507.9 Mile Tank (Verified) / 575.7 Mile Potential

Check some of bwilson4web post. He likes to run his Prius dry for testing just how much the tank really holds. As I recall, it has about a half gallon more than the manual says. Here is his thread, if you haven't read it, and CONGRATS on the 500+ tank full!!!

 

What does the Prius tank hold?

 

Gasoline...

bwilson4web, Have you topped your Gen III off from bone dry to tell us just how much can be squeezed into it?

 

I have gone over 700 miles on one tank many times.

 

When I forgot to look at the gas gauge I went 653 miles a couple of tanks ago. Suddenly noticed the gauge, dove into a gas station. The DTE read 0 miles.

 

I get excited when I top 425 miles...LOL D@mn these hills!!

 

In addition to more than a gallon of useable fuel when the gauge says zero, I can easily trickle another 1.5 gallons of gas into the tank after the initial full shutoff. Collectively this represents as much as 3 gallons of useable gas that some can stretch to nearly 200 miles.

 

Lucky bastards!

At 55mpg I can barely squeeze out 500 miles in my GenII. I'd love to ditch this bladder tank and get 600+ miles on a tank.

 

Drove 580 miles to SF and back on a single tank. MFD show 52.1mpg. I drive at 65mph most of the time. Occasionally 75mph if I had to pass someone. Last summer, I routinely get 600+ miles per tank. Then winter came and down to barely making 500 mile tank.

 

What do you think you would have got if you left SF on a full charge?

BTW, it was great to finally meet you. Your car is awesome. If you ever decide to sell it really cheap let me know. lol

 

What you're doing is filling up the evap system canister. Filling it with liquid gas poisons the charcoal in the canister so that it no longer adsorbs the gas vapor that is displaced as you fill the tank. When that happens, (a) filling the tank releases gasoline vapor into the air (some of it is collected by the pump nozzle collection system) and (b) it costs you a bit of gas because the adsorbed vapors are normally fed into the ICE as you drive.

I think the manual says to stop after the first click.

People love to do this to get "most miles per tank" but mpg (or L/100km for world units folks) is what really matters. Miles per tank has curiosity value, and convenience (avoiding gas stops).

 

I've been pushing it to see what I can get. First I got 529 miles out of a tank. Then I went to 540 miles on a tank, and still filled up with 10 gallons. I could probably push 600, but not so sure with the colder weather approaching. I need to get my grill blocked. Got the insulation, just need to do it!

 

Congrats, what a feeling.. it will get better after you get LRR tires and start getting 600mi tanks!

 

so the stock tires aren't LRR?

 

generally no but it depends on what it came with, they were putting Fuel Max on some. stock Avids def no

With LRR tires most improvement seem to come at speeds under 50MPH.

When Round and Black Becomes Lean and Green

 

Per the 2010 Gen III manual (page 558): Gen III tank holds 11.9 gallons (US).
So, the "miles per tank" numbers ain't a big deal when converted to MPG. Besides, "miles per tank" is a somewhat subjective and anecdotal measurement.

Try keeping track of MPG for 500 miles. You might find it more meaningful.

 

According to Tire Rack all three OEM tires for the Gen III Prius (Yoko Avid, Goodyear Assurance Fuel Max, and Bridgestone Ecopia) are LRR:
Tire Search Results

 

where can i see what my mpg is ?

I have a canadian prius, and i only see 5/100km under consumption display