2009 Prius Base - $19k

[Matt Herring]

Now that I have my SGII calibrated after my first tank (within 1-1.5 mpg anyway) I am getting some solid and more accurate info. from it.

Had a record commute to work today and it was only 55 degrees (with 10-12 mph winds). Eerily, I had nearly no cars behind me on my 11 mile commute to work and it allowed me to really crawl and get some great numbers. Had it in "dead band" for alot of the trip and registered 73.3 on the SGII commute! And...it only took me 2 extra minutes to get to work despite really "crawling along" from 25-40 mph on mainly 45 mph roads.

Can't wait for the 70-80 degree days coming up on Friday and Saturday...Work both days so get a shot at driving at least 44 miles (2 work round trips)! Might even "volunteer" to drive the Prius when the girl and I go out on Friday night (maybe).

[Matt Herring]

80 degrees and bright beautiful "max mpg" sun out today! With my current grill block setup (full upper/1 slot lower) my max temp on the SGII was only 193 in the heat on my commute home from work today.

Upon my arrival home I sprinted into my house, grabbed the foam pipe insulation and blocked two more slots of the lower grill. Now have full upper and top 3 slots in the lower grill blocked. Will continue monitoring temps to make sure I'm in the clear.

Thinking about a rear wiper delete for next mod...going to do some research as to "how" to do it. I'm not wrench smart...but it can't be that hard. And...why the big hunkin' antenna on the Prius...surely they could have saved me the work and designed it to be more slippery (or at least more rear pointing)?

Enjoy the sunshine fellas!

[MetroMPG]

Originally Posted by Matt Herring

Had it in "dead band" for alot of the trip and registered 73.3 on the SGII commute!

Nice!

How did the warm weather change things? (You posted about the grille block, but not the MPG!)

[cfg83]

Matt -

Originally Posted by Matt Herring

Every time I drive my Prius I wonder why I didn't do it earlier and why I ever consumed more than twice the amount of fuel I am now. $17 for 500 miles in the Prius...amazing compared to my old 4runner!

I'm doing the Snoopy happy dance because we all peer-pressured you into getting it :



I mean, technically speaking, we can take all the credit !

CarloSW2

.

[Daox]

Hurray for huge grill blocks!

[Matt Herring]

Metro...the only stats I can offer without ABA testing are:

* First 150 miles in car with no mods posted 54 mpg on in-car instrumentation.
* First official tank = 56.5 mpg actual fill numbers over 511 miles (this was after the grill block addition)...in-car registered 58 mpg and SGII registered 55 mpg.
* Current tank is 60.1 on in-car and 57.5 on SGII after 250 miles (in car is up about 2 mpg and SGII is up 2.5 mpg). Last 40 miles after extra grill block addition and higher temps have been around 61 mpg on SGII.

Not scientific...but those are the current stats. And I'm so obsessed with getting to 60 mpg on this tank I'll give myself an ulcer doing ABA and dropping my mpg in the process...sorry bro.

cfg...take all the credit you like for persuading me to get the Prius...it's been worth it. Thanks! Now the question is "What mods are next with my limited mechanical skills?" Gotta get to 60...gotta get to 60!!!

[Matt Herring]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

Nice!

How did the warm weather change things? (You posted about the grille block, but not the MPG!)

Metro,

The weather settled down a little today (57 degrees) and on my 11 mile commute to work I was up to temp. in about 3 minutes (warmup to temp was 6-7 mins stock and under 5 mins with first grill block...so that's an improvement). SGII reported 62 mpg on the commute (which is probably about 63-63.5 actual based on my current SGII setup and what I have seen during the 275 miles on this tank comparing to in-car stock instrumentation). Max temp was 191 degrees on the commute.

Supposed to be 91 degrees tomorrow!

[Matt Herring]

Just wanted to pass along this nice link if you're interested in plotting your mpg vs. your weather conditions over the course of your tank. Daily high/low temp, precip, etc. are available by zip code lookup with the link below...just change the zip to get yours.

AccuWeather.com Past Month Weather Data for Danvers, MA

To further the mpg increase discussion for my Prius as the weather has begun to heat up...

Over the 9 days I've been running this tank the avg. temp has been 63 degrees (estimated 58.5 mpg for current tank with grill block plus added material to block). My past tank avg. was 53 degrees (56.5 mpg for the tank with initial grill block). A couple mpg increase...10 degree increase...extra grill block material added (the 2 mpg could be the weather and/or the extra material in the grill block).

Whatever the case may be there many, many other factors that could be fueling the increased mpg (if I'm driving during the hotter hours of the 10 degree increase, traffic, etc.). Bottom line is the mpg is going up for now!

[Matt Herring]

Not that I needed motivation to keep raising my mpg...but I got a new one while I was killing time at work today.

By my count (not including motocycles or non-car vehicles) I rank 37th on the ecomodder site for 90 day mpg at 56.5. I'd like to move up to at least Top 20 by the end of the summer (which would be 65 mpg).

Who's in my radar at #36...this guy...Vegan Powa! SVOboy 1991 Honda CRX DX 27 56.5 +109.3%

Look out SVOboy!!! A little friendly competition never hurt anyone...good luck bro!

[Matt Herring]

Wondering if there's an way to monitor inverter temps with my SGII or similar instrumentation in my Prius. 90 degrees today, grill block still installed (197 max temp today on commute to work)...can't be too careful!