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Old 03-10-2007, 01:24 PM   #19
BailOut
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Edit: I see now that much of what I said below is repeat information, except the DFCO stuff. As such I'll make a separate DFCO usage thread.

We should probably have a forum dedicated to fuel economy but I'll throw a few things out here. Some of this has already been said but it's my checklist:

1) Check your tire pressure. It should be between 32 and 35 PSI on all 4 tires.

2) Check your air filter. If it's not white to off-white in color have it replaced. Also consider going to an aftermarket filter with better breathability (i.e. K&N).

3) If you buy cheap, off-brand gas, stop it. Cheaper fuels are priced so because they use additives and detergents, etc. with much lower caloric content than you find in the primary fuel brands and end up costing you more money than primary brands due to lost mileage. The folks over at PriusChat did some extensive testing and found that Shell provides the best bang for the buck, with Chevron in a close second, and others like Texaco, Mobil1, Diamond Shamrock, etc. close behind that. As of the time I wrote this post Shell gas is about USD $0.15 cheaper per gallon than Chevron so it's definitely the best choice.

4) Make sure your hand brake is fully disengaging by engaging and then disengaging it on a very slight grade (as in a road that just barely goes downhill) and seeing if you start to roll downhill or not.

5) Don't go too lightly on the throttle while accelerating (but do shift early so that you don't get into the higher RPM's, if you can help it), but go as light as you can at the highest gear you can (without bogging the engine) once you're at speed. This is because acceleration requires much more energy and in an ICE our energy comes from fuel, and more fuel requires more air. If your throttle body intake valve is mostly closed because you're not on the throttle then your engine has to work that much harder to create more of a vacuum to suck air past the mostly-closed intake valve.

6) Learn to use DFCO to your advantage. DFCO stand for "Deceleration Fuel Cut Off", and it is manifested by your ECU stopping all fuel flow to the injectors and all spark signals to the coil packs when you are in gear (with the MT just be in gear with the clutch disengaged, with an AT pick a gear other then OD, i.e. 3) and decelerating (engine braking) with the throttle at 0% (take your foot entirely off the accelerator). This is not a feature unique to the Yaris (you can test for DFCO in any vehicle made since the early 90's by going down a grade while engine braking and then turning off the ignition (Be VERY CAREFUL when you do this as you may lose PB/PS... don't cause an accident!)). If you feel no difference in your deceleration g-force when the ignition is on or off then your engine is using DFCO. DFCO can be used on anything from downhill grades to highway offramps to approaching a stop light or stop sign. Use DFCO instead of engaging the clutch and friction braking whenever possible, all the way down to just a few MPH. Remember: DFCO uses no fuel while idling does, so never idle if you're moving forward.

7) Anticipate stops and try to work around them as much as you can. Stop signs are the worst because they are guaranteed forced stops (unless you're a Californian, in which case it's just a modified Yield sign, and this is why your insurance costs so much) but traffic lights and heavy traffic can often be worked around. Never jeopardize your safety or the safety of others for the sake of MPG, but using DFCO while you approach a red light gives you the chance to still be doing 10 or 20 MPH when the light changes and traffic begins to move. Keeping a few car lengths open ahead of you in heavy stop-and-go traffic lets you keep forward momentum, even if it's just around 15-20 MPH, and you can use high-gear DFCO to slowly decelerate when needed.

8) Don't speed. Every 5 MPH over 45 takes an average of 5% more fuel to achieve. Actually going 55 MPH instead of 65 in a 55 zone can save you as much as a half gallon per tank. Ignore tailgaters as they'll stick on your ass at 50 as much as they will at 70, but be sure to give them passing room when it's appropriate.

9) Consider some of the other advanced fluids and chemicals that are available to you. Mobil1 synthetic oils, Lucas Oil Stabilizer, Lucas Fuel Treatment, etc. For example, Lucas Fuel Treatment (which is a chemical optimizer and fuel system cleaner/lubricant. not a cheesy octane booster) costs $3 for a 5.25oz. bottle at Kragen. You only need half that bottle in a full tank of fuel (the whole 5.25oz. treats up to 25 gallons) and for my friends and I it tends to produce an extra 2-5 MPG, even on winter gas. With gas prices around $3/gallon you're guaranteed to break even (and have the caloric equivalent of an extra half gallon of fuel in your tank), but you also have the potential to get an extra 20-30 miles per tank beyond the break-even point (and some folks choose to use it only every 3rd or 4th tank).

------------------------------------------

I just bought my 2007 Yaris Liftback (with the 5-speed MT) a few weeks ago on 02/21/2007 and it will not even hit 1,000 miles until next weekend. My daily commute is 27.2 miles one way over a mountain which I climb from 4,500ft to 8,900ft, then descend to 6,300ft, and I'm basically on that climb within 1.3mi of leaving my home. We're still on "winter gas" (10% oxygenated ethanol) through the end of March and this hurts MPG by a bit as you're basically losing ~10% of the fuel's caloric content, and the only modification I've made to my Yaris so far was a K&N air filter on the first tank and the Lucas Fuel Treatment on the second tank. I also gained a better feel for using the DFCO throughout that time and have gotten to the point that I can get down either side of the mountain without ever touching the throttle and using the friction brakes just 3 or 4 times.

My MPG on the first tank was 38.97 and on the 2nd tank was 43.67.
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Last edited by BailOut; 03-10-2007 at 06:02 PM. Reason: See the "Edit:" section.
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Old 03-10-2007, 02:12 PM   #20
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i thought i was the onlt one, but i do "race" my car aa little bit here and then.....
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Old 03-11-2007, 01:14 PM   #21
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Boo View Post
Check out the new EPA mpg
New Yaris MPG
Interesting. Thanks for that link.
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Old 03-11-2007, 03:08 PM   #22
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10 months and 13,300 miles w/stick-shift LB - we are basically getting very close to the "old" EPA estimates.

33-35 in driving around Portland/Vancouver metro area and 39-40 on highway at 70-75MPH.

My sister e-mailed me this last week that her daily commute into downtown portland (20 mile round-trip) had been without much traffic on the last tank of gas and she had gotten 35MPG w/her Automatic LB. She was very happy.

Hills, cold weather, "winter" gas as well as an aggressive driving style exact their toll on mileage in any car.
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Old 03-11-2007, 04:39 PM   #23
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EPA estimates are ALWAYS very optimistic. My wifes new Honda Civic is rated for 30 City and 40 Highway, but we average 27. I find comfort in the fact that it's not just my Yaris, and I average 32 MPG.
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Old 03-11-2007, 04:42 PM   #24
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Boo View Post
Check out the new EPA mpg
New Yaris MPG
Hey, I just looked up the Honda Fit's New EPA mileage and we're still beating it.
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Old 03-11-2007, 06:53 PM   #25
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Well considering that my car is pretty much 1.5 months old (1,900 miles) I was hoping that I'd get at least 30mph rather than 27 or less. And from what I see, there's nothing wrong with the car but I do tend to drive it a little hard sometimes. Thanks for all the info.
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Old 03-11-2007, 08:00 PM   #26
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Quote:
Originally Posted by yrsdrgn View Post
Well considering that my car is pretty much 1.5 months old (1,900 miles) I was hoping that I'd get at least 30mph rather than 27 or less. And from what I see, there's nothing wrong with the car but I do tend to drive it a little hard sometimes. Thanks for all the info.
you mean MPG right? because if your car only goes up to 30mph then its really busted...
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Old 03-13-2007, 11:41 PM   #27
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Road Trip MPG

35.9 down the mtns. 35.5 up the mtns. Average speed 80mph.
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Old 03-13-2007, 11:58 PM   #28
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Quote:
Originally Posted by forpinks View Post
you mean MPG right? because if your car only goes up to 30mph then its really busted...
Yeah. MPG. Everything on the car runs fine though. I think it's probably because in my area there are a lot of stops on hills dead at the bottom which forces the engine to work harder. But after I've been driving on the flat parts of my area my mileage seems to have increased so I'm getting happier haha.
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Old 03-14-2007, 12:06 AM   #29
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Quote:
Originally Posted by PetersRedYaris View Post
EPA estimates are ALWAYS very optimistic. My wifes new Honda Civic is rated for 30 City and 40 Highway, but we average 27. I find comfort in the fact that it's not just my Yaris, and I average 32 MPG.
THANK you for posting that. I'm glad to hear, personally, that other cars besides our Yaris are not indeed living up to their stated EPA fuel estimates... and you gave an example of a new vehicle too, and one that rates similarly to the yaris (basically).

Great to see Civics (another vehicle I was looking at, kinda) does worse than its rate as well.

Gives one a little comfort knowing they are not alone w/ their Yaris pulling lower than thought averages
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Old 03-14-2007, 12:50 AM   #30
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07 sedan auto.. from PA to oklahoma, we only averaged 350 a tank, but that was at the 350 as soon as the last fuel bar started blinkin.. but that's 35 mpg on the highway, going 70-75 with windows up and no AC on. in town, mileage is closer to 25-28mpg and i'm a VERY easy driver on the car.
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Old 01-17-2019, 03:26 AM   #31
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The best MPG you can get is on the interstate where you can go consistently 65/70 mph w/o stop/go. The worse is hilly stop/go traffic. Also colder weather will hurt the mpg. My family of 4 bought our Yaris a couple of months ago. We bought it for the fuel economy. We are currently getting 36mpg around town which is twice what we were getting with our Caravan. I love the dash design with the gauges in the middle like the Saturn Ion. We took it to Florida a couple of weeks ago and put on about 3,000 miles. It handles a little loose in windy conditions and we didn't get anything more than 36mpg when we checked on the highway but it was a comfortable ride. Not to mention that the price was right.--A couple of thousand dollars cheaper than the Camry and still a great ride. I'd recommend it to anyone.


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