Posted by Bob Wilson on December 29, 2006, 4:28 am
> Ill Eagle wrote:
> > I would guess a combination of temperature and local driving conditions.
> > My economy dropped by 10 mpg between September and December. The only
> > difference is average temperatures in the 30s instead of 70s. Also, the
> > first five minutes or so of driving can have a huge impact if you do
> > mostly fairly short trips. If you sit at lights a lot or go uphill in the
> > first few minutes, your mileage will really suck and it takes a lot of
> > driving under more favorable conditions to make it up.
>
> Should I be letting my car warm up on colder days to minimize any gas
> sucking from driving?
Last winter, I modified my route to extend how long I drove at 25 mph
until the blue 'coolant' light went out. This made a significant
improvement in mileage:
http://hiwaay.net/~bzwilson/prius/
This year, I learned about a thermistor hack for my NHW11, 03 Prius, and
have been testing a manual version. So far, it looks to be pretty
effective but I'm trying to get a microprocessor version working to
capture some quality data:
http://hiwaay.net/~bzwilson/prius/pri_temp.html
Bob Wilson
Posted by Rich on December 29, 2006, 2:01 pm
Bob Wilson wrote:
> > Ill Eagle wrote:
> > > I would guess a combination of temperature and local driving conditions.
> > > My economy dropped by 10 mpg between September and December. The only
> > > difference is average temperatures in the 30s instead of 70s. Also, the
> > > first five minutes or so of driving can have a huge impact if you do
> > > mostly fairly short trips. If you sit at lights a lot or go uphill in the
> > > first few minutes, your mileage will really suck and it takes a lot of
> > > driving under more favorable conditions to make it up.
> >
> > Should I be letting my car warm up on colder days to minimize any gas
> > sucking from driving?
> Last winter, I modified my route to extend how long I drove at 25 mph
> until the blue 'coolant' light went out. This made a significant
> improvement in mileage:
> http://hiwaay.net/~bzwilson/prius/
> This year, I learned about a thermistor hack for my NHW11, 03 Prius, and
> have been testing a manual version. So far, it looks to be pretty
> effective but I'm trying to get a microprocessor version working to
> capture some quality data:
> http://hiwaay.net/~bzwilson/prius/pri_temp.html
> Bob Wilson
Wow Bob, those are some really detailed stats...nice work. I did the
modification with my commute distance and added and extra 12 miles, and
it does help slightly. I went from 38-39 mpg to 42 mpg. My climate
change since moving is ~7-10 degrees colder than before, but if that
makes such a big deal with respect to the overall mpg, I might look
into the hacks you've mentioned, because my last car (Honda Civic) got
33mpg, and makes me doubt the Prius a bit. Just a bit.
I also have 23000 miles on it in 13 months, and have done the following
things: oil changes at ~6500 miles using Mobil 1 10W-30, tires have
been rotated 3 times and that's pretty much it. I don't know if there
is something from Toyota (or myself) that needs to be "maintained" at
this mileage, but it's starting to look like it though...
Thanks again for the stats...
Posted by on December 31, 2006, 2:05 pm
> Should I be letting my car warm up on colder days to minimize any gas
> sucking from driving?
Yep, you should. You see, if you don't, you'll be wastefully speeding up and
slowing down as you approach pedestrians you didn't see until you were
almost on top of them. (Assuming cold dark mornings)
We all know the first twenty minutes are not fuel efficient. Let's say your
ride to work last 20 minutes. If you let your car warm up 5 minutes that
means the last 5 minutes are fuel efficient (5 plus 20% total operating
time). So, the last five minutes makes up for the first 5 minutes.
Theoretically, you could let your car warm up 20 minutes which would make
your whole trip to work fuel efficient. Can't argue with that. But I'm sure
somebody will.
mark_
Posted by on December 30, 2006, 11:43 am
> Hi everyone,
> Here's a bit of a question...I have an 05 Prius from Nov 05 and just
> moved. When I lived in my previous location, I was getting between
> 48-52mpg regularly...like clockwork.
> Since I moved, it's dropped to 39-42...quite a drop. I am taking
> similar roads as before (mostly highway) and my mileage will not
> improve...I tried different gas stations, new oil change (I use Mobil
> 1), checked the tire pressure. Nothing...
> I'm getting a bit frustrated, because nothing has changed except where
> I live and that can't be the only factor for the mileage change...
> I have 22,500 miles on the car, and was wondering if any others had
> similar experiences or solution suggestions?
> Thanks...
Higher elevations tend to reduce mpg. Did you not read "Limited
Participation" post replies?
Posted by Rich on December 30, 2006, 3:33 pm
mark_digital wrote:
> > Hi everyone,
> >
> > Here's a bit of a question...I have an 05 Prius from Nov 05 and just
> > moved. When I lived in my previous location, I was getting between
> > 48-52mpg regularly...like clockwork.
> >
> > Since I moved, it's dropped to 39-42...quite a drop. I am taking
> > similar roads as before (mostly highway) and my mileage will not
> > improve...I tried different gas stations, new oil change (I use Mobil
> > 1), checked the tire pressure. Nothing...
> >
> > I'm getting a bit frustrated, because nothing has changed except where
> > I live and that can't be the only factor for the mileage change...
> >
> > I have 22,500 miles on the car, and was wondering if any others had
> > similar experiences or solution suggestions?
> >
> > Thanks...
> >
> Higher elevations tend to reduce mpg. Did you not read "Limited
> Participation" post replies?
Higher elevations would be a factor except I live 5 minutes from the
beach...even before I moved, I was very close to sea level. What is
this "Limited Participation" you are talking about?
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> > I would guess a combination of temperature and local driving conditions.
> > My economy dropped by 10 mpg between September and December. The only
> > difference is average temperatures in the 30s instead of 70s. Also, the
> > first five minutes or so of driving can have a huge impact if you do
> > mostly fairly short trips. If you sit at lights a lot or go uphill in the
> > first few minutes, your mileage will really suck and it takes a lot of
> > driving under more favorable conditions to make it up.
>
> Should I be letting my car warm up on colder days to minimize any gas
> sucking from driving?