to me, it seems a bit odd. is anyone behind you when you do this?

 

Of course it is a bit odd. I go to work early so no one is behind me. If someone was to get behind I'd start the car normally to get out of the way a couple seconds faster.

The OD does record ICE off if you click back into "run". Keep in mind I'm only pushing a few feet before a downhill section takes over. To make it completey fair I guess I could leave the car off during the actual push but that would be a lot of trouble.

According to Edmunds the car weighs 2675 lbs. It is easy to push. I tried to push the Vette for grins Saturday and it was much harder and did not roll on the down hill. I had to push it most of the way from the gate to the parking spot.

 

Lakedude:



Was just giving you a hard time. Congrats on the pursuit of the record tank




However, as you will probably guess, I have decided that 'pushing' the vehicle is not something i am going to pursue. In fact, I have decided to get drunk full time to deal with these matters. If i am drunk, my brain will not hurt, and i of course cant drive after drinking, so i can save tons of gas that way.

 

Yes the headlights and wipers do perhaps make a small difference in FE. If the windshield fogs up and you need to use AC you would take a pretty big mileage hit. The biggest thing is just the actual water on the road. Imagine driving through a big puddle, what happens to your car? I makes a lot of noise and slows down. When driving in rain look and listen for water drive in a portion of the lane that has the least water noise and the least water. What is funny is that the dryest part might be where others have driven and cleared the water like on a new or concrete road but on an old asphault road traffic leaves ruts and water collects in the ruts.

 

good plan!

 

If you want to add a little musle to your Hybrid you might want to check TWIKE sight out.....Louis www.twike.com/

 

Nice points.

 

I understand you were just giving the "dude" a hard time, but the fact of the matter is that each of us have our own standards about what is reasonable or unreasonable in the pursuit of mpg. Personally, I think pushing is...cheating. I know it is a harsh word, probably too harsh but I can't think of a more delicate one at the moment. My issue is that it is no longer using the car's technology and driving environment to pursue the mpg, your are using leg power. But it is not really a big deal, to each his own.

I know some members here think turning the engine off to coast is beyond the pale and cheating. Oh well. In a way, every driver's tanks would need an asterisk to explain what special measures that driver takes. But then, that asterisk would simply point to the data that we all disclose in our tank notes, and we can all make our judgments about the merits of the various efforts.

For me, the "dude" knows, I don't like to call a tank until I have no bars left on the gas guage unless there is some reason to fill early. A tank is a tank of gas, not simply when I decide to gas because I am afraid my mpg display number will run into reality. If a "record tank" slips away, so be it. The "dude" has explained to me why he fills when he does, I don't really get it, but it is his call. I just don't want to stop to buy gas and go through the fillup procedure. I also don't avoid rain days or weekends or even maddening stop and go stadium traffic. To gas early to "preserve" a hi mpg number simply means the next "tank" will start off without the benefit of the hi mpg sweet spot driving, and then will be artifically low. The tank to tank variations will be greater, with an occasional extreme "tank", but the average will tell the whole story.

 

BTW, if I park my HCH to preserve a record mpg, I have to drive my Dodge Durango that gets 15 mpg. I am NOT going to do that. I drive the Durango when I need the Durango, for hauling soap box derby cars, more than 5 passengers with gear, and towing my boat or jet skis. This year I have gone up to 3 months without starting the Durango.

Also, if I need a "push" to start rolling to get to a parking space, I use the key and start the ICE for the smallest pulse necessary before quickly shutting off the ICE and coasting to my parking spot.

 

Did anyone notice the retractable, "5th wheel" Insight at Tour de Sol?

If someone wants to install an auxillary 'creeper' motor, fine by me. Of course the NHW20 Prius has a built-in one, called EV mode.

So what if someone get's out and pushes the car? Perhaps they should just make the floor board removable so they can do a "Flintstone."

Alternatively, they could get an Acme Inc, crank operated, boot terminated pole that fits in the window. The delux version has two poles. The supercharged version has three. Just turn the crank and move forward (soon to be offered by JC Whitney along with the fuel line magnet.)

Wait, wait, no! Use a small team of dogs in the trunk. Just pop the trunk and a pack of Jack Russel Terriers pull the car (if you need reverse.) Ok, suspend a bunny rabbit toy on a pole in front of the car. WARNING: do not use if there are squrrels around.

Better yet, in Huntsville we have this guy who builds hybrid rocket engines for bicycles . . . or get some fireworks rockets . . . or some of those F-series model rocket engines.

Bob Wilson