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Old 07-14-2009, 03:27 AM   #7 (permalink)
cfg83
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Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Southern California
Posts: 5,864

1999 Saturn SW2 - '99 Saturn SW2 Wagon
Team Saturn
90 day: 40.49 mpg (US)
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JacobAziza -

I drive a mix too, but maybe 80% of my miles are commuting to/from work, and 75% of those are freeway. My normal trek is 7 miles of city streets that I use to warm up the engine and do "on the way to work" errands. The last 27 miles are freeway that I try to hit off-peak. Here's the freeway portion of my to-work commute :

Trip log for: 1999 Saturn SW2, Trip: home to work

I have strategic locations on my route where I can EOC and/or P&G, depending on traffic conditions, but they aren't many. They're usually long stretches of right lanes without merging traffic.

I use the 710 freeway for 5 miles, which is a major truck freeway. Very bumpy but the traffic is mostly tame, so I like it.

On the streets to/from work, I drive "parallel" to main arteries. I've learned that in a lot of cases, even with non-optimum light timing, I can manage better MPG because I can drive "my way" without worrying about bottlenecks.

I stay away from one-lane roads where possible. If I do use a one-lane road, I will drive the speed limit if I am being followed.

The traffic dictates my behavior. Sometimes I just can't win.

If I'm not mistaken, it sounds like you're work trips are usually different, so you can't "optimize" your route.

CarloSW2
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