Newbie with auto - what can I do about urban driving

[TheMarkofPolo]

Is your gauge calibrated properly yet? If so, at about what speeds does your DFCO kick in when you coast?

That is important for me while driving around St Louis. My automatic Vibe tends to have fuel cutoff from about 38-65 mph (ScanGauge shows 9999 mpg). So, I try to drive on roads with speed limits of at least 40mph.
I don't put my car in neutral very much, except at long stop lights.
I also make sure to use MAX AC, which recirculates already cooler air. The cabin air cools faster, so I can turn the AC back off more often.
Good luck!

[Tygen1]

Timing the lights is important and route planning to eliminate lights can help a lot. Lighten your car as much as possible and run as high a tire pressure as possible. I give mine enough throttle so it shifts just above 2000 rpm. I can usually get around 30+mpg in pure city driving...but I've eliminated about 12 stoplights from my commute, so I don't do much city driving anymore

[hellcats]

12@Tygen1: I've been trying your (and Daox's) idea of controlling the throttle to keep the transmission below 2000 rpm. I've tried to watch the instantaneous MPG, but with the speed changing at the same time it is hard to tell if the method helps or not. I have been reading about BSFC, and it looks like it is generally better at higher RPMs, but I'm sure there are many other factors at play. I guess I'll just have to conduct some tests. BTW, I'm very impressed with your 48.2 mpg with a 2L/auto. I would be very happy if I could just get to 40 with my combined city/highway driving around Dallas.

11@TheMarkOfPolo: I calibrated the MPG and tank fill level on the Ultra-gauge last week. The DFCO is detected at about 45 MPH or greater on my Versa, so it is not much use except when there's an obvious red light ahead when exiting the highway.

[Tygen1]

For best BSFC, it's high load and low rpm, which we can not do with the atx, so I just try to limit rpm based on the idea that the torque converter may be more effcient and have less slip with less rpm...it seems to work with my car. Keep in mind that you will be accelerating at a slower pace than 99% of everyone else. When I am going stop light to stop light, I will let it shift up to second gear then attempt to coast up to the next light, assuming it's red, this can drive the folks behind me crazy but we usually get to the light right when it turns and it causes no delays. The idea is to only build enough speed to get you to the next red light. If it's green, then you just want to go as slow as is reasonable.
Thanks for the nice comments, it has taken 2.5 years to get here, so don't think you will get that 40 number right away or without some failures along the way.
I commute into Philly everyday, so I get to fight plenty of traffic. I've been around Dallas as well, so you have a similar problem. Work on your route, there is often a lot of potential there that most folks ignore.