Not cynical at all am I, but I am curious and sometimes skeptical - and I'm not even from Missouri !!

Without a description of exactly HOW something like that was done, I think it would behoove us all not to get carried away by something that might be the Hybrid world's version of an "Urban Legend."

Think about it from this perspective: With no indications on the Prius II database of anyone else even getting in the 70s for a tank, much less the 80s ( except for the one 85.7 tank) is it not possible that those tanks (if not flat out lies or jokes or doctored pictures) might be computer errors of some sort? ( I'm not accusing anyone of anything, no flame posts please !! )

I mean, if I felt like it I could reset my Trip B and take a picture at 985 miles and use PhotoShop to paste my 87.8 mpg from my 2.6 mile trip and BINGO, there is an 87.8 mpg 985 mile tank !!! (Again, I'm not saying that is what happened with that 85.7 MPG tank, but I am pointing out that it IS possible to do that !! )

I work in the computer field and I see random, unexplainable computer errors in MANY kinds of solid state devices and servo computers and computers of all types. Can we be certain that our car computers cannot have this sort of error?

Just food for discussion !!!

 

Cruise control set to 37mph. All backroads with minimal stops. Windows up and no A/C all the way, and (in Dan't own word) driving in underwear. Finished the whole thing 33 hours non-stop so as not to take the hit on the cold start. He supposedly had enough gas to go 1000 miles but hit a small hump on the road at a late stage. The tipped the fuel tank and triggered the finally out of fuel condition in the car.

As for the 87mpg, it really isn't all that amazing. Running at 37mph on a flat road non-stop, a Prius can maintain 90mpg all day long. In fact, most the 5 minute bars on my daily commute are around the 80mpg mark. And that's in street traffic with minor rises and falls. It's the single big climb per day, plus the frequent short trips and cold starts on weekends, that bring things down to mid 60 level.

Dan himself has been very modest about this. It was done before pulse driving was common among high mpg Prius drivers around here. He recently commented that the number could have been higher if the whole thing were pulse driven.

Given the description above, you can imagine how much of an effort a run like that was. That answers your question on why this kind of number hasn't been repeated. But like I said, many think that 100mpg over 1100 miles could be achieved next time somebody go at it. Personally, given the extra mental load on the driver when pulse driving, I don't see how this kind of thing can be done by one person alone. Two to three people working on 3 hour shifts would probably do it though.

Andy

 

Hi Lars-ss:

___No, I believe they are correct. The pic of the dash is just to validate the actual miles traveled over actual gallons filled. One without the other might not fly but I have read of the same from those Japanese Hypermiler’s so there is no reason whatsoever to doubt the posted information. God knows when I tell someone what I have been receiving; they wonder and say BS … That is what the pics and gas receipts are for I guess

___Good Luck

___Wayne R. Gerdes
___Hunt Club Farms Landscaping Ltd.
___Waynegerdes@earthlink.net

 

OK think about that part: By himself, awake for 33 hours, in his underwear? How about stopping to pee, eat, rest - wouldn't those stops require either idling or stopping and restarting the car? And this part: Where can you find paved "backroads" where you can safely drive 37 mph (without holding up traffic or pissing off other drivers ) and have "minimal stops?" Would not these type of non-highway backroads have A LOT of stops - both stop signs and red lights? Was he going around in circles in a parking lot? (That would be an interesting test - find a large flat paved track and set the cruise at 37 mph and slow down only enough to change drivers every few hours and see if you could get 85 !! )

Dan, if you are listening to this, CONVINCE ME that this was a legitimate tank and I will SHUTUP about it !!

 

Hi Lars-ss:

___Apparently, Dan received this tank by setting cruise at 35 mpg and leaving it there? It took me a while to find it but the particulars were posted in the Prius-2G group over at Yahoo-Autos back in May of this year. I can’t extract the dash screenshot as I am not a member there but Jason is so he could. Anyway, here is Dan’s mini-chronicle:

967 Mile Tank, the particulars:

___You can see the entire post as well as the replies at the following:

http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/...G/message/8288

___He averaged 32 mph so he must have stopped for a short break or two even with the stop lights.

___With that, I remember a C&D article that you might want to read. Driving a non-setup 5-speed Insight at an average of 32 mph on a closed track setting gave these guys > 100 mpg. Little did they know

http://www.caranddriver.com/article.asp?se...article_id=3237

___Good Luck

___Wayne R. Gerdes
___Hunt Club Farms Landscaping Ltd.
___Waynegerdes@earthlink.net

 

I've just posted a screenshot to the download area. 3.4L/100km over 51km. That's about 69mpg over 32 miles. Done in almost exactly 24 hours. All street traffic and includes two cold and two warm starts. The route covers round trip to my current client site (my normal daily commute) plus round trip to my compay headquarters. The measurement started and stopped at the same place so there is no net elevation change. Now this is not quite in the 70's but then again we're talking street traffic plus one cold and one warm start every 16 miles.

Personally, I don't see why 85.7 mpg for a non-stop run is that difficult to believe. The reason why the tank numbers in the database are usually much lower is that these are real cars for real people. I understand, for example, Bill G. takes his car out for lunch close by. That essentially doubles your startup frequency. Do you know what that does to your mileage? And he still keeps 60mpg tank over tank. For me, I have to run errand all weekend long. That kills my mileage. Xcel was asking earlier why I don't step up to the plate and try for a new record. Well, I have a one year old at home that needs constant supervision. If I ever tell my wife I'm taking two days off to set a distance record, she'll think I've finally lost it...

<!--QuoteBegin-lars-ss@Sep 2nd 2004 @ 1:07 PM
I mean, if I felt like it I could reset my Trip B and take a picture at 985 miles and use PhotoShop to paste my 87.8 mpg from my 2.6 mile trip and BINGO, there is an 87.8 mpg 985 mile tank !!! (Again, I'm not saying that is what happened with that 85.7 MPG tank, but I am pointing out that it IS possible to do that !! )[/quote]
The Consumption screen on a Prius resets itself on every fillup. You can't make the number 985 appear unless you've actually done it within a tank. Of course, if you've gone to the trouble of Photoshop'ing the thing, why stop at the mpg right? Just take enough screenshots to get a sample of the digits 1 to 9 and you can slap together any number you want!

In any case, the screenshot I just posted was perspective corrected in Photoshop. I'm more than capable of slapping fake numbers onto the shot, but nothing like that was done here. You just have to take my word for it

Andy

 

Hi All:

___Another “Drive w/ Load” proponent receiving 69.5 mpg over a 732 mile distance in a Prius I … In fact, Rick uses a Graham Scanner and sets load as a parameter to drive too rather then estimated load via FCD for the highest fuel economy.

City

___Good Luck

___Wayne R. Gerdes
___Hunt Club Farms Landscaping Ltd.
___Waynegerdes@earthlink.net

 

Most of the North Georgia backroads can be described as this as soon as you are out of the high density congestion areas. My daily commute is one of these roads and goes for 10 mile stretches without stops.

The only other vehicle I've experimented with the load technique is the Grand Caravan.
Unfortuneatly that vehicle is such a PIG and only has a 7MPG difference from liberal or load style driving. The difference in my HCH is more than 30MPG.

As far as the guys mileage I don't doubt it. I am driving my HCH more "normally" and around the speed limits to get 55-60MPG tanks.
I'm not one to drive 35MPH for 900 miles but I wonder what the HCH could do in that situation.

 

Hi Hot_Georgia_2004:

___I wonder if I could hit 60 mpg and the 900 mile mark in the Corolla at that speed?

___Good Luck

___Wayne R. Gerdes
___Hunt Club Farms Landscaping Ltd.
___Waynegerdes@earthlink.net

 

OK you hyper-miling fanatics , I guess you have convinced me to believe the 85.7 mpg tank.........Dan's story seems sincere (though it was a very odd thing to do) and I will trust his version of the tank. ( I'd still like to see the roads he drove where he was able to drive 37 mph and not bother other drivers - there aren't many of those roads in the states I have lived in or visited...) B)

Still seems odd though that no one else in the Prius database even has a 70 mpg tank.........

Laterz..........