Recumpence

Completely stock. I do not even use a grille block. Also, that is with 300 pounds of equipment in the back. I have seen 60.1mpg for 156 miles one day. Today ended at 59.2mpg for 160 miles. Matt

Got it ----- 700----- ....... :) Matt

It will be interesting to see if the salesman attempts to sell you a new car in the process.. Kinda like the old "we need your tradein" scam. No, it is nothing like that. This is a HUGE dealer with only phenominal ratings. I have known them for a long time. They are Wickstrom Ford in Barrington Illinois. Google them, they are an incredible dealer. The way this came about is, the salesman remembered I am an appliance repairman. He emailed looking for a part for his mother's dryer. I dropped that part off at the dealer while he was in a meeting. In our email correspondence, he asked if I was still getting really high MPG (I already emailed him about this months ago). I said yes and sent him a picture of my mileage. So, after I dropped off the part, he emailed back and said he wished he knew I was there because the meeting he was in was with a Ford trainer and they were discussing fuel economy. So, this would have been perfect. He told me he filled the trainer in on my mileage and my total miles driven and the Ford trainer showed interest in speaking with me. After that, we discussed getting together either as a group, or just the salesman himself. We shall see how it goes........ Matt

I received an email today from the salesman who sold me my Max asking me how my mileage is doing. He already knew I am way over the EPA rating. Anyway, when I shared a screenshot of my mileage and told him I have over 20,000 miles on it, he said he would love to arrange a driving session in my car with he and his manager to show them a few tips on how to maximize mileage with the C-Max. I thought it was a good thing that the dealers are showing an interest in such things. I will let you know how it goes when we get together. :) Matt

Seeing a given number of miles per tank is not the same thing with a plug-in hybrid as with a non-plug-in. You can choose how many miles you want out of a tank. Here is what I mean; The Energi is good for roughly 20 miles of EV driving before the engine starts. If you drive 40 miles per day, it would be very easy to hit well over 1,000 miles per tank because 1/2 of your driving uses no fuel at all, then your second half of each day's driving is at our normal MPG. Therefore, you could very easily double your mileage per tank. See what I mean? We in the non-plug in group have a finite number of miles we can hit per tank because ALL of our miles come from gasoline. :) Matt

Not really. In fact, we have a state park called "Mourain Hills State Park". It is hilly, but small hills. I agree flat roads make a big difference. But, it is not very flat here. Of course, we do not have mountains to deal with, though. That would really make a difference. Matt

Hey All, I just got back from a work day of 146 miles. This is my final mileage (again, this is over 146 miles starting and ending in my driveway). The single best thing you can do to maximize MPG is setup your MyView screen to show the three efficiency bars and push to maximize those. This was done in my normal service area of Lake and McHenry county Illinois. My driving is about 70% 35mph in town and 30% 55 mph going town to town. This type of mileage is indeed possible. It is not easy, but I do not stress over it either. I have just learned new driving habits. Oh, I drive the speed limit or a couple miles over........ Oh, lastly, I have no modifications what-so-ever. I plan to begin doing aero mods. But, at this point, my car is 100% stock. I do not even have my grille block on anymore. One last thing; My MPG has increased with my high number of miles on my car. I think you really need to put over 10,000 on these cars to see the true maximum mpg. Even my highway mpg is up about 3mpg or so since I have gone over 10,000 miles...... Matt

Yeah, no kidding. If I did that, trips like this would be commonplace. :) By the way, this was not a dhown hill trip that started with a full battery. This was a trip on level ground with no wind averaging 30mph using pulse and glide with a fully warmed up engine. Of course, the trip to the store before this was 58mpg warming up the engine. I am almost firghtened to think about how high these numbers could get with perfect conditions. We all know the world in not a perfect place. But, short runs like this are fun, none-the-less. Matt P.S. Guys, Jaz knows me..... One thing you need to know is, I build electric bicycles as a side business. I am very used to pushing for maximum efficiency. I do not drive ultra slow. I just accellerate gradually, decellerate gradually, and cruise in such a way to minimize drag as much as possible. There are a ton of things you can learn by riding an electric bike with a minimal range battery.

No kidding. I completely agree. :) I just filled up today. I am at 60.1mpg on this fillup so far (about 40 miles). I am really hoping to hit 700 soon. I know I will. It is just a matter of time. Oh, and that 59.1mpg for the day today included one full throttle blast up to 70mph to keep some jerk behind me. I was over 60mpg until I did that. Sheesh, I need to keep my foot under better control. Now I am looking into wheel discs and I want to add a belly pan extension under the car to cover the area behind the rear wheels/in front of the rear bumper. That is one huge open area acting as a parachute. Jimmy Hoffa could fit up there! I am determined to hit 700 miles without any aero mods, though. I do not even have a grille block on the car. I figure 730 miles is about the practical limit. The absolute limit would be about 770 miles. Of course, once I hit 700, I will begin the aero mods to try and tickle the 800 barrier! That is a dream, though. 700 is still not happening. It is in my sights, though. Matt

I went out of state last weekend. It was a 400 mile trip with 300 of those miles at 70mph on the expressway. I averaged 44.3mpg. Part of my high mileage is the area I live in and part of it is technique. I have stopped drafting behind semis, though. They kick up too much crap. Matt

I just had my best full day of driving yet. I went 135 miles at an average of 59.1mpg :) I think I have this car figured out! Matt

Amen, Brother, preach it! ;) I completely agree. Matt

OK, first of all I completely disagree that once the engine warms up the efficiency is only slightly affected in the winter. That could not be more wrong. Also, the comment about FE being affected by as much as 8mpg in the winter is also wrong. The affect is actually as high as 15mpg. Here is my experience over the 20,000 miles I have owned my Max (and I live in Northern Illinois with harsh winters). My Mileage in single digit weather is barely over 40mpg even with the engine warmed up without using the heat at all (I use the heated seat which is far more efficient). However, with weather over 50 degrees, my MPG is over 50. In 70 degree weather, I average 56 to 57mpg. This is no exaduration. My MPG for 130 miles I drove today was 56.5mpg. My last work day last week averaged 57.2mpg. Ever since buying my Max, I have been telling people what the OP has stated that the release date for the C-Max (as a hybrid) could not have been worse. My lifetime MPG is nearly 45. However, over the winter it was 41 or 42. Now, with my average in the high 50s, my lifetime MPG is climbing. This is a great thread! Matt

Yup, you guys are on the right track......... Remember, it is not bad to stay in EV mode for a very long time. You just need to make sure it is something you are purposely doing for some specific reason. for instance, if I know I am about the pulse the AC for 20 seconds anyway, I will run an extra 1/2 mile in EV to get that extra 1/10 of a mpg in that glide phaze, then when I hit the AC, the engine will run and charge the battery that extra bit, or if I know a hill is approaching and the engine is going to kick in to climb it, I will keep it in EV mode for that extra bit. when you do that, it is like you are forcing the car into "Smart Eco-Cruise Plus" mode where you are doing exactly what the car would do in Eco-Cruise or EV Plus if it somehow knew the terrain and traffic you are in at that moment. Another thing you can do is drive the car in Eco-Cruise through a certain, known area at a specific speed, and note your mileage through that area. Then run through that same area manually and see if you can beat the computer in mpg through that stretch of road. That will teach you alot more than just always doing this or that technique. You need to learn the car and how to exploit its technology as much as is humanly possible. I thought I was driving the most efficient way possible, until I tried Eco-Cruise and found I was not as good as the car computer. So, I observed what the computer did, and when. Then I used that observational data to alter my driving technique and I add my own techniques to it and have come up with my own combination driving style that consistantly hits the same numbers as cruise in many areas and is far better in some areas that I drive. I think an awesome software upgrade would be a way to teach the car what the elevation is at verious locations on the GPS, so it can better compensate and maximize your mpg. Of course, it will not know the direction of the wind and other factors like the driver does. But, it would be cool none the less. ;) Matt

Hey Guys, I was asked to start a thread with a description of various methods I use to maximize my MPG. So, I will begin a thread containing what I have learned here. First, I programmed My View to show the Empower left side screen with the gas/electric threashold and the right side shows the 3 brake/accelleration/cruising scores. I pay attention to those and let them teach me. Second, if I nees the AC, I only turn it on until the car cools. Once cool, I turn it off. Then I turn it back on for a few seconds occasionally to keep the car cool without killing my mileage. Third, I pulse and glide whenever it is convenient. There are a couple methods for this. The first is to accellerate briskly, then glide for a long time. The second is to accellerate slowly to maximize recharge time. I do a Mix of both. Much depends on the terrain, speed limit, traffic, and other variables. I have found both methods work well. The best method is something each person must work out on their own based on their own driving style and area they are driving. The biggest advantage to pulse and glide is that you gain MPG (under the right conditions), while maintaining a high battery state of charge. The higher the state of charge, the more efficient the engine is when running, because it does not have to add more charge to the battery. Plus it is nice to have a high battery for those times when you run into that perfect EV road and want to maximize electric running. I hate being stuck with a low battery when I hit a really great flat EV road. :) The single greatest thing for high MPG is being aware of your area. I know what is coming on nearly every road I drive. This is a great advantage because I can anticipate the road to maximize upcoming smooth flat roads for EV running. I run 51 psi in my tires. The tire is rated for 51psi max. So, that is what I run. I get around 1.5mpg better with high pressure. One thing you can do to maximize mileage is to try and arrange your errands so you are out for as many miles at one time as possible, rather than 3 miles to the store, then 4 hours later you run a 2 mile errand. You want to keep thd engine temp up and the battery warm. So, if I know I have a few errands to run, I run all of them in one trip if at all possible. I know these are hypermiling tricks ans not everyone is willing to be so disciplined. But, I have had many questions about how I achieve such high mileage. So, I started this thread to explain a few things. I have more to share, but this is a good start. Oh, and I do get decent mileage on the expressway too. I just drove 200 miles at 70mph and arrived at 43.4mpg for this trip...... :) Matt

I have always driven cars with relatively OK mileage. I have also been conscious of how I was driving. About a year ago I bought a ScanGauge for my Caravan work vehicle. That taught me how to go from 19-20mpg to 22-25mpg by teaching me the sweet spot of mileage for that van. That started me on a MPG mission........ I have always had numerous hobbies. Most of them use up time and resources while providing some fun. However, this hyper-miling actually saves me money and reduces the risk of a ticket. Anyway, as far as owning my C-Max making my driving better, I can say that it has alerted me to how many factors affect mileage. What I mean by that is, internal combustion engines are horribly innefficient, while electric motors are very efficient. So, driving a typical cas only cars, you do not see the loss of mileage for things like temperature, barametric pressure, etc. However, in a hybrid, with the electric side being so efficient, you notice those things. They are typically not noticeable in a gas car, but VERY obvious in a hybrid or electric car. I will end by saying that since I drive 100-150 miles per day, it is really nice driving such a comfortable and efficient car. It is also nice being able to see exactly what is going on with the entire system, both gas and electric. Matt

The C-Max will average 38mpg at 70mph with the AC on typical expressways. However, around town with no AC, I get 52 to 56mpg consistantly (my wife and I both average this in town). So, it all depends on how much driving your wife will do in town. The C-Max has a large frontal area due to being so tall. That affects expressway MPG. The C-Max is phenominally compfortable and has a beautiful (in my eyes) interior. The best I have found in this price range. The Sync system is buggy, though. But, I can live with that....... Matt

I ran my AC yesterday because it was 84 degrees. It sucks a HUGE amount of energy. This is because our cars are very efficient. So, the AC makes a difference. My wife's Highlander does not show nearly so much difference in mileage with the AC. That is because the engine is already inefficient. So, adding in the AC to the mix does not affect it as much. What I found works OK with the C-Max is to turn the fan on recirculating, then turn on the AC. Once cool, I turn the AC off and wait till it gets a touch warm in the car again, then I turn the AC back on. This cycling is far more efficient than running it all the time. It is annoying, though. This is one hypermiling technique. Matt

Here is my 1,000 mile post. :) Matt

The weather is the main reason I have not joined Fuelly. Buying my car in November living in northern Illinois, my mileage is only 44.5 average lifetime. The winter killed me. The worst tank I had was 38mpg. That was in single digit temperatures. Now that my daily mileage is never under 50mpg, my lifetime average will go up. I have 19,000 miles on my car, however. So, it will take a while to get it over the 47mpg epa rating. It will happen, though. So much depends on driving type as well, not driving style, but in town versus highway, also is your area hilly or flat? It is very windy or calm in your area? Those things are critical to this. Matt

So, who else is doing this? Matt

Amen Brother. Preach it! I get 40mpg at 70mph. But, I get 44 or higher at 66mph. Go figure...... Matt

No, it isn't. That time reflects sitting with the car activated. I do alot of paperwork in my car with the radio going and my phone charging. I think it is annoying that the time keeps counting down even when you are sitting. My bicycle speedometer does not do that....... My average speed is 33mph. Still not highway speed, but typical in-town driving. Matt Oh, and it is 56mpg. :)

Here is my last two days of driving. :) The mileage is climbing with the warm weather and my ability to read the road and the car and adapt accordingly. Oh, this is without any mods what-so-ever. I do not even run a grille block anymore. Matt

Hey Jaz, Yup, that's me. :) How goes it? I am on Endlesssphere.com too (same name). Matt