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Request for tips on NJ to Florida drive

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Fuel Economy' started by rumpledoll, Feb 12, 2009.

  1. rumpledoll

    rumpledoll Member

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    Me, my wife, 11 yr old boy and 9 year old girl soon will be driving to Florida from NJ for a vacation. We will be taking our 2007 Prius with 20,000 miles. I will be putting the tires at 42/40PSI here in NJ (~50F) as I am uncomfortable with going (much) beyond the 44PSI max sidewall. I may get over that in 80F Florida, but it will not be by much.

    I have Amsoil 0W-20 in the engine and I recently changed the transaxle fluid at ~17,500 to new Toyota WS ATF.

    Besides boosting the tire pressure which I will not do any further, are there any other tips for maximizing mileage?

    Thanks,

    Rumple
     
    #1 rumpledoll, Feb 12, 2009
  2. firepa63

    firepa63 Former Prius Owner

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    Drive the speed limit.
     
    #2 firepa63, Feb 12, 2009
  3. 40PlusMPGer

    40PlusMPGer New Member

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    Do not use cruise control. Allow the speed to drop reasonably on uphills, and increase reasonably on downhills.
     
    #3 40PlusMPGer, Feb 12, 2009
  4. rumpledoll

    rumpledoll Member

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    Thanks! On a drive last year from NJ to Lake Placid NY (wife ran the marathon up there), I set the Prius to 56MPH and just drove in the right lane. We got 59-60MPG which I thought was really good.

    I suspect I'll take your advice on the trip to FL and set it at whatever the local speed limit is.

    I'm wondering what kind of driving those people who get 1000+ miles out of one tank do. P&G below 42MPH is what I guess.

    Rumple

     
    #4 rumpledoll, Feb 12, 2009
  5. paprius4030

    paprius4030 My first Prius

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    The local speed limit down south on 95 goes up to 70 mph LOL! Hang on to your hat!
     
    #5 paprius4030, Feb 12, 2009
  6. rumpledoll

    rumpledoll Member

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    Yikes! 65MPH is the fastest speed I like to go.

    Rumple

     
    #6 rumpledoll, Feb 12, 2009
  7. tigerpilot

    tigerpilot Member

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    C'mon down....I live in Naples and the weather today is gorgeous - in the upper 70's. When it is cooler we just lie about it.......
    The theme parks will surely welcome you. Keep Florida green!
    Hope you enjoy your vacation.
     
    #7 tigerpilot, Feb 12, 2009
  8. statultra

    statultra uber-Senior Member

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    I live in Cape Coral, just north of where the previous poster is from.

    I used to drive from Jersey City, NJ to Cape Coral, FL roughly 1300 miles about 5 times a year in my 2001 Prius and once with the 2005 Prius, all of which handled it just fine, the tire pressures should be set accordingly, and I have a bad habit of checking the pressures at every gas stop just for safety ( one too many blowouts on 95 )
     
    #8 statultra, Feb 12, 2009
  9. a priori

    a priori Canonus Curiosus

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    The best mileage is not going to be had by driving with the traffic on an Interstate Highway.

    Driving on U.S. and State Highways at speeds between 45 and 55 (maybe 60) will get you much higher mileage. One reason is that you'll be able to P&G in and around the towns through which you actually drive.

    On the other hand, if you are willing and able to keep the car at 55-60, then Interstate driving mileage will not be much lower. The reason here is that you won't need to be slowing down, applying brakes and speeding up.

    Next suggestion: Keep a good distance between you and the traffic ahead of you. This will allow you to coast instead of applying brakes, and it will allow you to speed up on the downhills and not lose momentum at the bottom of the hill.

    Another option is to attempt to get trucks to cut the drag for you. I DO NOT endorse tail-gating, nor am I suggesting you really draft behind 18-wheelers. Still, you can be safely back of one (preferably two or more) truck, and there will be an area of lowered resistance that could help lower mileage. I'll do this at times, but I'm a bit more interested in looking at the scenery than the back of a dirty trailer!

    Finally, here are the other suggestions: Make certain you have safety equipment with you, including a flashlight (and fresh batteries), a cell phone, air pump, etc. Set tire pressure when tires are cold, but don't push it too far. Don't let the gas (guess) gauge get down to a flashing pip (or even one pip) without knowing exactly how far you are from a gas station. Don't roll down the windows, but use the fan for ventilation. Apply the "Auto" button for climate, but set the temp as cool as possible in cold areas and as warm as possible in warm areas.

    Enjoy your trip!!
     
    #9 a priori, Feb 12, 2009
  10. patsparks

    patsparks An Aussie perspective

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    65, ho hum.
    live a little.
    To drive at below 70mph on the highway I'd have to be driving at night on a road that might have kangaroos.
     
    #10 patsparks, Feb 13, 2009
  11. rumpledoll

    rumpledoll Member

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    Thank you all for the tips, they were helpful! Jupiter FL, here we come!

    Rumple
     
    #11 rumpledoll, Feb 13, 2009
  12. rumpledoll

    rumpledoll Member

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    We made it to FL, but unfortunately our red 2007 Prius did not. In South Carolina on 95S at 68MPH, a deer decided that the burden of life was too much for it and that it always hated the color red, so it leapt to it's death on the drivers side front bumper.

    I didn't realize that a deer could spay like that!

    My wife was driving and did a wonderful job of not crashing the car, but the Prius doesn't look good at all, smashed up into the inverter. We will know if the car is totalled or not today, big pain in the fanny either way.

    On the plus side, a 4th gen 2010 Prius is looking to be something aquired sooner rather than later.

    Rumple.

     
    #12 rumpledoll, Feb 16, 2009
  13. paprius4030

    paprius4030 My first Prius

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    Oh Wow really sorry to hear about your incident. Glad everybody is ok. We will be doing that drive in 2 weeks I will have to keep alookout for any deer.
     
    #13 paprius4030, Feb 16, 2009
  14. drees

    drees Senior Member

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    Bummer. Glad everyone but the Prius made it without incident. Damage doesn't sound bad enough to total the car, but a new one will make you feel better, anyway. :)
     
    #14 drees, Feb 18, 2009
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