last speeding ticket was in 1979 in my old red 66 Mustang!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(gippah @ Oct 1 2007, 02:33 AM) [snapback]519744[/snapback]</div>

Do you think there are some models that cannot get the good mileage, due to some unknown factors within the Prius? We practice very good driving procedures, such as no lead foot when the lights go green. We glide to the next stop light. P&G works very well in the city, but never long enough to benefit much, since our trips in town are very short. When we go to visit our children who lives 100 miles away, our 200 mile round trip will only net us about 47mpg. The complete trip is with CC at 62 to 65mph. We can see from the consumption screen that the mileage is not that good. The column goes up to the 70s and 80s, but not for any extended period of time. But at 50-60 or below, thats where the yellow column stays most of the time. Can you tell me what your Prius gets when you CC at 62 to 65mph? If we hear from more of this forum telling us that something must be wrong with our 2007 Prius, pkg 2, then we can go back to the dealer. Our children live in San Diego and we commute there via the 405 to the I-5, which is a fairly flat fwy. We have our tire pressure at 42/40. No EBH. No EV mod. We have 7000+ total miles. We bought the Prius April 2007. We have over sized wheels and tires: 205/50 16". Our lifetime average presently is only approx 46, maybe a tad lower. I think we qualify to be a member of this club, as far as statistics are concerned, BUT not qualified, as far as practicing hi-mileage procedures are concerned.
Any help greatly appreciated.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Tideland Prius @ Oct 3 2007, 06:14 AM) [snapback]520506[/snapback]</div>

So do we but not in 1990 when mine was made.

 

LYLUVLY,
This is the club for those who don't try to get fabulous mileage but are happy to accept the Prius as the worlds first 1.3 tonne, 1.5 litre, 5 door sports car!! Or they do short trips.
If you are driving in an economical fashion and still getting bad consumption you may not have enough air in the tyres, I get best handling and economy around 40PSI front and 38 rear (believe it or not my mileage is better with this setting than at 42/40 or 44/42 although ride can be a little harsh around those numbers. The harsh ride becomes worse on wider tyres. Are your tyres good for high pressure? Check the sidewalls.
Also have you got quality silica compound tyres on your car? Silica cuts rolling resistance a lot while increasing grip and wear life.
Roof racks, trailers and heavy loads will all sap mileage and enjoyment of spirited driving. Poor wheel alignment can also increase consumption of fuel and tread, have the dealer check it, all 4 wheels!

Make sure your car rolls easily and the brakes arent too tight, on a smooth level road put the car in neutral with the system in ready mode and see if it is easy to push or check that it rolls on a very slight slope. If not ask your service person to adjust the brakes back 10 clicks from locked. I'm assuming your Prius has stone age drum brakes. Australian NHW20 (current shape) Prius have all had 4 wheel disc brakes.

Don't accelerate slowly. Your Prius uses a lot more fuel while accelerating so get it over and done with quickly. Accelerate at half throttle or higher from 5 miles per hour up to the speed you want to travel, then lift your foot right off the accelerator the press just hard enough to maintain speed. Oops, sorry, I'm talking economy driving on the wrong thread.

Lots of hills, cross winds, head winds and rain or snow can all impact on mileage but these are things that would have affected a conventional car too. They can also contribute to the pleasure of driving this little beasty.

Maybe have a look at the "I get great mileage but everyone who sees me on the road thinks Prius are slow and boring" threads for more tips on getting better mileage.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(abq sfr @ Oct 5 2007, 04:18 AM) [snapback]521299[/snapback]</div>

Snap!
We should form that club.
The "I get good mileage and no one can tell by looking at me" club

 

Cool, did you read the rest of the post? I'm just trying to help, if it isn't welcome just tell me to shut up.

Oh I just worked out I get about 45.23mpg US at 110km/h on cruise control on a 600km round trip on the highway.

Around town this is your reason for higher consumption: -

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(subarutoo @ Oct 10 2007, 03:57 PM) [snapback]523763[/snapback]</div>

I'll agree there. Even the previous owner of my car got at least 42. I would add about smoking faster cars that around here, some people really hate being passed by a Prius, which makes it more fun for me. Of course, it's more fun in city traffic to watch things carefully, and completely disappear on them. However, I really don't belong in this club, my current tankful is about 53 to the gallon.

 

I have to admit, I've done the pulse-glide thing, and i have worked a few tanks trying to do good mileage, and I have been able to do close to 50 mpg, but I just have a whole lot more fun just not giving a **** and I still can't do worse then 42 mpg!

BTW, is there a governed speed to the car? I've gotten it up to 107 mph, and it didn't appear to want to go any faster... It drove beautifully at that speed, and I'd imagine it should easily be capable of more, but I'm guessing there is a limitation to the RPMs of one of the MGs.

 

Despite having only a 5 minute commute (on average, it gets worse if there are actually other cars between me and the traffic light (how dare they!)), and despite only having had my new toy for ten days, I did the conversion, and 5.5 L/100km is still 42 mpg.

So, despite my best (worst?) efforts, I can't join your little club, not even for a little while while my new toy breaks-in.

Checking the math, even my last car wasn't allowed in: 29mpg highway 23.5mpg town. Around here I've seen the prius marketed at 49mpg theoretical, 43mpg practical; and compared to my antique "what do you mean the only power comes from burning dinosaurs?" car, I'd be perfectly happy with 6L/100km, or 39mpg (just eligible).

OTOH, it's early days yet, and it rains a lot here-abouts. That impacts mpg, right?

I agree with the idea of the club; you don't need to drive looking for every drop of petrol (yet); even a little saving is a good saving; drive how you want to drive and don't let anyone (especially not a talking duck!) tell you otherwise.

-- Have fun. Take care.