Quote:
Originally Posted by haroldo
All of us share some type of an obsession with improving mileage, some more than others.
I wonder what the true hybrid differential is?
I know a few are getting >40 MPG and others >45 MPG, etc. due to a series of techniques.
We all know that the gas Camry gets ~ +/- 25 MPG.
I wonder what mileage a gas Camry would get if an owner were to go through some of the tactics like the hybrid owners.
Sure, some of the tactics are hybrid only, but if a gas Camry driver accelerates slowly, cruises to stops, pulses and glides on the highway, inflates tires to 38 PSI, etc. it stands to reason that his mileage similarly increase.
Who knows, he might get 30 MPG or more.
Does anyone know of any gas Camry owners who are (similarly) mileage obsessed? What are their stats?
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Actually, the EPA numbers DO tell the story. The telling part is the highway cycle mileage, where the TCH advantage is primarily from the more efficient ICE. In that case, the advantage is roughly 10%. The city cycle advantage is from the combination of ICE shut-off and the not throwing away the energy in the momentum in the form of brake heat (regenerative braking). Other advantages inherent in the TCH design include the elimination of the stepped auto trans and the fluid coupling (torque converter). This is one factor that gives big boost on the city cycle, as lock-up in the conventional automatic doesn't happen while accelerating.
The sum of these advantages is what's responsible for the 57% boost in the city cycle of the TCH vs the "regular" 4 cylinder Camry. Given consistent driving styles (e.g. "hypermiling"), the advantage would hold up. For all its criticism and the 'lack of correspondence to reality', the EPA cycle does give decent relative ratios that do hold up. Now, some drivetrains may be more optimized to the test cycles than others, and might 'break' the ratios, but that's another day's discussion.
