@ehibb
Yes I've been testing out some hypermilling items. I'll do a write up later on. I'd say the first thing to do is ensure ones car is properly tuned and tires properly inflated.
@niterider
1) longer story. 2) funny. I was stopped and was exiting when I took the picture. I actually thought about putting the belt back on and retaking the photo
@thread
Warning taking pictures should only be done in a parked and non moving vehicle!
Numbers. I promised.
Refilled at 230.8miles. Used 6.98 gallons. Mpg reading 34.2. Calc mpg. 230.8/6.98=33.0659. Let's just round down to 33mpg. Not bad.
MPG
As per my promise, I have begun my economy tank. I am at 50 miles and my display reads 31 mpg. Mostly hilly back roads of pa.
I will post pics of my trip computer and mileage display when the tank is done. I will also do my hand calculation.
I will post pics of my trip computer and mileage display when the tank is done. I will also do my hand calculation.
2011 6spd. Kizashi Sport SLS. Azure Gray Metallic.
Hypermiling tricks I've been playing with
Starts - make them slow and steady. I find 1500-2000 is adequate, gives good mileage, and I keep up with traffic leaving a stop sign/stop light.
Stops - make them slow and long. Coasting means minimal gas usage. Use it to your advantage.
Cruise - Don't just set it but use it! Setting it is superior to using your foot. The car does a fine job. But use the + and - changes to your advantage. Driving with my thumb gives me good MPG.
Hills - It's okay to decelerate a bit. Back off that cruise a tiny bit and let it drop down in speed. This means you make it uphill with a bit less gas. Acceleration and hills are good! Use gravity to your advantage by coasting to gain speed or by accelerating slowly. Don't accelerate going up. That's a major gas waster.
MPG Meter - real time MPG bar is a game. Try and keep it between 40 and 60 as often as possible. I find at 65-70MPH my Kizashi reads just below 40. At 50-55 it reads over 40, close to 45/50 (hard to tell without ticks). Do your best to keep it there.
Know your road - Example 1: About 10 miles from work I have two ways to get to work. I can choose to go through 8 stop lights and the city traffic. Or I can take 'the back way' which is 1 stop sign and 3 stop lights. The odds are you're going to stop less on the back way. Also, the back way comes with an off ramp I can coast up from 70MPH to about 35 before I apply the brakes at the stop sign. Along with a 2 mile downhill run. I accelerate to about 25 MPH and let her coast. By the time I hit the bottom I can reach over 50 MPH in a 40MPH zone. Speeding is illegal so I do need to use a bit of brake. But, I never need to use gas to go faster Example 2: And use your knowledge to your advantage. 55MPH provides higher MPG than 70MPH. If you have the choice and the time and want the best MPG the 55 route is almost always your better option.
*** Most of all be safe and have fun. Don't do illegal things like running stop signs. Sure better MPG but your life and your $$ isn't worth it. Don't draft - driving too close increases the chance you'll rearend someone and well there goes the Kizashi off to the junk yard. ***
Playing with efficent driving is learning. You'll incorporate it into your style giving you and your Kizashi good mileage.
Starts - make them slow and steady. I find 1500-2000 is adequate, gives good mileage, and I keep up with traffic leaving a stop sign/stop light.
Stops - make them slow and long. Coasting means minimal gas usage. Use it to your advantage.
Cruise - Don't just set it but use it! Setting it is superior to using your foot. The car does a fine job. But use the + and - changes to your advantage. Driving with my thumb gives me good MPG.
Hills - It's okay to decelerate a bit. Back off that cruise a tiny bit and let it drop down in speed. This means you make it uphill with a bit less gas. Acceleration and hills are good! Use gravity to your advantage by coasting to gain speed or by accelerating slowly. Don't accelerate going up. That's a major gas waster.
MPG Meter - real time MPG bar is a game. Try and keep it between 40 and 60 as often as possible. I find at 65-70MPH my Kizashi reads just below 40. At 50-55 it reads over 40, close to 45/50 (hard to tell without ticks). Do your best to keep it there.
Know your road - Example 1: About 10 miles from work I have two ways to get to work. I can choose to go through 8 stop lights and the city traffic. Or I can take 'the back way' which is 1 stop sign and 3 stop lights. The odds are you're going to stop less on the back way. Also, the back way comes with an off ramp I can coast up from 70MPH to about 35 before I apply the brakes at the stop sign. Along with a 2 mile downhill run. I accelerate to about 25 MPH and let her coast. By the time I hit the bottom I can reach over 50 MPH in a 40MPH zone. Speeding is illegal so I do need to use a bit of brake. But, I never need to use gas to go faster Example 2: And use your knowledge to your advantage. 55MPH provides higher MPG than 70MPH. If you have the choice and the time and want the best MPG the 55 route is almost always your better option.
*** Most of all be safe and have fun. Don't do illegal things like running stop signs. Sure better MPG but your life and your $$ isn't worth it. Don't draft - driving too close increases the chance you'll rearend someone and well there goes the Kizashi off to the junk yard. ***
Playing with efficent driving is learning. You'll incorporate it into your style giving you and your Kizashi good mileage.
at 55MPH it reads over 40MPG? Is that when it's coasting or? I have noticed no matter at what speed, any throttle press tends to drop my instant MPG read to less than 20, making me think there is something wrong with the car. I start off slow from stop like a grandma, but the instant readout is less always than 10... even at normal city speed without stop... as long as i press the pedal just a tiny bit...
2011 Kizash SLS AWD
This is my fourth day with the car and I can really say that the cruise control is your best friend in this car. It is pretty hard to get you instant read out mpgs above 30 with your foot at any speed. Going 30 to 45 mph in this car with the cruise should really impact your avgs greatly. use it to accelerate as well by just lightly tapping it.
I see a huge difference when cruise is on than when it isnt.
I see a huge difference when cruise is on than when it isnt.
2011 6spd. Kizashi Sport SLS. Azure Gray Metallic.
Two posts in a row! I must be the only freak on the forums today.
I forgot to take pics as promised but I refilled the tank and am starting from scratch on the test run for econo tank.
I wanted to report these interesting findings
First, my avg mpg readout on the car may be wrong but in a good way. I did my hand calculations and saw thaT MY AVG WAS ACTUALLY BETTER THAN MY DISPLAY shows.
Here is my math, you tell me if you think and thing is wrong with the picture.
Trip computer at 125.7 miles
Quarter of a tank used... So 16.6/4= 4.15 gallons in a quarter tank.
125.7 divided by 4.15 = 30.2
So 30.2 mpg over about 60% highway 40% hills and city. My display shows 27.5 as my avg.
I just put in 4.15 gallons, reset the computer and will go again
I forgot to take pics as promised but I refilled the tank and am starting from scratch on the test run for econo tank.
I wanted to report these interesting findings
First, my avg mpg readout on the car may be wrong but in a good way. I did my hand calculations and saw thaT MY AVG WAS ACTUALLY BETTER THAN MY DISPLAY shows.
Here is my math, you tell me if you think and thing is wrong with the picture.
Trip computer at 125.7 miles
Quarter of a tank used... So 16.6/4= 4.15 gallons in a quarter tank.
125.7 divided by 4.15 = 30.2
So 30.2 mpg over about 60% highway 40% hills and city. My display shows 27.5 as my avg.
I just put in 4.15 gallons, reset the computer and will go again
2011 6spd. Kizashi Sport SLS. Azure Gray Metallic.
Yup 1/4 gone on the gauge = 4.15 gallons. 125.7 miles driven Divided by 4.15 gallons equals 30.2 miles driven per gallon. Every car I have ever driven in the avg mpg has been optomistic by 1-3 gallons. Accordingto my math the kizashi is lower than my hand calculated number. Which brings me to my next question for the forum. If we kniw that the instant readouts are wrong and the avg mpg calculations are wrong on the cars, how or why are we thinking that the trip odometers are correct?
2011 6spd. Kizashi Sport SLS. Azure Gray Metallic.
The fuel gauge, like most all these days, is not linear. 1/4 tank gone on the gauge may not equal 1/4 of the tank capacity being used. Most cars today have a very small speedometer error, so i tend to take the leap of faith that the trip odo's are correct. There is a lot less involved in tracking miles driven Vs calculating the avg MPG(i am talking about the cars computer, not when we manually calculate MPG per tank.
I agree that the cruise can be a useful tool. When i am driving for MPG, i use a slightly different method. If i am cruising at 55, when i encounter a hill, i lock my foot on the throttle and do not move it. The car will lose speed. As long as the car does not drop below 45, i do not feed it more throttle. If you watch the instant MPG readout, you will see how effective this can be Vs trying to maintain the cruising speed. The method of tapping down the cruise on hills is a variation of this, but i prefer to lock my foot in place and control it manually. I have tried thsi plus other things on my 36 mile one way commute to work, which is about 80% highway, with some stop and go congestion at the end. I have seen 40+ on the display.
MNSLS has some solid methods listed above. They work.
As to the practice of "drafting", DON'T. It is not effective, and is dangerous as hell. One of the more satusfying methods is predictive driving. Time the red light up the road properly, and the douchenozzle that just blew by you in the left lane doing 15 over will be at a dead stop as you slide right on past him because you timed the light to turn green right before your arrival. It's fun to watch them get all fired up and go flying past again, only to have the same thing happen a mile up the road. I have had drivers like that end up behind me after passing me 3 or 4 times...LOL
Lots of great info free for the taking at www.cleanmpg.com
I agree that the cruise can be a useful tool. When i am driving for MPG, i use a slightly different method. If i am cruising at 55, when i encounter a hill, i lock my foot on the throttle and do not move it. The car will lose speed. As long as the car does not drop below 45, i do not feed it more throttle. If you watch the instant MPG readout, you will see how effective this can be Vs trying to maintain the cruising speed. The method of tapping down the cruise on hills is a variation of this, but i prefer to lock my foot in place and control it manually. I have tried thsi plus other things on my 36 mile one way commute to work, which is about 80% highway, with some stop and go congestion at the end. I have seen 40+ on the display.
MNSLS has some solid methods listed above. They work.
As to the practice of "drafting", DON'T. It is not effective, and is dangerous as hell. One of the more satusfying methods is predictive driving. Time the red light up the road properly, and the douchenozzle that just blew by you in the left lane doing 15 over will be at a dead stop as you slide right on past him because you timed the light to turn green right before your arrival. It's fun to watch them get all fired up and go flying past again, only to have the same thing happen a mile up the road. I have had drivers like that end up behind me after passing me 3 or 4 times...LOL
Lots of great info free for the taking at www.cleanmpg.com
2010 Kizashi S AWD
2009 Suzuki SX-4 Touring AWD
2008 Smart fortwo Passion Coupe
2007 Dodge Caliber R/T AWD
2009 Suzuki SX-4 Touring AWD
2008 Smart fortwo Passion Coupe
2007 Dodge Caliber R/T AWD