MPG adjustments

Maybe try 40/38 for starters. As far as I know, you're totally "legal" if you don't exceed the max pressure embossed on the tire itself, but you may want make changes in smaller increment, since it will stiffen the ride. Many people even exceed the max value on sidewall, fwiw. Personally I stay roughly in the middle between Toyota's recommendation and the max sidewall.

The stock tires are typically picked for pretty good Low Rolling Resistance values, so I think you would only get marginal benefit going to Michelin Energy Savers.

Also keep in mind (and this not good news, lol): the dash readout of mileage is likely better than calculated mileage. In my experience by 5~9%.

As far as getting better mileage, there are *lots* of tricks, just keep reading. A few of top of my head:

* When at speed, take your foot off the gas, then gently re-apply, while keeping an eye on the HSD display. Try to keep the bar to the left of the centre mark, and the car should stay in electric-only mode, as long as it's warmed up. Do this in moderation: it will eat up the charge, quickly.
(this is documented in the Owners Manual)

* Abide by the speed limits. Dead simple way to improve mileage, reduce acceleration needs, improve your odds in a crash, improve reaction times, and on and on.

* Pulse and glide, ie: give a little surge, then coast and let your speed drop. Then repeat.

* Drive like you have no brakes, do whatever you can to minimize braking, looking ahead, coasting to red lights, and so on.

 

Start with Bob's video. I believe it's a sticky in this very forum. Then come back here after you watch that and tell us what you think.

 

I wouldn't get another set of tires till you need some. the tires will not magically put you at 60+ from 48. hypermiling techniques are not for everyone. some peoples commutes just can not make it happen. I am lucky and have 2 lanes on my commute so people can go around if they want I still try to keep my glides some what reasonable MPH wise so I am not pissing too many people off. usually it seems people are more mad you are not taking off from a stop light at 100% throttle lol.

pulse and glide is the biggest one I have seen an improvement with. it has helped get me high MPGs

 

There are three components to getting great gas mileage

1) Commute
2) Equipment
3) Attitude

There isn't too much you can do for your commute (it is what it is, short commutes make it harder to get great MPG's) although you can manipulate your route and/or times traveled to help with this.

Equipment - Fortunately for you, you have purchased a car that will help you greatly in your quest for great MPG's. You can enhance this by increasing your tire pressures (I run mine at 44 PSI fronts and 42 PSI rears (max cold PSI rating for my tires). I've had zero issues by doing this and got over 50,000 miles on my OEM Yokohamas.

Attitude - Great MPG's are about attitude. You need to be able to be your own person and not cave in to peer pressure (which there is a lot of while you drive). It is hard to get great MPG's, it can feel emasculating, embarrassing, and humiliating. But, you will be rewarded by improved mileage, longer wear on your tires, brakes, engine life, as well as being a LOT more relaxed when you drive.

1) Keep your top speed down. If you currently drive the speed limit + 5 or more mph, slow down to the speed limit (at a minimum) If the speed limit is 65 mph, go to the right and drive 65 mph. I know you THINK people will run you over. Don't worry, they won't. Once you start getting used to having EVERYONE pass you, you can even slow down a bit more. Try to target 63 mph. Then 61 mph. Final target of 60 mph (in a 65 mph zone) will give you great MPG while not feeling like you are standing still.

2) Don't tailgate. This is easy when you are driving 65 mph or less on a 65 mph highway. You need to look ahead 0.25 to 0.5 miles in front of you and you can't do this if you are 0.5 seconds behind the person in front of you. You need at least 2 seconds (3 is better), it will give you the visibility you need to see the brake lights ahead so you can anticipate. Don't worry! While some people will jump into your "gap", they typically are transitory and will jump back the the left lanes again.

3) Drive like you don't have any brakes. This ties into #2. Braking = wasted energy. If you see traffic slowing ahead (a sea of red brake lights) for god's sake, get off the accelerator and coast up to it! Don't maintain speed, only so you have to mash the brakes hard. In some ways, it is a fun way to drive, because what you are trying to do is match your speed to the traffic in front of you such that as you coast up to the car in front of you, they are just pulling away and instead of hitting the brake, you press the accelerator and join them back up to speed. If you are coming to an offramp, coast up to it and try to negotiate it with as little brake as possible.

4) Pulse and Glide. When you are in Slow and Go traffic, you can get absurdly great MPG's. In fact, my biggest MPG gains on my commute are during the 4 miles of slow and go traffic I come across every day. #2 and #3 feed into this. You need to leave a big enough gap in front of you in order to know how fast you can accelerate up to and know when to let off the "Go" pedal. You then use the "no brakes" technique to glide along (using no gas). It is like an accordian, you let it stretch out, then accelerate and glide to compress it. If it works out right, it will expand just as you reach the bumper of the guy in front of you.

The funny thing about driving for MPG is that it turns driving into a game. Driving without brakes is easily the most fun I have on my daily commute, it keeps me engaged with my surroundings and tests my ability to judge traffic patterns.

Good luck! 90% of high MPG's is driver/technique/attitude related.

 

I keep all 4 of my Michelin Energy Saver AS tires at max sidewall pressure, 44 PSI,
after 68,000 miles they all wore evenly and I could have probably got another 5,000 miles
out of them befor I replaced them.

My new set of Michelin Energy tires are at the same max pressure and they are the
best tires, in my opinion, for a real increase in MPG's.

 

I agree with my friend Codyroo.

The OE tires are more than capable of producing high mpg numbers. Yes the Energy Saver A/S is better but it doesn't make economic sense to trade out a good set of OE tires until they are worn down. Learn how to drive more efficiently and wring the most out of your current setup and commute. When the tires hit 4/32nds tread depth then upgrade to the Energy Saver A/S.

I believe our current mpg record holders are on the OE tires and pulling 79+mpg.

 

Keep in mind that as winter approaches mpg will drop. This may make it appear that your changes in driving technique are not working. Be very aware of environmental conditions and how they affect fuel economy.

 

And if you weren't aware of the environmental conditions and their impact on your MPG's, you will soon be FULLY aware of them. You'll even be able to tell if you are driving into a headwind or a tailwind by your instant MPG's once you are familiar with your route.

You'll have a good idea when winter gas comes in. You'll see how much wet roads impacts your mileage. You'll see the impact the cold weather has as well.

 

I commute 75 miles one way and get better MPG going west to east in the morning than my return trip by about
4-5 mpg. How much PSI can I run with the stock Ecopia tires before I will have wear issues?

 

Its indicated on the tire's sidewall. I believe it's 44?

 

You should be able to fill to the max PSI (cold) on the sidewall with no issues of center tire wear. Many hypermilers will exceed (some greatly) the max PSI in efforts to get further gains, but it is a case of diminishing returns.

Myself, I run at Max PSI on the fronts and Max PSI - 2 PSI on the rears. I had no wear issues on my OEM Yokohamas which I put 51,000 miles on before replacement.

 

If you drive on rough older roads I recommend lower tire pressure. At high speed a hard tire tends to bounce and skip over rough patches. This robs you of forward momentum and uses energy to move the wheel up and down as opposed to minor tire deformation. Better to use lower pressure in these situations.

 

f8l... im running michellin primacy HP (oem scion frs/ subaru BRZ) on BRZ rims. 215/45/17 87w 24.7 in 844 revs per mile.
first question is speedometer difference?second question is pressure. it states 1201@51psi... so.. i should run maybe 45/43

be
should fine right?

 

Were you able to sell them for a little bit?

 

I don't know much about the primacy Hp but i would study your daily route and see how much of it is comprised of high speeds and rough surfaces. The rougher the road the lower the pressure. Or if you drive at mainly low speeds then higher pressure is good. I would suggest 38/36psi to start with then work your way up. I don't think you will gain much above 45psi so stick with something below that for comfort and safety reasons.

 

Oops, forgot about the speedo question.

The speedo will read even more off (faster) than it did with the OE 15s. I estimate it will be approx. 2mph too fast. I ran the same size and style of tire and mine ran 2mph too fast on average.

 

thank u for the fast response.

i do about 3-4k miles a month and 70% city 30% hwy.

i think ima go with 38/36 to start like what u said.

one more question is what about filling with nitrogen?

if i want the speedo to read accurate (not the stock, im aware that stock speedo read a lil to fast for safety(?) reasons)

what should be the best size?

205/50/17 should read better?

i know the HP tires dont have to much treadwear @240... for my next set of tires which should be the best for accuracy in speedo (GPS) and for the MPG?

thank u in advance