I've done that trip a few times. The SoC does come down to one or two bars, but it took a while to get down that low. Overall, I was pleased with the performance.

 

Thanks guys... good to know.

 

This is one of the worst posts I've seen since joining.

Tire pressure: I've got mine just under 50, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with the smoothness of my ride. Maybe it's the roads your driving, I dunno. Some people have reported that there's enough added road noise to confuse the voice recognition in the navi, but since mine doesn't have that, I don't care. And Pink Floyd >> road noise any day. There is *some* added risk of blowouts (less so than on under-inflated tires) but you'll find lots of studies out there that show higher pressure results in better control, better mileage, and better tire wear.

Accelleration: Ask any high mpg person here whether they punch it or baby it. I'll bet the "baby" crowd drowns out the "punch it" side.

Cruise Control: Another piece of junk I never use in my driving. In fact, you can see in my tank history where I switched from CC at 48mph to foot control only at 48mph, and there was a nearly 5mpg improvement in FE FROM THAT CHANGE ALONE. Tarabell's now famous article, which ought to be required reading for anybody, makes that distinction even more obvious. As for the computer being smart enough to kick in the assist on upslopes... you must be smoking something. It's far more likely to up the revs before using assist on cruise, but the moment I switch back to foot and press the gas, there's my assist w/lower revs.

Please, learn a bit more about your car (and autos in general) before trying to pass off bad info as fact.

 

I don't think one needs to completely disparage the cruise control though. I don't know anywhere I drive that I would drive at 48mph that I would use control. I don't use cruise control unless I'm going at least 55 on a highway, and at those speeds the FE difference isn't that huge and if I'm in a mood to not really be thinking about driving for max FE I really see any harm in using it since I won't get THAT much better than not using it going 55 - 65mph.

 

About 80% or more of my miles are with cruise control, but I have a fairly flat commute, and keep it near 50 MPH.

I'm fairly happy with my MPG.
I don't use CC on hills, and perhaps it would be better if I feathered the gas pedal all the time but at least 63.6 lifetime average proves CC can be used and still get great MPG under certain conditions.

 

Using insults never really works, does it? I mean, it destroys credibility that others might find in your post, and it makes you sound like a spoiled child.

The original question was from a new owner asking other owners how he should drive his HCH differently than a regular car. He wanted observations, and I gave him mine, along with my mpg number. If he wants to subscribe to other methods, he's free to do so.

Certainly, he could pump his tires up to 50 psi. He could accelerate at the EPA-recommended 3 mph per second. He could limit his maximum highway speed to 55 mph, slow down going up hills to maintain mpg, draft vehicles in front of him, etc. But then he'd become just another obsessive hyper-miler who thinks that the number on his trip meter supercedes practicality and common courtesy on the road. And we already have enough of those people.

 

Spoiled child? Whatever. As for the rest, some of the things you mention (limiting speeds, slowing while going uphill, drafting) could be certainly be considered obsessive (casting a sideways glance at the still-not-shot-at-kenny ), while others (tire pressure, gentle accelleration) are just driving smart. Since last winter when prices again moved above $2.50/gal, there hasn't been a week yet where I haven't seen an article on MSN about how to get better mileage. What do they say? The same things we say:

1. Inflate your tires
2. Accellerate slowly
3. Coast into stops
4. Keep up on maintenance

I'll note that their tire inflation points have typically read "at least mfg spec," though only one (back in March, I think, when CA was fearing $4/gal) actually got into the benefits/risks of moving up to sidewall max (which basically came down to better handling, slightly higher mileage, and more even tread wear, at the risk of greater susceptibility to potholes, road debris, and added cabin noise). That particular article also touched on the whole nitrogen fill craze, calling it a worthless fad that's not worth paying for (Which I also agree with). Nitrogen's great if you can get it free, since it doesn't leak out as quickly as regular air (which is 80% N2 anyways), but if you check your pressures or have an aftermarket TPMS installed, the benefits are highly suspect since we don't drive at 200+ mph like NASCAR/F1.

Kenny's experience with CC is way beyond what most of us get. I suspect his flat 50mph commute has something to do with that, especially considering our cars show a "sweet spot" in the CVT between about 45-55mph (I've found that mine's at 51mph, with a slightly lesser one at 38mph) where once you're in, the impg pegs over and you just keep going. I used CC right after getting my car because I thought the computer was smarter than I was. Unfortunately, on gently rolling Ohio farmland, that's not the case, and the CC would rev the engine instead of adding electric boost. Kenny's also got a couple of other advantages many of us don't... As he says in his sig, he had an HCH1 to practice on before his current HCH2, so there's a bunch of things (not including the 50mph) that just take time and practice to really get down well. He's also got SoCal weather, which doesn't typically include the subfreezing temperatures and snow/ice covered roads that msantos (the other person I try to pull brain cells from) and I have to deal with, so you'll see that his mpg history is very flat, while ours takes a hit in the winter.

Regardless, you will get out of the car what you put into it. You can drive it like any other car on the road, and you'll end up with sub-par results. Most people can meet EPA just by following "smart driving" techniques like gentle accel/braking and routine maintenance (oil changes, alignment, and properly inflated tires), while adding in other techniques can push you up and beyond.

 

Hitting the "sweet spot" on a flat 50 MPH commute is why God invented frontage roads.

He invented freeways so that people can drive at faster speeds safely.

Driving 50 MPH on the So. Calif. freeway is never safe. It's also illegal -- http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/vctop/d11/vc22400.htm.

 

I do not see a mention of actual speeds in that link. It is very unlikely that driving at 50 mph in the right lane is considered impeding traffic.

 

The only potentially relevant portion of that is section (b), which says "the department may determine and declare a minimum speed limit below which no person shall drive a vehicle," but doesn't actually give a number. This means kenny (and any other slow movers) would need to look for a minimum speed sign posted along side the usual speed limit sign. As long as he's moving at least that, there's nothing illegal about it.