So, you're the one that voted (twice, I see) for "brand of deoderant."

 

61.4 MPG w/o gliding, eh? YOU ARE A GOD

 

I've wondered about this too, but what I'm guessing is happening is that there's an air "spring" effect: in a closed cylinder, the air should resist compression (piston coming up) but by the same token should *assist* decompression (piston coming down), roughly averaging out the forces involved and creating no net gain or loss apart from minor friction losses. (Remembering that in a 4 cylinder engine, while two pistons are compressing, two are decompressing.)

This engine has a good high compression ratio, too, so there definitely has to be *some* kind of equalizing happening or the engine would always be pure drag, and it's clearly not when the fuel is shut off and valves are closed.

cheers --
doug

 

My point is I don't hassle with any of that big long list of fancy techniques and still have a lifetime average of 64.1 MPG over 31 tanks.

Why bother with all of that complicated stuff?

 

Huh?

Uhm, no I voted one for it.

 

You are always bringing this up. As you are making it very clear, your lifetime average of 64.1 MPG is a function of your nice climate, your easy commute, and your willingness to drive very slow.

Yes. You've got it made. You are able to have your trained monkey set the cruise and drive you in to work while you nap. You arrive to work very refreshed and with a very high mpg. And to top it off, you get to brag about how skilled you are as a hypermiler. Hey, you've got the numbers to back it up. Kenny, you are living the high life.

Now why would anybody mess around with the "complicated" stuff?

https://www.greenhybrid.com/discuss/...ad.php?t=14705



What do you think you could get driving under my conditions Kenny?

 

John, I never said all the stuff doesn't work.
I have even said maybe I could to better with it.

But you are right, mild climate and a flat commute help a lot.
So is being willing to break out into a sweat at 93 degrees and take my shirt off instead of turning the AC on or opening the windows.

Living in LA is not everything.
I make sacrifices too.
I just don't do all the complicated brain stuff.

YMMV.

 

I'm not sure it would make a big difference for your commute--especially the freeway part. As I've said before, if I had your commute, I might very well drive it exactly like you do. (Maybe not using cruise control would allow for slightly better FE, but it would not be as relaxing of a drive.) To me, it's all about trying to make the most out of the commute at hand.

I guess the way I see it, I only use advanced techniques if I think they can make a big difference. I haven't always done them, but I have kept trying to improve my fuel economy. It really seemed like a natural progression for me. I used to think I was penalized by my commute. Now I have learned to take advantage of it.

Yes, you clearly make sacrifices as well and your efforts should be appreciated. As for the "complicated" techniques, I liken it to driving a manual transmission. It seems complicated if you do not know how to do it. After learning and after a little practice, it really is second nature. Also, just like learning to drive a manual, you don't want to learn in much traffic.

 

I am looking forward to hearing how to glide - maybe I will try it or maybe I am already doing it....

is it:
- putting trans in N with ICE on?
- balancing regen/assist to ~zero net - with FE pegged at 100+?
- trying to get a few bars of assist - with FE pegged at 100+?
- something else?

I have a mainly flat commute and wont go much less than 55-60 (speed limits 55,65) and will use CC. I get about 64mpg on this commute but may use things like gliding if they really help much. I suppose if I reduced my max speed to 48 or 30-40 the I might push 70mpg, but for me thats too slow.

 

It's your pegged FE, no charge/no assist state, Spartybrutus, and one way of getting there is feathering the throttle -- if you lift out to regen, and then ever-so-slightly press back down to eliminate regen but not hit assist, while keeping the iMPG pegged at 100, that's the sweet spot: no regen drag, no discharge, 100mpg+ FE.

cheers --
doug