I have a 03 HCH purchased so early I got it below sticker. California HIBRD plate. My fuel ecomomy runs about 38 mpg overall-low 40s on freeway. Are there instructions anywhere on how to get the very high MPGs I see on this forum?

I maximize recharge on coming to stop and take off gradually but I thought I read that you should take off at high boost.

 

Welcome to the community mtrummel and thanks for the post!
I wrote an article regarding this and you can find it here:

https://www.greenhybrid.com/learn/ar...fficiency.html

In there I mention a certan amount of "bars" of assist while accellerating. Since I wrote that I've found out that the slower acceleration as practical you can do will provide the best economy.

For example when accelerating from a stop I "surf" the edge of assist to just barely keep it on. Traffic permitting I'll cut the assist at 30-35MPH and dramatically raise (Lean burn). If on a level surface it's usually raised to about 60MPG and accelerate from there. That's if accelerating up to a 45MPH limit.

You'd be suprised how often you can accelerate at a very slow rate, even in traffic. Keep an eye out behind you. If your follower is WAY behind you can back off and save.

If I'm getting onto the freeway or any other fast pace I'll maximize and use any downhill portion of the road to gain speed and take it from there.

Using the same techniques in that article we also raised our Grand Caravan from 15-16MPG up to low 20's. The highest I'd been able to raise the Grand Caravan economy so far was 28MPG. VERY careful driving but look at the results.

 

Maximizing recharge is not as good as maximizing coasting. When you coast, you burn no gas, regardless of how much regeneration you're getting. So coasting for a long stretch is alot better than braking over a shorter stretch. But if you have to stop very soon, braking to maximize recharge is of course alot better than coasting the same distance then slamming on the brakes.

BTW there are a number of people, even here, who get mileage similar to yours. One person has gone through 37 tanks of gas and averaged 35 mpg; another went through 48 tanks and averaged 38.4, and another went through 70 tanks and gets 38.8 mpg. Assuming you have the CVT.

 

I'm going to second what Hot Georgia said. Slow acceleration is key.

 

And I'm going to second what both Hot Georgia, tblano, and my fellow geek CGameProgrammer, say.

There are varying driving environments and driving styles out there, which yield MPG results from high 30's to low 60's. Some folks have commutes of 2 to 5 miles, which will slaughter your MPG. Some have friendlier commutes. So much is dependent on your own situation, it is unwise to focus solely on the raw numbers.

That said, I would recommend following the advice posted here, and choose what works best for you. Most of us have improved our mileage by 5 MPG or more by altering our driving habits to maximize fuel economy. You will probably find that the most effective 'techniques' are really just common sense: go the speed limit, coast to red lights, don't accelerate fast, maintain tire pressure at or above the recommended value.

Good luck!

 

Not that you need yet another person to agree with you, but I do!



I just wish I lived in a less populated area then I do, where roads are so congested most drives feel the need to go like a bat out of He!! as soon as the light turns green, just to get as many cars through on each light change. In addition, it is not uncommon to have 1 or 2 cars go thorough a light that just turned red. I cannot count how many times I was nearly rear-ended because I stopping for a red light!



While I know I have more of a right to drive conservatively as other to drive aggressively, I try to balance out my driving to accelerate as slowly as I feel is safe.

 

Hmmm...so, it's better to accelerate slowly (minimizing assist) and then use the gas pedal as necessary to maintain speed?

From cgameprogrammer's post and the P&G posts, I inferred it was better to accelerate quickly which then allows you to maximize your coasting distance.

I must be confused.

 

There are many variables involved, so it really depends on the situation. The bottom line is that you want to spend more time coasting or cruising at a constant speed than you do accelerating. Depending on the routes you drive (city, highway, frequent stops, long stretches of cruise, etc.) you may need to adjust your acceleration rate to get the best FE. Too heavy on the pedal will almost certainly always hurt, so the optimal range is probably below 3000 RPM. I try to accel at 2000-2500 RPM most of the time and usually avoid more than 3 bars of assist unless there's a Ford Expedition on my tail .

 

P&G works real well, but you have to make sure you have enough time to finish the glide otherwise you will waste the energy braking.

The ideal speed to accelerate on the 7thgen (03-05) HCH is 2300 rpm. Any faster or slower and you are wasting gas. Again, this provides that you will be able to glide down to 25 or so. If you don't glide down to 25 then you would be better off not accelerating as fast.

If you are driving from light to light then you want to use as little acceleration as possible. I generaly try to keep my rpms below 1500 if trafic will allow.