Well...I drive less than 12,000 miles per year; less than 10,000 even.

In 2007, I drove 9397.8 miles and used 329.266 gallons.
In 2008, I drove 9786.8 miles and used 272.431 gallons.

 

AlphaRat-I have only had my 09 TCH 2 months but the worst mileage I got was when I first got it. After reading and practicing the hypermiling and pulse & glide techniques I've read about on the different forums out there, I have increased my mileage to averaging 42 to 44 mpg. I get better mileage in the city than on the highway. I have also read about the different theoris with tires pressures and done some experimenting of my own. I started out with the 32 psi as recomended on the door. I was worried about running pressures too high as I'm old school and had always run with what was recommended on the door. I don't know what brand of tires came with your TCH but mine came with Bridgestones. This was the first time I ever had these tires and the seem ok, so far. Anyway the max side pressure rating on the Bridgestones is 51 psi. As I wrote I started out at 32psi and worked my way up, about 2 psi at a time. My normal driving is in the city about 30 to 40 mph. I figured what the heck, I'd try it this way and if I lost a tire, so be it, I wouldn't be going that fast and I also wouldn't be that far from home. As expected, each increase in tires pressure brought an increase in mpg along with an less power needed to get moving from a stop and increased coasting range too. I went as high as 58 psi in the tires. Strange but the benifites of increased tire pressure seemed to level off at 52 psi so that is where I have settle in at and what I am running now. I started out feeling uneasy with this but since have been on a 500 mile trip cruising at highway speeds and have had no problems at all and now feel safe and will continue running at this pressure. Each car and driver are different so I would recommend you do your own experiment for yourself and see what you think. Good luck, Rick

 

I'm sure there are thousands who can and will debate this topic further, but http://www.metallurgist.com/html/tire_pressure.html points out and http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tirete...e.jsp?techid=1
An accident (due to inability to stop in time, or worse, adverse driving conditions where greater tread contact is needed), damaged tire or shorter life on the tires can kill your mileage savings.
One other point, your increase in mileage will come from many factors, not only tire inflation. Your car is brand new, and most cars take a while to improve their efficiency. Weather also plays a big role (especially in the colder areas). You've also learned to drive differently. Simply put, I wouldn't play games with the tires, since it is the one of the most important parts of your car, from a safety perspective. Few would adjust their brakes to save a few pennies per mile. You 'experimented' at 7 psi over the maximum. I'm not an expert, but I don't think that is something that you want to do.
Better safe than sorry. There are no awards given for good mileage (other than the dashboard displaying "Excellent" when you turn the car off).

 

My Bridgestone are at 60 PSI... I won't recommend it but I can recommend 51. Road noise has increased significantly but anyone who has been in my car has not said one word. I got used to it rather quickly. I've only got ~26,000 miles after 3 years and last time I went to the dealership at around 25,000, my tires were at 10/32. I've had it at least 51 PSI for over a year now. I'm not going to debate as I understand your concerns but I will say I never did get my first 40 MPG tank until I went to 51 PSI.

 

I agree in that tire pressures can be debated over and over. I used to do some autocrossing in my younger days and the first this we did was to increase tire pressures to enhance and increase handling. Thats why I said to read all you can on the subject, then try your own experiment and make your own decision. Personally I have no problem with the ride and haven't noticed any increase in noise. I'll for one doubt I will ever return to that 32psi rating.

 

I have not played with the tire pressure yet, but did notice a sizeable increase in MPG after the first oil change - 5K miles. It seems to go into electric mode more often and stay there longer, so the "break in" period seems to have some merit. I just finished my first trip and got it up to close to 37mpg.

 

I always ran my tires at 35 psi cold. I would inflate them to 40, allow them to cool a few hours at night. Then let them down to 35 psi each.

My car came with Michelin Energy tires. 44 max on the air pressure. I ran them at 38 for a few months as tired do have to break in some. I read here in the greenhybrid forums where some ran 40 and 42 psi. I decided to give the 40 psi a try. Again, I did mine at night when the tires were cool. I was surprised the michelins still gave a good ride with the exception of one railroad track we cross at low speed near our house.

My '07 TCH is somewhere around 20K miles. I use our local walmart for rotate and balance due to their low lifetime price. The tires new read 11/32 and are now down to 9/32. I'm slowly looking for one of the new sets that are designed to increase the gas mileage.

Bridgestone, Michelin, Goodyear and Hankook all have a tire out like that. Michelin has a green dot indicating it's contains the new mpg rubber compound. I like to take my time and choose which is the best ride and best economy. That would include the tire weight, price for the set of the tires and their lasting ability.

 

I haven't played around too much w/ the tire pressure. I was out and about in the TCH today and I always try to get it to stay in battery mode. I was running w/ the A/C on and it was darn near impossible to keep it from kicking in - even at 30 mph. I made about a 10 mile trip and didn't even get out of the first eco-bar range..... Some days are like that. Averaging 34.4 mpg on this tank - mainly in town.

So who out there does most of their driving in stop and go w/ stop signs about every block?? What kind of mileage are you guys getting??

I know we can do better - my wife won't jack w/ the hypermiling, but I am still learning. I tried setting the cruise today at about 40 mph, but it would never do better than about 30-35 mpg on the needle. I know alot of it is the A/C, but I don't like to sweat too much !!

 

Here in southern new mexico the humidity is rather low. I can run the AC set to 79 degrees with 2 notches of fan. That's comfortable for me and my wife, after the car cools for a mile or so.

If you in a humid area, no doubt you would have to run it cooler than that. I do open all 4 windows to let the hot air out as I drive off for a few 100 feet, then close them. I have driven in 105 degree weather and had to put the fan on the 3rd notch at 78 degrees.

Always check to make sure the green light is lit on the recirculate button. I adjust the temp at times and noticed the outside air/recirculate light was off, which was allowing 97 degree air to enter the car.

 

The car is designed to recharge the battery when it is down to 20-25% (??) of capacity. If you are driving at a speed that the ICE is off, you can drive on battery (only) for about five to ten minutes before you deplete the battery to a level that requires it to recharge. Throw in the AC and the ICE will turn on quicker.
This is normal behavior.
If you want to drive on battery only, you should buy a Volt or a Tesla.
This car is a hybrid, you paid a lot of money for an engine, don't worry if it turns on, every now and then.