MPG suckathon

[cfg83]

rikkitikkitavi -

If most of your driving is highway, give the Honda Civic Hybrid a chance. The Prius excells in city MPG, but the Civic may be better for freeway driving.

I would do a few more tanks before getting a new car, but you (obviously) know your context better than me.

I guess I'm just saying you should stop to smell the flowers for a minute :

Attachment 1037
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZXDRm9dmYM

PS - One thing my car friend told me is that the best new car deals are at the end of the year because the dealers/salespeople are trying to get rid of inventory. This *might* not be true of the Prius because it is in a special category, but it's worth taking into account from the POV of saving $$$.

CarloSW2

[omgwtfbyobbq]

Don't idle to warm up and drive slower on the freeway. I have a six that can pull ~30mpg no problem. Should be able to do better w/ a four.

[DarbyWalters]

Originally Posted by rh77

Too many variables at once...



Give it a couple of tanks, and get a feedback device. The fill-up method may have been flawed.


RH77

Probably the culprit

[jeffreymccoy]

Or - if your disgusted with FE gains like I was, trade up to something else as you already are itching to do.... LOL. I had the itch for a new better FE car, then tried to suppress it with improving on what I had. In the end I couldnt get satisfied with 20smpg...so >> Recently went from 20mpg F150 to 40mpg Mazda3. You dont have to buy new to get better mileage, which will make it more financially appealing. I went from 04 40K miles to 06 18K miles for $4K. Carmax has some good deals it seems, and they didnt dork around with my trade in.

[rikkitikkitavi]

80% of the driving was freeway 55-68mph.

270 in columbus during the "gotta get to owrk and I left 30 min late" moron meyhem fest everyday will get you dead at less than 65 and dirty looks at less than 80mph even if you are in the slow lane

Oh and I also removed 100lbs of crap (tools computer equip) from the car.

Prius is awesome but I really crunched the numbers and even at 27mpg vs 55mpg the 16000 trade in diff is just not making sense, 4 years plus to breakeven. Plus my home is VERY rural and though we do not get alot of bad winter weather I seriously doubt I'd get closer than 3-4mi from home in snow with a prius.

I did also find a nice 04 certified accord with a stick for about 4k difference but once again my last accord (98 model stick) got 42mpg at freeway spd, but I dont know how the newer models do. If I could reasonably expect 40 on the Accord I would likely lean that direction.


Thanks guys......

Rikki

[MetroMPG]

Originally Posted by rikkitikkitavi

270 in columbus during the "gotta get to owrk and I left 30 min late" moron meyhem fest everyday will get you dead at less than 65 and dirty looks at less than 80mph even if you are in the slow lane

Sounds like you need to find a blocker. They're out there.

Also, you're self-employed. Do you HAVE to drive during the moron mayhem fest, or can you choose to leave a little earlier or later? A half hour can sometimes make all the difference.

But: if you're serious about this, you really need instrumentation. When it's in your face how instantly & directly your driving is affecting your consumption, you'll start looking to change it more seriously.

Also, instrumentation will get around the problem of a slightly short fill skewing your results & deflating your motivation (as has been suggested may have been an issue on your latest 27 mpg tank). You need more timely feedback than tank-to-tank.

[lovemysan]

Originally Posted by rikkitikkitavi

80% of the driving was freeway 55-68mph.

270 in columbus during the "gotta get to owrk and I left 30 min late" moron meyhem fest everyday will get you dead at less than 65 and dirty looks at less than 80mph even if you are in the slow lane

Oh and I also removed 100lbs of crap (tools computer equip) from the car.

Prius is awesome but I really crunched the numbers and even at 27mpg vs 55mpg the 16000 trade in diff is just not making sense, 4 years plus to breakeven. Plus my home is VERY rural and though we do not get alot of bad winter weather I seriously doubt I'd get closer than 3-4mi from home in snow with a prius.

I did also find a nice 04 certified accord with a stick for about 4k difference but once again my last accord (98 model stick) got 42mpg at freeway spd, but I dont know how the newer models do. If I could reasonably expect 40 on the Accord I would likely lean that direction.


Thanks guys......

Rikki

Riki, I think your on the right track. The prius is not the answer to everything. I actually feel its a waste until you've extracted the max potential out of what you have. Diamondlarry is a good example of this. He went through several modified saturns perfecting his habits before dropping big coin on the prius. Physhack's wife daily drives a late model accord. You might try a searching him out for his opinion. Also there is an accord review in the reviews forum.

I suggest you stay where your at, get the scangauge, and verify that what your doing is working. Do like metro was suggesting and seek out those slower trucks and run with them. There are many commercial trucks that do not exceed 65mph. Concentrate on using the minimum amount of throttle to do the required amount of work, read stop lights and crosswalks carefully, you must treat momentum like a commodity. When the car is rolling you've paid to get that way, you must now use this energy. The brake pedal can be just as spendy as the gas pedal. Lastly, get the convertor locked and keep it that way.

[8307c4]

Originally Posted by theclencher

ditch the warm up you and your car dont need it

Agreed, start the car and all it has to do is the rpm's settle, takes 2-3 seconds or so. Put it in gear and now just take it nice and easy for the first 2 minutes, then continue to drive it pretty nicely until the engine reaches op temp, well heck now you can just keep on driving nice, you're on a roll.

But seriously, warm ups are a thing of the past, back in the 60's and 70's when cars had none of the electronics of today. Warm ups are mostly for carbureted engines, even those don't really need it, simply start-and-drive, then the first 2-3 minutes of driving take it real easy.

Betcha that alone gets you to 30 mpg, but at least 28.

.........
btw get a car that has a seat warmer

[bowtieguy]

Originally Posted by rikkitikkitavi

80% of the driving was freeway 55-68mph.

270 in columbus during the "gotta get to owrk and I left 30 min late" moron meyhem fest everyday will get you dead at less than 65 and dirty looks at less than 80mph even if you are in the slow lane

Oh and I also removed 100lbs of crap (tools computer equip) from the car.

Prius is awesome but I really crunched the numbers and even at 27mpg vs 55mpg the 16000 trade in diff is just not making sense, 4 years plus to breakeven. Plus my home is VERY rural and though we do not get alot of bad winter weather I seriously doubt I'd get closer than 3-4mi from home in snow with a prius.

I did also find a nice 04 certified accord with a stick for about 4k difference but once again my last accord (98 model stick) got 42mpg at freeway spd, but I dont know how the newer models do. If I could reasonably expect 40 on the Accord I would likely lean that direction.


Thanks guys......

Rikki

just my 2 cents...

you're getting ONLY 27mpg driving 80%hwy w/ a 4 banger?! TIME OUT!

i got 30+ my last fillup driving 65%hwy w/ a v6 and heavier car.

obgwtfbyobbq is right! you can do much better...

grill block,overinflated tires,EOC,driving techs,etc.

unless of course you have $ to blow.

[rikkitikkitavi]

Thanks for all the responses guys, Opted out of the prius, like I said the yota is paid for and likely good for another 130k (has 70+ now) ...looked at a Mazda 3 and an accord....just cant get myself to buy another "unknown"...so anyway today was one of my crazy everysystemintowniscrashing service call days, nearly 300mi since 7AM, went ahead and filled up this evening (had a cupon that expires today .25 off per gal.


34.459MPG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


I actually drove 68-70 on the interstate and quicker accel overall. Approx 80%hiway 20% town no warm up.

Scanguage is here will install Friday.....

Thanks Amigos look for the next numbers on Monday!


Rikki