Best alignment specs for best mpg

Hi All, I bought a set of Michelin Energy Savers A/S last week and had an alignment done, and also all 4 struts (with 180K on them :O) replaced. My mpg dropped around 13 around town and about 4 for the hwy compared to the Conti pro contacts they replaced. I know the new tires have a break in but 13 mpg is beyond that from anything I have heard of. The alignment specs that they go by has a range and my new alignment is within, but not dead middle. I have also seen different specs (ranges) recommended for this car (07 non touring). But I am within any specs I have found. So I am wondering how much of a difference this can actually make. I really have not noticed much of a mileage drop in the past few sets of tires, all LRR, when I exclude the last 10K or so increase that I get from running them near bald. (No rain from april till Nov here so I squeeze a few miles beyond the wear bars if we're in the dry season.) So, with 180K of experience on this car and 3 other sets of tires, something seems really wrong here.

Main question of this post is how much difference alignment makes within the spec tolerances, and then any other ideas that come to mind.

 

Would that cause a mpg drop after a couple hundred miles of recharge? I don't get the connection. I'm sure the hatch was up quite awhile to replace the rear struts.

Front toe is 0 on the left and .01 on the right. and on the rear, .13 and .27 (could have done a little better there unless there was a problem)
Front camber is neg .4 left and same on right which is pretty close to zero given the tolerance (as they show it) rear is neg 1.2 and 1.5

On the rear tow the number is positive but it shows the measurement as behind the wheel and a little pic with the wheels toed out.

 

Thanks to all for the info. its always great to learn more. Between the possibilities of break in and 12 battery, I'll give it some more time. I have heard mixed reviews on these favorite tires. Some people have really realized substantial mpg gains and others some major losses. Makes you wonder if something is going on at the factory. I do notice that the back zone (no power to or from the battery) is more touchy than before. Otherwise with all the hills and traffic in my area its hard to feel much of a difference.

 

Just got back from a trip I often make so was able to do some better comparisons. I have about 500 miles on the new tires now. It seems there was either a major break in for these tires or else there was an issue with the ECU, but things are looking better than b4. There is one stretch of road where I come to a "40MPH ahead" sign and I hit that spot at 55mph and right when I get to the 40mph sign I used to be doing exactly 40. Now I am more like 41-42 over a couple tries. My last tank of gas gave me 360 miles and took 7.0 gal to fill. That comes to 51.4 mpg for the trip. This is about normal at best for the trip. I think though the ecu was still learning. All in all I don't think these tires are really cost effective, unles they continue to improve a lot, but I don't mind paying a little more in the long run for a couple mpg if I actually do realize a gain. In other words I don't mind paying a couple hundred more for a set of tires that are not the longest lasting and barely give more mpg as long as it gives me a LITTLE more mpg. Money isn't everything. Hey, the rubber on the new porche 918 hybrid cost over $700 each. For a couple hundred less per tire it would still do 0-60 in less than 3 seconds. But with its current tires it does 0-60 in 2.2 seconds AND you have the satisfaction of having the quickest production car on the planet. And since it cost between $800-900K whats a few hundred in tires? SO, anyway, my point is, if I can see mpgs in the 50's more often than I used to, I'll be happy. Still cant really hypermile in these tires though unless I'm going down hill. I keep them at 42psi. I could go a good bit higher and reduce the contact patch but I don't want to bald the center of the tires. I have yet to be able to keep the power train in the black zone without loosing speed unless I'm on a slight down hill grade.

 

[QUOTE="
As it is a physical impossibility, I think you'll be waiting a long time to do this. [/QUOTE]

We'll see about that after I install a set of those nifty bicycle tire adapters.

Off topic a bit (but since I'm the OP) why is it that in brake mode I can cruise in the black Zone above 42 MPH?

More update on the tires, my post above from my trip indicates that I do have less rolling resistance as per the coasting test, but for some reason now that I am back to around town driving, I am still averaging about 4-5 mpg less with these tires. This is not comparing with end of life on my last tires but rather my last tires over most of their life. I do feel the engine is working harder than b4 even though the car seems to roll better. I am wondering if the ECU has decided to use more ICE than it once did. But, also my hybrid battery is not more prone to being in a higher state of charge than before so if the ICE is being used more, its effort is going to the road and not the battery.

 

With well over 1000 miles on these new tires, the mileage is still a puzzle. That little test I mentioned above, I performed again over the weekend. It still confirms that the car is rolling better than with the previous tires. I live in a hilly area and my HV battery seems to charge and discharge at the same rate as it has over the life of the car. The ICE (gas engine) burns about a qt of oil every 7-800 miles but this has been the case for at least 20K miles prior these new tires. The reason I bring this up is that the ICE is probably not as efficient as it once was and probably burns more fuel for the amount of work it performs. One thing I noticed this past weekend trip was that my last tank of gas gave me an indicated 50.1 mpg. however, it seems to have used 7.2 Gal in 304 miles. Thats about 42 mpg. Normally there has been no discrepancy between the display and the actual usage. With my last tires (even though these seem to roll better), filling up at the pump always came out to about 47 mpg as did the display. Bottom line: new tires and new struts has confused the car and made it use more gas even though it rolls better. This all happened immediately upon installation. Seems really strange. ITs not the end of the world though. I have 180,000 on this car so its at the point where I'm just glad it runs and hope to keep it running in some form or another for a few more years. At this point I wouldn't even look into any other car than a prius, although I like the Gen 2 better than the Gen 3. Another reason to hang on to what I have as long as I can.