Toyota Prius Best Mileage

...for info on hypermiling and related matters.

http://www.cleanmpg.com/

how we are all interested in different things.

When I went to a Porsche seminar, which was free btw, we were told to never coast, always be on the gas to the floor, or brakes. By radio, the instructor told us to make sure we are holding our foot all the way down on the accelerator in the straightaway. I looked up the numbers and as I suspected, the Carrera GTS does 0-60 in 3.8.

What we were told to do must be the opposite of hypermiling. And the vehicles all had < 400 miles, relatively new.

I wonder where it is that we develop our interests? Even if I owned the vehicles I would not drive that way, the wear/tear is unbelievable. Not to mention always a burnt rubber smell--those tires need to be replaced probably in less than one day of use under those conditions.

That site will encourage a driver to apply some of the fuel saving techniques to driving a dump truck when appropriate.

There are many areas where a person can compete with others or oneself.

It is work to give that much attention to the details. Maybe with experience it becomes more relaxed.

To compare miles per tank between cars is next to impossible.
The gas tank size varies with which model you have because the later the model the engine is different and the tank size is different. My 2007 had a 9 gallon tank and my 2010 has a 11 usable gallon tank. Toyota gas tanks have a bladder inside it which expand or deflates with gas usage to keep fumes from developing in the tank and escaping when you open the lid.
It would also depend on where you are driving and who is driving. You would get different mileage driving I 80 from the Iowa border to the eastern Ohio border than if you drove from Denver to Los Angeles.
In the city I get 44 mpg if I turn off the air conditioner,heated seats, fan, etc and the road is dry.
It also makes a difference on the tires you have for when I got my first 2007 Prius with factory tires I got up to 40mpg but when I replaced the tires I got up to 43 mpg. My 2010 Prius has a bigger engine and bigger tires and when I go to LA from Iowa I average 42 mpg at 75+ mph on the interstates but get 45mpg if I slow down to 65mph. It depends on how soon you want to get there.
There is a yearly contest by our local Toyota dealer to see who gets the best gas mileage over a timed course in the city. The best I have read was 79mpg by a lady.

The first requirement is a suitable road and suitable traffic. The second is a lot of patience.

Up at the extreme end of Prius mileage, the dominant technique is called "pulse and glide" and involves alternate use of nearly full throttle (which operates the internal combustion engine at near peak thermal efficiency) with a carefully chosen throttle position in which the car coasts down in speed, with the internal combustion engine not rotating (actually locked in position), and the electric drive train neither adding nor subtracting energy.

This all takes place at speeds in a range far lower than most open highways in the US, and presumes either no traffic at all or remarkably tolerant fellow travelers on the road.

A simple reason for the low speed is less loss from air resistance (applicable to all cars), but a second which is specific to Prius pulse and glide is that the internal combustion engine does not actually stop rotating under normal conditions for speeds higher than a number I can't find right now, but believe to be in the very low 40s. Below that speed, the ICE will fully stop rotation and actually be locked in position by a pawl--so no friction losses. So best pulse and glide technique oscillates between something like 33 and 40 mph. Of course, you can still get a considerable economy by using the technique at less frustrating speeds, but you won't be joining the 80 mpg club.

If you don't have such a road (and such fellow travelers) on the way to your destination, this method is far less applicable.

They're always improving their products....

Either my tachometer is lying to me for it shows the engine not turning over every time I coast down a big hill and have my foot off the gas pedal at every speed from 5 to 90 mph. To keep the car from increasing speed I have the gear lever in battery which engages the electric which acts like a brake and I save on the brake pads.
There are 6 different combinations to run the car. First is normal gas/battery. The second is EV which only uses the battery until it discharges and then the engine kicks in and recharges the battery. This can be used in parking lots or parades or very slow traffic for the engine kicks in at 25mph. The third is ECO where the car has less power but is more efficient. The fourth is power where there is added power boost to the engine which helps when passing going up a hill or mountain.
For those condemning foreign cars then let me inform you that the original concept was developed in the USA first by Ford but the fossil fuel people didn't think much of it so they sold the technology to Japan and only when they saw the light they had to buy the right to use it back from Japan.It is like Kodak developed the digital camera but could not see past film and sold it to Japan.

I would have to say that comparing drivers with the same car would vary.

I tend to not be too heavy on the gas, I pick up speed slowly from a stop, and I try to brake relatively slow.

I know people that I've ridden with that vary to both ends of the spectrum; some punching the gas at the start to seeming like a turtle in picking up speed and slamming on the brakes at the last second (regularly) or coasting to a stop from "way back there" - respective of the speed they were driving.

My 2012 Nissan Sentra will regularly get me over 300 miles to the tank with city driving, and I'll get over 500 miles when on the interstate.

With that same car, I find that my "optimum" driving speed is right around 65 or so. When I drive 70, the MPG drops by several miles.

I have kept a log book in the glove box that includes every single fuel fill up I've had, with the date and odometer reading, the amount of gas (to the tenth of a gallon only), the pump price and total price. That has been an interesting record to show the lifetime fuel usage and more. The onboard computer shows my lifetime "Average" MPG is at 31 point something, and I had done mostly city driving in that period. While it's not a Prius, I do enjoy watching the current MPG reading shoot up to 60 or more when I'm traveling at highway speeds, going "downhill" by just letting off the gas momentarily.

Is this a bad place for the pun, "YMMV"?

You did not mention what you are observing as a tachometer--but if we are talking about a second generation Prius (as my wife's 2006 model) there is not a built-in tachometer.

If you are talking about a Prius at all, then, you have either not observed a very wide range of conditions or the device you are observing as a tach is not telling the truth, as stopping the ICE when it is not needed is a basic part of Prius function at speeds below 41 mph.

Moving on to the point I made my subject for this post: B on the gear shift pattern of the Prius does not stand for Battery. The masterful person posting on the name of Hobbit on various Prius web sites has posted this extensive discussion of what the mode actually is:

http://techno-fandom.org/~hobbit/cars/b-mode.html

He asserts that the intended name is "engine braking". Name aside, it is important to know that in B mode the car control logic is altered from D mode to be far more likely to use compression braking on the internal combustion engine. On long downhills this is useful, as it delays the moment when the traction battery is reaching maximum charge level and more drastic measures are needed. It also makes a readily audible sound--not at all the throbbing pulse of a trucker's Jake brake, but quite unlike typical Prius braking.

B mode can save you on brake pads, but NOT because it is using more regenerative braking, but because it is substituting some engine compression braking for what would otherwise be a combination of electric (regenerative) and hydraulic braking. Gentle drivers who lack long downhills seldom engage hydraulic braking on the Prius at much above jogging speed anyway, as when the battery is cool and not too highly charged electric braking can provide appreciable (but not huge) deceleration--and the control software generally will use it to the maximum currently allowed before using hydraulic brakes. In D mode it seems not to revert to compression braking using the engine until the battery is nearing full charge and some means of throwing away more power is needed. B mode differs in making it far more inclined to use compression braking before very high state of charge.

B mode also differs in that it increases the "fake drive train drag" over that employed in D mode appreciably. This drag is created by moderate regenerative braking when the driver has zero accelerator selected and also no brake. People who don't understand that braking using the pedal also uses regeneration when available mistakenly post that this behavior represents some kind of economy, whether of gasoline or brakes. It was actually true in first generation Prius models which blended in hydraulic brake usage in situations where Gen II and later do not, but that was a long time ago.

Since this is a Garmin website one who has been reading most of the posts should know that an option for some of the Garmin models is the Ecoroute HD which plugs into the car and gives you all kinds of information.
http://www.gpspassion.com/forumsen/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=132371 .
It also will read and tell you what is wrong with your car when the check engine light comes on. When my 2007 Prius quit the Garmin told me that the transmission was broken and I surprised the garage mechanic at Toyota what was wrong with the engine codes.
I do drive a lot for I visit my grandchildren 2100 miles away and have been through 117 degree weather to 15 below. I average 20,000 miles a year. My two Priuses have been coast to coast.

A web site often referenced on good Prius sites for the aid it gives in understanding the planetary gearing at the heart of the drive system, and the relationship among the two electric motors, the engine, and final drive is here:

http://eahart.com/prius/psd/

There is useful text there in addition to a very helpful animated diagram. One paragraph of the text is specially relevant to matters mentioned here: