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Old 01-22-2010, 09:40 PM   #4 (permalink)
RobertSmalls
Left Lane Ecodriver
 
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Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Buffalo, NY, USA
Posts: 2,257

Prius C - '12 Toyota Prius C
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You can call 30% over EPA rating, in January in Michigan, a success. Your Mazda reminds me of my old Subaru: a quirky little wagon that does some things very well, but gets terrible gas mileage for its size.

I'm pretty sure you'd love a scangauge. It will improve your gas mileage, and it lets you know exactly what's going on under the hood while you drive, which will amuse the gearhead in you.

Egg under the gas pedal may be crucial for slushbox drivers, but I got excellent results from my MT Subaru by keeping RPM to a minimum, and using 70-80% throttle to accelerate. On my old commute, I never exceeded 2200RPM.

Driving without brakes, plus an engine kill switch, will help a lot if you're not doing so already. The Scangauge reports my Subaru idles at 0.25 gal/hr when warmed up, so you can do the math on how much fuel you might save by shutting down the engine during prolonged coasts in neutral, and at red lights.
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