Anyone getting the posted 61 city here

I've started to break 60mpg under city/rural conditions now that morning temps have started to rise above freezing. All it really takes is moderate temps and a moderate driving style, which means smooth accelerations and doing your best to look ahead so that you don't throw energy away through braking. Just focus on driving smooooothly.

If you run very short trips (the car needs to warm up before running optimally) you will have trouble managing 60mpg by no fault of your own.

I'm running tire pressures in that range and don't find it too harsh. Corners pretty well, too.

 

I'm at 64.8 MPG right now. Last year the over 60 tanks started in May and went to November. In the big city driving all the time, unless we have a Prius meet-up. What Evan and Brick said, and if their are a lot of short trips an engine block heater would help, even in the summer.

Wayne

 

A lot of depends on your city layout and trip, less to do with your speed.

Warmer months here in Lubbock can easily net 60mpg. The lights are timed pretty well so you can go quite a ways without stopping and the flatness allows for anticipating. I have driven in some cities were the lights are extremely short (hard to anticipate) or deliberate set up where you have stop every few blocks.

If you are lucky with a more pleasant easy cruise at lower speeds (45 or less), then I don't think much is needed to hit 61. A less forgiving commute will probably require pulse and glide or more than just anticipating.

Anticipating and coasting up to stoplights, trying to find the best route and trying to be aware of traffic flow can really help that city mileage. I don't notice much a difference between the different psi. We run at 42/40 or 40/38.

 

i think i'm the only one that runs its tires between the 50 psi mark

im almost getting 60... 4L/100km is like around 57mpg? i cheat and use the block heater to avoid stage 1 warmup

 

37.5, baby.

The effect of the block heater shouldn't be nearly what you'd think, because of the Prius design of pumping hot coolant into a vacuum bottle to keep it hot overnight. Even without a block heater, the hot coolant pumping back into the system makes the system much warmer than it would otherwise be.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(adam1991 @ Apr 6 2007, 09:52 AM) [snapback]418742[/snapback]</div>

I'm pretty sure that only some of the coolant is pumped into the thermos, so the block heater serves to keep the rest of the coolant warm. There really is a significant improvement in the mileage in the first five minutes that people have demonstrated.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(adam1991 @ Apr 6 2007, 09:52 AM) [snapback]418742[/snapback]</div>

Not sure exactly what you're suggesting, but the results speak for themselves. Most of the reported improvements with the EBH have been for the first five minute segment improving from 20-25 MPG to 35-50.

As for the thermos, my ScanGauge suggests the thermos coolant cools considerably after the car sits for just a few hours. After a mid-winter overnight cold-soak, it may be warm but it's not hot. In the midst of our coldest winter temperatures (before the EBH), I saw coolant temp rise only to the 50s or so after the thermos dump. Post-EBH installation, the thermos dump drops the system coolant temp. This morning, for example, with OAT of 30F, the coolant dropped into the 80s after the dump.

 

In heavy city stop and go traffic, 61 MPG would be hard to achieve (I am thinking rush hour on the old Central Artery in Boston). I live in a more rural area where the big city of Bangor, Maine had a population of under 32,000 in 2000, so I don't drive in a "real" city. If you mean non-highway speed driving, which I do about 80 % of the time, with little traffic, then 61 MPG is easy from May to October, and difficult to achieve in Central Maine winter weather. I recently got my first 60+ tank since November, then we got a foot of snow so I am down to 55 MPG on the current tank. The key to this is Pulse and Glide, before learning this technique, I used all the other techniques people talk about and my best tank was 57.8 MPG. After learning P&G my best tank was 83.7 MPG and my average MPG from May 16 (my first full tank trying to use P&G) to Nov 24 was 63.4 MPG over 11.8K miles. Over a similar period in 2005 (May 29 to Nov 23) my average was 53.2 MPG over 11.5K. This takes a little effort at first, but it is second nature after a while and you don't need to drive very slowly or accelerate like a turtle to do it, I mostly drive the posted speed limit unless I have the road to myself (no one behind me), in those cases I may do some serious P&G between 33 and 40 MPH on roads with posted speed limits of 35-40 MPH.

On the highway the best Fuel Economy is at the slowest speed, so drive as your time and the traffic allows, if traffic is light I stay between 60 and 65 MPH where the speed limit is 65. If traffic is heavy I will go 65-70 in the right lane or whatever speed the traffic is flowing at (if it is heavy enough to slow things down.)

Dennis

 

It is possible with good temps and a moderate driving style.

I am current at 76.9 mpg afer 320 miles with 8 pips left. Slow down and take routes with slower speed limits.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(CheapChic @ Mar 21 2007, 03:42 PM) [snapback]409815[/snapback]</div>

Read this by efusco he's very knowledgeable about the Prii. http://priuschat.com/index.php?autocom=art...rticle&id=3

Here is the sticky, started by Galaxee, about MPG fuel economy if you haven't already read it. http://priuschat.com/New-owner-Want-MPG-he...rst-t15311.html

Wildkow

p.s. I can get 55-60 MPG doing 60 MPH in the Central Valley here in California. However, it is quite flat, I once had a full screen of 99.9 MPG bars on my MFD driving slow coming North down the Grapevine. Wish I had taken a picture. :huh: