Hi all,

God Bless the wonderful fuel mizer Kenny!!!! He took me under his wing today and demonstrated his driving techniques. No, nothing was wrong with my car. Apparently, I was under the impression that I was truly following the techniques mentioned all over this site and others. Well, while I was playing around at trying these techniques Kenny and others like him are Jedi Masters at the real way to drive. Today he took me out in my car (the famous "Can't get more than 39 mpg" car) and got upwards of 62 mpg right in front of my eyes. After only one lesson with him I drove the rest of the night and never got less than 59 mpg... top being 61 mpg!!!!! Me! in MY car! Yay!!!! I want to shout it from the top of the building.

Ok, excitement and many grateful thanks all go to Kenny and the other seasoned hyper milers here...

Now, here are the areas in which I found even I could improve... maybe someone else was/is/will be in the same place:

I was concentrating too much on my lifetime mpg and stressing out. Yes, lifetime is still only 33 mpg. And since I have 4,600 miles on it.. it will take some time to adjust upwards. So, I'm only going to pay attention to the daily and tank-per-tank mpg reading to keep my spirits up. As to the driving techniques... I was concentrating TOO much on the real-time horizontal bar and feather-touchin my way to a 40 mpg average. I needed to utilize cruise control a WHOLE lot more often than I was. Also, I was worrying way too much about 'pissing off' other people in traffic so I only really watched my charge/assist after I'd quickly accelerated (so as to keep in line with traffic). I see what a difference can be made by really accelerating SLOWLY into freeways or street traffic. Let the speeders pass me by, who cares? I also saw how much MORE/FARTHER I can look ahead of me and around me to even more intensely anticipate what my moves will be. Like chess, I learned how to look 3-4 moves ahead instead of just 1. I found that if I use cruise control almost always (mainly on flat surfaces) I can do other things to maintain speed... i.e. I can change lanes to either allow angry speeders by or to maintain my speed and not stop. I need to keep to the far right lane as much as possible in order to allow the speeders by. Yes, some will get pissy. In fact, one guy tonight decided it was his civic duty to drive dangerously up my tailpipe, weaving back and forth to educate me on the principles of driving, at least that is what I guessed he was doing.. ehehe I didn't care.. I just stared at my mpg meter and saw 61 and looked to the empty lane to the left of us where he could have easily sped on by. So, let him huff if he wants to. At this rate I could carry this tank for 4-5 weeks with the limited amount of driving I do. Let's see... with gas prices as they are now... that works out to about $5 or $6 a week. Hmm... not bad.

I have to take a picture of my trip monitor to show y'all it's possible! Yay! I'm a convert!

Thanks Kenny! You rock!

Hugs,

Renee

Last trip average 60 mpg!

 

Hi Lamu9:

___Congratulations on your most recent segment are indeed in order and please thank Kenny via PM the next time you have the opportunity.

___To reciprocate, train another up and comer who is having problems figuring out what can be done to improve ones FE in his or her Hybrid. Before long, we might all actually make a difference

___Kenny, thank you for bringing a lost member back into the fold …

___Good Luck

___Wayne R. Gerdes
___Waynegerdes@earthlink.net

 

Renee, that was such a great read and thank you for posting.
Nothing encourages us who are trying to "spread the word" and teach more than a big thank you like that.

I haven't had much trouble with ticking people off, guess I've been lucky.
99% of the people behind me in my single lane highway just follow comfortabley behind.
In fact many times when I begin from a stoplight I'll be concentrating on my rate of speed increase and MPG that I don't even look behind me until I'm going about 35-40. That's a big mistake I need to end because 1/2 the time they are WAY behind!

I'm not sure if you've had a chance to see the video I made going to work one day:
https://www.greenhybrid.com/discuss/...7&postcount=32

There are tips along the way as well.

You can see that 99% of the freeway traffic is moving slightly faster than I am.
Some follow at a nice distance for miles, most just pass and a small number of drivers will zoom up behind and tailgate.
So what? They can use any of the other 5-7 lanes go go around.

 

Xcel and Hot Georgia...

You betcha! If you hear of ANYone struggling in the Southern Cal or Bakersfield (I have family there and visit sometimes) or Coalinga areas tell them I'd love to meet up with them and show them the way. I have to 'pay it forward.'

I can't WAIT to get to work to tell everyone about the current mpg. I have several friends and co-workers who have been 'watching' me to see if they might get one... I can't wait to convert them now!

Renee

Proud to drive like a granny!

 

Lamu9, thanks for a great read. And to Kenny for taking the time to show her the way, THREE CHEERS!!! I think we should give merit badges for this kind of stuff. Wayne, don't you have something in your goody bag for Kenny and Rene'e?

 

I get honked at on a daily basis for driving slow. Screw em, they are just jealous that they will never get about 50mpg.

 

Driving technique must REALLY have an effect on FE. Some people get as little as 32 MPG, some get 62 MPG. That's odd.

From my own experience, I get 42 in "leadfoot" mode and 47 or so in "conservative" mode. My personal satisfaction is 9 out of 10.

 

Hi Rjbarlow

___I don’t but I bet you Jason does

___Good Luck

___Wayne R. Gerdes
___Waynegerdes@earthlink.net

 

That's amost exactly the same as my experience, regarding "leadfoot" (some would say "normal") mode versus "conservative mode.

And regarding the wide disparity in mileage -- from 32 to 62 MPG -- it seems like the HCH is particularly sensitive to driving style. Maybe more so than the Prius (this coming from a confirmed HCH lover).

I have assumed that it was attributable to the lack of horsepower compared to the car weight and aerodynamics. And thus I was thinking that the new 2006 HCH will be better in this regard. I guess we will get to find out soon enough.

 

Renee - way to go! Kudos to you for taking such an interest in learning how to get the most out of your car. Funny we think of it as a special driving technique for hybrids, when in fact you'll get higher MPG in standard cars driving like that as well. I get 5 MPG higher in my wife's Pilot when I drive it - that's just with managing my speed and feathering the gas pedal.

I'd definitely look at your per-tank MPG. You'll also notice the effect seasons will have (winter and summer, rain vs. cool and dry, etc.). I personally threw out the first six tanks (3000 miles) when I compute lifetime average. No sense knocking yourself over the learning curve. :-)