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Thread: My 50 MPG story

  1. #71
    Still Plays With Cars Loren's Avatar
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    Reading through this thread last week inspired me to challenge myself a little more, and do things differently in my hypermiling efforts.

    I used to be able to get 50+ out of my Yaris pretty easily using nothing more than EXTENSIVE DFCO pulse & glide with very light throttle accleration. But, for acceleration, I would shift "wherever". Sure, I'd try to get into top gears as quickly as possible, but I might shift at 2500-3000 or more depending on traffic conditions. (I don't like to be that guy who's slowing down the world)

    In the Versa with the CVT, I could get 47-48 pretty easily just driving with a light foot and reading the road ahead to coast as much as possible. To get over 50 required that I pulse & glide using neutral coasts and very light acceleration.

    What I've found with the Mirage is that it does NOT respond to DFCO coasts when doing pulse & glide anywhere near as well as the Yaris did. I'm not sure why. But, the Mirage does way better doing neutral coasts. (use DFCO when you actually intend to decelerate, of course)

    And what this thread made me try was shifting earlier. And it's hard! I'm trying to shift out of first gear at 2k... and normally I've barely even got the clutch out at 2k on my way to 3500 (if not 5000). If you miss that initial shift out of 1st... if you shift at 3k... then you're ALREADY above 2500 when you get into 2nd. And that's why I could never pull it off. You have to be on it from the start. You immediately shift out of first. And then you don't so much "accelerate", as you just "let the torque pull you along" because you're so low in the revs that giving it a lot of throttle doesn't do much other than make the car feel boggy, and waste gas. With that, you can change your rythm, and quite comfortably shift through the gears at 2000 rpm. And you end up at about 40 mph.

    And that's great if your target is 40-45 mph, AND there's not a lot of traffic piling up behind you!

    As luck would have it, I've had several short trips lately (3-5 miles or so) that didn't require speeds over 45, and I lucked into either no traffic, or lazy traffic. I was able to do those 2000-2500 rpm shifts, do a lot of DFCO coast-downs, and neutral coast for long distances when possible... and even with my fat-ass 195 width sticky performance tires, I was hitting 53-54 mpg! I've done it 3-4 times this week.

    I was pissed driving out to Brooksville for an autocross last week. The first 1/3 of my trip is back roads where I can drive 45-50, lots of neutral-coasting, etc... and it was early in the morning, so no traffic. I was at 49.6 mpg and climing and I was feeling pretty good about it. The remaining 2/3 of my drive is on a highway that has me driving 60-65 mph. And I didn't have time to drive slower, even if traffic allowed. My 49 dropped to 44. But, of course, everyone at an autocross rolls their eyes when you complain about getting over 40 mpg in your autocross car!

    Bottom line: The Mirage is tuned to get max fuel economy by keeping the revs (and the throttle input) extremely low. Much lower than you'd think would be appropriate for a 3-cylinder engine. And this is why the CVT tends to be "easier" to get high MPG out of. By default, a light throttle keeps the revs super low, and they stay there.

    By the same token, it is designed to give you all of the acceleration that it can muster out of 1.2 liters when you ask it to. So, "moderate" acceleration kills a lot of the MPG... and gets you back to where the EPA ratings are. Which is fine for most people.


    Simplify and add lightness.

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  3. #72
    Still Plays With Cars Loren's Avatar
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    ^^^ Oh, and I made those 53-54 mpg runs with the AC off. I almost never drive with the AC off. But, for these trips, my destination was outdoors, or I was already hot and just didn't care. I'm sure that made a difference, as well.
    Simplify and add lightness.

  4. #73
    Senior Member DonkeyPal's Avatar
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    I think one of the first things people new to this idea of getting better mileage by improving driving habits should understand is that the harder you tromp down on the brakes the more gas you are wasting.

    The idea of preparing to stop or slow for a turn a couple of hundred yards (or more) before that point, instead of in the last 30 yards, is a big transition for some people to make.

    Letting go of fast acceleration can be hard, too, for some people. I suggest that, instead of thinking about going from 'zero to sixty in six seconds," they should think about going from 'zero to fifty in five minutes." It is an entirely different frame of mind.


        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2015 Mirage DE 1.2 automatic: 43.0 mpg (US) ... 18.3 km/L ... 5.5 L/100 km ... 51.7 mpg (Imp)


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