Fuel Efficiency and the Yaris

[Shroomster]

How are people getting 38mpg?
are you guys looking at instant mpg, looking at your scan gauge, or are you calculating your per tank mpg?
Somehow skewing the numbers?

38 psi in the tires
a/c on most of the time
I drive on average 25 miles one way to work
70-80mph
I only see 32-33 mpg per tank
Average 326 miles on 10 gallons
I fill the tank completely every time




This is summary of every fill up (partial and full) since owning my '14


Sent from my metallic purple honami

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by Shroomster

70-80mph

I would guess that this is the biggest issue. I usually drive 55-62 MPH in the slow lane. My last tank = just over 42.5 MPG, and the current tank will surpass that rate.

[Rigaud]

Best economy is 50mph and below.

[Shroomster]

Originally Posted by nookandcrannycar

I would guess that this is the biggest issue. I usually drive 55-62 MPH in the slow lane. My last tank = just over 42.5 MPG, and the current tank will surpass that rate.

That's what I thought too, but looking through the thread, all these people who claim to red line the car or drive faster than that, are getting better mpg than me...

Sent from my metallic purple honami

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by Shroomster

That's what I thought too, but looking through the thread, all these people who claim to red line the car or drive faster than that, are getting better mpg than me...

Sent from my metallic purple honami

The ones I saw that mention your lowest speed or above :

Page 3 -- member lgcharlot: 37 MPG at 70 MPH for a couple of California to British Columbia road trips (member = a 4 post wonder)

Page 4 -- member Maypo mentions peak fuel economy was 39 MPG at 75 MPH -- closer attention reveals he is talking about a Fiat X1/9 (who knows why he is mentioning an X 1/9 (member = a 1 post wonder))

page 12 -- member Bilstein mentions 39 MPG at 75-80 MPH...but his tire pressure is at 50 PSI.

page 13 -- member Amdkt7 mentions 38 MPG at 70 MPH with a full load of people. The nature of all of his posts....overall, the hills probably help a bit, but I think he just has a stellar focus re his driving habits.

page 14 -- JimKellyfan -- 38 MPG at 80-85 MPH....aided (I imagine) by the downhill part of the trek (he uses 'uphill' in reference to the return)

side note: Page 2 -- Keesue's reply to Nigal -- set tires to 32 PSI and MPG improved....same thing happened to me when I did same (down from 38 PSI for me) sometime after last summer. In the past, PSI increase = MPG increase in my experience.

[why?]

Honestly, you aren't driving far enough to get really great gas mileage. And I lived in Poinciana for a few years, florida drivers are not that bad. They can go around you just as well as any other driver.

But the a/c hurts gas mileage, your speed will kill gas mileage, some run much more tire pressure.

I average a little above 39 mpg, as calculated on fuelly.



Some tips? Use the gas pedal like it is a nuclear bomb that will destroy the world. Look ahead and plan to cruise to a stop so you never have to hit the brakes.

If you have to use a/c, and down in Orlando I can't blame you, turn it off and on so it won't suck up as much gas. If you are on interior air re circulation you can go a few minutes with the a/c off. Also buy and apply the darkest tint you possibly can, legally.

I go as slow as I possibly can. I usually do not exceed 50. On highways I go at maximum 5 miles below the speed limit. I try to stay near 50 if at all possible.

I generally do not drive long trips, but commuting 50+ miles 1 way makes getting great gas mileage really easy, my best tank of gas was 47 mpg when I had to drive over an hour each way every day for two weeks.

Originally Posted by Shroomster

How are people getting 38mpg?
are you guys looking at instant mpg, looking at your scan gauge, or are you calculating your per tank mpg?
Somehow skewing the numbers?

38 psi in the tires
a/c on most of the time
I drive on average 25 miles one way to work
70-80mph
I only see 32-33 mpg per tank
Average 326 miles on 10 gallons
I fill the tank completely every time




This is summary of every fill up (partial and full) since owning my '14


Sent from my metallic purple honami

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by why?

I lived in Poinciana for a few years, florida drivers are not that bad. They can go around you just as well as any other driver.

I haven't lived in Florida, as Shroomster does and you did, but I've probably spent more time there over the last 8 years than in any state but Texas and California, and I've been all over the state. In my experience, your statement above is definitely true re Shroomster's area (the Orlando area). Re my experiences, if Shroomster lived generally anywhere south of an imaginary line drawn between Bradenton and Fort Pierce, I could see what he's saying in his last post being the case (especially on I-75 between Bradenton and the western edge of Alligator Alley)....but the craziness could have finally migrated up his way.

I agree with all of your suggestions (in other parts of your post) re improving MPG.

[why?]

Originally Posted by nookandcrannycar

I haven't lived in Florida, as Shroomster does and you did, but I've probably spent more time there over the last 8 years than in any state but Texas and California, and I've been all over the state. In my experience, your statement above is definitely true re Shroomster's area (the Orlando area). Re my experiences, if Shroomster lived generally anywhere south of an imaginary line drawn between Bradenton and Fort Pierce, I could see what he's saying in his last post being the case (especially on I-75 between Bradenton and the western edge of Alligator Alley)....but the craziness could have finally migrated up his way.

I agree with all of your suggestions (in other parts of your post) re improving MPG.

I like aggressively going slow, meaning if they get right on my ass I just slow down more. I learned to drive in Boston traffic. Talk about horrible jerks. The angrier they got the slower I went.

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by why?

I learned to drive in Boston traffic. Talk about horrible jerks.

I feel for you. Last year (IIRC), I was describing driving in South Florida on a thread here. I wrote something about drivers in Boston being self involved, but that it is a different kind of self involvement than that displayed by drivers in South Florida. That amused another member (MA redident, IIRC) who is familiar with driving in both places (don't remember who it was....pretty sure it wasn't you) enough to subsequently post a reply to the thread.

[roxy1]

east coast drivers....when I moved to CT in 1990, I learned my first day how fast a driver behind me can honk their horn when a light turns green. I swear they must have their hands on the horn just drooling with anticipation.

ive lived in MI, IN, CT, AZ, IL (Chicago), and Japan. the east coast drivers, without doubt, are the most inconsiderate, angry, unskilled bunch.

sorry if I have offended any east coast dwellers....just don't get too angry and end up running someone down.

[why?]

Originally Posted by roxy1

east coast drivers....when I moved to CT in 1990, I learned my first day how fast a driver behind me can honk their horn when a light turns green. I swear they must have their hands on the horn just drooling with anticipation.

ive lived in MI, IN, CT, AZ, IL (Chicago), and Japan. the east coast drivers, without doubt, are the most inconsiderate, angry, unskilled bunch.

sorry if I have offended any east coast dwellers....just don't get too angry and end up running someone down.

The only part I disagree with is unskilled. They are great when everyone on the road is acting as aggressively as possible in a me first way, and everyone knows it.

They are horrific in any situation where that is not the optimum driving solution or there is someone trying to be nice. Add that to roads that cannot possibly handle the number of drivers on them, and you pretty much have hell on wheels. Now there are always idiots, but with the above mindset you just assume they were doing something meaningful to only them.

But you can call these morons anything you want. The USA would be a better place if 90% of people in the northeast corridor did not ever exist.

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by roxy1

east coast drivers....when I moved to CT in 1990, I learned my first day how fast a driver behind me can honk their horn when a light turns green. I swear they must have their hands on the horn just drooling with anticipation.

ive lived in MI, IN, CT, AZ, IL (Chicago), and Japan. the east coast drivers, without doubt, are the most inconsiderate, angry, unskilled bunch.

sorry if I have offended any east coast dwellers....just don't get too angry and end up running someone down.

Yea, the my time is more valuable/the world revolves around me type of self involvement is prevalent in many areas up there. it's worse that way, in my experience than the SF Bay Area or such parts of the L.A. Metro.

In 2006 (?) I was doing some shopping at the little Rye Ridge Shopping Center (Westchester County, NY). I turned left out of the shopping center and meandered down the road. I continued under I-287 and up to what was then (now =?) a 4-way stop with 4 stop signs. This is the intersection of Polly Park Rd and Purchase St. It lies between the Westchester Country Club and I-287. The stop signs are set pack much farther apart from each other than normal stop signs. IIRC, each street is 2 lane and has a double yellow. As I pulled up to the intersection there was some traffic and I heard some honking. Two women (obviously friends) in their convertibles(tops down -- BMW and Audi, IIRC) had pulled into the middle of the intersection and were just sitting in their cars, engines on, justr gabbing away. People on all sides of the intersection were honking and trying to navigate driving around them and flipping them off, and they were just ignoring everyone. One of them had obviously just ended a tennis match (had to have been at the WCC). I finally got around them, making a left turn. In 2007 Tiger Woods refused to play at that stop on the PGA tour. I heard it was because he didn't like the attitude of the people there. I thought about those two ladies in their convertibles and laughed.

Last October I was in Asheville, NC. The particular brand of liberalism there was not to my liking. I got into a conversation in the Starbucks parking lot with another person from Texas who saw my plates and struck up a conversation. We weren't giving any indication that we were leaving. We were getting people stopping, honks, and people angrily asking if we were coming or going. Each one looked unhappy. The last time I was in the Bay Area, I was on BART train. I've been riding BART trains since the 1970s. I was really taken aback by how unhappy a majority of the people looked. I don't see/come across scenarios like either of these in my neck of the woods in Texas.

[YHWilliam09]

Originally Posted by Shroomster

How are people getting 38mpg?
are you guys looking at instant mpg, looking at your scan gauge, or are you calculating your per tank mpg?
Somehow skewing the numbers?

38 psi in the tires
a/c on most of the time
I drive on average 25 miles one way to work
70-80mph
I only see 32-33 mpg per tank
Average 326 miles on 10 gallons
I fill the tank completely every time

I work a pizza delivery job in suburbia and average right around 40 mpg. There are many small things that add up to help like tire psi, using a ScanGauge, etc., but the biggest factor in increasing your gas mileage is your driving style.

If you want to get up near 40 mpg, you'll need to learn and use many hypermiling techniques and start using a gauge that shows your instant mpg. Some of the techniques can be a burden if you don't want to deal with other drivers getting mad at you, but there are many you can use that won't affect anybody else on the road more than what's normal. Read these two articles, and they should help you quite a bit:

100+ Hypermiling Tips

Beating the EPA - The Why’s and How to Hypermile