Always fun to look back and think ahead. Here is mine from last year:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Daox
Here we go again. 
I'm fairly happy with my current mileage in summer. The Prius gets a pretty steady 55 mpg with my wife driving and no PHEV and the Paseo gets 60+ all summer long. However, in winter the Prius takes a huge hit to mileage in the winter and I'd like to do something more about that. I'd very much like to see 45+ in the winter with the Prius.
As for specific mods, I don't have any solid plans. I have ideas, and they always change.
2011 Prius goals: Decrease the winter hit to mileage and get the PHEV kit working.
Mods I'm considering:
- get the dang PHEV working 
- insulated engine
- bellypan
- automatically actuated grill block
- smooth wheel covers
2011 Paseo goals: The possibilities are kind of wide open at the moment. I'm looking at a job much closer to home which makes an EV conversion possible. I'm happy with the current mpg, but want to make the car easier to drive.
Mods I'm considering:
- 1.4L 1ND-TV (diesel) engine swap
- EV conversion
- hybrid conversion
- bellypan
- adding EGR
- something to help automate P&G, automatic start perhaps?
As I've mentioned, I'm fairly happy with my mileage at this point. This is true and somewhat not true. I've gotten to the point where I've looked at my energy usage and found that my cars are not the biggest chunk of energy I use now, my home is now a larger energy user. So, I am focusing more on conserving and increasing efficiency there. For others that are also interested in this I suggest checking out EcoRenovator. |
As it happens I did get the new job and I now have a 15 mile daily commute vs 42 miles. Another perk we had was my wife got a new job too with only a 7 mile daily commute where as she used to use the Prius as her work vehicle. The total effect here is not nearly mpg related as it is total miles put on my vehicles, and thusly my annual fuel usage is way down! So, in 2010 I traveled 22,000 miles (448 gallons) in the Prius, to 12,000 miles (227 gallons) used in 2011.
The new job does put me in EV range and I'm looking to slowly gather parts for a conversion.
In the mean time I have the Prius' PHEV working and use it for commuting. My wife is now driving the Paseo and I'm sure the short commute (3.5 miles one way) is going to murder the mileage. But, it doens't use much fuel, so I'm more than happy.
As I mentioned in my last post, my home (especially now) uses vastly more energy than my vehicles. So, my main focus is now there to reduce energy usage.