This whole slow acceleration business... help!
 

Ok, I have been basically glued to this website since I found it, and think this whole concept is awesome. However, I need some help understanding certain things about my care and about the infamous Tarabell article.

First off, its 10F in MN today, and I only autostopped once on my 7 mile city drive to work, which is incredibly frustrating. I have yet to check my tire pressure, which will be done today, but I have blocked the grill in the front with pipe insulation as suggested in other posts - any idea why I am only getting 36.4 miles per gallon? Is this just what I deal with now that its way too cold? The car overall before winter had 40.3 mpg, but since the cold started coming its down to 39.9, and falling fast now (car only has 5k miles on it)

Second question, what does ICE mean in Tarabell's note?

Third question, what exactly does slow acceleration mean? People say they accelerate very slowly - what rpm are people accelerating at, and how long would it take them to get to say, 45 mph? I personally have been trying to stay at about 1,500 rpm during acceleration, but I get the impression that I won't be making people behind me real happy.

Any help anyone would be able to provide an aspiring quasi hypermiler would be much appreciated.

Thanks!

Re: This whole slow acceleration business... help!
 

1. As you can see, the cold does have an impact. However, you should not be getting that poor FE. If you want you can try and Engine Block Heater (EBH), so you don't have to warm your car up. That should increase your FE, but probably not more than you would be getting on a warmer day.
2. ICE: Internal Combustion Engine
3. From what I've read, most people try and stay below 2,000 or 2,500 RPM. Personally, I try and stay below 2,500 unless I'm getting on the freeway, because it is not safe to go that slow. It is possible that you are accelerating too slowly. I was doing this at the beginning too.

It takes a bit of practice, but once you get the technique down, you can get good MPG without trying too hard. I cannot imagine what it is like to drive in 10F. The temperature here dropped about 20-30F (to 50-60) and my FE has fallen over 4mpg.

GOOD LUCK!

Re: This whole slow acceleration business... help!
 

Hi, I live in the Mpls area too, well, actually Apple Valley. Yes, it's been pretty cold in the morning the past few days. Honestly, the HCH doesn't do well in just straight city driving. I can barely get 40 MPG in the city. This is what I do to maximize my MPG:

*Park in the garage (if possible).
*Start the car and go (no long warm ups).
*Accelerate under 2K (RPMs) and no more than 3 bars of assist.
*Drive like you have no brakes (glide and decelerate to stops).
*Tire pressure to 40 PSI.
*There's a sweet spot when stepping on the gas pedal to maintain your speed (in city driving) where you can get the bars on the FE gage to max out. You'll have to play around to find it.

BTW, the cold has dropped my MPG from 52 to 44. Also, I drive 30% city and 70% Hwy. Good luck and I hope this helps.

PF

Re: This whole slow acceleration business... help!
 

Unfortunately, I used to commute via the 35W bridge, and obviously that isn't available anymore, so I am forced towards city driving, unless I get up earlier and on the interstate by 6:30AM, which doesn't sound all that appealing to me.

Do others find that using the top of the gas petal, as mentioned in tarabell's post, gives them more control to find the 'sweet spot(s)' mentioned?

Re: This whole slow acceleration business... help!
 

36 MPG in 10 degree weather?

I think that's excellent.

Try getting that in most cars.

Re: This whole slow acceleration business... help!
 

That's a valid point, but people in Canada are getting much better FE than I am, and I know it is usually much colder there, which is why I am a bit concerned about 36 mpg.

Re: This whole slow acceleration business... help!
 

With such cold temps and such a short commute the only way to see a substantial increase in FE will be with a Block Heater.

Even then it'll only help when you are commuting TO work.

Just keep in mund that all those other cars out there are getting way worse. When your 40mpg-car is only getting 36mpg, the 20mpg-car next to you is likely getting 16mpg.

Cheers!

Re: This whole slow acceleration business... help!
 

Heh, I too try to stick to 1500 RPM and people want to brutally murder me (I only do this on roads with 2+ lanes). Sometimes if I feel gluttonous I'll rev it up to 2000.

I think with practice you'll improve, so don't worry about it just yet.

Re: This whole slow acceleration business... help!
 

i've noticed that Little Put-Put really likes the warm weather. there's a 1.3 mile downhill slope that i can go electric down when its warm but now that it's 50 degrees at night the best i can do is to coast then accelerate then coast then.......

Re: This whole slow acceleration business... help!
 

As has been said, check your tire pressure (I personally run at 48), but by and large, you're probably getting about as good as can be expected.

As a comparison, I've got family up in the Twin Cities, and because their drives are filled with lots of 2-5 mile jumps, the car never gets to warm up, and they live under 40mpg lifetime with frequent forced-regen. When they visit OH, and can try some hypermile techniques, they've been able to tag 60mpg through WI flatlands, so (at least for them), it's very clearly a drive/route problem, not a car problem. You can also take a look at my mpg chart (http://bbhhs96.dyndns.org/~czakelj/images/mpg.jpg, I'll update it later today), which tracks individual tank, lifetime, and temperature.