Ok. So I guess I should use the DB before I spout my opinion... but then again I have to ask myself what am I going to gain from it? and the answer is nothing. So in that respect I think it's meaningless.

Can somebody here give a case where the DB made them go... ooooh... now I get it and take something away from the numbers?

 

Let's start with:

49.2 163 3.3 70 120 [edit] [more]
39.1 82 2.1 70 60 [edit] [more]
51.2 165 3.2 70 120 [edit] [more]
51.7 156 3.0 70 180 [edit] [more]
39.0 251 6.4 70 240 [edit] [more]

These metrics led to my first MPG vs MPH chart:



You'll notice that there are other data points in this chart not from my car, the "I-90, S. Dakota" data from an NHW20 Prius. Having my own data and the data from others made this chart possible.

Second example:

https://www.greenhybrid.com/compare/...-priusths.html

This chart shows the MPG from other NHW11 Prius. I used it to contact some of the folks who are getting terrible MPG and learned what they are doing that leads to poor performance. Now I've not had much luck suggesting ways to improve their performance but then again, I don't 'live their lives.' But as 'lessons learned,' they have given me insights.

BTW, there is one NHW10 Prius in that table from Japan and it is getting outstanding, 55.9 MPG.

My last example comes from the summary page:

https://www.greenhybrid.com/compare/mileage/

Eventually, we'll need to get a 'family' vehicle with more space and good fuel efficiency. Right now, it looks like the Camry leads the way followed by the Ford Escape. Everything else is running below 30 MPG and not really offering much of an improvement.

So there you have three uses of the database:

1. Creating a useful MPG vs MPH chart for my model Prius
2. Gaining insights on what works and doesn't work with my model Prius
3. Understanding what the next hybrid we buy should be

BTW, I continue to use it today. I've been experimenting with a thermistor hack that allows my Prius to achieve warm weather MPG in the winter. I took it out this last weekend to do some other work and here are the results:

39.8 82 2.1 30 30 [edit] [more]
47.2 193 4.1 30 20 [edit] [more]
49.0 396 8.1 30 120 [edit] [more]
46.2 334 7.2 30 20 [edit] [more]

So can you tell when I took my thermistor hack out? Do you see any evidence that it may be effective?

Having the data makes such analysis and comparisons possible. Not having such data leads to places where rhetoric, not science and engineering, rules. As my drill instructor used to say,"A grain of observations out weights a pound of <bovine fecal matter> any day."

Bob Wilson

 

Good point.

The GH Database does not offer any significant benefit for me either.

On the other hand, it can very useful to a future Hybrid owner - particularly those who are assessing which vehicles fit their FE needs before taking the plunge.

I have referred people to this database and they ended up making a hybrid choice on a little more than just my word. However little, it was enough for them to solidify their choice and make the purchase. So from that perspective, I consider it more of a community service than a service with direct personal benefit to me. No different than so many other things we collectively contribute to in life... Hopefully this one will somewhat benefit us all, one way or the other.

Cheers;

MSantos

 

Bob,

That was an excellent example but you are actually trying to do something to your car with experiments (and having more than one source can help you there). I'm not doing anything with my car other than driving it. From just real world data that I've accumulated I can tell when I am doing something that is going to hurt/help my mpg. I can see how having more data from various sources could help pin point the ideal mph to travel at to gain mpg... but I don't work that way. My way of driving is to get from A to B in the quickest amount of time possible. If my HCH can get to where I'm going in 4 hours and average 45mpg and my Mini doing the same time gets 33mpg.... well to me the data shows the hybrid is not the way to go unless you are going drive it in an unrealistic way.
If my trip is extended by 30 minutes so that I gain 3mpg... I'm thinking I've wasted 30min of my life on the road.

 

New here...what's a hypermiler and how do you use it to improve non-hybrid mileage?

 

Welcome,
The formal definition is:
However, this is based upon EPA standard test ratings that change in September 2007. The current EPA tests were designed in the early 1970s and represented a time of slower speeds. The new EPA tests are designed to reflect "today's" driving. For example, in the "Prius I" group, click on the compare tab, only the top ~10-15% have achieved 'hypermiler' status. Under the new EPA tests, only the bottom two are below the threshold.

Now some of us old folks who used to go to school, bare-foot, through the snow, against the wind, up-hill, both ways think this is dumbing down the test. In reality, the EPA test results have always been there to support comparison shopping. Like 'grading on the curve,' the ranking hasn't changed so the comparison shopping function continues to work even though the difficult to achieve 'hypermiler' term will soon lose any meaning in the USA. It will still have meaning in Asia, Canada and Europe, only the USA has 'dumb-downed.'

Bob Wilson

 

Most of the people driving agree with your last sentiment Livvie. I used to be among them and have done a 180 for my part. I have found that driving slower and arriving a later to be more beneficial to me personally because now when I get where I am going I don't have to spend 10 minutes trying to calm down and don't have to be concerned the added stress is taking whatever minutes I may have saved by going faster off of my life. I can't remember where I saw the study and results but the fast start - try to make it through the next light type of driving saved 4% on average. That means 96 out of 100 times I am pulling up next to or behind that type of driver at the next light. My own anecdotal evidence here in the Dallas/Ft Worth area is on a par with this. 4% is low odds by any measure, especially if it means lower mpg, higher maintenance costs (brakes, etc. wearing out faster), and increased stress, at least for me.

The personal benefit I get from posting mileage is similar to what msantos
and bwilson said a little earlier. I get to see how I am doing compared to other drivers of the same auto and compared to different auto choices others have made, and maybe help someone else down the road (pun intended). I have a much more detailed spreadsheet I also keep where I track mpg, price per gal, and actual mpg to MFD mpg. I guess I'm just geeky about my ride and how it is doing.

Anyway, happy driving to you Livvie.

 

I can dismiss driving stress pretty quickly. But I know what you mean. Good point.

 

Thanks for the information. I was just curious from one of the first posts where someone claimed 55mpg from a Chevy Astro Van. I'm going to try to increase my mileage as best as possible on my non-hybrid but I don't seeing it ever going over 30mpg. Besides the typical A/C usage, tire pressure, shedding weight I was curious what these hypermilers do to increase mileage.

 

[quote=livvie;112908]Ok. So I guess I should use the DB before I spout my opinion... but then again I have to ask myself what am I going to gain from it? and the answer is nothing. So in that respect I think it's meaningless. [quote]

This is the same logic most people have for not driving a car that is better for the environment. They do't feel the world will be a worse place for them, so why should they care.

The database is not for your sole benifit, but for the collective benifit of all people. It is a caes of a small sacrafice (a little bit of time keeping track of your mileage and putting it in the database) by each of us to benifit a larger group (all of us).

I don't care if you use it or not, but to call it meaningless is well, just selfish.