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newbie suggestion

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by arkusvt, Apr 13, 2008.

  1. arkusvt

    arkusvt Junior Member

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    my wife and i just bought our new prius last week and find this forum to be so helpful. it also is a bit overwhelming in it's breadth and depth. as mileage seems to be of great importance, how would a "top ten" list of the most effective ways, (tricks) to obtain this goal go over with those of you who already possess this knowledge? i realize that this would be a collection of opinions; however i'm sure common ground would prevail and be of great help to those of us who have never owned a prius before. thank you
     
  2. NYPrius1

    NYPrius1 Active Member

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    Yes all the info here can be a bit much for a new owner.
    I think this may be a good idea!:cool:
     
  3. Danny Hamilton

    Danny Hamilton Active Member

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  4. richard schumacher

    richard schumacher shortbus driver

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    Short list in no particular order. Many of these apply to conventional cars also:

    - Don't idle the car to warm it up. Instead just drive it, gently for the first few minutes.
    - Check tire pressures regularly, at least monthly.
    - Don't speed.
    - Try using higher tire pressures. The original tires can go up to 44 PSI. Many owners of these use 42/40 PSI front/rear which gives noticeably better fuel economy but a harsher ride.
    - It sounds paradoxical but you want to *minimize* discretionary use of the battery. Energy conversions, especially those into and out of batteries, are inherently inefficient. To that end, remember:
    -- Accelerating briskly makes best use of the engine
    -- Gliding (no arrows on the "Energy" display) is better than coasting (foot off accelerator)
    -- Coasting is better than braking
    -- Braking is better than coming to a stop.
     
  5. firepa63

    firepa63 Former Prius Owner

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  6. nerfer

    nerfer A young senior member

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    I assumed this was one of the stickies in the fuel economy forum, but the most likely one is a link to another thread which links to a PDF I can't open and to another thread that is no longer available. These threads are rather long, so maybe someplace in the ones I can open there is a list of things to do to improve your mileage, but if so, it's really buried.

    So the OP is right, I think we need a new sticky for fuel economy. Richard has the top items pretty well listed, but we could add an explanation of pulse-and-glide (making sure it's clear it's targeted for speeds under 41 mph). Maybe include metric terms for our international friends.
     
  7. dogfriend

    dogfriend Human - Animal Hybrid

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  8. Danny Hamilton

    Danny Hamilton Active Member

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    Thanks for the repair dogfriend. I'll go back and fix mine as well.
     
  9. morpheusx

    morpheusx Professor Chaos

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    avoid short trips
    Check tire pressure (overinflate at least a little bit)
    turn off climate control for the first 5 minutes.
    Don't power on until ready to drive away
    Don't leave the car parked in Ready mode sitting at the store unless shorter then 5 minutes.
    Drive the Speed Limit
    watch traffic conditions ahead to maximimize possible coasting situations, leave enough space behind the vehicle in front of you to never have to use your brakes and use that buffer zone to slow down.
    (Every single time you touch the brakes on the highway, you are wasting gas, my drivers ed teacher use to preach that you should never ever have to use your brakes on the highway ever, unless traffic is completely stopped)