... With this simple, cheap chip I keep stumbeling over on eBay

All we have to do is buy this $10ish chip, plug it in, and guarunteed 10-14mpg increase, AND 25HP increase also! amazing isn't it?! We should all buy one, heck if one's good, 2's better right?

Incase you can't sence my sarcasam, I've tried several (safe) tricks and haven't been able to maintain above 32mpg myself. I just decided the short didstance I drive, at highway speeds, 30-32 is best, and can expect to start seeing a decline going into winter, hope no to big of a hit as gas is still climbing. But I look at it like, do I like 28-32mpg now, or 11-16 I was getting in previous vehicles?! I like now, no matter how low.

PS Any word yet on 08 Accessories avability, aside from the 2-3 I've seen (chrome escape letters for the bumper, Ford bug shield)

2008 Escape Hybrid FWD
Ice Blue w/Chrome Pkg
Moonroof
Leather Premiem pkg
http://www.starlinkdss.com/Escape.htm
Mods: Tint front to match, Cargo Cover, Keyless Pad, Flaps, Side Moldings.
Want to add Chrome Bug Shield


2000 Expedition Eddie Bauer

Those short trips will kill anyones averages including mine. I've worked on methods trying to reduce my warm-up hit, and other than a few fake shifts, I've settled on this.

1 Always back-up into your parking spot (face out), so no reverse is not needed to get going. Most of the time this is done in EV with a warm ICE. My HV battery is always low when I park.

2 Prepare everything (electronics, gauges, windows, seatbelts etc.), including taking your right shoe off before starting the vehicle. I like having a shoe that I can slip on and off with or without shoe strings still tied. In other words, I drive with my sock for accelerator feel.

3 As soon as I start the engine, I shift to drive and get moving only after traffic is clear.

4 It is very important to allow the engine to stay as close to the warm-up idle while using as less HV battery to accelerate with the electric motors as possible. If the temperature is below 60F, regen is reduced and almost gone at 40F. This is why having a low HV battery is important even more. The low battery will warm and charge much faster and cause a bigger load for warming the engine. With temperatures above 60F, shift to low when you must slowdown to assist charging.

5 Go EV with "L" or tapping the brake pedal in "N" very lightly as soon as possible. Stay in EV as much as possible.

Don't forget to purchase that chip I sell on eBay also!

GaryG

The fact is, I don't sell a chip, but I give away what works for me as a hypermiler. Tell everyone you tried my techniques and they don't work, but look at my recorded results at the MPG Challenge. It's free, and it works!

Gas is going up in price and you can continue to spend more money if you want, just drive the same as you do.

For those who want to save and pollute less, I've had some good suggestions.
GaryG

I'm trying to understand this statement in #4.

Are you saying the hybrid battery charges (increases?) the "state-of-charge" faster when the state of charge is lower (ie 40% opposed to 48% or higher) or am I just misreading the statement?


"Cause a bigger load for warming the engine". I'm not sure exactly what is being said.

I think it means the engine will be forced to work (extra?) in recharging the hybrid battery and this extra work will generate heat that can speed up the process of getting the vehicle ready to go EV. If this is what is being stated, then all of us are using more fuel at idle speed (slow motoring in the a.m.) when the engine is cold then when the engine is warm?

Can use of the engine block heater (with the attachment to the heating elements in the hybrid battery) speed up this process without increasing the hybrid's battery state of charge? Something tells me to post some photos of this process I described using the new x-gauges to prove or disprove this concept.

2005 AWD Escape Hybrid
Best Interstate tank trip MPG 39.02 (scangauge II) for 402 miles on I-70, 10.3 gallons used over mostly flat terrain.

Best Interstate tank trip E30 MPG 34.6 for 271 miles along I-80 in Indiana and Ohio.

Best multiple road tank trip E30 MPG 36.2 for 202 miles in Southwestern Pa.

Billy, I don't have a block heater, so I can't comment on anythings to do with that. A faster charge when the HV battery is low will also create more load on the engine. However, do not mistake the warm-up idle with the timing being retarded as that load. In other words, once the engine begins charging during warm-up, it's under a heavy load charging the HV battery if it has a low SOC.

Example- first starting out the battery is low but continues to provide power to the electric motors for acceleration. Once the battery reaches its lower limits, the engine advances timing to normal and begins charging the HV batery. The engine is now under a heavy load because the battery accepts a faster charge. This warms the engine and the battery faster.

Now, do you want to check your x-gauge?

GaryG