Can't seem to break the 60 mpg barrier

[Amdkt7]

On several of my trips home from work my average mpg has risen well over 60 mpg, but the final leg of my drive knocks off 3 or 4 mpg. Twice I have gotten 59 mpg. I might have made over the top yesterday, but on my glide down the big hill a couple of cars hogged both lanes and I had to slow for them.

My best tank so far has been 47 mpg (confirmed by both the scangauge and by calculating miles driven and amount of fuel required to fill up). So far my scangauge is showing an average of 51 mpg for my current tank.

My trips to work are more up hill, but even today I got 53 mpg. The hot weather seems to really help my glides. There has been little wind.

[daf62757]

There are limits, but if you can get over 50 MPG, you are Superman!

[Altitude]

Well.... I'm having trouble breaking 38.

[Amdkt7]

I'm driving 21 miles to work every day. I do not get on the interstate, seldom exceed 60 mph (except when coasting down the hill). The road is two lanes both direction so I don't have to worry about going too slow. I'm using pulse and glide (generally pulse up to 45-50, and coast back down to 35). But even before I used pulse and glide I could sometimes get over 50 mpg. The route is hilly, and I usually get stopped by at least three traffic lights on the way. I get through a lot of the lights with careful timing, but still get snagged by at least three or more. This morning I hit three of the worst lights, dead stop at the bottom of hills, and still got 53 mpg.
The warmer weather is helping. I'm not using AC yet (my Huber Optic window film helps reduce the solar heating a lot). I roll the window up when coasting the biggest hill. I put 38 psi in the tires when I first got the car (4500 miles ago) and have not checked them since.

[STC]

I get 50+ most of the time during the summer. Always go to the same pump at the gas station. Then I make my physical calculations. Best mileage is 53.015 MPG on non-ethanol, when it ws around. I've found that 45-50 mph @ 1,900 to 2,100 rpm along with other HM techniques works wonders in mileage for LibertyRides!

You must be talking about your "readings" from Scanguage on segments during your driving that show 59 MPG? Is that correct? I don't use Scanguage or Ecometer, so I don't know?

Cheers!

[Amdkt7]

Yes, for my average mpg (for that trip) I am using scangage. My '13 has the eco-meter as well, which reads nearly the same (a tad higher). My miles driven/gal consumed match what the gages are showing pretty close (ie, the total amount of fuel consumed as indicated matches what I pump in).

Short trips really cut down the FE a lot. If I just run to Walmart (2 miles) 35 mpg is about as good as I can get.

[Amdkt7]

I did it! I got a bit of a tail wind today, 61.4 mpg average for my 21 mile trip. The car's eco-meter is showing an average of 53 mpg for the tank.

Yesterday I ekked out a mere 57 mpg....

[Kaotic Lazagna]

It's crazy how you manage 57+ mpg on trips!

[malibuguy]

I drive 90miles a day. Back when I cared I had several tanks in the 54s and thats with awesome maryland traffic and using ac along with several traffic lights and plenty of uphill stuff. Running only 38psi in your tires is childs play. I run 54psi.

I think p&g does not work so well. I normally run a modified version of that when I can. One leg of road if I time it right (vary rare with typical traffic) I "pulse" up to 60mph and can coast with the motor off for 2.7miles. Basically I do the pulse when I can coast with maximum effectiveness.

Lately ive only been getting 43-47mpg but ive been driving the balls off the car (had it up on the speed limiter this morning for example embarrassing a 2.0 sentra)

Run the tires high and also block off the upper grille. The car will still run just fine even with ac

[Kaotic Lazagna]

Originally Posted by malibuguy

I drive 90miles a day. Back when I cared I had several tanks in the 54s and thats with awesome maryland traffic and using ac along with several traffic lights and plenty of uphill stuff. Running only 38psi in your tires is childs play. I run 54psi.

I think p&g does not work so well. I normally run a modified version of that when I can. One leg of road if I time it right (vary rare with typical traffic) I "pulse" up to 60mph and can coast with the motor off for 2.7miles. Basically I do the pulse when I can coast with maximum effectiveness.

Lately ive only been getting 43-47mpg but ive been driving the balls off the car (had it up on the speed limiter this morning for example embarrassing a 2.0 sentra)

Run the tires high and also block off the upper grille. The car will still run just fine even with ac

I drive with my tires at 51 psi. =D

For me, it's any accelerating will kill my gas mileage, and I always seem to get stuck at lights, and without enough time to take advantage of DFCO since they all seem to turn red right when I'm getting near. Once I'm up to cruising speed, I'll get 50-60+ mpg on city streets, 40-55 mpg freeway speeds. I guess it also doesn't help that I'm always going on short errand runs. Last two tanks have been 36 mpg for me.

[Amdkt7]

Yep, short trips kill the mileage. It takes me around 10 miles before my average comes up to 50 mpg.
I have become a big believer in P&G. I do not turn off the engine during a glide, but will do it at one traffic light that I know will take a long time. This light sometimes takes two cycles to get through. Hate those slow pokes at left turn lights. Arrrrrggggg!
The nice thing about P&G is you can stick your foot in it without destroying your FE. You just got to get back to your glide ASAP. On my pulse I am usually getting around 20-25 mpg, then on the glide I am usually getting 200 plus mpg. If the hill is steep enough the entire hill is a pulse, but shallow slopes often get a glide thrown in around half way. The glide is short perhaps, but I seem to burn less fuel using heavier acceleration rather than using less throttle.
I think the point is to avoid the situations where your barely using the engine. It is very inefficient at low loads, despite the instant FE reading being high.

Take offs from a stop are murder on FE. Best way is to get into top gear quick. 1st gear gets around 6-8 mpg, 2nd around 10 or 11, 3rd is up to 15, 4th around 17, then 5th will be around 20-25 (low rpm, loaded).
I usually use about 30-40 TPS for my pulse. More throttle does not seem to give greater acceleration, so I don't use it.
I'm due for my first oil change. Not sure if I will go synthetic yet, or if I should wait to 10K. It seems to be well broken in, given the FE I am getting.

[Chuck G]

Is 55 PSI safe? I run mine at 45 and would like to go up into the 50-55 range.

[Amdkt7]

I would not. You are in the realm of diminishing returns at that pressure. There is only a 3-4% boost in FE by adding a few extra pounds. After that the ride gets too hard and you may lose traction on rough pavement (bouncing off of every little bump), the tire will probably experience uneven wear (in the center of the tread), and under conditions that heat the tire (hot weather, high speeds) will cause the pressure to go even higher.
If my wear seems to still be even I may go up a bit higher, so that over time it does not go too low.

[UberSilver]

Not to stir things up, but get real!: bs:

Originally Posted by Amdkt7

On several of my trips home from work my average mpg has risen well over 60 mpg, but the final leg of my drive knocks off 3 or 4 mpg. Twice I have gotten 59 mpg. I might have made over the top yesterday, but on my glide down the big hill a couple of cars hogged both lanes and I had to slow for them.

My best tank so far has been 47 mpg (confirmed by both the scangauge and by calculating miles driven and amount of fuel required to fill up). So far my scangauge is showing an average of 51 mpg for my current tank.

My trips to work are more up hill, but even today I got 53 mpg. The hot weather seems to really help my glides. There has been little wind.

[Amdkt7]

If you don't believe me that is your business. I don't really care. I was reluctant to post this as I knew people like you would say something like that.

If it turns out that when I fill up in the next few days and my calculation puts doubts to what my instruments are telling me I will gladly say so. My scan gage and the car's eco meter are in agreement, even on the last fill up. So far I have over 420 miles on my current tank and I expect to get at least 50 more as it is still showing a 1/4 tank.

[peewee1]

Cool!!! I believe you ,60mpg is possible. Whats your tire pressure? And do you do alot of coasting?

[Amdkt7]

I put 38 psi in 5000 miles ago. I use pulse and glide, which is all about coasting! This route that I take to and from work is perfect for doing a lot of coasting.

The ride home has a net 300 foot elevation drop, which is why my drive to work is not quite so good. Last few days I managed above 50 mpg going to work,

A few weeks ago I was getting 47 going to work and 51 coming home, but I added the pulse and glide technique after trying it in rush hour traffic crossing the city on the interstate and still getting 50 mpg. Made a believer out of me!
Thanks for the vote of confidence! Some people are born to bash I guess.

[Kaotic Lazagna]

I just run max psi rating on the side wall of the tire. I don't experience any abnormal wear. Just rotate your tires often (unfortunately I can't do that this time around, staggered rims and directional tires). When I had my Falken 912's, I always drove with max psi (cold reading), always rotated my tires on time, and I got the life rating of them (actually would have went beyond, but I sold the rims).