How i get 52mpg avg (constantly)

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by Jcp123

Ac will kill in town, but highway it's not as big a drain as you'd think. By 50+ mph, the drag penalty for open windows has basically caught up to the penalty for running most compressors (my Echo seems to have a particularly inefficient compressor, so using a/c penalizes me no matter what).

Re: tires, I run 50psi out front and stick to 44psi out back as I have one aging tire back there. When I get a new set on the car, I'll probably move to 50psi. I have been running at/ beyond sidewall max for about two years with no problems. The ride is more harsh, but the Echo is very softly sprung and absorbs a lot of the impact. Yaris' are stiffer to begin with and I can imagine high pressures are unpleasant.

I would bet that ditching the cold air intake or perhaps routing it to warm air around the exhaust manifold will dramatically increase your fuel economy.

Keep the car light! Ditch extra tools or clothes, floor mats, anything you can part with. Losing 50lbs makes a difference in these.

Pick your routes carefully. Look for places with fewer lights/stop signs and concrete road surfaces are your friend. I nailed a 45+mpg tank this last time because the roads where I go to school are mostly concrete. Very low rolling resistance!

Unless you only use it on flat terrain...cruise control isn't that great. It tends to over correct when you begin to climb, because it can't anticipate hills. You can. On the way back down, you can coast, engine on or off, or use DFCO. The cruise doesn't really have all those options. I tend to use constant throttle for hill driving rather than constant speed or trying to maintain any particular MPG or load setting. Put your TPS reading on the UG screen! It's basically the most valuable fuel economy tool that a UG or SG owner can use, aside possibly from the load calculation (load might work better on your stick shift; it's nearly useless on a slush box like I have).

^^^^^ Lots of valuable suggestions. Do you know if your ECHO has the original shocks ?

Lastly...don't fuel past the first click. Yes, it helps you get more consistent readings tank-to-tank by quitting the fuel-up at a visually verified point. But it will destroy your vapor canister eventually. I quit overfilling after about a year and a half of doing it and luckily no damage, but canisters are expensive to replace. Don't chance it. I'll admit to liking the .8 extra gallons if fuel it gave me, though.

I must be one of the luckiest drivers around and am living on borrowed time. I've driven over 1.2 million miles in mostly passenger cars (a few pickups and vans). I've filled to a visually verified point on nearly every fill up, and I've never had a vapor cannister go bad.

[Jcp123]

Originally Posted by nookandcrannycar

^^^^^ Lots of valuable suggestions. Do you know if your ECHO has the original shocks ?



I must be one of the luckiest drivers around and am living on borrowed time. I've driven over 1.2 million miles in mostly passenger cars (a few pickups and vans). I've filled to a visually verified point on nearly every fill up, and I've never had a vapor cannister go bad.

Thanks. I really have no clue if they are original shocks, my guess is that they are. The ride is very compliant even with the firmer treads.

As I said, I miss the extra fuel, gives a nice boost to your range, and it's great to have the consistency of a stuffed tank. But when they say do not top off, this is the reason they say it. For $300, I simply won't risk it anymore. I make up for that by filling up at the same pump at the same Texaco station every time. If for any reason I can't reach that pump before empty, I partial fill enough to get me home, adding up the numbers later on after I can complete a fill at my "home" pump. The idea being, same calibration and vehicle stance should breed better consistency.

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by Jcp123

I make up for that by filling up at the same pump at the same Texaco station every time. If for any reason I can't reach that pump before empty, I partial fill enough to get me home, adding up the numbers later on after I can complete a fill at my "home" pump. The idea being, same calibration and vehicle stance should breed better consistency.

good idea. Yeah, the click would more likely be at the same point each tank.

I'm guess just to 'addicted to/wedded to' finding the cheapest gas within a reasonable distance via GasBuddy.com to do that.