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Document your MPG by doing this!

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Fuel Economy' started by unigeezer, Sep 8, 2011.

  1. cproaudio

    cproaudio Speedlock Overrider

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    I see your Gen II and raise you my Gen III. This was taken on July 16th at the gas station. [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    Although I don't get as good of gas mileage as you, you do have better PHEV system than mine. I'm working on my 1,500 mile tank when my converter took a dump at just over 900 miles and 4 pips left on the fuel meter. I'm estimating at about 130 real mpg. Low AVG speed is due to not driving while in READY mode for the converter to charge up the HV battery.
     
  2. mikewithaprius

    mikewithaprius New Member

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  3. Paul58

    Paul58 Mileage Miser

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    This was taken this morning after I arrived at work, nothing spectacular, but it's pretty much my norm and is above 50 mpg... Sorry, no finger, face or other body parts in the pic, it was too early...

    [​IMG]
     

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  4. unigeezer

    unigeezer Member

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    Thanks everyone for your feedback. Perhaps those claiming the wildly high average mpg can share your secret. No, I don't mean photoshop, haha. Just enlighten us so that we too, might be able to enjoy the rarefied world of 75+mpg land!

    Terry

    (This gets unlimited mpg.) :cool:
     
  5. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    there are a ton of fuel savings threads if you take a look. depending on your commute, geography, weather and driving style, 60-70mpg is not that difficult.
     
  6. TonyPSchaefer

    TonyPSchaefer Your Friendly Moderator
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    "Claiming"? I though the point of the photos was to differentiate the claims from the actuals.

    There are many threads that address various techniques. My "secret" is pretty simple: I take a route to work that plays into my Hypermiling techniques. Seriously. I go out of my way and spend more time than needed. But this goes beyond just being able to post high mileage; I enjoy my longer and slower drive more than I do when I have to take the direct route.

    On the direct route, I have to watch for speeders zipping from lane to lane and tailgating. On my preferred route, I have to watch for pedestrians, cyclists and deer. Rather than racing from stoplight to stoplight, I cruise along in 35 mph zones for miles at a time.

    There's the question of whether taking a longer route and getting higher mileage saves more gas than a shorter route with worse mileage. I'm not overly concerned about that discussion because I just put on an audiobook and enjoy the ride.
     
  7. unigeezer

    unigeezer Member

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    I was referring more to the few on this thread who posted "pics" showing 99.9 (and higher) average mpg. The only thing missing from those posts is a laugh track, and it makes all the other posts (that might well be legitimate), look dubious.
     
  8. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    If you had looked at the posts clearly you would notice those members have PHEV systems. That being said, over 100mpg is achievable in the right circumstances. I believe the record is 118 mpg which is held by a woman in Japan. She is driving a stock Prius without the plug in upgrades.
     
  9. Michgal007

    Michgal007 Senior Member

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    rotfl!
     
  10. aspens3

    aspens3 Junior Member

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    I have not read past the first post in this thread, but came here because I'm pleased with the mileage on my '07. So much depends on the terrain I drive. The flat stretches coupled with going down hills sends it way up, but then the reverse subtracts. I will try to take a photo, but I have been getting 50 mpg and for a week or so, it hit 52.1. The weather is such right now that I need neither heat nor AC. When I first bought this used vehicle, I read many threads about how to drive better and I do lots of letting up on the accelerator, watching the speedometer drop a mile and another mile. I glide whenever I can. I don't accelerate wildly. The tips were/are very helpful and have taught me to drive differently than I do in the big truck. And now to cruise down this thread to see what people have to say.
    I let somebody else drive it for awhile and their average was about 46 mpg.
    This car is a delight. When I see many ads for new cars on TV boasting of up to 32 mpg, I'm so glad I have one which will probably give me at least 40 in the dead of the cold winter.
    Don't know what cruise control is or for, but I would never give up my own control of speed. Too many moose jumping out from the bushes, LOL.
     
  11. babybird

    babybird Member

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    Having just bought my '08 last week, my first tank was 46.7, and my current tank with 280 miles on it so far seems to be settling in for somewhere in the 56-58 MPG range. I'll post a pic when I finish the tank.

    My miles are mainly pizza delivery miles, and I'll admit that getting it into the mid-high 50s for this tank has required judicious modulation of the gas pedal and careful attention paid to the displays and a very sensitive right foot.

    So far what I can say about being in the upper 50s is that traffic is annoying, highways suck, and so do uphills. I live in Colorado along the front range of the Rocky Mountains, and one surprising thing this tank has been just how hilly I've noticed the roads are. Watching my MPG display reminds me of riding a bicycle in terms of realizing just how many "flat" roads I've grown up using that are actually very long, steady uphills. It's good though, because it's got me thinking more carefully about how I can alter my routes to maximize mileage by choosing more mileage-friendly uphills and downhills.
     
  12. unigeezer

    unigeezer Member

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    I've been averaging about 44mpg lately as my new tires break in. I realized why my mpg is not very high, but then again it's actually very good indeed considering that the vast majority of my driving is....SHORT TRIPS OF 2 MILES OR LESS! With LOTS of stops for signs and lights, also many steep hills.

    All of which are definite mpg killers, hybrids included! I should also add, that I never bother with so called "hypermiling" and all that jazz. I drive it like a regular car. In spite of all that, I'm still averaging 44mpg, so I really can't complain. :)
     
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  13. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    That is pretty good considering your driving pattern. Congrats. :)

    I am averaging 47-48mpg on this tank but that is based on long highway trips with very little stop and go. The 17" tires are the culprit. In the same conditions and routes usually net 55-58mpg with the 15" tires. *sigh*

    Y ou'll be happy to hear that my last trip ended with 36mpg after carving corners at 70mph through the mountains then maintaining 85 mph on the highway. The total trip was 179 miles or so. lol
     
  14. Paul58

    Paul58 Mileage Miser

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    Here's another pic, same tank as my previous pic, this one taken this morning... 59.1 MPG at 380 miles thus far, and still have 3 blips left...

    [​IMG]

    Have to admit, this is probably my best so far, and I have been watching how I drive, so it is possible to achieve over 50 mpg with little effort...
     

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  15. efusco

    efusco Moderator Emeritus
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    I find it interesting that you're so skeptical. Bottom line is this...the car, with a determined driver, is capable under quite normal driving conditions of getting far in excess of the 50mpg EPA numbers. Over the 113k miles I've had my prius I've averaged around 60mpg, I have lows in the 37mpg range and highs in the 73mpg range (for a tank). The YMMV is very very true. I think your estimates of 40s for the average driver is probably right as most people give very little thought to their driving technique and most people drive such short distances or at such high speeds.

    That said, it is very easy with a few simple techniques and a basic understanding of the principles of efficient driving, to routinely exceed 50mpg. I won't meet your challenge, I've posted innumberable pix of my multi display (CAN-View and the basic MFD) over the past 8 years that more than adequately document what I and this amazing car are capable of. If you ever have a chance to get together with one of our other members who routinely get such good mpg take advantage of that opportunity for a bit of a lesson just so you can understand a few things that might help you see yoru numbers climb too.
     
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  16. dhanson865

    dhanson865 Expert and Devil's advocate

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    Batteries in the camera were dead when I came home so I had to charge some NiMh AAs and take the picture later.

    I didn't bother cleaning the fingerprints off or making the lighting great. Just turned on the Prius in my garage and took the pic.

    You can read http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-...0-yokohama-avid-envigor-gas-milease-drop.html to see a more detailed discussion of my driving habits but the short version is

    High PSI tire inflation (high 40s)
    100% Gas
    decent weather (60-90 F)
    a route that forces some low speed driving (not my choice)
    car is in garage at one end of trip reducing need for climate control

    The commute to/from right now is ~16 miles each way with about 1/3 of that distance done at 65 MPH, about a 1/3 done at 45 MPH, and about 1/3 done under that (both ends of the trip involve either neighborhood or parking lot driving at lower speeds plus the feeder/backroads)

    The only "aero" mod I made was to take the 16" unicorn antenna off the top and replace it with a $4 4" antenna from the local dodge dealership. It's very similar in looks to the non shark fin antenna I've seen on some Gen III Priuses but I don't know if those were stock or not. do not know if the Toyota dealer has a cheap 4" antenna but the Dodge dealer had it so that's what I did. cheap shorty antenna that works I expect it saves some gas but so small an amount it's almost unmeasurable.

    Other than the antenna and tires everything else on the car is stock.
     

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  17. SageBrush

    SageBrush Senior Member

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    Sorry OP, but you are acting like an nice person.

    You ask that people who obtain high MPG results post pictures, and then give snide sniveling remarks when your request is honored. No one here says that 60+ mpg is a Prius fleet average. We say it is achievable under certain conditions for most but not all drivers. Notice how people in this thread have tried to explain any non-obvious or non-typical parameters of the tank ?

    My current tank is I think in the 500 mile range from a mix of highway and 50ish mph driving, and the MFD reports 58 something If I remember correctly. I took about a year of tank fills when the car was newer, and calculated that the MFD under-reports actual MPG by about 3.5%. The data is a public google doc spreadsheet you can find in my posts here if you are interested. I'll post a pic for you tomorrow with my middle finger.
     
  18. scythefwd

    scythefwd Junior Member

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    There ya go. I suspect that after I actually learn how to drive this thing for economy.. I'll be able to post much higher numbers if I want to...I've had it a total of 3 days now.
     

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  19. TheSpoils

    TheSpoils Member

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    Here is a video, 61.2 mpg for 549. miles.
    54.8 lifetime mpg for 30,708 miles. The trip B has never been reset, it rolls at 10,000 miles, but the mpg avg is continuous.



    could not add video directly so here is the link.
     
  20. unigeezer

    unigeezer Member

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    You are a perfect example of someone who cannot make a coherent argument, so you resort to the lowest common denominator with juvenile attacks. Your parents must be proud. :rolleyes:

    And again, the same mpg can be achieved with most any car, from hybrids to hummers, under certain conditions, but most people have more important priorities, like getting to work on time, grocery shopping, taking their kids to school, the doctor, running errands, etc.

    The nice thing about hybrids, prius in particular, is that you can simply drive it like any other car, and still get nearly double the mpg of most non-hybrids. :D