[47_MasoN_47]

After putting the first tank of gas through my Yaris and filling it up, I calculated the mileage and came up with 31.53MPG. Obviously you guys were right about not trying to calc it based on the gas meter the car has (I estimated 40 based on that) but 31.5MPG is definitely an improvement over the 12 I was getting with my Ranger. Do you guys think it will improve after the engine breaks in? The Toyota guys said they generally have a 1000-1500 mile break-in period. Right now I have 556 on it, which is a right nifty number.

 

[theqbn]

Wow, you've put 556 miles on it already? How long is your commute? I put 25,000 on my Aveo in the last year.

My car definitely got better mileage after breaking in but I also started driving it better... however my research says that you do as a general rule get better mileage after break-in.

I used to be into hyper-miling when I was frequently driving between Illinois and Ohio before I got married - highest pump-calculated mileage I ever got was about 42. There are a lot of other benefits to hyper-miling though... with 71,600 on the odo now my front brakes are only 50% worn (20% in the back) - and those are the OEM brakes! Of course I don't really hyper-mile anymore since I just want to get home after work, but some of the principals stick with you and make you a better driver.

When my car wears out down the road I just might be looking for a used Yaris if yours holds up well! When I was buying my car (Jan 07) they didn't have the Yaris here yet.</ramble>

 

[Branth]

How do you hypermile? I've got some of the basics down, such as accelerating slowly, coasting to a stop, etc, and I have a manual transmisison, so I can pop it into neutral and coast, but I'd kinda like to know how I can improve efficiency even more...

I think this would be the topic to have that discussion in, after all.

 

[47_MasoN_47]

I generally try not to let the RPMs get above 2100 unless there's one of those occasions where you have to to merge into traffic. Even "slow" acceleration is about the same as really juicing it in my old Ranger though.

For me, work is only about 5 miles away, and college is about 6 so I don't have a long way to go each day. I do do a fair bit of heavy driving on the weekends though. I generally put about 150 miles per weekend in.

 

[whiskeytangofoxtrot]

I guess I do the hypermile thing and not know it. I take it out of gear on all hills, stay in 5th gear as much as possible and keep RPMs below 1800. My 94 mazda 626 gets 29 city and 38 hwy. It still takes 100 mi to drain the gas out of the tube to the gas tank. not bad for a 15 yr old car.

 

[theqbn]

How do you hypermile? I've got some of the basics down, such as accelerating slowly, coasting to a stop, etc, and I have a manual transmisison, so I can pop it into neutral and coast, but I'd kinda like to know how I can improve efficiency even more...

There are some sites about it, which I can't recommend since I never got involved with them, but I can tell you you'll learn some cool stuff, be scared of some of the things you'll read, and also hear a lot of ecohippy stuff that you may or may not care for. The extent of my hypermiling knowledge is basically:
* Keep the revs low - under 2K if possible
* Skip gears if you can, although this can be hard depending on your car and if you are keeping revs low (eg shift 1st, 3rd, 5th)
* Use cruise control
* Don't use cruise control (what?)
- Basically, cruise control is "dumb" and will accelerate on uphill grades and waste inertia on downhills - if you have a steady foot, keeping constant throttle and allowing the car to slow/speed with the terrain (within reason) is the most efficient
* Shut the engine off whenever possible, such as: at lights, in the drive-thru, and any other time your car will be stopped for more than 10-20 seconds
* If you're brave (or stupid, depending on your POV), shut the car off when coasting to a stop - definitely NOT recommended for automatic transmissions
* If you're REALLY brave (or REALLY stupid, depending on your POV), snuggle up behind trucks on the highway to draft them
* If you have thick skin, go at or under the speed limit (but only when people behind you have the option to pass - don't be a d*ck)
* Common sense things: avoid rush hour, take alternate routes that avoid stop signs and lights
* Don't slow down more than you need to for turns... this is also a pet peeve of mine, people who slow down to 5 mph to make a normal turn are annoying

 

[citori59]

I'm not trying to be a smart a** but my daughter's 2000 Hyundai Accent gets almost 35 mpg and she only paid a grand for it.

 

[47_MasoN_47]

I don't ever want another used car though lol. I'm sticking with new from now on out.

 

[Maaso]

31.53MPG.

Are you serious? While that is roughly double what my ZR2 gets....it's just over what my Camaro got. I had all kinds of motor, meanest cam I could fit in the block, and stupid 4:56 gears. All backed by a Borg T-56. And got about 280-285 miles from the 10 gallon fuel cell. That puts my math right at 28mpg. And I ran 11s all day and night...then cruised home with the AC on.

I'm not impressed by your little import. But compared to your haunted Ranger. It is a very nice upgrade.

 

[leadslinger]

Are you serious? While that is roughly double what my ZR2 gets....it's just over what my Camaro got. I had all kinds of motor, meanest cam I could fit in the block, and stupid 4:56 gears. All backed by a Borg T-56. And got about 280-285 miles from the 10 gallon fuel cell. That puts my math right at 28mpg. And I ran 11s all day and night...then cruised home with the AC on.

I'm not impressed by your little import. But compared to your haunted Ranger. It is a very nice upgrade.

Strange, mine had a 15 gallon tank and with similar mods, save for the ridiculously high rear-end I got 17 if I watched the pedal and shifted early.

 

[HiPoint45]

* If you're brave (or stupid, depending on your POV), shut the car off when coasting to a stop - definitely NOT recommended for automatic transmissions
* If you're REALLY brave (or REALLY stupid, depending on your POV), snuggle up behind trucks on the highway to draft them

This is what infuriates me about hypermilers, the disregard for traffic safety, some of the things are ok but these 2 in particular p**s me off. Coasting to a stop..fine if you use the accompanying hand signal of your intentions..those brake lights are to let the guy behind you know what you're doing ..so if you're coasting window down and hand signal. Why? Because I or whoever is behind you and rear ends you because they didn't realize you're hyper miling is the one who gets cited for following too close.

The second is beyond stupid..draft a semi ...ok thats real safe you can't see anything and if something happens and he locks em up they'll be scraping you off the DOT bumper..oh and of course the evil trucker will get the blame cause its always their fault.

 

[47_MasoN_47]

31.53MPG.

Are you serious? While that is roughly double what my ZR2 gets....it's just over what my Camaro got. I had all kinds of motor, meanest cam I could fit in the block, and stupid 4:56 gears. All backed by a Borg T-56. And got about 280-285 miles from the 10 gallon fuel cell. That puts my math right at 28mpg. And I ran 11s all day and night...then cruised home with the AC on.

I'm not impressed by your little import. But compared to your haunted Ranger. It is a very nice upgrade.

Not saying you're a liar or anything, but I know several people who own Cameros and I haven't heard of any of them getting over 20. EDIT: I should mention that this is with the vast majority of miles in a city environment similar to my area, if not in my area.

http://www.fueleconomy.gov/FEG/bestworst.shtml

ALSO EDIT: The following isn't directed directly at Maaso BTW, just info for the general reading population
If you notice, I only see 2 domestics in the list for the best mileage. All the rest are foreign. As much as I'd rather buy American, our engineering sucks compared to the Japanese. I mean I freaking work for an engineering firm, so I see American engineering from all over the country all the time. It freaking sucks compared to the Japanese. Those people are machines. The working conditions they have and hours they work wouldn't ever happen in the states, because for the most part we're a bunch of freaking pansies. We did a job for some Japanese one time (they contracted us to do some work here in the States for them). The stuff they wanted us to do was crazy, I mean those people are hardcore about their engineering. They don't play around.

 

[HiPoint45]

ALSO EDIT: The following isn't directed directly at Maaso BTW, just info for the general reading population
If you notice, I only see 2 domestics in the list for the best mileage. All the rest are foreign. As much as I'd rather buy American, our engineering sucks compared to the Japanese. I mean I freaking work for an engineering firm, so I see American engineering from all over the country all the time. It freaking sucks compared to the Japanese. Those people are machines. The working conditions they have and hours they work wouldn't ever happen in the states, because for the most part we're a bunch of freaking pansies. We did a job for some Japanese one time (they contracted us to do some work here in the States for them). The stuff they wanted us to do was crazy, I mean those people are hardcore about their engineering. They don't play around.

Yeah but I don't see anything on that list at all that is what I need for living in the rural mountains..looking at the pics..hell I don't even see any real cars.

 

[Mike_AZ]

http://www.fueleconomy.gov/FEG/bestworst.shtml

ALSO EDIT: The following isn't directed directly at Maaso BTW, just info for the general reading population
If you notice, I only see 2 domestics in the list for the best mileage. All the rest are foreign. As much as I'd rather buy American, our engineering sucks compared to the Japanese. I mean I freaking work for an engineering firm, so I see American engineering from all over the country all the time. It freaking sucks compared to the Japanese. Those people are machines. The working conditions they have and hours they work wouldn't ever happen in the states, because for the most part we're a bunch of freaking pansies. We did a job for some Japanese one time (they contracted us to do some work here in the States for them). The stuff they wanted us to do was crazy, I mean those people are hardcore about their engineering. They don't play around.

There are more non-Japanese cars on that list than there are Japanese. The Germans seem to be doing just about as well without having to kill their engineers. Out of the 18 cars on the list they break down like this. Up until this year you could have made an argument for Saab being American since they were owned by GM.

6 Japanese
5 German
2 Korean
2 British
2 American
1 Sweedish

 

[47_MasoN_47]

There are more non-Japanese cars on that list than there are Japanese. The Germans seem to be doing just about as well without having to kill their engineers. Out of the 18 cars on the list they break down like this. Up until this year you could have made an argument for Saab being American since they were owned by GM.

6 Japanese
5 German
2 Korean
2 British
2 American
1 Sweedish

Well not to be an anus, but there is only 1 Japan and plenty of other countries... so it makes sense that there are more vehicles from other countries, since there are a lot more countries than just Japan, but the fact that they have the most says something. I've never worked with any German engineers and don't know any so I can't say much from personal experience.

@Hipoint45: What exactly is a real car then? I mean if you live out in the country you will need a truck or something, but I don't see what makes a Yaris not a "real car." It has plenty of trunk space, it's nice and roomy inside (me and 4 guys from work take it to lunch every day and they all say that there is plenty of room). I wouldn't think a Smart would be a good choice to take for the family vacation vehicle, but I'm pretty sure this Yaris would do just fine.

 

[Mike_AZ]

Well, those hours and working conditions you mentioned that wouldn't fly in the states, definitely wouldn't fly in the EU where their labor laws are even more strict. So it would seem that the Japanese have to work insanely hard just to get the same kind of results. How do you think the Japanese engineers would do if restricted to a 40 hour work week? The phrase that comes to mind is work smarter, not harder.

 

[47_MasoN_47]

Ah I see your point now. I don't think that they'd be too badly effected though. They'd figure out some way to optimise and move on. I don't care for working for them at all, and most of the ones I've met are hardcore douches, but hey, they make a good product and have a work ethic like I've never seen before, so they have my admiration and respect for that.

 

[theqbn]

This is what infuriates me about hypermilers, the disregard for traffic safety, some of the things are ok but these 2 in particular p**s me off. Coasting to a stop..fine if you use the accompanying hand signal of your intentions..those brake lights are to let the guy behind you know what you're doing ..so if you're coasting window down and hand signal. Why? Because I or whoever is behind you and rear ends you because they didn't realize you're hyper miling is the one who gets cited for following too close.

The second is beyond stupid..draft a semi ...ok thats real safe you can't see anything and if something happens and he locks em up they'll be scraping you off the DOT bumper..oh and of course the evil trucker will get the blame cause its always their fault.

As far as drafting, no argument from me. It's dangerous, and I avoid it.

On coasting though, YES, it is good to press the brake pedal far enough to light up the back, but it's not my fault if the idiot behind me can't watch his following distance. We're not talking about stop-and-go traffic here. I'm just saying, the guy in front of you going slowly is not an excuse for not paying attention... and we are talking about coasting, not abrupt stops.

 

[HiPoint45]

On coasting though, YES, it is good to press the brake pedal far enough to light up the back, but it's not my fault if the idiot behind me can't watch his following distance. We're not talking about stop-and-go traffic here. I'm just saying, the guy in front of you going slowly is not an excuse for not paying attention... and we are talking about coasting, not abrupt stops.

How can I the idiot behind you watch my following distance when I have no visual clue as to what you are doing?

 

[panoz77]

Wow, that's it? My 1998 Ford Escort gets about 31-32. You'd think they could squeeze a little better mileage in 10 years out of these sub-compacts. :cantlook: