2009 Prius Base - $19k - Page 23 - Fuel Economy, Hypermiling, EcoModding News and Forum

Matt Herring · 07-13-2009, 03:24 PM

Daox,

There are plenty of guys out there getting 60-65+ on the highway and for the life of me I can't get there. I had some light 20-30 mile highway driving to do today and was back in the 59+ range but the rpm that is required to get the small engine up the hill and stay at 50+ mph really saps the mpg.

The one thing I have been doing to get a little better mpg is to concentrate on dropping my IGN to 5 (mpg reads 9999) and feathering the pedal to try and keep it there until I need more throttle to keep my speed up to a reasonable highway driving level. The vets at priuschat swear by not using such a low IGN at any time but it's the only thing that I can use on the highway to recoup some mpg's after they have dropped from going up a big hill. If I'm in the 50-55 mph range I've also used some neutral coast but making sure no to approach 60 mph in neutral coast.

Matt Herring · 07-15-2009, 09:21 AM

On a non-Prius related story...

I got engaged yesterday...great girl and couldn't be happier!

PaleMelanesian · 07-15-2009, 09:55 AM

Congrats! I'm guessing that right now you're something like this:

Daox · 07-15-2009, 10:14 AM

Wooo, congrats Matt!

Matt Herring · 07-15-2009, 11:13 AM

Thanks for the well wishes guys...had the ring for 2 weeks and was relieved to get it done.

And in prius news...the gps setting on xguage is legit. I just finished a 30 mile commute into boston and used gps...tps...ign and mpg on my sg2. I had just filled up before leaving for the trip and only had 3 miles on my mfd which was at 62 mpg before I left for boston. When I finished my commute I'm sitting at 77.2 mpg on my mfd.

It took some getting used to when trying to settle at 16.5 and under on gps but it slowly makes its way to that number and mpg settles around 65 mpg at 60 mph before jumping to 80 and 90 plus. I was able to hold it there as traffic allowed for a good minute. And when traffic slowed I was able to drop to 5 ign and pick up even more mpg.

Anxious to get my business in boston done so I can head home and see what gps produces again.

By the way I set my all time tank when I filled up today at 63.8 on the mfd. Will post tank stats when I have a chance later today.

1337 · 07-15-2009, 11:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Matt Herring

On a non-Prius related story...

I got engaged yesterday...great girl and couldn't be happier!

Congratulations!

Daox · 07-15-2009, 11:39 AM

Alright, glad to see the GPS works much better than fidgeting with TPS and IGN. I'm hopefully going to be visiting the Linear Logic booth at Hybridfest this weekend to get my scangauge upgraded. Unfortunately, I won't get to try it out for another week as I'll be out of the country until the 25th. Looking forward to coming back and popping out 70+ segments though!

Matt Herring · 07-15-2009, 03:06 PM

On the return trip I did worse in terms of mpg but my mfd still stands at 68 mpg. My SGII reported 64 mpg on the ride home (I believe it is reporting about 2 mpg optimistic right now so 62 mpg is more realistic for the ride home). The ride home from Boston was difficult in terms of topography...felt like I was driving uphill most of the way so that probably accounts for the lower mpg.

I ditched TPS on my ride home as I didn't feel it helped me very much so I was running RPM, MPG, IGN and GPS. I feel like I need the RPM feature so I don't overrev the engine (plus I like to see when I get into 0 rpm) and the IGN figure so I can see when I'm at 5 IGN and maxxing out mpg. As long as you can keep your speed up 5 IGN (0 rpm) produces the best mpg followed by 16.5 and under GPS. I was using a combination of the two to get the good mpg numbers.

77 and 62 mpg for 90% highway over 70 miles is pretty good compared to the numbers I was getting before trying GPS (in the 56-59 mpg range). The GPS number on the SGII fluctuates very, very quickly and with time I think I'll do a better job with centering it on 16.5 and lower. I will note it was not useful under 50 mph as it ticks up and down too quickly. It seemed to be most useful from 50-60+ mph as it did not rise and fall quickly at those speeds.

Daox - When you talk to the Linear Logic guys tell them we NEED a 6 readout Scanguage III. I'd love to see TPS, IGN, GPS, RPM, MPG plus another readout!!! Now that I know how to program an Xguage I want to tinker with the one that tells you what percent of fuel to full the Prius is...might help me get a better sense of how much farther I can go on a tank (not to mention the other dozen or so XGuages that can be programmed).

Daox · 07-15-2009, 03:18 PM

Well, you can always chain the gauges together for 8 gauges. Its a pricey option though.

Thanks for the verification. I am struggling very much with get above 60 with just the standard gauges. Its very hit and miss, and mostly miss.

Matt Herring · 07-15-2009, 03:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Daox

Well, you can always chain the gauges together for 8 gauges. Its a pricey option though.

Thanks for the verification. I am struggling very much with get above 60 with just the standard gauges. Its very hit and miss, and mostly miss.

Give it some time bro...I was miserable the first month I was driving. 50-51 mpg highway and 55 mpg city. High psi, grill block, getting used to EV and the SGII controls...it all comes together pretty quickly. Hopefully this GPS feature is another piece of the puzzle to add a couple mpg to our tanks. With all the highway driving you do it could be quite a boost for your mpg.