Found her Sweet spot

Zip up your zipper and get your mind out of the gutter ladies and gents, I am talking about my car.

Just completed a 1700 mile jaunt to PA and back through the Poconos. On the trip out, had a time frame to meet, so I used cruise control most of the way, earned 51 MPG from IL to there. On the way back though, once I hit Ohio and needed to fill the tank I decided to see just what it takes to get good fuel economy out of it. I found the best way on the open road is to get behind a flatbed trailer, about 1.5 seconds behind it so A. you're not drafting, and B. you're not tailgating, either one of which can cause issues with the trucker and more important the police. What I found is when you are at that distance, it doesn't take much to keep up with it, except when going up a grade. Another thing I found, is when in traffic, if you are with other cars, you can achieve about the same MPG at higher speeds. It seems to be that if you are behind the truck it doesnt matter if it is doing 63 or 70, the results are very close, with 1MPG.

For my last tank @408 miles I got 65 MPG. Overall for my 820+ trip back I achieved 61.5 MPG on the MFD. I wonder what it would have displayed had I did that from the start of my trip.

Sweet!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(paprius4030 @ Sep 24 2007, 05:15 PM) [snapback]517093[/snapback]</div>

Off 290 at the Fernwood. I only saw about 3 Pri total while I was there for two weeks. Was well worth the trip too, earned my CCSP.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(paprius4030 @ Sep 25 2007, 06:17 AM) [snapback]517336[/snapback]</div>

Cisco Certified Security Professional

I work with firewalls and VPN.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(bwilson4web @ Sep 24 2007, 07:50 PM) [snapback]517183[/snapback]</div>

Sad part is, now that I am home the MPG is slowly dropping, it went from 61.5 down to 57.5 where it sits now after two days of regular driving. The darn hills, turns and stops on 55 MPH roads is killing it.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(prius2go @ Sep 27 2007, 03:58 AM) [snapback]518371[/snapback]</div>

For you maybe, for me it comes second nature, I learned how to read traffic from driving an 18 years ago so I am aware of what is going on in front of the truck as well. Years of driving in Chicago where no one is further than .5 seconds off someone elses bumper is the norm has also given me good reflexes. Besides, the Prius can stop on a dime compared to just about anything else I have ever driven, fantastic brakes on this bugger.

For those who dont know what 1.5 second lead is, here is a picture.

[attachmentid=11690]

 

Well 1000 miles since I got back, the display is down to 53.7. Its tough getting exceptional mileage around here with the hills and stops. You would think IL was flat, but it sure has a bunch of little hills that suck up gas.