18 months later: 61.0mpg

[ystasino]

This is my best tank (06/24 to 07/12) yet including about 80 miles on I95 at 62mph the rest are local 5-8 mile routes. No canview or scangauge were used.

[HomeandRanch]

COngrats man wtg. Im on my second tank at 53.9 mpg currently. It is tough.

[a priori]

Congrats! I am 325 miles into my first 61+ tank. Two weeks ago I had my first 60+ (60.5 at 601 miles), so I am hoping to keep this one going. I have a challenge tomorrow, though, because I'll be out on the highway at those mileage-killer speeds. Oh, well . . .

By the way: Can you tell us your driving habits, where you live, what year and package you have, etc.?

[ystasino]

City driving:

I live in Baltimore, the commute to work and back is 8 miles and most routes are about the same distance. The terrain to work is friendly (82 mpg) but the trip back is problematic because of higher traffic and uphill driving (45 mpg). I have only slightly modified my route but I reguarly come across about 8 red lights each way in my commute.

I definitely look hard for the "no arrows" condition and aggressively try to push the engine to its final state by hitting the brake-and-gas pedals simultaneously to force the engine on and off about 3 times per trip.

Recently, I recognized that the battery is drained very quickly if you try to accelerate even a tiny bit during startup, so I wait the initial phase out. I try to come to hard stops early on to force the engine off. I try to maintain the battery status to 6 bars and not overuse

I don't use A/C or heating unless the temperature is above 95 or below 30 F.

Finally when accelerating, I aim so that my mph is approximately 1.5-1.9 times my mpg.

In 17 months I have save about $144/month from my V6 Camry and that's excluding maintenance and with gas at $3.50.

Highway
I use cruise control and set the A/C to 80F and the heating to 68F. I consider it somewhat unsafe and distracting to use fuel-saving techniques on the highway, because I live in the I95 corridor and it is really crowded here. I generally drive at 64mph on the highway.

[MJ Daniels]

Originally Posted by ystasino

City driving:

..... I generally drive at 64mph on the highway.

My daily commute has me on a high-speed; limited access; divided hwy for 35 out of 40 minutes commute time. You should try 55; it will take some getting used to, but actually, get in the right lane, set the cruise and enjoy the ride. I was surprised at how stress-free this left me . Other drivers just pass. Based on their speed of 70+, they are in so much of a hurry, they don't pay me any attention, which is a good thing.

[Tideland Prius]

Congrats!

[amm0bob]

[cbcv]

Originally Posted by ystasino

This is my best tank (06/24 to 07/12) yet including about 80 miles on I95 at 62mph the rest are local 5-8 mile routes. No canview or scangauge were used.

My 05 Prius I just bought (used; a bargan; lucky me) one month ago is giving me a steady 52-57 mpg. I'll need new tires soon: LRR. I've been reading up. Does anyone know what tire is the "13". I'm learning....

[Rokeby]

ystasino,

your posting, #4 in this thread, fascinates me to no end. You can see from
my avatar,<----, that I am a fellow Balla-moron. (Do you still "B'LIEVE,"
hon?") I know full well exactly the topo/driving conditions that you're
dealing with.

My typical daily commute is 14.7 miles from the NE corner of the city. I
carpool, so I first go west across Northern Parkway, for a drop off on Falls
Rd. heading into the city. Then its down Falls Rd. to I-83, and into Charm
City. I typically see ~60 MPG on the way in, but that includes ~350 ft. drop
in elevation. It is a lucky day indeed when I can complete the circle and
return home at 55 MPG.

For the past month, my commute route has changed, and the drop off is at
the Dundalk campus of Baltimore County Community College, and the one
way distance has increased to 17.7 mi. The route from BCCC to downtown
has an initial drop of maybe 50 ft, and then is essentially flat, for maybe 5
mlles.

The first few times I did it my MPGs took a monstrous hit. I was over-using
the HV battery, and finishing the leg with only 3, or even 2 bars of SOC. I didn't
know how to P&G because I usually don't see enough flat road to make the effort
worthwhile. So I read up on P&G here and gave it the old college try. What
d' ya know, the PSL is 35 mph, and by pulsing to 40, and no-arrow-gliding to
30 -- traffic permitting -- I am able to get 75 MPG for that leg, and ~65 MPG
for the trip, with SOC sitting at five or six blue bars. However, on a very good
day I am only able to hold on to 58 MPG for the round trip, home-work-home.

Plans for the future? Why, move to Dundalk and see 60+ MPG round trips
every day! (Probably not.)

[a priori]

I hung on to keep my 61 mpg tank, but I feel a bit cheap, because I filled up after only 466 miles.

Still, I needed to get gas for some long driving tomorrow -- Hybridfest, if time permits, then on home to IL!