Can't break 40MPG...

[Sodium Duck]

Originally Posted by BailOut

Have you looked into the Hang Time technique which is stickied at the top of this forum? It is much less labor intensive than P&G, and it lets you maintain a narrower speed band.

Yup yup, I've read all your posts a lot. But don't you say you need a ScanGauge to do this technique?

[BailOut]

Originally Posted by Sodium Duck

Yup yup, I've read all your posts a lot. But don't you say you need a ScanGauge to do this technique?

I mention in that thread that you don't have to have a ScanGauge for the Hang Time technique but that it's easier to dial it in with one.

[anonymous user]

I, like Sodium, barely crack 40 MPG on a tank. I think i've done it twice.
Anyway, my question is that since i only usually drive my car during the workweek, i usually only drive it monday-friday, and sometimes only 4 times a week. So on weekends it sits on the curb. How much does this sitting for 2-3 days a week affect my mileage? I may run a test to see how it works.

[mikenacarato]

i think of it as....well the yaris gets better mileage than my last car...thats good enough for me. why can you all be happy getting high 30s?

[rningonfumes]

Originally Posted by mikenacarato

i think of it as....well the yaris gets better mileage than my last car...thats good enough for me. why can you all be happy getting high 30s?

Because happiness is relative.

[1stToyota]

Originally Posted by mikenacarato

i think of it as....well the yaris gets better mileage than my last car...thats good enough for me. why can you all be happy getting high 30s?

...or low 40s here, and this is with actually driving on a highway at 60+ mph, and never having old ladies flip me off for driving too slow for them.

[mikenacarato]

well im coming from a 13 mpg lincoln. instead of me squeezing every last drop of fuel from my yaris...i would rather have some fun with it and still get great mileage...and for the record..i get 42 mpg from mine.

[SpaceShot]

What I think trips up the logic on the Neutral coasting versus DFCO in gear, is that in Neutral the engine will rev just a little bit higher and you will actually use more gas on that down slope and worse yet, the fuel from that extra revs isn't putting any useful energy into the wheels.
This is hard to see without a ScanGuage or at least a Tach.

It does take effort and practice to give it just enough gas coming out of the down slope to minimize your loss of momentum and speed. There is a strong pull to step on it a little too much if the car slows down more than 5 Mph, which tends to undo some of the savings you just made coming down the hill.

Again look at your route, maybe you can find a way to coast from Mt. Wachusett most of the way home ;-)

By the way, 3 trips this week at 45 Mpg in my 08 manual LB, and its not even May yet. You can do this!

[Loren]

Sitting around has no effect other than the usual cold-start penalty. My car quite often sits undriven for 3-5 days at a time, I work from home. I can immediately get in it and turn a 45+ mpg trip average anytime I want to. Traffic usually makes it difficult to get more than 38-42 mpg, though.

[Sodium Duck]

Bah! Just filled up, 39.80MPG!

Something drastic must be done!

[Loren]

There's a technique called DWB - Drive Without Brakes. Essentially, it's just a way to make more use of coasting and DFCO. Sort of a mental exercise, really. Just drive as if you don't have brakes. If you didn't have brakes, you'd be looking WAY further ahead and anticipating stops, downshifting and much more carefully managing your speed. That's what you need to be doing for max fuel economy. Anytime you touch the brake pedal, you're wasting energy, turning it into heat.

Think that will help you?

[Sodium Duck]

Well, I do that to an extent now, but I will take it to the next level -- I think that will give me my .2MPG. On the way back from the gas station tonight, I was practically using just my pinky toe on it, coasting way far away into lights and using DFCO a lot. *fingers crossed*

I think that will help!

[CTScott]

I recently picked up a used Scangauge. I usually get about 35 MPG max, and now I see why - I never thought that I had a heavy foot, but I often see 5 MPG for a few seconds when accelerating from a stop. With the Scangauge I am learning to accelerate more gently and am expecting that at my next fill-up I'll notice a significant difference.

[The Spectacle]

Originally Posted by CTScott

I recently picked up a used Scangauge. I usually get about 35 MPG max, and now I see why - I never thought that I had a heavy foot, but I often see 5 MPG for a few seconds when accelerating from a stop. With the Scangauge I am learning to accelerate more gently and am expecting that at my next fill-up I'll notice a significant difference.

I just got one too and I notice how far my MPG dips when accelerating BUT that whole "pretend like you're pressing an eggshell instead of a gas pedal" has me flustered. I mean, this car already has no power and you want me to baby it from a stop? Don't get me wrong, I've tried it to see how it affects the instantaneous meter on the SG but it takes too long for me to get up to speed for my tastes.

As such, my MPG isn't nearly as high as you guys is. Maybe I need to some fuel saving mods to help out. Check my MPG in the sig lol. Pathetic I know but hey, its better than my other car by a long shot.

[Sodium Duck]

Hmm, when you accelerate from a stop how high do your rev's go? Is that the only major fuel burning thing you've noticed yourself doing with the Scangauge?

[CTScott]

Originally Posted by Sodium Duck

Hmm, when you accelerate from a stop how high do your rev's go? Is that the only major fuel burning thing you've noticed yourself doing with the Scangauge?

I don't gun it, but it doesn't take much to really suck the fuel to get the car in motion.

The other place I've noticed a significant reduction in instantaneous mileage is going up hills. I find with a couple of hills around me that I sit at 15-20 MPG most of the way up the hill.

[Loren]

Originally Posted by Sodium Duck

Hmm, when you accelerate from a stop how high do your rev's go? Is that the only major fuel burning thing you've noticed yourself doing with the Scangauge?

How high you rev is only part of your concern when trying to save fuel under acceleration. Throttle position is as important, and probably MORE important.

You'll use more fuel with a heavy foot shifting at 2000 than you will with a light foot shifting at 2500

[CTScott]

Originally Posted by Loren

How high you rev is only part of your concern when trying to save fuel under acceleration. Throttle position is as important, and probably MORE important.

You'll use more fuel with a heavy foot shifting at 2000 than you will with a light foot shifting at 2500

Exactly - It's that whole pretend your stepping on an egg shell thing...