8 mph hour crawl in rush hour, still really good MPG

[pfunk678]

I had a 50 mile drive the other day and got 55mpg on the way, but got stuck in traffic on the way back. For about the first 10 miles of it I averaged 8 mph, but I still got 40mpg. I was leaving a lot of space in front of me so I could keep rolling (albeit slowly) in the middle of all the stop and go. 40mpg is my car's highway rating. I know my aero mods did little or no good at such low speed. I was really surprised at how high the mpg were just from not stopping.

[GRU]

did you pulse and glide? i don't think it's possible to get 40mpg holding a steady throttle at 8mph. In the city driving with lots of stops it's amazing what driving technique can do

[user removed]

In my Fiesta leaving the neighborhood is .3 mile to the main road. Today the gauge was indicating 43.4 when I started the engine for the first time in 5 days. It dropped to 42.6 in .2 mile then I coasted the last .1 mile and it increased to 42.8. I was coasting (engine on) when it rose in the last .1 mile.

Cold start, had not run since last Sunday.

regards
Mech

[a8ksh4]

I've had similar results in my truck. Cruising at 55mph on open road, I could get ~33mph; in heavy traffic at 55mph, I'd get like 36; but when it slowed to stop and go, I spent most of my time coasting and it would edge up toward 38mpg.

[MetroMPG]

Originally Posted by pfunk678

was leaving a lot of space in front of me so I could keep rolling (albeit slowly) in the middle of all the stop and go.

I always think of that as "playing the accordion".