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Old 09-07-2021, 02:15 PM   #14 (permalink)
Isaac Zachary
High Altitude Hybrid
 
Join Date: Dec 2020
Location: Gunnison, CO
Posts: 1,952

Avalon - '13 Toyota Avalon HV
90 day: 40.45 mpg (US)

Prius - '06 Toyota Prius
Thanks: 1,035
Thanked 538 Times in 432 Posts
I'm glad you were able to fix it!

I was also going to mention that in my Avalon I get worse fuel mileage at 45mph than 55mph cruising on a flat road. But I get better fuel mileage at 65mph than 75mph.

As mentioned before the reason has to do with changes in engine efficiency vs. aerodynamic drag. The slower you go the less power you need to maintain your speed. But that usually makes your engine less and less efficient as your power needs get farther and farther from optimal for your engine.

Because of that there's a curve to your fuel mileage when cruising at a certain speed on flat ground. There'll be a speed that gets you your best fuel mileage. Faster or slower than that will get you worse fuel mileage.

The hack to overcome this is pulsing and gliding. By accelerating you can put your engine's RPMs and load much closer to optimal while driving slower overall, both of which give you better fuel mileage.
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