Greetings,

Okay, I pushed and pushed and nursed my mileage as best as I possibly could. I was averaging about 49 MPG until near the end of the tank it started losing MPG little by little and I couldn't figure out why it started dropping off but even at 46 MPG, I was happy. My goal is 45+ and that's all I care about for now. But one 6 mile city drive brought my tank to 43.1 MPG by the time I had to fill it. That happened twice.

So... if I drive like any other car I get a 43 MPG tank average. If I nurse the car and actually try my hardest to maximize MPG, I get 43 MPG in the end.

I've decided, it isn't worth trying to hypermile because it takes so much effort and there's zero payoff.

43 MPG it is, whether I try or not.


Thanks,
Shawn

 

I know one guy that was pulling 60+mpg when he hypermiled over a 5 mile city route. No payoff. Hardly.

However, there are some simple things you may not have done. What is your tire pressure? Put it up to max sidewall or as high as you will tollerate you might be shocked at the improvement.

I don't know how you drive, but some people like to try to get to the speed limit between lights in the city. Try relaxing and not worrying about "getting up to speed" What is the point of getting up to 35mph only to slam on the breaks so you can stop at a red light? It actualy takes more energy for you to do that then to just relax and just cruise at a slower speed to the lights. You may even find some of them changing before you hit them.

A lot of hypermiling isn't about watching a gauge and franticaly trying to keep it maxed out. It is about driving intellegently and most of all relaxing.

I hope you can bring it up without stressing about it because 43 is realy low. I recommend you PM tigerhonaker as he has a city commute and low milage and he doesn't push hypermiling. Maybe he can help you learn how to better drive your car without hypermileing

 

Hey, I resemble that...!

 

6.5 miles in a 2002 Accord:



It's not like I can do that every single time, but I just want to show you that it is possible to do amazing things if you stick with it and keep learning. One tank, nevermind one segment, is nowhere near enough experience to judge whether or not it's worth the effort. It takes most people months to really get it right, and the learning never ends. Please don't be discouraged!

Have you read Tarabell's article thats been posted at cleanmpg?

 

People here keep posting 60+ miles for a 10 mile commute (or something like it -- high mileage low distance).

On two tanks, for th first 400 miles I can get ~48-49 mpg. My commute is almost always highway. Don't do much city driving but when I do, I can still keep it within .5 mpg of where I started when I arrive home.

But for some reason, the last ~100 miles of my tank really depreciate my mileage to 43 mpg. I don't hard accel. I keep my RPM's at 2,000 - 2,500 RPM on accel which usually puts my I-MPG meter somewhere between 45 - 70 MPG. I do keep the posted speed limit, sometimes +5 and for great distances (15 miles or so) the I-MPG reads between 50 and 100 (usually about 60). For freeway overpasses, it'll drop to about 40-45 but I can back my .1 lost MPG once over the hill. If I do drive city, I'll lose 1-5 MPG for short distances but only takes 20 miles to make it up on the freeway and get it back.

Most of the time my A/C is off but I've lately learned that it doesn't matter. I can still nurse my tank to ~49 MPG with the AC on (lowest fan setting) for the first 400 miles or so of the tank. I don't know what my tire pressure. It will be set whatever the dealer put since its still only 35 days old.

I time my lights and stops so I coast/glide as much as possible. I learned not to pay much attention to my I-MPG because when I don't always watch it I do better than when I'm always watching it. I use hills to my advantage.

The temperature here has been in the 100's for my past two tanks but I can still pull ~49 MPG in it until the last 100 miles of the tank. My foot is light as a feather. I never encounter traffic, or haven't on these past two tanks. Traffic is rare for me even though I travel in the heart of rush hour for 30 miles twice a day in Orange County, CA. There's usually no one else on my side of the freeway during the hours I drive (usually 9am-6pm or 7am-4pm).

So, I don't know what it is. My car just doesn't want to do better than 43 MPG in the long run. If I can take it 5 miles at a time and always get 60 MPG, that'd be great. Each time I start to notice my MPG's dropping about the 410 mile mark, then I do whatever I can to "nurse" it and it just drops off anyway.


Thanks,
Shawn

 

First off as Brick has already mentioned there is a great article researched
and written by Tarabell on hypermiling with the 2006 HCHII.
Here is the link http://www.cleanmpg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1306

Also there is another excellent article on hypermiling by xcel who has acculmulated
more knowledge on getting the most mpg out of a car than anyone I know.
http://www.cleanmpg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1510

OK first thing is to state the obvious the AC is a MPG killer, and most people
say to use the Auto setting so the compressor cycles on and off. With
100 degree temps don't think that would work too well.
I have also heard mentioned that when outdoor temps reach 100 deg.
that Autostop is disabled, so that would hurt any city segment that
requires full stops.

OK I didn't see what speed you drive, you just mentioned speed limit,
if that is 65-70 mph then it is going to be tough to get the better mpgs,
you see posted. I will use myself for an example, not very scientific but
it was my experiance. I have been consistant high 50 low 60 mpg tanks,
I wanted to see if I can improve on that so I lowered my speed to 55
and stuck to the right lane. Because of that and one other technique,
I was able to string together 13 trip segments, 42 miles in length, with
the lowest in the 68 mpg range and highest just above 72 mpg.

That was just an example how speed affects mpg, you have a shorter
trip than I so it becomes a little more difficult. But don't see any reason
why you shouldn't be able to break the 50mpg or even 60mpg barrier
at that distance. I normally pass the 50mpg mark in my drive
by the time I drove 1.5 miles and by 10 miles normally surpassed
56 to 60 mpg.

I mentioned one other technique which is called Driving without Breaks or DWB.
I consider this one of the most important techniques that I use and is the best
thing to learn for city or stop & go traffic. Basically you give yourself plenty
of space between your self and the car in front, so if traffic slows or stops you
can glide in at 100mpg and if lucky traffic starts moving before you need
to break to a stop. The same with traffic lights I try to anticipate the light
changes so hopefully the light turns green by the time I approach.

Again take the opportunity to read the two articles above they have much
more detail and many other things you can try to improve mpg.

Hope this helps, Perry

 

Shawn,

Something is wrong with the car or something is wrong with your driving. Or maybe you live in the mountains. I was disappointed with my first few tanks (all were 47+) then realized that following a few steps it could kill EPA numbers.

1) Slow down
2) The MPG meter is a game and the idea is to keep it above 50 mpg more time/miles than not
2) Get the car up to speed then slowly let up on the gas until you either get the car between the 50mpg-100mpg range on the meter or pegg it at 100mpg with the engine off
3) Stop and go driving give a buffer (don't be in a hurry to ride someones bumper) get the car up to speed then let up on the gas until your MPG meter pegs to 100mpg, then you can either glide or use assist to keep your momentum til its time to stop again.
4) Pulse and Glide or Pulse and semi-glide
5) No need to race the car a car to the next light just to stop

The couple of articles pointed out to you should help alot if you apply them. You don't have to be a hypermiler but, under normal circumstances you should be better than what you have especially if you are trying. Remember that your cars engine is still breaking in also go easy on it and you MPG will jump after a few thousand miles.

Maybe the moonroof is messing with the aerodynamics of the car.

 

I have found that when temps are over 105 degrees, the Autostop will not work (AC or no AC). Anything below that, it works.

 

shawnb,
from what you have said it sounds like you are doing the right things. Maybe when it gets to the end of the tank you start seeing it drop and over react. Maybe try to ignore the FE at the end of the tank and just do what you were doing for the start of the tank.

I know sometimes when I try too hard my mileage will drop because I'm trying to make too many changes. I find if I just relax and do what I was doing previously the drop will either stop or be corrected.

Try to ignore the readings at the end of the tank and just do what you do naturaly at the beginning of the tank.

 

Totally not worth it for sure......