My first attempt at hypermiling = FAIL

when your Prius is in a traffic jam - put your Prius in "power " and do mini P&G (top speed from 10 to 15 mph) and avoid using the electric motors. Time your mini P&G so you have atleast 1.5 to 3 car length to go. You want to avoid depleting your HV battery (State of Charge less than 50% or four bars) If there is a risk of a traffic jam on your route your Prius should be in "Power" mode as a default setting.

When the Prius is in Neutral the regen brakes donot recharge the battery but it will not stop the ICE from burnning gas to recharge a depleted HV battery. In some states , coasting in neutral downhill is illegal (this driving technique is called NICE by Hyp ermilers) i think Florida rescended this prohibition recently?

Your vette has extra weight from the extra HP.. It is design to burn fuel like crazy and go reaally fast. It has an Otto cycle engine - which has a narrow *sweet* range wrt to RPM and PSI /compression where it runs most efficiently

 

If you can maintain a displayed value of 60.0 or better MPG, you should hit 600 miles with little difficulty (although your last fuel pip will be flashing for awhile). If your displayed MPG drops below 58.0 MPG, you might want to try for 600 miles on another tank (58.0 mpg should get you to 600 miles in 11 gallons)

 

I refilled yesterday with 58.8 mpg displayed, 550 miles traveled. 9.98 gallons. Was going to take it to 600 but decided to get another data point a little closer (previous tank was 480 miles and about 9.5 gal I think). Actually I chickened out after watching that bottom pip blink for 40 miles

 

Exactly why I chickened out

 

I've put in 11.1 and 11.2 gallons for my "emptiest" tanks....both were 700 mile tanks.

 

Found this in an older thread by someone who likes to run out of fuel for fun (and to see what happens). This in on page ten. After 9 pages of childish arguments over the morality and probability of running out of gas we get to the useful information:



I have good news and bad news:

GOOD NEWS!

The Prius automatically converts to EV mode when the engine stops.

BAD NEWS!

There is no "check engine" light or other indication that the engine is no longer able to turn over! This of course begs another question ... is the "check engine" light working?

I ran 2.16 gallons on flash and the actual tank capacity appears to be 12.09 gallons.

BACKGROUND

I pulled off the interstate and took an interchange to return. I knew it should run out any minute but it wasn't until the acceleration down the ramp was 'sedate' that I realized the gas engine was not coming on. There was no other error code.

So I continued on EV mode down the ramp and on to the shoulder and then 100 yards further and well off the shoulder. I added my spare, 1 gallon, and drove to my local Shell station to fill up with 87, E10.

WORKAROUND (UNTESTED!)

When running on flash an the tank is about to run dry, put the display in energy flow mode. As long as you see engine power lines, it is running. But if the engine stops and the battery is supplying power, then you are a limited range, EV. It is time to park 'RIGHT NOW'.

It may take a couple of weeks before I can test the workaround.

Bob Wilson

Read more: [WARNING] Running out of gas (Gen III) | Page 10 | PriusChat

 

The key seems to be to avoid using the battery or the brakes as much as is reasonably possible. I also like the tip to use power mode in stop and go traffic. Also more acceleration on the downhills when driving with load. Joe, you seem to be doing a bit better than me with slightly higher highway speeds. I wonder if you are onto something. I was able to hold speed longer in "super highway mode" -- with the bar below the end of the Eco leaf-- for longer at 65-70 mph than I have been at 55-60. Im Getting 60-75mpg at either speed range but with less frequent accelerations when starting from a higher speed. I'll try faster again next week when I work again. I have a 53 mile commute, 45 miles on highways. Best mpg for the trip has been 68.5. Got 70.2 yesterday doing pulse and glide on empty country roads that parallel the highway and I'm sure I could do better with more practice but it took an extra 25 minutes so I won't be doing that too often.

 

I'm in tampa. My "downhills" are overpasses too

 

At the rate you are going (62.5 displayed), you will make a 600 mile tank with no issues.

 

I too would like to join the 600 mile club. I'm getting an average of 65 mpg on the hwy and 70 mpg in the city. But my overall mpg is 62 mpg. I like to warm up my Prius to get engine components lubricated before I start driving. I plan on keeping this vehicle for the next 20 years.

Any who I'm a salesman for Colonial Toyota in Milford, CT and I have been able to test out every Toyota and my best mpg was with a Prius C getting 80-90 mpg in the city but on the highway the engine works a lot harder and is louder than the standard Prius. The C gets about 55-60 mpg on the highway.

As for the Plugin it's a waste of money if you hypermile. It only runs on battery in a ~15 mile radius and the weight of the extra battery makes your engine work harder. Although for some reason when I drove the Plug-in it felt like it had more power than my 2011 Prius with 43,000 miles but maybe that's just a new car feeling.

Overall, if you plan on hypermiling I recommend staying away from a Plug-in Prius if you have a long commute since it's heavy and it only runs on electricity within a certain range. The best vehicle for hypermiling in the city would be the Prius C. I'm sure if hypermile correctly I would achieve 100 mpg but I was driving slow in 30 mph speed limit getting 80-90 mpg. If you are doing a long commute on the highway I'd recommend the traditional Toyota Prius since it's lighter than the Plug-in and has a bigger motor than the C making the engine work less resulting in the best highway Prius.

 

I disagree. The Plug In offers you more tools for hypermiling than are available on the other models.

One doesn't have to use the EV range right away. You can save the EV energy for areas that are normally difficult for hypermiling. You can also store more power that would normally be wasted because of the smaller battery capacity in the non-Plug Ins.

EV acceleration is easier in the Plug In even after you are locked out of EV Mode. This makes EV starts (delayed ICE firing) easier.

Freeway fuel economy is the best of all the Prii models even when the EV range has run out.

From a truly economic standpoint the Plug In may not be the best choice unless you have short commutes but the fun factor and sheer efficiency is high.

 

Be strong. Resist the urge to mod.

 

The Plug-in Prius (PiP) is a regular Prius on steroids.