I've attached a photo of my current tank of gas at 598.6 Miles traveled and 52.2 MPG. I'm not done with the tank so sometime soon I'll update the photo when it crosses over 600 miles since I'm sure I have 1.5 miles remaining on the tank of gas (in fact, since the last bar just dissapeared and its rumored to dissapear at 11 gallons consumed, I'm sure I have another 50 miles at least.

Again, most of you know my terrain but I commute to work 31 miles each day and there are lots of hills in both directions up and down and I have a few miles between freeway and home that is all uphill to my house and downhill away from but there are about 3 or so lights each mile in that stretch and I *always* catch reds so I always have to stop and then accelerate. Even on a course (550 miles plus on the tank) that takes 25 miles of near perfect hypermiling (80+ MPG for 90%+ of the trip just to get .1 MPG gained) I lost .2 MPG going up the hill. I did find a new route today that actually has many greens and allows me to travel at 35 MPH using 55 MPGs up the hill for 4.8 miles from freeway to house. I'll travel it home more days and see if it helps. I figure if I perfect it, then I should be pulling 56 MPG soon.

Oh, two of the days in this tank of gas had wind. One day I was with the wind for 31 miles and was averaging 90+ on the MPG meter the whole way at 1,100 RPM and one day (this morning) I was averaging 55 MPG against the wind at 2,200 RPM.

http://www.zenofdotnet.com/downloads...tTankSoFar.jpg

Thanks,
Shawn

 

i got 621 out of my last tank, with a tank avg of 46.4, but i filled the tank ttt with 13.4 gal.

 

As I reported elsewhere and posted in the database my last tank was at 603 miles with at least another 60 miles fuel to go - but then none of us is really sure what the tank actually holds? A truly fascinating car and a pleasure to drive! Love it.

 

In my experience, the last bar disappears before 11 gallons...more like 10.5. I've not hit 600. Easily could have on my last tank (filled at 567), but I was done with the day, and didn't want to worry about filling it early the next morning.

 

So far, 6 of my 14 tanks have gone over 600 miles. I have topped off once and went for 744 miles. With the cold weather, it may a lot harder to get those 600 mile tanks. Then again, I think I am going to have a block heater installed next week. That should help quite a bit with my short morning commute.

 

Okay, I filed up 11.3 gallons on 52.3 (displayed) MPG for 613 miles. I use the MPG x12 = time to fill up rule. But according to this, I could have gone another 45 miles or so. I will adapt to the MPG x12.5 rule in the future for MPG above 50 and MPG x12 for MPG less than 50.

Also, I've noticed, something interesting. In various parts of my commute when doing ~58 MPH I struggle to mainting the MPG and speed for, say, a 3-5 mile stretch during slighly upward incline. But on those same stretches when doing 70, I not only mainting the speed but also have 20-50% more MPG displayed on the meter for stretches of 3-7 miles. I've been watching and timing and taking notes and it seems to be so.

In other parts of the commute, when doing ~55 (on a downward slope) I can maintain 45-52 MPG (displayed in the meter) for about 1-2 miles but when doing ~70 I can maintain 85+ MPG and even be accelerating.

Then, other times when coming over a hill and ready to descend on the slope, if I have my speed at ~58 MPH I can keep my MPG meter at 50 MPG and gain speed (about 5-8 MPH) or I can "feather touch" the gas and gain about 70 MPG but retain my current speed (if not lose some). But if I am doing 63-70 on the same slope I can not only increase my speed about 5 MPH when "feath touching" the gas but I also keep the meter at 80+ MPG. I know the MPG are correct becaue the displayed MPG average increases considerably during those times.

I don't know what to call the phonomenon of going fast on certain uphill grades (gradual grades -- say 35 feet elevation over 1+ miles) and have really high MPG/speeds maintained... so I call them "boost"... because I know when I reach those points I will get MPG/Speed boost if I'm already doing a certain speed. Thus, when my wife asks me what I'm doing I tell her I'm "boosting"... because sometimes I increase speed before encountering the hill and then near the top I barely touch the gas (I can't let my foot off or I lose my momentum) and then "glide" and almost always gain MPG. In some places I'll gain .1-.3 and in two specific places I have gained as much as 1.1 MPG.

Thus, while I pulled off 613 miles for this tank doing 53-55 MPH average, I seem to already be doing much better MPG by going 65-70.

Also, I've learned, driving while relaxed will make a 5-8 MPG difference on the tank avarage (in my case). Those times when I'm tense (or really cold) I have to baby the I-MPG meter and always *lose* MPG over the course of the anxiety. But when I'm super relaxed and calm as a gentle breeze, MPG's come "naturally". Interesting.


Thanks,
Shawn

 

Some of what you're experiencing is very likely variations in wind speed and direction. Also, sometimes what seems like a downhill slope can really be an uphill slope - optical illusion caused by the surrounding terrain. Especially at night.

However, you'll notice when you drive more just how much an effect a head or tailwind can have on your FE. It's the same in a standard car, but without the eyeing of a FE gague, you probably would never have noticed it.

 

I get 600 mile tanks with my 06 Civic EX... Come on Hybrid owners. A 700 mile tank should almost be a give me. And a 800 mile tank not out of the question.

 

Depends on the terrain. When you have mostly hills and lights, a 600 mile tank is well-earned. When you have flat open land and no lights or traffic, then perhaps 700 miles tank is a "give me".

To put this in perspective, I have multiple co-workers that also have an '06 Civic or Prius. They openly admit that after 6 months (or so) their best tank is 41 MPG but they also admit they don't care about FE and only about the carpool sticker (where I work, people make some horrendus commutes). The three of them didn't know the carpool stickers were extended until 2011 and were ready to sell the car once the carpool stickers expired in '08.

When I showed them my odometer that said 52.3 MPG and 613 miles on the tank, they were stunned and then went back to "I don't care about that"... (they just care about the carpool sticker). I'm the only one of 6 people I personally know that has one of these cars and tries to improve each tank of gas.

So, from that perspective, 600 miles in hills, lights, and lots of traffic is rather remarkable.


Thanks,
Shawn

 

ShawnB,

Go to the "Compare" tab, then click on HCHII - when you get the list of members click on individual cars. You will see who has gotten 600, 700, and even 800 mile tanks. Mostly the owners who have higher (50+) MPG. Keep up the good work. Don't let your co-workers discourage you. You're saving more $$ and helping the planet.

Regards,