Gas Change this Early??

This morning on our local talk radio show they stated that we should see some price lowering due to the fact that the stations only had till tuesday to sell wintergrade and then it had to switch over....don't know if that is a California date or what. I range about 3-4 miles difference on regular commutes but have had 52 mpg on trips.

 

gee Henry, you may be on to something. i have a totally different slant but same interesting results

data on my commute...short trip. mostly 35 mph, length 7.4 to 8 miles. check out last few readings. i starred the readings that are out of range of what i normally get

temps/miles/mpg average
32 / 7.7 /45.5
39 / 7.5 /48.8 *
45 / 7.7 /50.5
46 / 7.4 /52.2 *
28 / 7.6 /44.9
30 / 7.5 /48.8 *
32 / 7.8 /46.6 *
37 / 7.5 /50.5 *
36 / 7.7 /50.5 *
45 / 7.5 /50.5
37 / 7.5 /50.5 *
37 / 7.6 /50.6 *

right now, im at 285 miles on this tank and at 50.6 mpg on my tank. have been at the same level for a few days now. normally, my averages are in the 44-46 mpg range at temps under 40. the last two, this morning and evening... i find it hard to believe that my mileage was that high. also, at work, i checked my tire pressure and my right rear is leaking (again...caught a nail summer before last and was plugged) and only had 29 psi in it.

so ya... my mileage based on the weather we have had, i should be at about 47-48 mpg... now 2½ mpg doesnt seem like much, but actually during the winter, it is HUGE

unlike you Henry, no plugs, no sweater, no nothing. totally unexplainable right now, and as you know, most of the past week or so has been a bit nippier than normal

 

Did that stuff from Attila come via a list, or privately? I'm
starting to study up on CAN, and NOWHERE can I find any info on how
CAN IDs and packet bytes map to parameters, ECUs, remote-requests
vs. raw data, etc. If you can point me at some good doc on this
I'd be most appreciative. In other words, the "application level"
descriptions...
.
_H*

 

there is probably no standard for the CAN ID's and parameter maps as each company can write any code they want. All that they have to do is have their hardware read it properly. That is why it takes so long for this stuff to get figured out as it is only found by experimenting. The OBD11 and upcoming 111 stuff is determined by the SAE standard group but as for the on car CAN data the manufacture is free to write it as they see fit.

 

There *is*, in fact, a standard for how OBDII data gets passed via
CAN -- since all cars have to comply with any inspection station
being able to read the readiness monitors and basic powertrain
data. Manufacturer-specific data aside [and there's undoubtedly
a lot of it for the prius], a base set HAS to be readily available
to any CAN-based scantool ... but where is the document that tells
me WHY one should send to CAN ID 3E0 and expect something back from
3E8? This is the massively confusing part, as is having any concept
of WHICH ECU is replying -- or why several ECUs send DIFFERENT
replies.
.
_H*

 

There *is*, in fact, a standard for how OBDII data gets passed via
CAN -- since all cars have to comply with any inspection station
being able to read the readiness monitors and basic powertrain
data. Manufacturer-specific data aside [and there's undoubtedly
a lot of it for the prius], a base set HAS to be readily available
to any CAN-based scantool ... but where is the document that tells
me WHY one should send to CAN ID 3E0 and expect something back from
3E8? This is the massively confusing part, as is having any concept
of WHICH ECU is replying -- or why several ECUs send DIFFERENT
replies.
.
_H*

 

that's what I said OBD11 has to be available to any OBD11 tester for emission testing compliance, the rest the mfg can write what ever they want. All that they really need is for the dealers hand held tester with the proper software to be able to understand the rest. As for any documentation of the rest of the CAN code you won't find any as it's proprietary.

 

Understood, but at the moment I'm just trying to understand how
the "mandated" stuff works down to the bare-metal level. The best
ref I've found so far is the ELM327 doc, but even that makes a lot
of assumptions and vague hints.
http://elmelectronics.com/connect.html, pull ELM327DS.pdf
.
But all this has wandered FAR away from the original topic. Maybe
it's worth starting a new one too geek about protocols...
.
_H*

 

as a quick check you might want to google SAE OBD11 protocals and see what comes up. It'll be in the SAE's web site somewhere as they are the ones in charge of the specifications for it.

 

That's the problem. I see no reason to hand someone money for a
little understanding of packet formats, that should just be out
there on the net anyways given how many people have implemented
them. Just like tcp/ip and ethernet framing and PPP and all that.
This whole deal with spending hundreds of dollars on copies of an
"international standard" is a complete scam, and is probably
responsible for numerous poor/incomplete implementations.
.
_H*

 

Back to the subject of gas...

A couple of days ago I filled my tank, and then decided to try driving according to all the high-mileage gurus, particularly after reading a post somewhere from a two-Prius household with a 10-mpg difference between the featherfoot and the leadfoot. I had already put 3 or 4 miles on because of a trip to the grocery store, but I've now got 75 miles on this tank, consisting of two trips to church (a supper last night, and services this morning).

The computer says 52.5 mpg. This is city driving because I take the surface street (for the better mileage, the shorter route, and the bone-shaking cobblestone-like condition of the freeway). Temps have been in the 20 to 40 range. Speed limit is mostly 35 mph, with some 25 and some 45. I've been using a feather foot, plus judicious use of EV (those annoying times when speed is slow, SOC is high, but the car is slow to shut off the engine. Especially on a stretch through downtown, followed by a long downhill to the river crossing.) Cabin heat set to 72 degrees and fan on low.

Okay, 52.5 would be average to mediocre for Dave. But 48 is the best I've ever seen on my MFD before, not counting times when I filled up and drove the 3 blocks home on EV, back in Fargo. Summer gas may be a factor, if they've switched now, as this thread's title speculates, But I think I've improved 5 mpg just by driving like a little old lady.

I don't know if I can keep it up, though I'll try for this tank, just to see what happens when the short trips are factored in.

 

WTG daniel!! glad to see you are getting the great mileage... but you have to realize the 40º difference between Spokane and Fargo has a lot to do with that also.

 

Yeah, but this is 5 mpg better than I got in Fargo in summer on my best tanks, when there was a good mix of some longer trips (to the shopping district.) So the difference is the Zen driving. Not sure I can keep it up, though.

It'll be fun to see what happens when it warms up here. It may be 40 degrees warmer than Fargo, but it's still 40 degrees colder than summer.