Ladies and Gentlemen,

B4_Oil change

I'm back again today with more pix. I drive to maximize FE by being a CAREFUL and very ALERT driver. I have a couple of pix below. The first set of pix were before my oil change @ Lawrence Toyota in Lawrenceville, NJ. (I was so tired that I fell asleep over there). You can reduce the size to view the pix better.

B4_Fill up

After waking up, I got my car and headed out in search of a gas station. The first one I saw about a mile away had regular gas @ $3.04. I didn't want to pay that much and decided to take a chance. If you notice, I was supposed to be out of gas. I had to drive about 12 miles to get to the next gas station on Route 1, which is a local highway with many lights and mostly 50mph limits. Note that I got to the gas station @ an average speed of 36mph and FE of around 40mpg. My last tank avg was at 39.9mpg (I believe the computer is accurate to within 1 to 2% max - long explanation, can be found in several threads).

AfterFillup

I moved mar car away from the pump (someone was waiting behind me) and took a couple of more pix (note time and date stamps). Take note that I ALWAYS reset my trip A to "0." Also note the current mileage (you may want to compare with previous pix).

GettingHome

I took Route 1 all the way home. Remember it is a local highway with many lights and mostly 50mph limits. Knowing your route is very essential to better FE. I know how approx. 40% of the lights within this stretch of route 1 work so I use that to my advantage. If I knew how they all work, my FE would be greater than 50mpg. I only take this route before or after rush hour cos' I'm a very impatient driver (I'm young).

Finally, I took pix once I was less than a mile from home. You'll notice a lot of blurry pix cos' I took them while I was slowing down to a light and didn't want to take my eyes off the road. My avg speed was around 40mph. Notice my temp is set at 67 (I don't want to freeze to death) while the temp outside is in the 30s. My FE at the end of the trip 46mpg. I am so glad I did not get the Prius (I don't hate the Prius, I just hate the ugly shape it has) cos' I can still achieve similar FE.

I'll send the pix in different posts since I'm having a problem with the server.

 

Just noticed I can only upload 5 files at a time. I had to break the files up into fewer pages. Will send more in next post....

 

 

Off topic.
If you go to http://imageshack.us/ you can upload images at no charge. You will generate a URL that you cal put in your post so the images appear, rather than uploading PDFs.
Just my two cents, but the post might be easier for others to view.

example
this is a smaller image, you can display larger ones

 

Well, I am convinced that there are variations among the cars. I *cannot*, repeat *cannot* get above 41 mpgs, no mater what technique I do. I have been on this forum for over a year, and have tried everything written. So, if people are not lying, then the only other variable are the cars themselves.

Of course, good luck going to Toyota telling them that you are only getting in the upper 30s, while other people are getting way in the 40s, and you want your car "fixed".

 

I have yet to get a tank over 40 mpg. I got my car in October, so it was already starting to get chilly out. I am hoping maybe once it gets into the 70s and 80s it'll get above 40. So far my highest tank has been all interstate driving (250 miles nonstop at about 80mph) which yielded 36 mpg. I also live in the mountains, so when I go to work I average 40-50 mpg because I can coast most of the way, but heading home my mileage struggles to stay above 30.

 

Someday have to start organizing regional meet-ups where people who insist it's impossible to get 40+ can let someone who regularly gets those FEs give a go in their car and prove it's possible (or clear car issue, or whatever). Fun and educational? Bunch of hybrid geeks hanging out and talking driving techniques and competing with FEs? Hehe.

 

We should've done this when rmorrow and I were in boston after christmas!!! seems as though there are a lot of people down there with hybrids... I almost got clipped by a desert sand mica one on route 2 when I was heading home!

 

I do like the idea of a hybrid "conference", where people share FE tips and we're able to see first hand how to improve FE.
How about a New England Hybrid Drivers Association, NEHDA???

 

Let's meet in NJ. Route 1 is the best road for maximum FE ...