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I Need MPG Tips

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Fuel Economy' started by irrational, Dec 19, 2014.

  1. irrational

    irrational Member

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    All,

    I need some practical tips for improving my real world MPG.

    Backstory:

    Not that I'm getting bad MPG, no far from it. I'm consistently getting 49-56 MPG (and, most frequently exactly 50) on my 14 mile commute to/from work that consists of mixed city/highway (65 MPH) driving.

    Screen Shot 2014-12-19 at 11.07.39 AM.png

    Above is the elevation change of my commute. Everything to the left of the vertical marker/line is city driving, everything but the final half mile is highway.

    What I've tried:

    • Tire inflation - I inflated all tires to 38 PSI - this seemed to have the largest effect, resulting in more consistent MPG.
    • Pulse/Glide - I'm almost positive I'm doing this wrong. I've watched Youtube videos, but never got the strong feeling I'm doing it right. I quickly accelerate up to speed (usually getting into the power band), and the briefly let off the throttle and re-engage at the minimum throttle needed to mostly maintain speed.

    So, with all that said; I'm mostly certain this is driver "error". Having owned my Prius for exactly 3 weeks, I'm confident that there is so much I have yet to learn. So, I figured I'd drop in here and seek some feedback or tips on things I should try/change.
     
  2. skayaks

    skayaks Active Member

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    Sounds like you're doing most things correctly already. Hope you have many happy miles ahead.
    Tony Schaefer did a great presentation on hyper-miling at To Go Before 2014. Maybe there are some notes he could share.
    It appears your car is brand new. Your numbers are good for a new car and they will improve whether you do anything better or not.
    By paying attention to the details you've noted, you are already way ahead of most in the mpg game.
    • Tire inflation - Did you already try much higher pressures and decide the harsher ride is not for you? Some of us use max. pressure from the tire sidewall. I'm running 50/48 (f/r). The quality of the roads you travel may make this OK / NOT OK.
    • Driving without Brakes - I'm guessing you are already doing this without naming it. Just a matter of leaving space (when you can - without angering others) to minimize brake use. This also allows you to maximize regen when you must brake.
    • Pulse/Glide - For me this is the #1 contributor to lower fuel consumption, but it requires fairly low speeds so your glide is electric AND in the lower part of the electric range or (preferred) no electric. "No electric" is an actual Glide. Kinda tricky to do that and keep your eyes on the road though. I know lots of folks advocate using the power band during a pulse. I tend to let terrain dictate the Pulse. That is, a hard Pulse might be OK if the road is flat for the entire P&G cycle. More often I'll be pulsing up a very gentle incline. If I Pulse too hard I'll be up to speed (<40) before I near the crest, so I'll use a gentler pulse instead. Traffic, traffic lights, and terrain will dictate how feasible this is on your commute. All the little ups-n-downs in the terrain map you provided might be mined for slight mpg improvement. Some people do a version of P&G on the highway (with ICE only) but I don't, as it would require virtually no traffic.
    • On highways I just look for a slow-poke I can follow at a safe distance. I don't want to be "that guy" but I'm happy to pretend I'm stuck behind "that guy".
     
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  3. irrational

    irrational Member

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    Thank you.

    I'm on my phone, so I can't currently get to detailed, but I have tried to limit my braking as much as possible.

    38 PSI was my first and only attempt at a higher pressure. The sidewall was rated at 44 max. I have thought about going up to 40 in the front. I'm running the stock Goodyears.

    I do need to work more on driving slower, I guess. Speed limit is 65 on the highway, and not wanting to be "that guy" I've stuck to between 60 and 65.
     
  4. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    i don't know how much better you can do in winter temps and gas formulation. keep the heat off!:p
     
  5. Easy Rider 2

    Easy Rider 2 Senior Member

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    There is a practical balance to be struck, mostly between safety and savings, with some convenience thrown in too......and maybe some sanity even.
     
  6. dorunron

    dorunron Senior Member

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    I think the OP is doing great for a first timer.

    Just concentrate on P&G and try to not use electricity whatsoever when gliding. Keep the HSI bar completely clean (no color anywhere) when gliding, and pump the tires up to maximum pressure. Try 42 Front, and 40 Rear.

    If it is cold in your area, consider grill blocking during the colder parts of the year. Just don't block it so much that the engine might overheat. There is no temperature gage on the Prius, only a idiot light. Once the light comes on, it is too late. The ICE is toast long before then. I used a little bit of the 1/2 inch foam pipe insulation on our grill. Blocked 2/3 of the lower grill with it. I split the insulation length wise in half, then stuffed it into the bottom and middle slot of the lower grill. I keep the climate control off unless it is bitter cold outside or the passenger's start to complain. By blocking the grill, I am speeding up the time it takes to get the Prius into the "S4" mode which is "full hybrid" operation.

    S4 mode is explained in the links below in my signature.

    Again, to me it sounds like the OP is doing great for how long he/she has been driving the Prius.
     
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  7. irrational

    irrational Member

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    I had to run an errand over lunch;
    image.jpg

    I occasionally get pretty awesome numbers. Wish I could consistently do this.

    As mentioned, I'm sure the cold weather doesn't help. It's been in the upper 30s and low 40s consistently since I bought the Prius... So, I've been running the heater.

    I'll bump up the air pressure this weekend as was suggested, and see how it does.

    Thanks all!
     
  8. retired4999

    retired4999 Prius driver since 2005

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    Your doing just great! Keep up the good work!(y)
    Just Enjoy your car. :D
     
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  9. The Electric Me

    The Electric Me Go Speed Go!

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    You appear to be doing just fine.

    So my tip is that a large baked potato, properly cooked and prepared can be a meal in of itself.
     
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  10. dorunron

    dorunron Senior Member

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    You will do even better once you get a few more miles on the clock. It takes a good 5 to 8 K miles before the Prius is well broken in. Sometimes creature comfort is better than MPG. It is all a balancing act. As said above, enjoy the car.

    And a baked potato with all the trimmings would be the icing on the cake.
     
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  11. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    Same goes for a nice big yam!
     
  12. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Regarding your pulses, try to stay outa power zone, at least on the level portions.

    Just for kicks try the cruise?
     
  13. irrational

    irrational Member

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    Man, I wish there were "level" portions of my commute, lol. Despite living in Oklahoma, I'm on the wrong side of the state compared to what most people imagine when they hear Oklahoma :)
     
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  14. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    where the wind comes racing down the plains?:cool:
     
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  15. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

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    I'd suggest skipping the highway speed Pulse/Glide for now. Get some baseline figures for 'normal' driving, then build up your other skills. Use Pulse/Glide only for lower speeds (46 and under) where the ICE has an opportunity to stop spinning while gliding.

    A baseline for 'normal' driving is important so that you can later identify which methods actually work for you, which others don't work well enough to be worth the effort, and what doesn't work at all or even cuts MPG.
     
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  16. Blizzard_Persona

    Blizzard_Persona Senior Member

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    55 mph on CC in the far right lane yields my best numbers on my commute.... I let the computer do all the work.

    Obviously sometimes this is not safe or possible but it is on my drive home from work at 4am, and depending on traffic I aim for 55 when I can on my drive in.
     
  17. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    What's the posted speed limit on that stretch of road? Consider changing the word "obviously" to "sadly"? :(
     
  18. Blizzard_Persona

    Blizzard_Persona Senior Member

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    Well I95 around here is posted 55mph, but that could be interpreted as 85+ (don't forget the good ol triple lane changers w/o signaling) for some folks around here, cars fly by like your standing still sometimes.

    Like I said my 4am drive home has a lot less traffic but I do still get the semi's barreling down on me sometimes, to which I politely move over out of thier way if they don't seem to want to as I know they will win that argument. Lol.

    The toll road (I76) aka turnpike here is 65 /70 mph for some stretches. I drove it last week and set cc to 60 the whole way up and was getting passed by mostly everyone, 55 would not have been possible or safe. on the way back I pushed it to 75/80 just to compare mpg stats and lost about 5-6mpg (granted more downhill on way home so prob it would have been a greater loss on flatland). 65 is prob a good in between road trip speed for long stretches. I still prefer less though.
     
    #18 Blizzard_Persona, Dec 22, 2014
    Last edited: Dec 25, 2014