Reasonable MPG or not?

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by roadrunner

I do nearly everything possible. It would take pages to mention.
Some quick stuff............
Scanguage II
Grille block
No air ever
EOC often
Only use my Yaris to and from work, total mile 40, rolling hills
I drive off hours to and from work
Stay off the highway
oversized LRR tires at 44 psi
Coast up to lights and stop signs
I do not hold up traffic!
More stuff go to CleanMPG for tips on hypermiling
Roadrunner

Thanks for the thoughtful reply. Some of these things I'm already doing (but neglected to mention) and some of them I'm not willing to do (44 PSI, no air) and I'll definitely check CleanMPG for tips. The tip that you are using that intrigues me the most is grille blocking. What are you using to block your grille?

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by Kaotic Lazagna

I've recently been driving with the A/C on since it's gotten pretty hot here, on fan speed of 2 and on recirculating. On the past three tanks with A/C usage, I've averaged no less than 40 mpg. With 40 mpg being 50/50 city/highway driving.

Where on the dial do you have the temp when you are using fan speed of 2 and recirculating? Have you tried other combinations of fan speed, recirculating vs vent, and temp setting?

[Kaotic Lazagna]

Originally Posted by nookandcrannycar

Where on the dial do you have the temp when you are using fan speed of 2 and recirculating? Have you tried other combinations of fan speed, recirculating vs vent, and temp setting?

Temp is at second to last click for the coldest temp. Fan speed starts off at 4 and with fresh air coming in until the air actually get cold. I'll switch it to recirculating and drop the fan speed down to 3 until it gets colder. Once that happens, fan speed drops to 1 or 2 depending on how hot it is that day. Air is in the middle of the face mode and the face/feet mode. I should also note that I insulated my AC line (was it the low pressure line, I forget, the DIY is somewhere here on YW), which I found to help a lot. I should also mention that before, I used to have a 10 mpg hit the second I turn on my AC (according to my SGII), but have recently gotten better mpg's than if I were to drive with my windows down and no fan (like I used to). Not sure what happened.

I never tried any other combination as that usually gets the temperature where I want it to be. Back when I got the car, I left the air mode at the face/feet mode, but switched it to the middle of that and full face since I noticed it cooled the car quicker.

[TLyttle]

Just completed a holiday trip: MPG was 54 Imp, mostly mountain and city driving. I am NOT complaining!

White is the most logical colour without a/c, airlines found that out decades ago...

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by Kaotic Lazagna

Temp is at second to last click for the coldest temp. Fan speed starts off at 4 and with fresh air coming in until the air actually get cold. I'll switch it to recirculating and drop the fan speed down to 3 until it gets colder. Once that happens, fan speed drops to 1 or 2 depending on how hot it is that day. Air is in the middle of the face mode and the face/feet mode. I should also note that I insulated my AC line (was it the low pressure line, I forget, the DIY is somewhere here on YW), which I found to help a lot. I should also mention that before, I used to have a 10 mpg hit the second I turn on my AC (according to my SGII), but have recently gotten better mpg's than if I were to drive with my windows down and no fan (like I used to). Not sure what happened.

I never tried any other combination as that usually gets the temperature where I want it to be. Back when I got the car, I left the air mode at the face/feet mode, but switched it to the middle of that and full face since I noticed it cooled the car quicker.

Wow. You're getting great results. I almost always baby my A/C more than you describe and we're getting the same Summer MPG. If I've had to leave the car in the blazing sun for any length of time and neglected to leave the window cranked open a bit, then I'll start the A/C at the coldest setting on vent and the fan on 2 until the heat dissipates. The rest of the time I keep the fan on 1 about 98 percent of the time and the temp at 10 o'clock about 90-95 percent of the time. I find that the fan on 2 vs 1 has a slight effect re gas consumption, but turning the temperature below 9 o'clock has a significant and fairly rapidly accelerating negative effect on gas consumption the closer I set the dial toward 6 o'clock. I only shut the vents (put on recirculating) when I start to smell a skunk or see a dead squirrel/possum/skunk/dog/cat/doe/raccoon in the road ahead of me (a much more common sight than when I lived in California....I'm not complaining though, I just adjust accordingly). I usually keep the behind the cup holders vents closed and just use the center ones.

[Kaotic Lazagna]

Originally Posted by nookandcrannycar

Wow. You're getting great results. I almost always baby my A/C more than you describe and we're getting the same Summer MPG. If I've had to leave the car in the blazing sun for any length of time and neglected to leave the window cranked open a bit, then I'll start the A/C at the coldest setting on vent and the fan on 2 until the heat dissipates. The rest of the time I keep the fan on 1 about 98 percent of the time and the temp at 10 o'clock about 90-95 percent of the time. I find that the fan on 2 vs 1 has a slight effect re gas consumption, but turning the temperature below 9 o'clock has a significant and fairly rapidly accelerating negative effect on gas consumption the closer I set the dial toward 6 o'clock. I only shut the vents (put on recirculating) when I start to smell a skunk or see a dead squirrel/possum/skunk/dog/cat/doe/raccoon in the road ahead of me (a much more common sight than when I lived in California....I'm not complaining though, I just adjust accordingly). I usually keep the behind the cup holders vents closed and just use the center ones.

I used to drive with just the center vents, but I decided one day to pop my (driverside) cup holder vent open, and I find that it cools me better so that I can use fan speed 1 more often. I've never played with the temp tho, like I said, I play with fan speed more to get it cooler or "warmer".


Have you insulated that one AC line yet?

[Kaotic Lazagna]

In case not, I followed the DIY here and did another DIY with pics on every step when I did mine. Here's my photobucket link to the album of the DIY

http://s208.photobucket.com/albums/b...%20Insulation/

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by Kaotic Lazagna

I used to drive with just the center vents, but I decided one day to pop my (driverside) cup holder vent open, and I find that it cools me better so that I can use fan speed 1 more often. I've never played with the temp tho, like I said, I play with fan speed more to get it cooler or "warmer".


Have you insulated that one AC line yet?

No. I'll look into that. Do you think the fact that you have a sedan and I have a liftback would make any difference (re different dash/windshield/front door window angles, etc)?

[Kaotic Lazagna]

Originally Posted by nookandcrannycar

No. I'll look into that. Do you think the fact that you have a sedan and I have a liftback would make any difference (re different dash/windshield/front door window angles, etc)?

Could be, you guys have the hatch area to cool off. Then again, I drive with my back seats down (because I can't hear my sub with the seats up), so the trunk area has to be cooled off too. Don't think the windows will make a difference, but the LB does have those two small windows in front of the front windows, right?

Oh, and my rear windows have 5% tint, I put up a sun shade/block on my front windshield, and those stick on mesh shades on my front driver- and passenger-side windows when I park, leaving a little gap in the windows (enough to reach the bottom of my window visors, which isn't much, probably 1/2").

[Kaotic Lazagna]

And I never park under trees (so no shade) because I don't want pollen/sap/animal feces falling onto my paint.

[brg88tx]

i've noticed a big hit on mpg if the ac is on speed #3 or 4. i try to keep in on level 1 or 2 if it's very hot.

[roadrunner]

Originally Posted by nookandcrannycar

The tip that you are using that intrigues me the most is grille blocking. What are you using to block your grille?

Wall molding that goes along the floor in a room. Used goop to apply it.
I leave it on the Yaris year round.

[Yury]

I am doing short trips and typically get 28 mpg during summer with a lot of ac and during winter on winter gas. Never seen more than 34 even with highway. And I am not a lead foot at all, so yeah, driving conditions can make a huge difference.

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by Kaotic Lazagna

Could be, you guys have the hatch area to cool off. Then again, I drive with my back seats down (because I can't hear my sub with the seats up), so the trunk area has to be cooled off too. Don't think the windows will make a difference, but the LB does have those two small windows in front of the front windows, right?

Oh, and my rear windows have 5% tint, I put up a sun shade/block on my front windshield, and those stick on mesh shades on my front driver- and passenger-side windows when I park, leaving a little gap in the windows (enough to reach the bottom of my window visors, which isn't much, probably 1/2").

Right after I made my last post I was looking at (for lack of a better term) your 'signature car picture', noticed your window tinting, and wondered if that might make a difference.

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by Kaotic Lazagna

In case not, I followed the DIY here and did another DIY with pics on every step when I did mine. Here's my photobucket link to the album of the DIY

http://s208.photobucket.com/albums/b...%20Insulation/

Thanks!

[Kaotic Lazagna]

Originally Posted by nookandcrannycar

Thanks!

No problem. Hopefully those who haven't yet done the insulation and does it picks up some mpg's.

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by roadrunner

Wall molding that goes along the floor in a room. Used goop to apply it.
I live it on the Yaris year round.

I wasn't sure what you meant by wall molding so I typed wall molding into the DuckDuckGo search engine. I looked at some of the hits and had a better idea what you meant but decided to do another search. I plugged in yaris grille block and the #2 hit from that search was a gassavers.org thread you posted to in 2007! I have a friend who grew up in California but lived in Montana for years as an adult. He had an F-150 sized old pickup when he lived in Montana. He told me that to be able to drive during long segments of a Montana winter he would have to keep cardboard wedged into the grille/body in front of the radiator and fan or the car wouldn't run.

[edmscan]

Originally Posted by nookandcrannycar

He told me that to be able to drive during long segments of a Montana winter he would have to keep cardboard wedged into the grille/body in front of the radiator and fan or the car wouldn't run.

Yup .. this is a standard method of operation for probably many thousands of Canadians. I have put cardboard in front of my radiator on all my cars for many many years. It just helps keep things warmer in the long winters. I just find it funny that everyone didn't know about this trick. Guess if you live in the southern states there is just no reason to do this.

Kinda like having AC in my yaris, I have never used it. But the heater is a different story. Use it often .. and in winter will pretty much leave it on. I just hope that it doesn't affect my gas mileage too much.