Something has been nagging me lately. I have an 03 CVT with 99 tanks of MPG data under my belt. Lifetime MPG is 45.61. I have a 46 mile daily commute over 75% highway, 25% suburbs. I use most "average" techniques - drive slow, limit A/C, slow accellerate, etc. I don't FAS or drive drastically under the limit.

OK, the question. I see a lot of HCH owners with 50 or 60+ MPG averages. My best tank ever was 52 MPG - that's out of 40 months of driving. I don't believe, with my route, that I'm capable of a 60 MPG tank - let alone that being the average. I won't dispute anyone's claims - that's not the point of my question. What I'd like to know is what are you all doing that makes a close to a 15 MPG difference between my car and yours? What conditions would you claim contribute to that kind of gain?

I'm fishing for ideas to try out - or at least to see how "extreme" they are. The summer is a good time to try for a record tank - dry weather, and my car seems to perform best then. I'd like to try for a record tank - curious what else to focus on that would not have me pushing the car down the road myself...

 

i kinda cheat... see, i use my car only to drive to and from work which is a good 25 mi one way, most of it in the highway. it is here where i put to use the tips found in this forum to maximize fe. for short trips (or if i need to drive a tad faster than usual), i use my wife's car.

 

Tim, I don't do too much special. I have overinflated tires, and I FAS as I'm going in to my driveway at work. Other than that I just keep RPMS low, keep my foot pretty much locked at a specific point so I'm not fluctuating the throttle much. In my case my drive is 100% city so I also try to anticipate lights.

Have you ever described your commute in another thread? If you have could you link it. If not could you give the details of your commute?

Also, do you use one of your trip meters to watch your segment? I reset trip b on mine for every segment. I reset it going to work and I reset it again coming back.

Set up checkpoints along your commute and see how they affect milage. Then try to improve on the nastiest parts.

Check for alternate routes. Are there any frontage roads going next to the highways you can use instead of being stuck in traffic?

 

Tim I also have a 46 mile (exactly) commute.
It sounds like you are already doing some things, but I'll say for me to get my own numbers requires a pretty radical departure from the "norm".

I'm heading into Atlanta while everyone is heading out, so I miss the terrible miles upon miles of gridlock traffic, and usually park at about 68-73MPG.
I leave work again in the wee hours of the night on nearly abandoned streets and have the opportunity so I really work it as extreme as safely and practical as possible. I usually park with 70-76 on the dash.

If you'd like a play-by-play I'd be happy to pound one out for you how I do it but would likely be a very long post.

 

Actually I have not. It starts with about 6 miles and 6 stop signs/lights to get out of the community - most is at 40 MPH. Then it's a fairly long 10 mile run at about 50 MPH, 5 stop lights along the way. Then it's the highway for the last 7 miles into work - 60 MPH (3 stops before I hit the parking lot). The trip out is conjested but moves. The trip home is usually 10 MPH slower everywhere, 4 of the 7 highway miles are stop and go. the 6 miles into the community can be stop and go as well. After I fill the tank, the MPG guage will usually do the following:

Fill Up
Out: 65
Back: 54
Out: 56
Back: 51
Out: 53
Back: 49
Out: 51
Back: 48
Out: 50
Back: 49
-- That's where it bounces back and forth until the end of tank - usually 49 on the meter, 46 actual.

That's a really good idea. I'll give that a try.

I suppose my "segment" record would be after a fill up, from there to work. Best was 70 on the display (hit 67 earlier this week). So that's 23 miles one way. But never anything close for a tank - not with my route. I was curious if there was something new under the sun or some new revelation that hadn't been discussed yet.

 

Tim/Paul, I see you're from Seattle, too. We're at a disadvantage with all these hills. Driving as conscientiously as possible, I can't get above 49 or so for a round trip.

 

How are you at timing all those stop signs in your route? I would try to eliminate the FE loss from them by either a) finding an alternate route without so much stop lights, or b) practice light timing.

 

By far the biggest thing that moved my mileage from the mid 40s to the mid 50s was the increase in air pressure from 32 to 40 to 45.

Even if you are not comfortable moving the pressure to 44 (sidewall max), try moving it to 36, then to 40. You will notice it in your mileage.

 

Tim,
My route sounds like yours. Mostly rural highway, with the rest city/suburbs.
I got 63 MPG this morning.
The highway has a 55MPH limit, but I go 45. It's 2 lanes, so traffic passes me all the time.
NEVER USE CRUISE CONTROL. RPMs rev too high on even the slightest of inclines. I actually slow down on any incline and let gravity help on the way down.
Keeping the IMPG gauge between 50 and 100 has helped out immesely too. It leaves plenty of charge for when it's needed, while achieving a 60-70 MPG while cruising.
I have a HCH2, which has more charge capacity. So trying this might not have the same impact on a HCH1.

 

Tim,

My most recent tank has been averaging 51mpg and I do mostly stop/go driving in town but I always try and take a route with less stop signs and lights. Pretty much do what you have been doing. No FAS except if I get fooled at a light then I shut down the ICE. I beleive that my mpg could be a lot better if it weren't for the new reformualted fuel that Massachusetts has mandated, replaced MTBE with 10% ethanol. Not sure if you have the same fuel where you are.

My tires are at 40psi (Bridgestone B series) and that seems to help a bit.