Doug and all –

If you haven’t already caught this over on CleanMPG the thread by exel ‘Beating the EPA - The Why’s and how to Hypermile’ I would highly recommend it. He covers almost verbatim all the things the others and I have given here as to how to get the best MPGs but I know he did a lot on his own plus from input, and real time experiences, with contributors to this group – many who have already given their help.

It is a Very Good Read and as most of us know Wayne, and/or followed his post and his accomplishments, know he is one of the best and highly qualified to give these tips.

 

Thanks or all the great suggestions! I just filled my tank and my last won was 33.0 MPG! That included the long trip to San Diego in the heat (I was told later that it was 115 F at my house last Saturday, San Diego was probably about 100 F!)

I will need to look into the electro-magnet idea for hypermiling!

I really do think something has changed in the programming after I passed the 3000 mark. Today on the way to work I was able to get my car into EV mode at 35 MPH and I accelerated slowly to about 40 while in EV mode! To do this I was traveling about 45 MPH, shifted to 'L' and let up on the accelerator for a few seconds and maybe tapped the brakes, don't exactly remember... After I was in EV mode, I used the accelerator to maintain 35 MPH, shifted to 'D' and slowly increased my speed to 40. A little above 40, the ICE kicked in... I know my car would not do that last week and before as I tried about 100 times.

 

Phillip, I read the first part about the EPA test and stopped. Thanks for posting this info because I went back and finished it, and it was great. Wayne's the man when it comes to FE!

GaryG

 

Final results

Well, I would like to thank everyone who gave me help on learning how to improve my mileage. I figured I would summarize my finding so the next person won't stress about their mileage in the first 3000 miles.

Here are my suggestions:

Read the links suggested in this thread. Many of them will give you a good understanding of how to improve mileage. Make sure you don't just read the first few entries because some of the larger threads change their suggestions as people learn more.

Don't stress about your mileage until you have 3000+ miles on your FEH. I saw a drastic improvement in my mileage and driving characteristics after I passed 3000 miles. I am now getting over 30MPG consistently (driving in a normal manner) and I suspect that when the weather cools it will get better.

Here is what I am now doing in order of how much I think it helped my MPG:
1. Drive the speed limit when not in a rush.
2. Use the false shift method described by others to lower RPMs at cruising speed.
3. Shift to 'L' when slowing down to maximize regenerative braking when the batter is low.
4. Accelerate to speed keeping the engine RPMs under 2500 when possible. (I originally tried even slower acceleration suggestions made by others but they tended to **** off other drivers and my wife!)
5. Bring a lunch to work instead of buying fast food!

Actually, #5 above made a pretty big difference. I would drive about 1 mile to a fast food drive through, wait in the line with MAX AC on because it was over 100 F outside, and drive back the mile to my office. The longer time wise the trip, the better a Hybrid will perform. In my case, I have a 15-20 minute commute and this is barely enough time for the hybrid system to warm up.

Doug

 

I was having trouble getting past 26.1 MPG, after readig about shifting to 'L', I started using L all the time (set it, forget it) I'm now getting 29.1 with no other changes. You can probably get more using the advanced techniques but if your not highway driving you might try just using low gear.

6 mile suburban commute avg 35-40 MPH between stops

 

I have to agree with Doug 100%.

DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT LOOKING AT YOUR MPG UNTIL YOU HIT 3,000 MILES.

Seriously, don't. I went from struggling to get 27mpg to easily getting 30mpg as I put miles on my Mariner Hybrid. I now get about 31-32 mpg in the city (without AC) and I was recently able to get about 38mpg on a 120 mile round trip rural/highway drive (50mph).

Don't DRIVE in L. It has been shown that the regen of L actually reduces your FE. Drive in D and shift to L when you want to slow down.

If you notice your RPMs are high, use the fake shift to bring them under 2000rpm if possible.

48mph is apparently the ideal speed for Fuel Economy. As I mentioned, I pushed 38mpg on a recent rural highway by cruising at 50mph.

Accelerate SLOWLY and never accelerate towards a red light or stop sign. Shift to N or coast to a stop. No need burning gas to get to a red light faster.

If you are only going to be a minute....ie. running up to the ATM.....leave the keys in the ON position, lock the doors and use the keypad (if you have one) to get back in. You could probably take the key fob with you if you don't have the keypad. I always leave the keys ON when I drop my son off at daycare. Restarts, even when warm waste gas and drop your FE.

 

Not trying to start an arguement (or beat a dead horse) but I get some of my best tanks when I use nothing but L. This last tank was my typical back and forth to work, limited a/c useage (as always), no other trips, L used exclusively, and I got almost 38 mpg for the tank. This is by far the best tank ever in the 2005 and just about as good as any in the 2006 (for me). I'm back in the '05 until the winter so we'll see if this continues.

For a while I had been shifting back and forth D to L (I never use N) but frankly, got sick of it. Now, I am back to L only unless I hit the wide open interstate.

As long as you control the regen with your right foot by keeping a little bit of pressure on the accelerator, you don't take the mpg hit. Beats all that shifting.....

As always, just my humble opinion......

 

You "can" drive in L, but if you don't hold pressure on the accelerator you will go into regen mode and reduce FE. As long as you understand that and drive accordingly it is fine. My preference is the downshift, and I think for most people it will be easier to downshift to slowdown than to keep pressure on the accelerator all the time.

 

I agree. It's all about technique and driving skill, not the gear you are in. L still provides the most reliable, most consistant ICE shutdown, and the "deadband" coasting ( coasting in L with no energy arrows ) is nearly the same as coasting in N. Yes, it takes a little more foot effort, but takes less "shifting" effort. Largely a personal preference, as I can copy anyone else's results, with practice, without all the shifting.

 

This also depends on the traffic conditions. If for example, you are in stop and go, letting the regen slow you down is similar to using the brakes lightly. I drive in the city, and I rarely get to coast. I'm either accellerating and decellerating in a wave of cars. I think L is a good balance here. Also, if I am always running the battery down (as oposed to having the engine rev as I see when driving in the country), then I need the regen to minimize instances where the ICE has to start up just to recharge. So while it adds a complication in our attempts to generalize for the sake of simpliciy, taking the driving conditions into account might help. I also don't like the shifting as the shifter was not designed with that in mind, unlike a real stick. Having to push a button then move the shifter in only one direction makes it easy to loose your place and cause the distraction of having to look at the shifter to see where you are rather than watch the road. In stick, you can just clutch and move the shifter around to confirm where you are. Good FE is nice, but plowing into the guy in front of you while you look at the little D or L indicator is bad .

Cheers,

rcomeau