Try shooting for an mpg. 40 mpg is sufficient for climbing everything but the steepest hills. On the downhill, I would shoot for about 100mpg. Try to avoid having the electric generator kick in too much on the downhill by applying very light pressure to the pedal. You need that momentum downhill to go into the uphill successfully.

This is very similar to a region I pass through going from San Diego to LA.

 

benb,

i used to live in southeastern pennsylvania, the outskirts of reading; in sinking spring. i also spent a few years in philadelphia going to culinary school, west philly actually.

yourself?

 

l3ement,

I am on the complete opposite side of state. I am in Northwestern Pa. Both of my sisters live in or around eastern Pa. I have one in Mount Holly, N.J. and another in Phoenixville(sp?), Pa. I hear that Reading is a rough neighborhood. I have some college friends from around that area.

blueskies,

Pressing down on the pedal constantly is a hard habit to break. I'm learning that I don't always need — or ever need — to have a "lead foot."

 

It's also hard on your feet for long distances!

 

i found it quite difficult to change my driving habits, the hardest being the light pressure and such miniscule changes that needed to be done with my right foot. at the beginning i would keep both my legs tense and taught as heck to control; but now its become extremely natural. you can practically feel the car and the changes that need to be made without even looking at the game gauge.

spiffy indeed!

benb,

phoenixville is a nice, quiet; reserved part of pennsylvania and yes reading is quite rough. but thankfully i don't have to deal with it anymore and what little i did was all of the nasty that leaked out into sinking spring.

 

Wow, that brings back memories! I'd tense up everything from my foot up to my eyebrows for a couple of months, all hunched up and eyes glued to the FCD. Ever seen someone in deep thought with the jaw open and the very tip of the tounge out? That was me. The first sight of someone behind me at night, even back a mile or so sent me into a kind of sudden shock.

I had to force myself to relax and take it easy. It took a while but I'm glad I'm over it.
.....and some say driving for efficiency is boring !!

 

Is this creepy? Do normal people just buy a hybrid and drive it like normal without even thinking about the mpg? Do I have a problem? I was at a meeting this morning and on the way back I zoned out and didn't even look at the gauges (which is rare). I finally peeked down and I realized that I was barely pushing on the gas and I was averaging much better than normal I had gained 1.7 mpg (it ain't much but it got me excited. I was going up and down and around hills and still getting great mileage. It is only in time that I shall break 45 mpg). It was really weird.

I was at a meeting with the commissioners in the county that I live and i was trying to talk them all into a test drive (I was worried about losing some of my mpg, but it would be worth it to spread the good word). It was pretty funny, too bad I'm on a deadline (stupid real world) and didn't have the time.

 

Usually, if people have to ASK if they are normal, they PROBABLY are not ! (just kidding, just kidding!)

Most of the complaints I have seen in the media stories about "hybrids not living up to MPG claims" have been from people who yes, do indeed, just drive it like a normal car. Which in today's world, usually means just zooming from red light to red light as fast as possible.

You drive like that, and you are not going to be impressed by a Hybrid car.

The beauty of the hybrid is that with the game gauges, the FCD, and the technology, EVERY DRIVER has the OPPORTUNITY to maximize their MPG by using the tools provided.

If you just ignore the tools and their usefullness, you will not see sterling MPG numbers in a hybrid.

 

Hi All:

___Let me just add that this is a great thread and if it does not bring back memories of an inspiring hypermiler, I do not know what else would.

___Congratulations to all the newer members posting here as I can tell you that your experiences are a parallel to what some of us old timers have been through.

___A Prius II was recently purchased by someone at my jobsite. She is only the second person (I am sure you know who was the first ) I have ever seen driving the speed limit on the boundary road from the Security gate to the first stop sign. There is hope for us all after all

___Good Luck

___Wayne R. Gerdes
___Hunt Club Farms Landscaping Ltd.
___Waynegerdes@earthlink.net

 

I've been working on how much pressure I put on the pedal and now I'm getting 47.3 mpg (it keeps increasing on every trip, before it was just decreasing on every trip). I found that listening to Against Me (they rock, nothing else to say but that) really improves mileage.

Also, if anyone reads the online mock newspaper The Onion, this week has a great opinion article called "Follow that Prius." It is hilarious. check it out at www.theonion.com