What are your tricks?

[GeneW]

Originally Posted by Sodium Duck

These are my tricks and things I do currently:

-Coast as much as possible (DFCO)
-Drive 55MPH on the highway
-Coast to stop signs and lights
-Slowly and smoothly accelerate during starts
-No A/C or heater use yet (waiting till winter)
-Windows cracked open about an inch to prevent fogging
-Monitor fuel consumption religiously
-Try to drive as close to 50MPH as possible when not on highway (within reason)
-Turn car off as soon as I come to my destination, then do everything else (put in park, put windows up, etc.)
-Let car idle only for 30 seconds to warm up, otherwise none

I can't think of anything else. Let's get this FE section bumpin'!

Get a Scangauge. Gives great feedback for your habits.

The heater does not affect mileage. The A/C does affect mileage.

I will not over inflate my tires. Too damn many potholes around here.

If I do not go above 60mph, do not accelerate like an aggressive driver and use DFCO I can routinely beat the EPA estimates for the Yaris. If I'm opportunistic, use pulse and glide and am careful I've made it to 42mpg.

Warmup is usually only necessary when its below 45 Fahrenheit (about 7 Celsius) and to me is only really necessary if you have an AT. I think MTs only require gentle operation for the first few miles. ATs have some issues with clearances and fluid viscosity that only a proper thirty second warmup can address.

BTW NEVER coast with an AT without the motor on. You're ruin the tranny over time.

Gene

[Sodium Duck]

Originally Posted by GeneW

BTW NEVER coast with an AT without the motor on. You're ruin the tranny over time.

Gene

Good point to make. I believe everyone had agreed before that doing this was bad because with the car off the transmission would stop being oiled. Deffinetelly a no-no!

[eTiMaGo]

I like to use some hypermiling tricks, but without going the whole hog...

1) DFCO as much as possible
2) As little AC as possible (but it is the tropics here and we get some HOT days...). Only really use it when I have other people in the car, their comfort is important to me.
3) Shut down engine and coast to red lights. Most traffic lights here have a handy countdown display on them, so it's easy to calculate if it's worth it to turn the engine , or even just time yourself to arrive when it turns green, so you don't even need to stop.
4) Shut down engine at other occasions like rolling down an incline to a toll booth, rolling up to my parking spot in front of the house/office, etc
5) I do try to drive at a reasonable speed without holding traffic up. Usually normal road traffic is about 40MPH, and I rarely go over 65MPH on the highway, unless I am really in a hurry!

This translates to an average of 33MPG, compared to sub-30 when I drove without much thought to economy... Kinda low, I know, but most of my trips are pretty short.

[natethegreat38]

I had to do the same. The good thing, is that you get used to it quickly! After only a couple of weeks of driving better, 65mph seems so FAST!

[darthbauer]

I try to slow down.

But i fail.

[duck]

how much gas is saved when turning off car immediately after parking as opposed to waiting to take seatbelt off, roll up windows, etc?

I ask because I left my old car running at a drag strip with the keys locked inside once... for maximum performance, I used race fuel and kept my gas tank practically empty. It idled for a couple of hours before I got back into it and was still able to get me to the nearest gas station many miles away.

[natethegreat38]

Originally Posted by duck

how much gas is saved when turning off car immediately after parking as opposed to waiting to take seatbelt off, roll up windows, etc?

I ask because I left my old car running at a drag strip with the keys locked inside once... for maximum performance, I used race fuel and kept my gas tank practically empty. It idled for a couple of hours before I got back into it and was still able to get me to the nearest gas station many miles away.

I have a Kiwi so I will see if it tells how much gas is being used while idling...I would guess that over time, it saves a bit of gas here and there. Probably not the bulk of your consumption, but hypermilers seem to do everything possible to use the least amount of gas.

[Mikeb Yaris]

I imagine someone with a scangauge can tell us the gph useage idling?

[Sodium Duck]

Yea it's probably not *worth* doing, but it feels good to know that however small the amount is, I'm using the absolute LEAST amount of gas possible. It just doesn't make sense anyways, why let your car run while you do things that you could do with it off?

[eco]

The A/C does effect MPG on 4 cylinder engines,the Myth Busters tested this on 2 V8 trucks if I remeber right.They proved that windows down up until 55mph was better then the A/C on below 55mph.Above 55mph,A/C was better then windows down above 55mph.Now that was on a V8 engine,I would say on our engine windows down would be best until about 75mph,then I would crack the windows and still not turn on the A/C.
And I thought our heater was just heat coming from the engine bay,no coils or anything.

[natethegreat38]

What I don't really understand is what some hypermilers do: turn off their engine as they approach red lights, stop signs, etc... I know this still saves gas but the engine starting stresses the engine and the starter, so I don't know why you would want unnecessary and additional stress on the engine/starter :?

[BailOut]

Nate,

On modern, small engine, fuel injected vehicles such as the Yaris the wear and tear and fuel usage of a warm start is equivalent to just 7 seconds of idling. This means that if you will spend more than 7 seconds coasting into and then sitting at a light (or just sitting at a light if you have the AT) it is easier on the vehicle to be turned off and then restarted.


Mike b,

The Yaris consumes 0.2 GPH at an unencumbered idle. While that may not sound like much if you think about how much time you spend idling over the course of a full tank it becomes a significant factor in your overall mileage.


eco,

Several folks on this site with ScanGauges have done extensive testing in the past and we all found the same thing: In the Yaris it is always more efficient to have the windows down than to use a/c, regardless of speed. Unfortunately that thread was lost in the hack.

As for the heater the Yaris does have coils for producing heat on a cold start. Once the coolant temperature reaches a threshold the coils deactivate. Using the heater does affect mileage, by the way, although much less so than using a/c. It steals heat from the coolant and this causes the ECU to run a richer fuel map in an effort to produce more waste heat to reheat it.

[YarisDude]

Drive like you have no brakes. This forces you to take it easy and employ long coasts...with engine off (of course).

For Bailout, I like the bike rack. Quick query, on an old lost thread you discussed the special chains you snap on for snowy conditions. Who makes them and where did you purchase? Thanks!

Ken

[Reddog99]

Originally Posted by BailOut

Using the heater does affect mileage, by the way, although much less so than using a/c. It steals heat from the coolant and this causes the ECU to run a richer fuel map in an effort to produce more waste heat to reheat it.

Let's see, by this twisted logic, losing heat from the radiator also increases fuel usage because it causes "the ECU to run a richer fuel map in an effort to produce more waste heat to reheat it." NOT!!!

Turning on the heater only causes the thermostat to close a little to compensate for the temperature loss that would otherwise occur through the radiator. Any modern (or old) engine produces so much waste heat that there is absolutely no need to make an effort to create more.

[Sodium Duck]

Dude, I am so ready for this battle to begin...

I also really want to know what effect running the heater has.

[BailOut]

Originally Posted by Reddog99

Let's see, by this twisted logic, losing heat from the radiator also increases fuel usage because it causes "the ECU to run a richer fuel map in an effort to produce more waste heat to reheat it."

Correct. This is why you see northern truckers and other vehicles block their grille in the cold months. Hypermilers follow suit, many of which block their grilles in the Winter (myself included).

As an example, on a February morning I can climb the mountain I traverse every day with at least one passenger and snowboard stuff and other weight involved, and by the the time we've reached 7,500 feet of elevation the coolant temperature has dropped into the mid 170's F. Without warning my already shitty climbing mileage will dip another 10-20% and by the time we're reaching the summit at 8,900 feet the coolant temperature is back up in the mid 180's and my mileage returns to the expected amount.

Blocking the grille helps the car warm up quicker and helps it to maintain an optimal coolant temperature. With one in place I no longer see those big dips in mileage in the coldest part of the day as my coolant temp stays in the mid 180's.

Originally Posted by YarisDude

For Bailout, I like the bike rack. Quick query, on an old lost thread you discussed the special chains you snap on for snowy conditions. Who makes them and where did you purchase? Thanks!

Hi Ken,

They are called Spikes Spiders (the "Compact" version) and I got them directly from the manufacturer at http://www.spikes-spiders.com/ . I just added the mounting brackets back onto my front wheels last weekend as we've already had our first snow of the season.

Thank you for the compliment on the bike rack. Just wait... in a few weeks I'll have pictures of the snow sports adapter attached to it and an antenna farm of snowboards and skis sticking up out of it.

[TLyttle]

Drive like you have no brakes? That is why I get good mileage, because most of my previous cars had inadequate brakes, so anticipating stops, not slowing down for corners, etc, became... habit.

[dvlnblkdrs]

but bailout, wouldnt that same issue effect those of us living in warm climates much less if any at all? the coldest it really gets here is like 60 degrees...