My current tank at 320 miles of city driving only is showing 68.3 on the MFD. A personal best for me, that I am quite proud of.

I DO realize that to a select group of over-achieving hypermilers -- you know who you are -- this tank would bring *down* their lmpg. Of them I only ask to keep quiet, and not rain on my moment in the sun.

 

GO Eric GO! Keep that shine 'a comin!

 

I don't know why you don't want to believe the speed sensors provided by the Maryland State Highway Administration, but...

27.6 miles to work -- 13 of those miles on I-95, 7.9 on the DC Beltway (I-495) -- the other 6.7 are residential/local roads, including at least 2 miles on roads with speed limits of 25 mph.

In my previous car (Audi A4 V6 turbo), my morning ignition-on to ignition-off time was steady at around 40 minutes as long as there weren't any disabled cars on the side of the road anywhere. My commute was that quick mainly because I leave the house before 6:00 am.

That means I averaged ~40 mph for the whole trip. I drove 80 mph or more on I-95, and I was usually in the second lane from the left. People did pass me in the left lane -- no big rigs did because they're not allowed in that lane on that part of the highway. They did occasionally pass me on the right though.

Never able to go 80 on the Beltway in the morning or afternoon. In fact, pretty amazing to go 60 mph, even when I hit the Beltway by 6:10 am.

Now I go 65-70 mph in the morning on I-95 and I'm passed by almost everybody. I haven't significantly changed my speed on the residential/local roads [as a rule, I don't speed on those types of roads] or Beltway [where the average is nowhere near 80 during the times I'm usually on it]. It takes me about 50 minutes.

Tomorrow morning I'll attempt to keep track of the number of vehicles that pass me and the number I pass on the I-95 portion of my commute. It will be a challenge because I'll have to watch three lanes to my left for much of those 13 miles.

Afternoon commute was (and still is) 60 minutes if there are no problems. Never able to go 80 mph in the afternoon rush "hour" traffic, because I can't leave work early enough to beat it.

{Edit to add...} I just re-read your last post, where you asked "To take this a step further, if all traffic was at 65 + in MD. and DC., would there be any traffic jams?"

No one is saying that traffic on that part of I-95 is always 65+. In fact, in my first post in this thread, I wrote

"75-80 IS with the flow of traffic -- at least until there is the slightest hiccup"

When traffic is FLOWING on that section of I-95, it does indeed flow at 75-80 mph. {end Edit}

 

Hi EricGo:

___Keep on kickin the teeth in of those non-Hypermiling doubter’s is about all I have to say

___David, I have no doubt that there are many stretches of MD. Interstates reporting 65 mph or greater at this very moment. We have un-congested Interstates all over Illinois at this time according to http://www.gcmtravel.com/gcm/maps_chicago.jsp and I know there are drivers pushing 70 + and OTR’s at 55 - 59 mph on these same area highways. When you say it is pretty amazing to go 60 mph on the beltway at such and such a time, that is exactly what I was expecting! At 80 mph, EPA estimates are tough to beat. At 60 mph, they can be destroyed. I am not talking just beaten but absolutely crushing them in temps > 65 degrees F in just about anything!

___I hope to someday get the chance to drive portions of the interstate that you drive daily as there is nothing like a first hand experience to see if hypermileage is available to someone in your locale vs. mine …

___Good Luck

___Wayne R. Gerdes
___Waynegerdes@earthlink.net

 

In WW2, some the best American fighter pilots were re-assigned to training the upcoming pilots. They were able to share valuable real world techniques that enabled the trainees to do better than they would have in air combat. In contrast, Japan required their pilots to fly until they died. Valuable experience was lost to them and not shared with their newly trained pilots.

These coming weeks are as good as they get for encouraging people to meet or exceed the EPA limits. Help them out with basics techniques such as bleeding speed uphills then slowly regaining it downhill (DWL) and implementing farther coasts. My neighbor gone from 14mpg to 21mpg for certain trips in his Ford Expedition. His wife told him not to talk to me about mileage anymore because his driving slower is annoying her.

He now knows how to use his instantaneous mpg readout like a hybrid owner. That's a pretty handy skill for times like these, especially if genuine conservation is required of us. We can't eliminate driving completely, but we can improve our efficiency.

 

Wayne,

On the I-95 portion of my commute this morning, I drove between 65 and 70 mph. I passed four vehicles in those 13 miles, not including the 18-wheeler which slowed down to stop at the truck rest area.

I stopped counting the number of vehicles that passed me when I got to 10, which was very early in my trip.

 

On the US50 side, I drive 60-65 at 5:45, and actually PASSED around 8 cars/SUVs this morning. Normal traffic, so nothing out of the ordinary to slow things. Except maybe sitting in line for $3.10 gas last night made an impression on those people.

My averages: 34mi in 40min. 5mi on feeder roads, 22 on US50, 7 on 495 outerloop, before the 95 interchange and chicane through Montgomery.

Maryland has a relatively poor network of speed sensors and cameras. They're often placed exactly where the tie-ups are NOT, at least in Howard/PG/AA county. Virginia has a much more robust collection. And to be fair, the traffic on the Eastern quadrant bordered by 95 is far far lighter than the NW and Virginia sides. At its worst, 50 is nowhere near as bad as 270, 95, or 66.

 

Hi David and GoNavy:

___Thank you both for taking the time out to record some of the details …

___Dave, remember those 4 automobiles you passed? How about not passing them tomorrow morning? Will your FE improve? Yes, it will improve. Will you hold up traffic anymore then the 4 you passed did? No, you will not. To hell with those in the left lanes driving like a bat out of hell to get to work. I am not telling you to do this but am only suggesting it as a fellow commuter trying to save all the fuel I can for the rest of the country knowing it will be running out soon enough irregardless. Might I suggest you consider learning and practicing the P&G technique under the Prius II guise for your off-highway jaunts? An easy 20% increase in FE for your entire commute could be the result even though you will only use it for a few minutes of your that 30 - 40 minute nightmare some might call a commute The fact that our country is in a bit of a tight spot right now should make this a lot easier to swallow.

___GoNavy, similar advice if at all possible.

___With that, I am looking forward to seeing some nice increases in both of your automobiles FE over the next 2 or 3 tanks.

___Good Luck to the both of you

___Wayne R. Gerdes
___Waynegerdes@earthlink.net

 

I am the proud owner of a 2005 Prius and I can say that this is by far the best investment in a car that I have ever made. While my commute to work is less than 5 miles, and my average driving time is around 10 minutes, and I am not getting 51MPG, I am getting MUCH better mileage than I used to with my gas-only vehicle. I can't complain. I travel a lot and whenever I rent a car, I miss my Prius. I find myself accidentally thinking I have my Smartkey with me and forgetting to use the key on a rental car. When I get back from a trip and sit back down in my Prius, I feel relieved to be back. I have advocated to my friends and co-workers the benefits of the Prius. While I don't spend less money at the pump, just how often I fill up, I do feel I am saving money over all. Kudos to Toyota for inventing a vehicle that is truly valuable!

 

EPA rates the 2005 Honda Civic Hybrid as 47 city 48 highway. Today I learned how to truly drive the car, using her assets (THANK YOU KENNY!!!) and got 59.8-61.4 streets and 60.4 - 61.9 highway. I'm satisfied.