Finally, 45 MPG!

[twowheels]

I have a hard time hitting 45 MPG consistently. My last fillup: 200 miles, 100 degree heat, 55 MPH and slower, no stop-and-go, A/C running as little as I could stand, slow acceleration, etc... still only 42 MPG. One problem that I face with this trip (which I make frequently) is the delta breeze that blows in from the ocean and into the valley... for half of the trip I'm facing directly into the wind and the tailwind for the first half does NOT make up for the losses on the way back. The wind is always blowing and always in the same direction during this trip.

[Woody_Woodchuck]

One thing I noticed while trying to beat the wind factor is that I felt the need to press harder on the gas pedal than was necessary. There is a range where the more you press, it really does very little to help acceleration, at least on my Yaris. Try this, get up to cruising speed and hold a steady speed. Let up on the gas ever so slightly and hold it there for 30 seconds. Keep letting up in small increments until you start to slow down. Then press down that little bit it took to get you from maintaining speed to slowing down. Resting the right side of your right foot against the console carpet can help you make these tiny adjustments and hold them steady. According to my Scan Gauge 2 this range can yield as great as a 15 mpg difference, 10 mpg is more the average range.

It also takes a few seconds for my Yaris to actually accelerate when using this technique. Don’t expect the tires to light up with instantaneous neck-snapping acceleration. Press a little then give it a few seconds to see if it is working.

I can experience a few mph slow down from gusts of wind. You are cruising at 55 mph and all of a sudden you can feel it slow, check and you are now going 53 mph or slower. Don’t mash down on the gas to regain this speed, you can drop 20 mpg or better doing this! It really does suck down the gas trying to accelerate fast while you are going over 45 mph. Instead, go to the incremental increase technique. Your foot is exactly where it needs to be to hold a steady speed so all it will take is one small increment down to get it to accelerate! So it takes a mile to gain that speed back, you will be sipping gas while doing it.

Granted, sometimes nothing helps. I can be cruising a section of highway that I usually pull a steady 55 mpg on. With a strong, steady head wind I might only be able to squeeze 40 mpg out of this stretch. So be it, I just have to make it up somewhere else, like where there is a tailwind using the incremental acceleration thing.

[BailOut]

Great information and advice, Woody.

[Keith Tinari]

Just out of curiosity, My last bar is blinking at 325 miles any ideas on where I am at? I dont know what the calculations are. I do know that I still have say what 40 miles left on that tank?

[Yaris Hilton]

Last bar means you've got right about 1 gallon left.

[minicorolla]

A comparison:
This week I'm doing everything wrong, Driving 70MPH, hard acceleration, etc. just to see what I get. Mostly the same route but with more freeway. After driving country roads, I hate the freeway even more! I fill up tomorrow.

[minicorolla]

423.3 Miles, 10.222 Gals. = 41.4 MPG.
Guess I didn't try hard enough.
Going back to the country roads tomorrow.

[microbe__]

hi friends,
those numbers do not sound reasonable to me. we here drive 1.4 D-4d diesels and nearly reach 45 mpg
may be its cuz of fuel quality or something else
i always drive carefully trying not to pass 55-60 mph, use the throtle as if there is an egg under it :) and take the cut off in to account..with these driving habits here is my calculation.

37lt 690 km

9,77Gallon 428Miles...i guess it corresponds to 44 MPG

am i doing something wrong or do you guys run on uranium

[rningonfumes]

minicorolla: You're doing great so far, I beleive you should heed more of Woody Woodchuck's advice more. Try harder to stick to the lower mph and you should reach more consecutive 45mpg numbers. I hate to use these sayings but... 55 will get you 45 (or more).

microbe: Your numbers seem correct, you are definitely using US gallons and not imperial gallons. You actually have the advantage being the diesel. There is a European member here whom I'm very jealous of, he gets from 50-55mpg easily on the diesel. I don't know how to address your problem.

[Zaphod]

Originally Posted by talnlnky

there are tons of factors when going that speed. Drifting behind a semi I can get very high numbers, even when doing 70.

You can expect to see around 5-10MPG difference on average between the two speeds... especially if you don't try the "Hangtime" skill... Tho hangtime I think has been exaggerated, it does help. I don't think it really has anything to do with ECU maps or whatever, but rather physics of energy & torque required to speed up versus energy/torque required to maintain speed.

There are some times I notice that going slower makes it harder to get good mpg's than slightly faster... for example... I find it easier to get good numbers going around 60mph than 55mph on the highway I use to go home. Regardless of of fast I go I seem to use the same throttle possition after I get up to speed and back off on the trottle a bit. So really, the slower speed, but same usage of gas means I get lower mpg at 55. That doesn't appear to be true on all roads/highways tho.

Still haven't gotten to 45 yet. I lowered my tires back down to 40psi... so I don't know if i'll see it ever. 43's seem to be what I see. I had one 250+ mile trip that I got almost 48mpg on, But not for a full tank.

I just got 54.5 on a trip from St. Louis to Indianapolis and back with some city driving in between. That's no scanguage/ecometer, and the car still hasn't even had it's first oil change (although I'm doing that today just to get it out of the way before winter kicks in).

I usually get 43.6 average between my tanks, but the biggest factors for me was the city to highway ratio, and the fact that the engine was warmed up well as normal daily trips are just not long enough to warm up fully.

Of course, I hypermilled big time to prove a friendly point to a Prius owner, allowing for 45-60 on hills and generally cruising at a mere 50 on relatively flat stretches. I was able to achieve all of that staying within the speed minimum/maximum ranges fairly easily. I don't think I could have gotten above 50 by just remaining at 60 the whole way, especially on the hills.

I've yet to hear from someone tailgating a semis (which is dangerous anyway) achieve those same numbers, and doubt I ever will as they're still running their engine at higher RPMs.

[talnlnky]

Originally Posted by twowheels

I have a hard time hitting 45 MPG consistently. My last fillup: 200 miles, 100 degree heat, 55 MPH and slower, no stop-and-go, A/C running as little as I could stand, slow acceleration, etc... still only 42 MPG. One problem that I face with this trip (which I make frequently) is the delta breeze that blows in from the ocean and into the valley... for half of the trip I'm facing directly into the wind and the tailwind for the first half does NOT make up for the losses on the way back. The wind is always blowing and always in the same direction during this trip.

as long as I don't do highway trips of more than 100miles I seem to be able to be in the 44-46mpg range very consistently. My commute to work is now what keeps my mpg's up... it used to be what kept it down. I'm hoping to be getting 40+ mpg tanks throughout the winter. Last winter i saw my tanks drop down to 37-38mpg.

[minicorolla]

45.9 and 45.7 for the last two tanks. Not too bad. After my last fill up, I talked to a guy at the next pump with a Honda shadow. He gets 44 mpg at 70. Got his attention! I just didn't tell him I drove 63 mph or less. Let's see how I do with the winter gas coming up.

[2+2]

Originally Posted by Zaphod

I've yet to hear from someone tailgating a semis (which is dangerous anyway) achieve those same numbers, and doubt I ever will as they're still running their engine at higher RPMs.

Just to let you know, I drive a semi and when I see someone trying to catch a draft back there I usually slow down until they give up and go around. I'm not even sure why I do that. I mean if anything goes south while they're back there and they end up underneath my trailer it's their fault not mine. But then I guess my to-do is full enough and I just hate the thought of adding keeping them healthy to the list. That probably sounds cold and I guess it is.

Congrats on the 45 mpg!

[minicorolla]

If I'm behind a truck, the driver will see my headlights. I draft at sixty, one hundred feet. Don't like driving blind. Slower is better!

[1stToyota]

I just went over 45 mpg for the first time [45.17], using Sinclair, not using the a/c this week except for a couple of days, running 28 psi for 5 of those days ...and managing to break the speed limits every day.

[DevilGirl]

Originally Posted by 1stToyota

I just went over 45 mpg for the first time [45.17], using Sinclair, not using the a/c this week except for a couple of days, running 28 psi for 5 of those days ...and managing to break the speed limits every day.

Flat roads? Or nice rolling hills that never stop, but just keep on "rollin, rollin, rollin"?

[1stToyota]

Originally Posted by DevilGirl

Flat roads? Or nice rolling hills that never stop, but just keep on "rollin, rollin, rollin"?

Roughly 2/3rds boring, flat highway, 1/3rd boring flat city driving, but I usually avoid the heaviest traffic because I'm ahead of morning rush hour and later than the evening rush hour, except on Wednesdays I get in a little bit of the 5pm mess.

[DevilGirl]

Originally Posted by 1stToyota

Roughly 2/3rds boring, flat highway, 1/3rd boring flat city driving, but I usually avoid the heaviest traffic because I'm ahead of morning rush hour and later than the evening rush hour, except on Wednesdays I get in a little bit of the 5pm mess.

I'd love flat roads! At least a few of them anyway. My commute consists of mostly highway (speed limit of 65, so I usually hang around 70). But because it's a constant up and down, up and down, up and down, the entire 50 miles there and back, I'm luck to get even close to 38, let alone over 40. And that's with really cutting back on my hard accellerations.