Hypermiling fun: 724 miles to E

[treeofliberty]

I've been bored with my 38-mile (one-way) commute and have been entertaining myself with attempts to boost my long term mileage. At the start of this little game, my long term mileage, which hasn't been reset in thosands of miles, was right at 40.0. After 2 tanks, it is up to 42.3. The bulk of this mileage comes from my daily commute on the Phoenix freeways. After the first tank, I was rewarded with my best range ever, 724 miles:

 

 

Just after the second tank, coming back from a photo outing, I was able to display a perfect 20-minute window of maxed out mileage graphs:

 

 

None of this means much in the grand scheme of things. It was just fun to pull off.

[Blue Oval]

Nice! Good for you. Question: How many miles does the odometer on your FFH show now?

 

Mine just turned 1,100 and the best I'm averaging is 35-36 MPG. When can I expect to start seeing 40-41 MPG?

[rfruth]

I filled all the way up for the 1st time in a while the other day and my miles to E was 665 (or so) - MPG computer reading was 42.x - shouldn't my miles to E have been over 700 or do I need to fill all the way up several times in a row for an accurate miles to E (is it gallons in tank (per the gas gauge) x MPG (per computer) = miles to E) ?

[spacenomyous]

Just after the second tank, coming back from a photo outing, I was able to display a perfect 20-minute window of maxed out mileage graphs:

 

Massive props! I've maxed out my 10 minute guage and am working on the 20, but my commute is literally too short! My furthest commute is less than 10 miles, but with DC traffic I can definately get the average MPG up, mines sitting at 36.1 right now, up from 28 six months ago when we were living in Delaware.

[VonoreTn]

Mine jumped up from the 37 mpg range to the lower 40's after I took it in to the dealer for a free "brake feel" adjustment that I got a notice about in the mail. Not sure what they did. Also it turned warmer here in Tennessee about the same time, that might have been the reason.

[jerrieric]

I am averaging 42.7 long term for last 2k. I went on a 35 mile trip the other day and at the end the display for the trip said I was getting 51.1, interesting. I only have 3100 miles on it and am still getting a kick out of trying to get the most mileage possible. I am 61 so getting there fast is not my concern any longer.

[treeofliberty]

Nice! Good for you. Question: How many miles does the odometer on your FFH show now?

 

Mine just turned 1,100 and the best I'm averaging is 35-36 MPG. When can I expect to start seeing 40-41 MPG?

 

I have a little over 15,000 miles at the moment. My commute is very flat. Under ideal circumstances (morning traffic and temps in the 60-80 range), while drafting trucks and maintaining an average speed in the 65mph range, I can pull mileage numbers between 48-50 MPG. However, this drops off considerably if any hills are involved, or I jump up over 70mph, or "push my own air" instead of drafting. On long trips, where the speed limit is 75 and I drive 80, my mileage drops down to the 35-38 range. On a hot summer commute home, with temps above 110, I will also pull mileage numbers in the upper 30's.

 

The old addage "your mileage may vary" really does apply here. Still, I suspect your computer is still learning. Keep an eye on your tire pressure. I got lazy and found my pressure had dropped to around 28psi and bumped it back up to 38. This made a noticeable (few MPG) improvement.

[treeofliberty]

I filled all the way up for the 1st time in a while the other day and my miles to E was 665 (or so) - MPG computer reading was 42.x - shouldn't my miles to E have been over 700 or do I need to fill all the way up several times in a row for an accurate miles to E (is it gallons in tank (per the gas gauge) x MPG (per computer) = miles to E) ?

 

I think my recent mileage, right before the fillup, made some sort of impact here. Subsequent fillups have not registered the same 700+ mile range. My hypermiling games that I played during the previous tank (45-50MPG) appears to have made the computer more optimistic when projecting from the full tank.

[engratsea]

I thought I would try to replicate your feat; I usually keep the history at 10mins, but was able to pull a 20min +60 as well. The Distance to Empty seem to change with each fill up; last fill up I was at 746miles.

Thanks for the post; that was fun today.

[treeofliberty]

I thought I would try to replicate your feat; I usually keep the history at 10mins, but was able to pull a 20min +60 as well. The Distance to Empty seem to change with each fill up; last fill up I was at 746miles.

Thanks for the post; that was fun today.

 

My wife thinks I am uber geek when I pull this stuff. "What is it with men and numbers?" I don't have a good answer. It's just cool.

 

Congrats on 746 miles to E. Now you have me wondering what the "record" is. There is something liberating about having this kind of range.

[fsb99]

My wife thinks I am uber geek when I pull this stuff. "What is it with men and numbers?" I don't have a good answer. It's just cool.

 

Congrats on 746 miles to E. Now you have me wondering what the "record" is. There is something liberating about having this kind of range.

 

This is probably the record:

 

http://jalopnik.com/5230870/nascar-star-drives-ford-fusion-hybrid-slowly-gets-14457-miles-on-single-gas-tank

[treeofliberty]

This is probably the record:

 

http://jalopnik.com/5230870/nascar-star-drives-ford-fusion-hybrid-slowly-gets-14457-miles-on-single-gas-tank

 

I'm aware of that cool feat. I was wondering what was the largest "miles to E" readout was, upon filling the tank. It would be interesting to see what the computer came up with after that record-setting stunt.

[Blue Oval]

Treeofliberty, thanks for answering my question. I suppose I'll just have to wait until I have more miles on the car before I see higher numbers.

 

In the meantime, 35-36 MPG is still far better than the 15 MPG I used to average on my 2007 Suburban (with a 31 gallon fuel tank) which the Fusion Hybrid wisely replaced.

[rlawson4]

I just filled 15.332 gallons on 644 miles driven. (42 mpg) I would have gone more but the car was reading 9 miles to empty. I could not force anymore into the tank when I filled up. Any thoughts on why I only could fill 15.332 gallons of gas when the reading was 9 miles to empty? I thought we had a 17.5 gallon tank.

[dogo88]

I just filled 15.332 gallons on 644 miles driven. (42 mpg) I would have gone more but the car was reading 9 miles to empty. I could not force anymore into the tank when I filled up. Any thoughts on why I only could fill 15.332 gallons of gas when the reading was 9 miles to empty? I thought we had a 17.5 gallon tank.

 

You do. The meter just reads less so you really don't run out when it shows it's on E. Combination safety factor and the fact that meters and actual measurements can be off.

 

Dan

[treeofliberty]

I just filled 15.332 gallons on 644 miles driven. (42 mpg) I would have gone more but the car was reading 9 miles to empty. I could not force anymore into the tank when I filled up. Any thoughts on why I only could fill 15.332 gallons of gas when the reading was 9 miles to empty? I thought we had a 17.5 gallon tank.

 

There has also been lots of discussion in other threads about the fuel pump being located in the bottom of the tank, using the gas as coolant. Running the tank dry could be bad for the pump over the long haul, hence the skewed computer numbers.

 

Like you cite, I've always chickened out before reaching "0 miles to E". One of these days I going to do it, just to see what the fuel guage looks like.

[engratsea]

I pulled it all the way down until 1 mile to empty and had similar results; about 1.5 gals in reserve beyond the computer zero. Nice to know if you are in a pinch to find a gas station on a trip.

[tonifan]

Regarding "bumping up" your tire pressure to 38 psi. The manufacturer's recommended tire pressure all around is 33 psi on the Ford Fusion Hybrid, I believe. If you bump up your tire pressure over that and you're on a wet surface (been a little rainy here in the California lately), less than the correct amount of tire surface is reaching the roadway surface, so you'll really be endangering yourself. When on a wet surface, of course we all want the maximum amount of tire surface reaching the highway. With bumped up tire pressure, less than the correct amount of traction is achieved, thus potentially hydro-planing yourself into a dangerous situation if you have to slow down suddenly and need good traction on a wet surface. Correct tire pressure with good gas mileage is better than incorrect tire pressure and above-average-for-a-hybrid gas mileage. Please don't put yourself in danger of slipping and sliding off the roadway in wet, rainy conditions just for better gas mileage. Don't mean to sound like a nag, but it's the truth. Just ask Pat Goss... that's actually his advice I saw on Motorweek a few weeks ago, and it made a lot of sense.

[lolder]

Regarding "bumping up" your tire pressure to 38 psi. The manufacturer's recommended tire pressure all around is 33 psi on the Ford Fusion Hybrid, I believe. If you bump up your tire pressure over that and you're on a wet surface (been a little rainy here in the California lately), less than the correct amount of tire surface is reaching the roadway surface, so you'll really be endangering yourself. When on a wet surface, of course we all want the maximum amount of tire surface reaching the highway. With bumped up tire pressure, less than the correct amount of traction is achieved, thus potentially hydro-planing yourself into a dangerous situation if you have to slow down suddenly and need good traction on a wet surface. Correct tire pressure with good gas mileage is better than incorrect tire pressure and above-average-for-a-hybrid gas mileage. Please don't put yourself in danger of slipping and sliding off the roadway in wet, rainy conditions just for better gas mileage. Don't mean to sound like a nag, but it's the truth. Just ask Pat Goss... that's actually his advice I saw on Motorweek a few weeks ago, and it made a lot of sense.

As far as hydroplaning is concerned, raising the tire pressure increases the minimum speed at which hydroplaning occurs. The relationship is S(mph)= 10X √P(psi). For instance the minimum speed for hydroplaning with 36 psi is 60 mph. Actually, braking distance INCREASES for wet and dry roads with decreased tire pressure. See this: http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/rules/rulings/tirepressure/LTPW3.html. The effect is usually not large.

[rfruth]

I like Motorweek & Goss' garage, about all he can say when it comes to tire pressure is RTFM ...

[mxmastro]

My long term average is 40.1 MPG over 21,302 miles during the 7.5 - 8 months that I have been driving this car. During the Fall I was getting 41.1 MPG overall, Winter I was getting 39.0 MPG, and so far this spring I am averaging around 45.4 MPG.

[Grey]

54.4 MPG after 110 miles. That would give you 925 miles on a 17 gallon tank.

 

Posted Pic in gallery. 70 degrees so no A/C - 45 MPH speed limit for most of the way. Speed control set for 45.

Edited April 24, 2010 by Grey

[Zacher]

WIth the nice spring weather here in Saskatchewan, my car mileage has increased significantly, from approx 10L/100km in the winter to 7.2L/100Km and still dropping. Majority of it is city driving, I love seeing 860KM to E on a full tank. I hope I can hit the 1000 mark in summer :D

[MarcD]

WIth the nice spring weather here in Saskatchewan, my car mileage has increased significantly, from approx 10L/100km in the winter to 7.2L/100Km and still dropping. Majority of it is city driving, I love seeing 860KM to E on a full tank. I hope I can hit the 1000 mark in summer :D

Unfortunately you won't (there's only 3 digits to display....lol). However I've experienced a few 999 Km to E only to realize that once I started to drive (over 200 Km the last fill up) it still read 999 to E. The first time that happened to me, I thought something was wrong but then figured out it's just going to be well over 1100 Km to E for the full tank of gas. But I agree, seeing those high numbers to E is simply amazing.

[hamlet2b]

Nice! Good for you. Question: How many miles does the odometer on your FFH show now?

 

Mine just turned 1,100 and the best I'm averaging is 35-36 MPG. When can I expect to start seeing 40-41 MPG?

 

Hi,

 

Could it be driving conditions or the way you are driving? I just started driving my new FFH and my trips have been anywhere from 4 - 6.5 L per 100K, or 58 - 36 mpg. I am averaging 5 - 5.5 (47 to 40 mpg). They warned me that it would take a while for me to start getting the best mileage. But my car only had 14 kilometres on it when I started driving it. My mileage over hilly and mountainous terrain this weekend was 5.6. But, it is mild, not hot, so I am not using a lot of AC. All I am doing is paying attention to my accelerations and decelerations and sticking to speed limits. I am really thrilled with the mileage I am getting. Presently have about 350 k on the car.

 

Ron