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Do you still remember your first time?

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by bradrayrich, Feb 27, 2006.

  1. bradrayrich

    bradrayrich New Member

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    I purchased my car one week ago and was getting a bit discouraged with the combination of the cold stretch here in Seattle last week and my short 10 minute commute. The first day or two I was averaging 25 or so mpg according to the mfd. Well, that has creeped up as the days have gone by and I'm taking some longer trips and learning new driving techniques.

    Today I had a moment of euphoria and any question whether I had made the right purchase vanished. It was 50 degrees when I left my house this morning. My 1st 5-minute bar was around 25mpg as usual. And then the 2nd was around 50, and the last 5 minutes I hit a 100+ mpg bar for the first time! It was a very rewarding feeling.

    I'm encouraged that with warmer weather and careful driving I should manage to get at least 45mpg average. I'm currently at 43.5mpg for my first 200 miles on the car.
     
  2. Kestrel

    Kestrel Bird geek

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    Oh yes, I do remember it! I was so excited that when I got to work, I took a picture of the graph with my camera phone and emailed it to my brother, who I knew would get a kick out of it.

    Congrats on your car and your first 100! Enjoy!
     
  3. CLJohnson72

    CLJohnson72 New Member

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    Happened to me today on a downhill stretch of I-96 that had slowed to about 25mph due to snow....
     
  4. Hawk

    Hawk New Member

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    I just got my Prius last Thursday night. I am also in the Seattle area. I got a silver package 8 from Dwight Haughton at Bob Bridge Toyota in Renton.

    It was on the show room floor when I got it. 1 mile on the car and it was not charged up, to many people looking at all the electronics. When i left with it the MPG was at 28 and now I am up to 40.7 @ 270 miles.

    Yesterday on the way to a poker turny I got my first 100 MPG bar. I was very exited. Yesterday was also when I broke the 40 MPG mark. It was a good day
     
  5. Begreen

    Begreen Member

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    We are now at 42mpg in same climate, with poor economy driving conditions (hilly, cold, short trips). I'm getting to the point on more familiar routes where I can stay in EV mode for a mile or two. That's real fun!
     
  6. bradrayrich

    bradrayrich New Member

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    Here I thought I needed a sports car to have so much fun driving. Amazing how obsessive one can be about FE. I had my wife drive the car for the first time on Saturday and it was all I could do to keep quiet in the passenger seat thinking the whole time "she's ruining my mileage." :eek:
     
  7. Tadashi

    Tadashi Member

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    hahaha that is why I had to get a his and hers. My wife generally does not get much above 51 where as I usually run around 59 on the MFD. Usually thought I cannot complain about her bad fuel economy driving since I am holding on for dear life. :blink:
     
  8. jwe8f

    jwe8f New Member

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    I did get way excited when I got a 100 MPG bar over a 5-minute period without stopping. Downtown areas are good for that if the engine is warm, lights are synchronized, and speeds are 40 MPH or below. Sure wish I had a route like that on my daily drive!
     
  9. V8Cobrakid

    V8Cobrakid Green Handyman

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    Yeah.. i remember my first time.. it was back when i started highschool with a really cute blonde.. oh... car.. right

    lol

    yeah.. i remember that first time too. :) not as excited now.. but still very happy. It's like marriage i guess lol
     
  10. tunabreath

    tunabreath New Member

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    I get 100 mpg bars fairly frequently -- there's a nice downhill stretch on my way to work, and because of some construction, there's a slow crawl part of the way home every day. The 100 mpg bars are nice to see, but if you get one by driving a mile in 5 minutes, it's not very significant to your overall mieage.

    What makes me happier is a screen full of 50+ bars. I still remember the first one of those I got (it was my first or second drive to work after buying the car).
     
  11. Wildkow

    Wildkow New Member

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    I remember mine! Pulled into the garage and didn't shut it off until I got my wife out to look at it. I have been driving back and forth to LA from Fresno for the last 6 weeks, 225-250 miles one way. On either side of the Grapevine I can get a whole screen full of 100 MPG bars! Both were equally exciting. Going back this week with the wife and I'm really torn as to letting her drive. Want her to catch the bug also but it is just so much FUN! A bit selfish eh? 8^)

    Wildkow
     
  12. EricGo

    EricGo New Member

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    FE fond memories:

    A completely green MFD (99.9 mpg bars all across). Only been able to do that once, although I come close pretty often.

    From fillup, kep the tank MPG at 99.9 for 30 miles. This was city/suburban driving with a 500' absolute decrease in elevation helping hand. By the time I returned to my point of orign, tank at 40 miles was 80 mpg.

    This last fall I averaged ~ 69 mpg over three tanks. That was *really* satisfying.

    ----Recipe-----
    NO wife driving
    Minimize short trips as much as possible
    No climate control
    Focus on anticipatory driving
    Best routes (no speed bumps, synchronized lights, light traffic etc)
     
  13. HybridVigor

    HybridVigor New Member

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    Heh. I like that recipe, although I have to give my wife credit for learning pretty quickly. The key really is not taking short trips. Since those first 10 minutes are dramatically lower than from then on, I find I don't make it back up to my starting mileage until nearly 25 minutes into my commute.

    As for my first 100-mpg bar? I remember it being during one my drive into work. Pretty cool. I've only seen one full-screen of 100-mpg bars in my life though, and it wasn't even driving my own Prius! I was driving downhill mountain grades from around Nederland, CO into Boulder in Tripp's car.
     
  14. EricGo

    EricGo New Member

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    Hi HybridVigor:

    I see you are on my FE tail. Is AZ getting hot yet ? ;)

    I should have said: Avoid cold engine starts; combining short trips is not so bad.
     
  15. Wildkow

    Wildkow New Member

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    So then if no cold engine starts does it make sense to purchase a block heater even though I live in the Central Valley California? Doesn't usually get below freezing but if an engine is at 40-45 degrees F would that justify a block heater?
    Maybe just a small cermaic heater under the front bumper aimed towards the back of the car?

    Wildkow
     
  16. EricGo

    EricGo New Member

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    Hi Wildkow:

    If you are only talking about once a day at 45F, I doubt it is worth the trouble. If you have multiple starts every day at those temps, that cannot be solved by trip planning, then it might be worthwhile. Maybe. Heat block folks tend to have white winters.

    Perhaps others have quantitative data for you.
     
  17. hycamguy07

    hycamguy07 New Member

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    LMAO, well put, mine was a red head,
     
  18. jpeachman

    jpeachman Junior Member

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    Why, I remember it like it was just this morning. Wait--it was just this morning that I got my first 5 minute 100 MPG bar! Of course, I only have a little over 100 miles total :lol: !
     
  19. DaveinOlyWA

    DaveinOlyWA 3rd Time was Solariffic!!

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    do i? oh ya, i remember...heck its like my son's first word, losing my virginity, and so on. but have to clarify.

    mine wasnt my first 99.9 mpg bar it was my first THREE consecutive 99.9 mpg bars. was done in an area you are probably familiar with. driving to issaquah from olympia, going from I-5 to I-405 to I-90...traffic was slow (about 20-35 mph i believe) and the 400 ft drop in elevation helped too.

    http://priuschat.com/forums/album_pic.php?pic_id=733

    notice the temps at 66º. come summer time, you will be doing 50 mpg too if you want it bad enough
     
  20. tripp

    tripp Which it's a 'ybrid, ain't it?

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    It should be pointed out that Hybrid Vigor's wife was the first in that family to have a 60 MPG tank. :lol: :lol: :lol: