MPG suckathon
 

Ok so I got tired of the usual 27Mpg in the Camry 4cyl. So I

Added K/N airfilter
Reset computer
Aired up the tires to 42psi
Kept the cruise on and stayed below 68mph
Short 4min warm up this AM (28 degrees here)
Light acceleration

And TA DA

27MPG :mad:

Test drove a Prius today.....

Why'd you reset the computer? You may have lost stored information that contributed to better FE, :p

How was the prius?

Well you'll do better in the Prius, no doubt.

But maybe you actually did *better* after your changes than you would have otherwise.

FE drops with temperature (esp below 60's/70's). If you were getting 27 when it was warm, and now you're getting 27 when it's colder, I'd suggest you've actually made a decent improvement in efficiency.

If you're doing short trips in colder temps and your mileage is holding you're doing very well.

I was going to suggest that as well. Maybe his driveway exits onto the freeway though ;).

My 94 accord got 23-25 mpg. After being on here since may, I now average 35mpg. My tires were at 42psi last week, probably a bit lower now. I rarely go over 60, even on a 65mph freeway. I drive ~46 miles on my round trip commute every day. I drive into a fairly large city into rush hour stop and go traffic. Yea, I could do better, but this is without being too awfully annoying. I am sure you can get into the 30s, but you will have to work at it a bit. Hang out and read a bit here, these guys will teach you alot! The K&N wont buy you much unless your foot is really in it. Then your FE will suck. I too have a K&N style generic intake, and a huge fart-can style muffler. I like the louder sound, but thats just me.

Not a big fan of K&N unless it is for a race car...not a great filtering media-
I would look into an Amsoil EA Air Filter

Good stuff...maybe drop to just 65 or so

Fuel Injected ... warm up not a big deal...are you running synthetic oils?

Good Stuff

Got to let your computer relearn your new driving techniques

Probably running 34-36psi before...go to 46 or so

my old camry did the same thing.. it was a 93 auto 4 cylinder. always got 23 mpg, no matter what i did. aired up tires, air filter, weight reduction, etc

Too many variables at once...

I'd put the stock filter back on. I'm not sure if there was an advantage to resetting the ECU with all of the other items -- what SVO was suggesting.

Idling has proven to be a terrible way to warm up. Just drive slowly...

Colder weather hits FE pretty hard.

Give it a couple of tanks, and get a feedback device. The fill-up method may have been flawed.

I'd like to have the option of buying a Prius when things don't go well :p

RH77

As if you didn't have enough recommendations and suggestions. I will add that the slow acceleration could be hurting too. Its important in an automatic car to get the convertor locked up as quickly and cheaply as possible. Once locked you should work very hard to keep it locked. FE driving is very much a learned habit. You will see gradual improvement over time. Once learned its hard to forget.

rikkitikkitavi -

If most of your driving is highway, give the Honda Civic Hybrid a chance. The Prius excells in city MPG, but the Civic may be better for freeway driving.

I would do a few more tanks before getting a new car, but you (obviously) know your context better than me.

I guess I'm just saying you should stop to smell the flowers for a minute ;) :

Attachment 1037
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZXDRm9dmYM

PS - One thing my car friend told me is that the best new car deals are at the end of the year because the dealers/salespeople are trying to get rid of inventory. This *might* not be true of the Prius because it is in a special category, but it's worth taking into account from the POV of saving $$$.

CarloSW2

Don't idle to warm up and drive slower on the freeway. I have a six that can pull ~30mpg no problem. Should be able to do better w/ a four.

Probably the culprit:thumbup:

Or - if your disgusted with FE gains like I was, trade up to something else as you already are itching to do.... LOL. I had the itch for a new better FE car, then tried to suppress it with improving on what I had. In the end I couldnt get satisfied with 20smpg...so >> Recently went from 20mpg F150 to 40mpg Mazda3. You dont have to buy new to get better mileage, which will make it more financially appealing. I went from 04 40K miles to 06 18K miles for $4K. Carmax has some good deals it seems, and they didnt dork around with my trade in.

More details
 

80% of the driving was freeway 55-68mph.

270 in columbus during the "gotta get to owrk and I left 30 min late" moron meyhem fest everyday will get you dead at less than 65 and dirty looks at less than 80mph even if you are in the slow lane :rolleyes:

Oh and I also removed 100lbs of crap (tools computer equip) from the car.

Prius is awesome but I really crunched the numbers and even at 27mpg vs 55mpg the 16000 trade in diff is just not making sense, 4 years plus to breakeven. Plus my home is VERY rural and though we do not get alot of bad winter weather I seriously doubt I'd get closer than 3-4mi from home in snow with a prius.

I did also find a nice 04 certified accord with a stick for about 4k difference but once again my last accord (98 model stick) got 42mpg at freeway spd, but I dont know how the newer models do. If I could reasonably expect 40 on the Accord I would likely lean that direction.


Thanks guys......

Rikki

Sounds like you need to find a blocker. They're out there.

Also, you're self-employed. Do you HAVE to drive during the moron mayhem fest, or can you choose to leave a little earlier or later? A half hour can sometimes make all the difference.

But: if you're serious about this, you really need instrumentation. When it's in your face how instantly & directly your driving is affecting your consumption, you'll start looking to change it more seriously.

Also, instrumentation will get around the problem of a slightly short fill skewing your results & deflating your motivation (as has been suggested may have been an issue on your latest 27 mpg tank). You need more timely feedback than tank-to-tank.

Riki, I think your on the right track. The prius is not the answer to everything. I actually feel its a waste until you've extracted the max potential out of what you have. Diamondlarry is a good example of this. He went through several modified saturns perfecting his habits before dropping big coin on the prius. Physhack's wife daily drives a late model accord. You might try a searching him out for his opinion. Also there is an accord review in the reviews forum.

I suggest you stay where your at, get the scangauge, and verify that what your doing is working. Do like metro was suggesting and seek out those slower trucks and run with them. There are many commercial trucks that do not exceed 65mph. Concentrate on using the minimum amount of throttle to do the required amount of work, read stop lights and crosswalks carefully, you must treat momentum like a commodity. When the car is rolling you've paid to get that way, you must now use this energy. The brake pedal can be just as spendy as the gas pedal. Lastly, get the convertor locked and keep it that way.

Agreed, start the car and all it has to do is the rpm's settle, takes 2-3 seconds or so. Put it in gear and now just take it nice and easy for the first 2 minutes, then continue to drive it pretty nicely until the engine reaches op temp, well heck now you can just keep on driving nice, you're on a roll.

But seriously, warm ups are a thing of the past, back in the 60's and 70's when cars had none of the electronics of today. Warm ups are mostly for carbureted engines, even those don't really need it, simply start-and-drive, then the first 2-3 minutes of driving take it real easy.

Betcha that alone gets you to 30 mpg, but at least 28.

.........
btw get a car that has a seat warmer :p

just my 2 cents...

you're getting ONLY 27mpg driving 80%hwy w/ a 4 banger?! TIME OUT!

i got 30+ my last fillup driving 65%hwy w/ a v6 and heavier car.

obgwtfbyobbq is right! you can do much better...

grill block,overinflated tires,EOC,driving techs,etc.

unless of course you have $ to blow.

Wow
 

Thanks for all the responses guys, Opted out of the prius, like I said the yota is paid for and likely good for another 130k (has 70+ now) ...looked at a Mazda 3 and an accord....just cant get myself to buy another "unknown"...so anyway today was one of my crazy everysystemintowniscrashing service call days, nearly 300mi since 7AM, went ahead and filled up this evening (had a cupon that expires today .25 off per gal.


34.459MPG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:D


I actually drove 68-70 on the interstate and quicker accel overall. Approx 80%hiway 20% town no warm up.

Scanguage is here will install Friday.....

Thanks Amigos look for the next numbers on Monday!


Rikki

rikkitikkitakkiturvy is what I always say. congrats you. Just hope you don't suffer from the "gas tank wasn't all the way filled up" blues when you get lower than expected numbers on your following tank.

haha cool.

i do have to let my chevette warm up for a minute or so. if i dont eith erA) falls on its face when i go to take off or B) trannys cold and wont let me shift easily(i sit in neutral with the engine running so its spinnin the tranny lube around)

theclencher -

Would it behoove Rikki to get to know his Camry? I go to saturnfans.com to find out things about my Saturn, but maybe a site like this may help Rikki :

Camry Forum - Gen 5 & 6 (2002-2006 & 2007)
https://www.toyotanation.com/forum/fo...play.php?f=104

CarloSW2

Tank was topped off on both tests, same station/same pump/2clicks


We'll see if it holds



checking out the Camry site Thanks!


Rikki

Hi rikkitikkitavi,

Good going on getting it up to basically 34.5 mpg!

What year Camry? They go way back, have been through quite a few versions. Set up an entry in the Garage so we can see what the car is. Or you can put some info in your sig.

I got away from the 2-click fill method. First click for me. I don't like the idea of having it super-full. For one, the fuel expands when it warms up - it was cold underground. If tank is super filled, you might lose fuel out the vent system.

I pump slowly, with the handle squeezed just a bit. Faster flow = more splashing inside your tank so more vapors. The pump's vapor-recapturing system sucks it back into the station's tank, but you pay for it anyway.

Tire pressure - I have no proof of this but I felt a real handling change when I crossed the 44 psi mark. I suspect it makes a difference in FE too. I now keep my fronts at 50 (cold morning, not yet driven) and the rears 2 psi less. I'd go there, unless your tires are very aged or questionable condition or your mother in law is always riding with you.

Warmup - yikes. Sorry you're hearing this so many times. You get zero mpg while warming up. If it won't run right without warmup then likely it needs some maintenance. See this thread re. fuel consumed at idle.
gallons per hour / RPM - no load

You didn't mention the regular tuneup stuff. Plugs, wires, all that. Maybe it's time?

Oh yeah - resetting the computer. Many cars after '96 (OBD-II) need 40 miles of driving for the computer to fully reset after being cleared. My mechanic friend occasionally has to take a car out for a 40-mi. drive after a needed reboot if the car needs an emissions test - it won't pass otherwise. Meanwhile, it's open loop operation which ignores the output from the O2 sensor.

congrats on your latest fill-up. also, great choice to keep the camry.

brucepick -

It's a 2005 :

Hello I'm

CarloSW2

Todays Fillup
 

Well a little dissapointing 75% freeway at 60-68mph

33.6Mpg

Based on the now installed scangauge, sweet spot on the freeway seems to be 65Mph......

Educate me on warm air intakes?

Wondering how a camry will look with pizza pan covers and skirts



Rikki

bruce,

when you pump gas slowly is there a significant increase of volume retained? pumped slowly my last fill-up to a disappointing mpg. wondering if more gas made it to my tank making my FE seem less.

there were other factors affecting my poor #s, but it would be interesting to know.

I'm just going by what I think - no research or other hard info.
Though I did see a web page somewhere recently that recommended filling slowly. It also recommended filling in the a.m. as that's when the gas in storage tank is coldest, thus densest. If you buy in late afternoon / early evening you're buying warmed "expanded" gasoline but paying the same price per gallon.

I figure at a fast rate there's lots of splashing. I'd guess the fuel backing up the pipe makes the handle click off sooner. Also maybe a bit more randomly for different fillups, so your consistency might go down. And I'm guessing that the splashing makes more vapors that get sucked out by the vapor return line that most pump hoses have now.

well, i know what i'll be testing next. thanks! good info.