To accurately measure MPG when should I fill back up.

[Pavel Olavich]

Originally Posted by ChinoCharles

You know, all you mileage gurus run up and down these boards saying this and that about how to get your mileage up, but I never see any of you outline it simply for the members that don't feel like scouring yet another web site for information. Not everyone wants to be an expert. Some just want results.

The following goes double for all you manual drivers that have more control over your revs.

The idea of how to improve your mileage is so simple. The gas pedal controls many things, including the amount of fuel being injected into the cylinders. As RPM's go up, fuel consumption climbs with it. The trick to getting wonderful mileage in your car is twofold.

First of all, keep your revs as low as possible without overwhelming your gears. In other words, there is no reason to leave first gear at 4500 RPM as that wastes fuel, but at the same time you don't want to leave first at 1500 RPM either or you will find yourself having to gas the hell out of second to get your car in gear. 2500-3250 RPM's is what I have found to be the ideal shift point in the Yaris depending on how fast you like getting from point A to point B. Keep in mind the Yaris loses about 1000 RPM's per shift (loosely) so if you leave first at 3000 RPM you're entering second at 2000 RPM, which is teriffic. Also, If you're bitching about your gas mileage and you don't have a tach, you have no room to complain. Go get a tach and start paying attention. Your tach will pay for itself after you have used it to raise your MPG a few points.

Second, thanks to BailOut we now know about the DFCO feature. If you're heading down a hill at a speed that allows it, shift to third and take your foot off the throttle entirely. This will cut out fuel consumption. You automatic drivers can do this too... just take it out of overdrive. Since it is probably relatively rare that you find yourself in a situation where you can use this feature long enough to make it worthwhile, I see this as kind of a secondary way to improve mileage. Focus on that gas pedal and keeping your revs just right.

There, mystery solved.

Wrong! Mystery NOT solved so easily. Knowledge is power.

What is wrong with turning others on to anothe web site, that specializes in saving gas? I find your admonishment inappropriate, and defeats the whole value of such forums. We exchange ideas here, we provide our best knowledge, and take other's knowledge so we all can benefit...why poo-poo this?

Saving MPG is not just about RPM's....this is a drastic over simplification.

It's also about engine load (vacuum), and the ScanGauge II provides a display of this parameter realtime. Don't you realize that shifting with too low RPM's can boost engine vacuum very high? High Vacuum means high fuel consumption, so shifting too early to keep the rev's down can often burn gas faster then shifting at higher RPM's, so to suggest that high RPM's = low MPG is not necessarily true in all cases.

The site gasavers.org (or gassavers.org) provides many tips on saving gas, that anyone can learn from, if they want to lean how to drive for highest MPG. Those that want to save gas are morons for ignoring such sites, as there are many.

And nobody requires a tachometer to increase MPG, but of course it helps, or can make it easier, but certainlly not a gotta-have.

Some want results? Sure, but the best results are only received from knowledge, and no one has to be an "expert" to glean the many, many tips of getting the best MPG from our cars.

Why the attitude?