The 1 Gallon Challenge

[robbiewt]

I don't know if this is the right section. I saw Tas' 3L challenge here.

This is a little game I've been playing. The goal is to drive from my apartment to my parent's house using less than 1 gallon of gas. It is about 49.5 miles. Sadly this winter I have only met this goal 2 or 3 times. Tonight I came close: 1.01 gallons or 48.9 mpg.

Due to poor timing on my lease I'll be moving back to my parent's house with 3 weeks left in the semester. So I'll be commuting to school every day. It is about 46 miles each way. Hopefully this will translate to better numbers at the pump.

Here is a pretty map:

The pinkish area is an alternate route.

Wish me luck

[Matt Herring]

Cool way to challenge yourself and pass the time on your commute...like it Robbie! Good luck!

[Drive Stick]

What mods do you have, or what driving techniques are you practicing the most frequently? I didn't know the Yaris could get close to 50mpg, outstanding numbers you got there!

Do share? I'm trying to improve on my technique.

[robbiewt]

So far all I've done to the car is 45 psi in the tires and installed a scangauge. I try to time my commute so that I can avoid rush hour. Once I start doing this commute every day, I'll be leaving at 11 a.m. and I'll be getting home at 11 p.m. During the afternoon, the volume of cars on the road is enough to keep speed close to the speed limit without creating a major jam. At night the volume is low enough that I can drive slow with out bothering too many people.

The north end of the commute is about 500 feet above sea level, while the south end is about 60. It is much easier to get good mileage heading south than going north.

The pink route on that map has a lower speed limit and less traffic lights. But in the day time traffic can get pretty bad. I usually take that route late at night.

[RobertSmalls]

Reducing your gallons per day is often about choosing the right route. I was able to cut my daily commute from 15 miles to 11 by taking the highway only halfway. The most direct route is 10 miles, but it's not worth it; there's too much traffic and stop lights. I like your challenge.

From where I'm sitting, I83 looks promising at night.

[robbiewt]

Taking I83 would reduce the distance quite a bit. But, I83 ends right in the middle of downtown. The two miles through Baltimore has more traffic lights than the other two routes combined. Sadly Baltimore is a big mess of one-way streets.

[robbiewt]

Success!

Tonight the SGII report 0.97 gallons. That makes the trip average an even 51 mpg. There has been a lot of city driving this week, so I'm hoping for a decent fill up in a couple of days.

[hummingbird]

Do you EOC? I guess not. You have a light, MT vehicle, ideal for EOC coasting, so it would have given ~50 mpg easily with good EOC discipline.

Also sometimes a route through city turns out to be better mileage-wise, as it forces lower (and more efficient) speeds, and affords coasting opportunities. Try it for a variation, you might get good results.

[robbiewt]

Luckily the Yaris shuts of the fuel injectors if I stay in gear and let off the gas. It's not as efficient as EOC, but it helps.

I'm a little scared of driving through the city. I've lived in the area since 1989 and I still get lost. Last Saturday, I got stuck in a nasty traffic jam and the SGII reported and increase in my mileage.

[hummingbird]

Generally EOC is better than neutral engine ON coasting, that in turn is better than DFCO. So maybe you can shift to these techniques as appropriate. A GPS gizmo with route memory can do the trick for the getting lost part. It gives turn-by-turn instructions based on local roads for a travel between points A and B.