Yesterday I went on a trip and got my best MPG tank at 57.7. Looking at the database there are a number of you that have a LMPG higher than that. I'm trying to figure out what the heck you guys are doing? During this trip I had miles logged finally with flat roads for miles. What speeds are you guys driving around town and on the freeway? Just trying to figure out if I am missing something other than driving slower than 10 miles under speed limit.

 

James,

The way these guys seem to be able to do this is by driving very slowly and accelerating even more slowly.

I know Kenny drives 53mph on the SoCal freeway. Why he hasn't been shot at yet is the real question.

Ron in SoCal also

 

Assuming that a HCH II can be operated using roughly the same principles as a normal car...

From an aerodynamic perspective, you should be fine up to roughly 60mph before the drag losses begin to get really nasty. So your around town steady-state speed shouldn't matter too much as long as the CVT cranks up to a high gear ratio.

IMHO, the real trick to 'hypermiling' in any vehicle is managing the transients: acceleration and deceleration. Minimize both! You lucky hybrid folks have the advantage of regenerative braking, which really helps. But it isn't 100% efficient and can only provide so much stopping power before the friction brakes kick in. That said, every time you stop you bleed off kinetic energy to heat one way or another, which is somewhat like splashing gasoline out of your tank. You have to accelerate to re-gain your speed, and that takes a whole lot more fuel than steady-state cruising no matter how gentle you are with the throttle. IMA helps, but again it isn't 100% efficient. That energy may be partially recovered braking losses (good) or it may be from a recent forced regen if the pack level got too low (bad, because that is a lossy process).

So accelerating gently and cruising at a reasonable speed are a big part of driving for efficiency. But planning ahead to minimize energy lost to braking and subsequent acceleration are even more important, if my experience is worth anything. As the sayings go: drive as if your brakes have failed, and pretend that there is an egg between your foot and the accelerator . You have to be very in-tune with your surroundings to do it, which keeps you safe to boot!

 

James, first off congratulations on the 57.7mpg! That's great and doesn't come easy. You must be doing pretty much everything right. I'm only on my 5th tank, so am still trying out different techniques. Are you letting up on the gas pedal to see how light you can keep it and still maintain speed? I've found that on level surfaces when I try to pin the instantaneous fuel gauge that I can get better mpg for a significant amount of time before the speed begins to slowly drift downwards. I think of it as a hi-speed P&G, with much less variation in mph, maybe 5mph. Even going down a very slight decline can give you an opportunity to max out the mpgs and go into EV mode. Thanks for the thread! I hope to learn from the other drivers out there who've gotten super mpg!

 

Yep, I almost never go over 53 MPH.
And I stay in the far rightmost lane of 4 to 7 lanes.
Also leave a TON of space in front of me so I almost never have to use my brakes.
If the traffic in front of me slows down I also ease off the accelerator, WAY before I get to the car in front of me.
If I EVER have to use my brakes on the freeway I consider it to be a failure.
It means I was following too close, and the gas I used to get up to that speed I was going was wasted. (Well SOME was wasted considering regenerative braking.)
Over 2.5 years I am getting better at just never getting up to unnecessarily high speed given the traffic flow.

Also very very slow acceleration from a stop.
Frequently I'll creep from a stop and when the cars to the left of me have passed I'll get into that lane to get out of the way of the cars behind me.

I chose routes with fewer cars or less aggressive drivers.

On the freeway I prefer driving in bad traffic now.
No pressure to go fast.
When there are very few cars in on a Los Angeles freeway everyone gets giddy and even the right lanes are zooming at 65 or 70 MPH.
Ironically I stay out of the carpool lane 99% of the time, even when I could be going faster there.

Just keep practicing.
I've had 2.5 years to experiment.

 

For three months I've been wondering what was wrong with my HCHII and/or what I was doing wrong. I saw those super numbers posted by Kenny and the others and wondered how it was possible to get numbers that high. Well, since passing through the 3,500 mile barrier, my numbers are up considerably and I'm definitely in the ballpark now!

My current tank has 120 miles on it, and I'm at 57.3 on the gauge (which should be 59 calculated, based upon the error rate I've seen since new). I've been avoiding the short local weekend trips, driving a tad bit slower (57 average) and hopping in behind trucks (at a reasonable distance) when possible. Also, no or very limited A/C. All of this makes a big difference... but the car just seems to get higher MPG now vs. the same type of driving I was doing before. I can't imagine what is happening at 3,500 miles (to me or the car or to both), but it DOES make a difference. To everyone out there who has <3,500 and is disappointed with the MPG, be patient and you'll get your reward soon!

Once I get my HM star on the database, I intend to return to somewhat more "normal" driving (my wife is wondering why I never let her drive the car... why I'm a little "damp" when arriving home on a hot day... and why I use her car for the short trips during the weekend!!!). I suspect I'll ultimately settle in around 50 mpg. I'd be content with that!

 

How do you get a Star? What is the criteria to get HM status?

 

HM is beating the EPA estimate over 3000+ miles.

 

Less aggressive drivers in Southern Cali where?

Bad traffic is a good thing and I too get better mileage as long as there is room to glide. I just recently got my Scion XB to almost 39mpg for a tank using pulse and glide. It's almost like neutral was a gear once the car was rolling in traffic.

 

here 's an article to help you squeeze more juice from your HCHII

http://www.cleanmpg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1306