Quote:
Originally Posted by slipstreampilot
Congrats.
Please post the conditions during your measured interval(s) to include type of driving (% Highway, % City), approximate AVG MPH during the tank, grade (hills or flat), and any unconventional driving or extreme hypermiling techniques used.
I personally think one of the most important things missing in the qualifications process for the top mileage list is the conditional aspect - to include the driving conditions.
I believe to establish/maintain the integrity of this site, the moderators should scrub the list and qualify any entries claiming efficiencies in access of 20% over EPA ratings. Special conditions should be used to evaluate the validity and to classify claims. Entries that are generated through experimental or unconventional motor vehicle use should be classified as such, and standard motor vehicle operation should be classified accordingly. Modifications should also be clearly listed and evaluated for real-world applicability.
Just for example - I can have my car towed to the top of Pike's Peak and coast down the mountain to produce some great gas mileage numbers - but is that realistic? Obviously not. Additionally, anyone who goes out and causes traffic jams through the use of extreme hypermiling techniques (in order to produce good gas mileage numbers) is also not being genuine either - not to mention the obvious dangers and aggravation caused by that activity.
Qualifying mileage claims is as, if not more important than the claim itself.
There are many more claims on the top mileage list that have zero credibility - I had to scroll for a while before I saw one claim that was believable from a real driving standpoint.
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To answer your first question: 99.93% City driving at 35 MPH max cruise speed, max pulse speed of 45 MPH. Min glide speed of 18 (but that's very rare) Average speed was 22 MPH. That includes all the time stopped, waiting for lights to change. Average gradient to work is +.9%; -.9% the way home. Driving techniques include EOC (aka FAS), DFCO, P+G, potentinal parking, face out parking, ridge riding, using my eyes and brain, putting the cell phone away. Mods to the car include max sidewall pressure, pass. mirror delete, wiper delete, mud flap delete, partial grill block, engine kill switch, 0-W-30 Mobil-1 oil. The most important mod though is patience and experience on the road. This means I can time the lights well and even with 22 of them in 11 miles, on a good day I can get 42 MPG to work. the downhill leg can easily top 70 MPG. (BTW the average of those is 52.5, not 56) So yeah, that's my hypermiling lesson in a nutshell.
The vehicles and techniques we discuss here run the gamut from completely unmodified cars, to those that bear little resemblance to what they began life as, or are powered by vastly different sources. As such, it's tough to qualify our respective mileage achievements into concrete categories, if that’s what you’re suggesting. It’s a pretty safe bet that most of us are hypermiling. BTW, most auto vs manual cars only vary in their EPA ratings by 1-2 MPG, but in real life the manuals are quite literally,
miles ahead.
To my knowledge there are no prizes for posting unverified mileage gains over the internet, so there’s little reason to do it. That alone keeps most people honest. The only verified mileage claims are those that occur at competitions.
In reference to your last point, I would keep an open mind, a consistent performance of 125% over EPA isn't uncommon or unbelievable among the more experienced drivers. I have seen it possible even with my car, it's just not doable to make up an entire tank of gas (yet). It requires a lot of careful driving that doesn't include stop lights or other drivers.
Lastly, keep in mind than some of the cars here use alternative energy sources or are converted PHEVs, so the mileage gains they post don't compare apples to apples with everyone else's.