Hi all, long time lurker, 1st time poster...

I'm driving to LA and wanted to ask about driving techniques. On my commute (Oakland to Fremont) I generally drive 65mph and average ~50mph. I try to P&G but there's lots of hills so it's tough.

Anyway, for a long straight road like I-5, is it better to set the cruise control or do it manually? Is 65 the right speed, or is there something better? Any other tips I'm not thinking of?

 

With my NHW11, 03 Prius, 65 mph is a great speed and 70 mph really takes a hit. Let me suggest you use this trip as a way to start your own MPG vs. MPH chart.

At the begining of a segment, top off the tank. Then drive 2-3 hours at a given cruise control setting (don't worry about short speed variation.) Then pull off and top off the tank. Calculate the MPG, take a break, and repeat the test at a different speed. That is what I did:

http://hiwaay.net/~bzwilson/prius

It is much easier to do if you are not 'pressed for time' and you've got some good tunes to play.

Bob Wilson

 

Hey hope you enjoy your trip. I have recently did a trip in December from San Jose, CA to San Diego, CA all on one tank. I took I-5 my average speed was between 70 and 75 mph. I only made two stops one in Tejon and in Oceanside. By the time I got to San Deigo my last pip was blinking and the MDF said 47.4 mpg. My tire pressure then was at 44psi all around. But I will be going there again in July, this time my tire pressure will be at 50psi hopefully I can get the 51 mpg at speeds between 70 and 75 mph would be awesome.

D

 

When I drove I-5 recently, heading south I did really well driving about 65 mph and getting about 48 - 50 mpg. I used cruise control.
On my return trip it was terribly windy. I used cruise control on and off throughout the trip. I got a terrible 39 mpg. ugh.

 

yep, wind is a huge deal. so is rain. take a look at this excellent prius palm simulator. you can see how a cross wind can take your mpg down by 20% or more:

http://www.privatenrg.com/#WindBigDeal

 

I did a round trip in early May, with my 2006 Prius, from Oakland to Long Beach and back. My experience was virtually the same as Flybyday's: about 50 mpg going south in the morning with a little bit of air conditioning; about 40 mpg going north in the late afternoon into a gusty wind and with more air conditioning. I used cruise control at 65 to 67 mph almost the entire way [this statement corrected two messages further on]. The car had about 1200 miles on the odometer at departure and about 2000 at return, so it wasn't fully broken in.

 

Wow this is great info. I like the idea of the experiment. I'm that kind o geek. I hope I have enough time. Mine's also pretty new. Only 4 tanks in the database so far.

65-70 seems to be the MPH of choice. Did any of you have any trouble with the 80+mph crowd?

 

No, the big SUV drivers just go on by, with blood pressure 180 over 95 and mpg in the low teens. As long as I'm considerate and stay to the right except when passing, they respect my privilege of sharing the interstate with them.

I erred in what I wrote. I-580 and I-5 have mostly a 70 mph posted speed limit between the split at the eastern Alameda County line and the Grapevine. In those sections I was doing 70 to 72 mph on cruise control.

 

I've done the trip from L.A. to Capitola twice by way of the 101. Both times I got about 49 mpg total. I set the cruise control to 65 mph and leave it there. The biggest hit to the mpg was on the way home the second time with the wind blowing straight at us. I would have gotten over 50 mpg without that.

 

gang

good post!



jeff -i love that icon of the car you have on the screen. Can you tell us where you got it?