New to me Camry ?'s
 

Hello all, Love the site,

I just bought a 08 Camry Hybrid and was wanting to find out a little more on the MPG. Currently Im getting 30.1 on tank average and I only get that by really changing the way I drive. It seems if I give any gas, it really goes down. On the MPG Consumption, When ever its goes into the gas motor, It seems to stay around 10 - 20 mpg. Does that sound right? I have been through 2 tanks of gas so far. The first was from the dealer, the second was from a 76 gas station.

The car came with aftermarket tires and rims. They are 245/35r20. And I think stock is 215/60R16 which seems to be about 1/2 in bigger. I found this site below on this site. http://www.1010tires.com/TireSizeCal...?action=submit

Do you know if this would cause a big difference in fuel economy? I really have no clue how it caculates for MPG.

Re: New to me Camry ?'s
 

First off, the tires are killing your mileage and are not LRR tires. If you drive an Escalade, 20" rims might look "kool" but not on a hybrid....

Second, what part of the country are you in? The outside temp and whether you park inside or outside has a bearing.

Third, you need to learn how to drive a hybrid to maximise performance. Not even trying though should net you 33 to 34 mpg.

Search this forum for a LOT of tips on how the hybrid system works and driving hints.

A good place to start would be the FAQ "sticky" at the top of the page.

Re: New to me Camry ?'s
 

Thanks for a quick response, Im located in Sacramento CA. Currently the morning temps are high 40's to low 50's. In the afternoon it ranges from 60's - 80's. I usually park in the garage both at work and at home. I would guess it stays around 50-70 degrees.

When we bought the car, I didn't realize they were 20" rims. They didn't look it. Just surprised that about 1/2 in tire makes that big of difference, or is it because they are not a LRR?

Re: New to me Camry ?'s
 

Another factor to consider is that if your overall tire dimension is different from stock, your MPG readings are likely not accurate. You could be getting more or less in the real world because the computer reads rotations, not distance. This will also throw off your actual speed.

How did they deal with the tire pressure sensors in the aftermarket tires? Just curious about that.

Also, be sure to use the ECO mode whenever the A/C compressor is on.

Good luck!

Joe

Re: New to me Camry ?'s
 

The tires are wider and not low rolling resistance tires which is more than likely the bulk of your problem. The diameter does not matter as much as long as you are close if everything else in the tires are equal. Can you get a set of "pull offs" from the dealer to try for a week or two? Failing that, do you know someone else in your area that has a Camry Hybid that will let you drive it on the route you drive the most to see what mileage you can get?

That will let you know about he tire situation in a hury.

Your temps are ideal to get the best mileage from your car. If you were in Nome, Alaska or Brownsville, Texas at the temp extremes those regions are known for, it would affect the mileage.

How long are your regular trips? If they are all 1 or 2 miles long, you will not get good mileage from this or any other car. If you can, string trips together and make your first stop the one futherest away to let the engine come up to temp and start working like it should.

Have you read the FAQ yet?

Re: New to me Camry ?'s
 

I can check with the dealer and ask if they do. I wish I knew someone with a hybrid camry, My mother n law has a prius, but I think that would be more like apples to oranges.

My daily trips are usually to work and back. About 12 miles each way, Mostly suburban drives. Stop and go. I have not taken any road trips yet. Next week I'll be doing about a 440 round trip drive for Thanksgiving. I'll post my results for that trip. But either way, I'm still getting alot better MPG than my VW Passat I had before this. Now that car was junk :) Had it for a year and needed about 4k in maintiance repairs. I figured its better to spend on a new car then that thing :).

I have looked at the FAQ's, I think they are great. I'll try the tips and hopefully get more out of it. :) Thanks for your replys and help!

Re: New to me Camry ?'s
 

Joe,

Just noticed your question. The sensors are bolted into the wheel and take the place of the old "valve stems". All they would need to do is remove them from the old wheels and bolt them into the new ones. If you have two sets of tires and wheels and each set had its own sensors (snow tires for winter), you would need to use a re-programmer each time you swapped out the wheels. Not a big deal but the dealers or tire places will hit you with a nice bill.

If you had several cars that were having that done every year, I would invest in a programmer....

Re: New to me Camry ?'s
 

I forgot to mention the tires and wheels were already on it when we bought it.

Thanks GeorgaHybrid for that infor. Very helpful for future if I go back to a stock rim

Re: New to me Camry ?'s
 

Georgia,

Thanks for the info. I have a set of 16" wheels that are MUCH better looking than the factory wheels. If the bolt pattern matches, I would like to swap them out.

Do the wheel sensors just unbolt from the wheel? If I remove them from the factory wheel and go back to the same position, (LF to LF, for example) and then reinflate the tires to the previous pressure, do they still need to be reprogrammed?

Joe

Re: New to me Camry ?'s
 

Joe,

If you look at your valve stem on the wheel, once the tire is unmounted, remove the nut and the sensor will come out the backside of the wheel. You can put them at any corner as the car just senses the signal of the sensor, not where it is. Make sure your other wheels are setup to accept a TPMS system. Your local tire guy should be able to tell you in a glance.

This is what they look like:

http://www.amazon.com/Schrader-AirAw.../dp/B002GYSXMU