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Originally Posted by MetroMPG
i'm really impressed by the consistency and "height" of your mpg too. nice job! it almost makes me wish i had to commute, so i'd have more time behind the wheel to fine tune my driving.
maybe you could illuminate some of the specifics of your commute? you've indicated the car sees little stop & go driving in a tank of gas - is it pretty much a dedicated commuter?
- what % of your tank is non-"city" driving?
- what kind of speeds do you see in your commute?
- do you use strategic drafting?
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Let me answer your specific questions first. Since it is a two seater, it is dedicated to commuting plus any errands I do on the weekend that don't require me to drag the family along with me. Typically I drive 50 miles per day during the week and 25-50 miles over the weekend.
I don't know how to define non-city driving. 25%, 6-7 miles each way is on I-79. But that particular stretch is very curvy/hilly and there is a truck speed limit of 45 MPH for half of it, the other half is 55. I average 50mph. Most cars go about 65-70 on that stretch so it's not that bad. The rest of the drive , 75%, has speed limits of 25-45 mph. I don't not use any form of drafting because that would require that other vehicles are around and that they are obeying the speed limit. That combination almost never exists and there is not much benefit to drafting at such low speeds anyway.
Starting from my home, the first 2.4 miles is residential, pretty flat 35 then 25 MPH with two stop signs and then a stop light that is always red but turns green quickly. Then turn onto main road, accel to 25 and kill the ICE. COast downhill for a mile or so then bump start at a stop sign. Turn right, up hill to another stop sign. then down hill then up hill then long downhill with ICE off, timing the light at bottom, bump start. Then killer uphill (about mid point my temp gauge reaches normal operating temp) then short cruise then 3 lights in a row. It is critical to time these properly. At this point I am at 6 miles.
Next turn on to a road alongside I-79, 45 MPH speed limit, hold steady throttle, max 55 at bottom, min 35 at tops, down, up, down, up , down, up, stop sign. Then 25MPH thru residential area then kill ICE for 1/2 mile steep downhill, bump start at bottom then steep uphill at 25 MPH, kill ICE at peak, then down long stretch about 1.5 miles,50 mph max, bump start, cruise at 35. Stop sign then right across I-79 to another road that runs along side it. Kill the ICE and coast for 1.5 miles, bump start, criuse 1/2 mile, Kill ICE, coast 1/2 mile then bump start and accelerate onto I-79 south at the ohio river bridge. Cruise at 45-55 up 6 mile incline, vacuum at 11-13 in hg. Exit rt 60 which is 35 MPH and 8 stop lights, exit rt 22/30 (55 MPH) kill the ICE, long 2 mile downhill, exit and come to stop light before bump start. One more stop light then uphill climb at 30MPH in 3rd gear, no stop right turn and cruise 1 mile into work parking lot. Whew! 25 miles.
I guess I really didnt realize how many lights there were but I time 95% of them successfully. The key while timing lights is to downshift and use engine braking instead if brakes. During engine braking, fuel is cut off.
The drive back is identical for the first 75% then I have 2 routes for the remaining 25%, depending on the color of one particular light as I approach it.
This route is exactly the same as when I drove the Prius. I optimized the technique on the Prius and it seems to work pretty well on the Del Sol. The supermid is on the way. Soon I will be able to optimize accel rates, which gear to use while climbing hills, verify that the fuel is really cut off during engine braking etc....
If the optimization goes well, and when the normal benefits of warmer weather take hold, I have my fingers crossed for 60MPG. I should also get 1 MPG from losing the winter blended fuel.
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