NavyDoc333

I watched this show on TV about people that are altering their driving habits to FAR exceed their cars MPG rating. Sooo I've been taking some of their suggestions, keeping my speed under 60 (I do some 2 lane hwy driving...hardly any freeway driving), rolling to stops, shutting my engine off if I'm going to sit at a light more than 10 seconds, coasting down hills in neutral, keeping my shifts under 2500prm, using AC or windows open only when I have to.

So far... I'm averaging 28.6 MPG on the last 3 tanks of gas.. and that's with 70% city and 30% 2 lane hwy driving.

Not bad for a 6cyl!

Joeb427

iTrader: (1)

Shutting the engine off if you're going to sit at a light more than 10 seconds and coasting down hills in neutral is a bit over the top,IMO.

NavyDoc333

Don't get me wrong.. I'm not planning on doing this the rest of my life, It's more of an experiment. I learned the shutting the engine thing off by watching how much my MPG went down while sitting in line at the drive through. ... as for the coasting, we have some pretty big %&# hills here in TN... the car usually speeds up going down hill in neutral..when the tranny's not holding it back.

It's actually a bit of a challenge... I will get to 29mpg and think whoohooo...then get to the next uphill and have it drop to 28.9 and think DOH! (Yeah... life here in TN is pretty boring if you can't tell)

ecount00

i've read about this too. the hard core people do things like park on a grade whenever they can so they can coast as much as possible (a variation of what you mention). AC OFF as you said with windows only slightly cracked to maintain as much aerodynamics as possible. I think it would be pretty frustrating to be stuck behind a hyper miler for a long time but too each his own. good luck with the experiment. you're getting results without doing anything bizarre.

rwdds

Try the ECM snow setting while using the hyper-mileage method. Curious if you get a small bump upwards.

Solo_D33A

Actually if you leave it in gear engine braking, and not idling, you shouldn't use any fuel at all. then if engine braking too much, just slap into neutral, too fast, engine brake.

I need a GS350 only doing about 17mpg with my GS400 and almost 100% city...

flipside909

ECT Snow mode doesn't yield any mpg gains. It's been an ongoing experiment with all the Lexus models here on CL for years. No one has been able to show any consistent and notable gains.

Just keep your lead foot from mashing in the pedal to the floorboard and you should be good to go.

Yang1815

iTrader: (1)

As long as the engine's running, it's also using fuel...

The G Man

true, so we should shut off our engine while going down hill?

Goettel

In fact... In our RX 350 if you are going down a hill and are in gear, it will use engine braking and the gas consumption goes to zero. It is due to the fact that when the tranny is turning the wheels, the injectors are closed so no gas is used.

Lexmex

AC off has been a standard of mine for years when I was in Mexico (high altitude Mexico City, not the desert), but with Florida weather I keep the windows just a bit open.

That snow mode doesn't do a thing for MPG. I tried that on my morning and evening commutes in Mexico (non-peak traffic).