Fuel Saving Tips and Tricks Part 1

[Jus-A-CMax]

In all the miles, I hardly ever use neutral to do a pure coast. Using "N" you may not regen but you also start to lose battery level as well especially if you have the HVAC on even with just the fan on (no AC). I just prefer to use the slope to regen my batts and keeping them high as much as possible. However, for those who are undecided - always encourage them to try it out and see what works for them :)

[Bill-N]

It is sometimes useful to use N going downhill in gently rolling terrain to maximize coasting up the next hill, if traffic safety allows. 

Another reason to be able to shift from drive to neutral without squeezing the trigger.

[salsaguy]

but they did it wrong

you cant do mpg one way on a north trip and then a different way on a south trip

the hills are different so mpg is different

they need to do the same test the same way point in the same direction to make it more exact (which it never can be)

 

Check out this link and let me know what you think.  

 

http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/news/4199963

[salsaguy]

i always find the dealers and stores mis-setting the psi either way over or not inflating at all when you go in for service!

always re-check yourself

 

OTOH, never assume that the manufacturer, dealer, or tire store put in the correct pressure.  I've had them come back way low and way high.

I think one tire store left in the high pressure they used to set the bead on the tire.

My C-Max was close, but a little low at 36 when I got it, so I went up to 39 all around.

[salsaguy]

yup always check in morn before going out. never check after driving. they warm up and increase psi which can cause overinflation

 

You are suppose to check tires when they are cool. One time I checked mine and the sun was shining on one tire and it was couple of psi higher. That makes it a little harder.  

[salsaguy]

Dont forget the sample size for CMaxes are very small compared to the Prius (which has a very large sample size to the sheer # out there on the road) and most CMaxes on fuelly are still in their breaking period (<3000 miles) so mpg is skewed to the left for lower mpg. Once we get more CMaxes on fuelly and over a years worth of breakin on them we should see that climb

 

Fuelly has the CMax at 38, and the Prius and Insight at roughly 45.  I am OK sacrificing the 7 MPG for looks, comfort and ability to accelerate.  My wife and I test drove the Prius before buying the CMax.  Neither of us liked the styling or lack of power.  The CMax is cheaper.  I won't make up the difference with the 7 MPG delta.

Edited May 11, 2013 by salsaguy

[RaPieR]

Dont forget the sample size for CMaxes are very small compared to the Prius (which has a very large sample size to the sheet # out there on the road) and most CMaxes on fuelly are still in their breaking period (<3000 miles) so mpg is skewed to the left for lower mpg. Once we get more CMaxes on fuelly and over a years worth of breakin on them we should see that climb

 

I think another thing that's skewing the fuelly stats is that a lot of C-Max drivers are completely new to driving a hybrid vehicle like me.  I've been learning and changing the way I drive whenever I'm in the C-Max.  Where before I was struggling to break 40MPG with every fillup, my last 9 fill-ups have been over 40MPG and I've hit 47MPG twice.

[MacGyver]

I'm thinking you might be right on that, That's the way usually do it.

 

I dunno, watching the instant mpg while going up a long hill to tujunga, there's not a big difference between mpg at 65mph and 75mph, and if you're spending about the same amount of gas and doing it for less time, and getting there faster, seems like faster is better.

[MacGyver]

Using premium will not result in high mpg since your c-max is tuned for regular.

 

If premium is the only gas available without ethanol, it should be possible to tune the car to work with premium, but you'd have to talk your dealer into doing that.

[viajero]

I dunno, watching the instant mpg while going up a long hill to tujunga, there's not a big difference between mpg at 65mph and 75mph, and if you're spending about the same amount of gas and doing it for less time, and getting there faster, seems like faster is better.

 

I (and other testers) have seen big differences in mpg between 65 and 75 mph on level ground.  It does make sense that the difference would be less while going up a hill, though.  In that case more of the power is being used to lift the car to higher altitude and the percentage of power used to overcome air resistance is lower.  So a given percent change in air resistance would result in less percent change in total power.

[viajero]

Using premium will not result in high mpg since your c-max is tuned for regular.

 

If premium is the only gas available without ethanol, it should be possible to tune the car to work with premium, but you'd have to talk your dealer into doing that.

 

I'm not sure what to think; my FJ Cruiser confused me a bit.  The manual said premium gas was required, but a TSB was issued saying regular gas would not harm the engine but might result in lower power or fuel economy.  It did say you had to run several tanks of one kind of gas for the engine to fully adjust itself.

 

I tried 10 tanks of each, and the mileage matched to within 0.1 mpg.  Given the variability in fill-ups, that may not even be significant.  I didn't have a dynamometer handy, so I can't really say about the power.  It didn't feel any different to me in my everyday driving.

 

Now I just use the cheap gas and call it good.  Someone with more ambition than I will have to do the experiment for the C-Max to see if it adjusts itself for premium vs. regular and if so, what are the results.

[salsaguy]

Here's something of interest for those trying to get better gas in the winter:

 

"Despite this, we can still minimize the impact of these winter formulations by following most of the sensible care and maintenance advice and also by selecting fuel brands of higher quality – which are commonly – referred as Tier 1 brands. As usual, the Shell brand does appear to offer some consistency in the quality of their gas in the summer months which not surprisingly also extends to the winter months as many of us can attest."

 

found here:

http://www.cleanmpg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=17560

very good article even though its based for the Prius