Well, now that I'm settled in my new house and all the hills that surround me... for two tanks now I've had to contend with a 6.2 mile trip with 12 lights that are *always* red by the time I get to them (at the posted speed limit) twice a day. This weekend I had to make 9 trips in the area and all nine times, I hit every friggin' red. I tried to count the times when I'd get a green. None. I did finally decide to speed 10 MPH over the posted and then I start hitting the greens every time. Weird.

Anyway, although I've complained before about what my mileage actually is from tank to tank... I've now had to consistent tanks at 31 MPG. If I drive the freeways around and manage to pull of 45+... then on my way home, hitting every red, up 6% grade or so, I'll arrive in my garage reading 38 or so. I can't really make it back about 2 MPG by the time I've tried my darnest and then my trip from freeway to home again, I'll lose even more... rinse wash repeat.

I did get my first oil change yesterday (@6600 miles) and it now seems easier to get high I-MPG readings. I've tried alternate routes (about 5 different ones to get to the freeway another way, all the routes have just as many lights and either the same or less hills but nothing that helps me.

I might never get 40 MPG again but if I do, I'll let y'all know how I can handle the hills. So far all the Hypermiling tricks I've seen about working with hills aren't working for me or I'm not doing it right.


Thanks,
Shawn

 

Shawn without seeing or driving your difficult route it sounds like you are doing what you can, and are being successful @ 31MPG all things considered.
12 un-timeable, un-workable stop lights every 1/2 mile on a 6% grade for 6 miles?
Sheesh, that's really very tough on anything.

One thing you might try is writing a letter to your city hall and try and get them to set the lights to green @ speed limit. Is it possible to drive with load on those hills like the little red car is in my signiture?
If the stop lights are at the bottom of the hills then not much you can do.

 

After my first oil change and now 3 tanks later, it is very easy to keep good FE... much much easier than before the oil change. Granted, my oil change was $60 through a non-Honda because of the 0W-20 but that's fine with me. I'm now pulling about 43-46 with all these red lights that I still hit every time and all these 6% grades for many miles... if leave early enough, I can go 12 miles out of my way (making my commun 42 miles instead of 30) and avoid hills alltogether going to work... flat and I don't even have to keep my foot on the gas it'll just glide for 10 miles with an 85 MPH I-MPG feedback and the average reflects that but then on my way home is where I lose it... but it balances out at 43-46 MPG... better than 32.

When I accelerate over an overpass, I used to heep gas on until at the apex of the hill and then glide down... but I've recently figured out that I can let gas off about 30-25% before apex (top) of hill and the momentum will carry it just fine and then I can glide... doing that, I don't lose *any* MPG's but I don't gain any until the down hill coast. Previously, when accelerating until top of hill I would lose a .3 or so MPG and would have to make it up over the next few miles... now I don't have to make anything up. I do that for all things when I expect to stop...

If I can't see a red or I know there's a light (because I'm ready to exit the freeway) I start to glide and 98% of the time I catch a red and so I'm learning that there's no need to speed up to catch it... doing the speed limit where I live will almost certainly guarantee a red light. Some lights are predictable and I use it to my advantage to avoid stopping but some are predictably red and random enough that there's no chance it hell to game it and take a chance. It is what it is but I'm getting better. If I didn't have these hills I think I'd average 55... I know because when I drive around the city for 200 miles before I ever reach home I can pull ~55 easily (after the oil change).


Thanks,
Shawn

 

Hmm... its strange that I should notice that I *always* get reds when I travel the speed limit in both directions. Someone in this thread said I might write the city. I was just reading an article in our local newspaper saying that they just completed a $32 million expansion project on the road which includes coordinated stop signals... the road range mentioned contains my path (though I haven't noticed any construction on the road itself)... so I wonder exactly what was coordinated?

http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister...le_1292234.php


Thanks,
Shawn

 

That's crazy! Your goal should be to consume the minimum number of gallons on your daily commute, not to maximize your MPG readout.

 

Shawn,
IF you are going AGAINST the major traffic, then yes YOU will be the one that gets the most red lights. Just a thought.