Hypermiling a Hybrid Car - Particularly Prius and Lexus CT 200h

[@YangGQ]

Excellent presentation. It is all good stuff. I have moved to the CT200h from a Toyota Landcruiser 2.7 auto yesterday August 2023.

[@andrewhicks8340]

Thank you for this! Very helpful summary of a lot of info that one can find here and there, but not concisely, and not in one place (the link to the slides is a good summary for a quick review; thanks for including that, too). I got my first hybrid (a 2013 Prius C) back in December and am still learning how to drive it for best fuel economy; I'm now doing pretty well in town, but haven't been on the highway enough as of yet. Thanks for the Wayne Gerdes and traffic waves links, too. They are long, but quite worthwhile.

[@SyphaxStossel]

Really helpful to this new 2010 Prius owner. I got 53 mpg real world on my first tank and the weather has been really cold. I expect 60+ in better weather. Thanks!

[@TheTunneys]

Excellent!

[@SyphaxStossel]

One thing I don't completely understand is the "lift and feather" technique. Should you do it all the time? Why does it improve mpg?

[@TheTunneys]

If you do nothing but watch the "current" display.. you will see that often it is at 30pmg when you are just cruising on flat highway.. if you immediately lift and put your foot down on the pedal in a feather light way you will maintain your speed but that current display will jump to 60mpg.. The issue is that most of us are too heavy footed and don't realize it. You have to retrain your accelerator pedal foot to be a little more gentle.. and you will get better MPG.

[@Andek74]

That's a useful ABC for a beginner hybrid driver. Interesting and informative.

[@Loko-kk7tl]

I've been averaging 50 mpg and one day I did as good as 57mpg for about two hours on my ct200h. I just stumbled upon this video and I can say I had been doing most of your adviced habits without even realizing it. Also this is my first hybrid and I love it.

[@charlesdarwin6349]

I am getting 60-67 mpg. Try bp ultimate

[@Loko-kk7tl]

@@charlesdarwin6349 isn't that premium ? Thought I wasn't supposed to use premium on Lexus CT

[@charlesdarwin6349]

@@Loko-kk7tl yes premium 97 octane Premium is always better - has detergents that keep engine clean. But in my tests gives 10mpg more… bp has reward points so the price per gallon comes down a bit too compared to normal petrol

[@Loko-kk7tl]

@@charlesdarwin6349 I'll have have to give it a try sometime, definitely never thought of it since I figured the difference of miles/premium costs wouldn't match up. Either way, gotta trust a man called Charles Darwin.

[@charlesdarwin6349]

@@Loko-kk7tl haha I will b interested to see if you find the same….

[@MinhNguyen-zr3mn]

Thank you for doing this! ❤

[@Abszurdista-fatalista]

Would be interesting to have a version tailored towards the Camry hybrid. Btw I have observed EV speeds (Camry A25A-FXS) up to 55 mph and even more at high SOC levels. Question 1: It isn't quite clear in the video what range is best for calmly/casually accelerating up to rural highway speeds (around 55 mph) without traffic. Should I gently pulse up to speed using 1/4 of ECO+? That's how I do it without ever watching this video. Question 2: Is Super Highway mode an ever repeating loop of pulse and glide? 1/4 pulse and then neutral glide? If so, what speed do you glide back to? Let's say you're quarter-pulsing up to 59 mph, how far do you let it glide back down? 55? I drive 99% on rural highways with towns/villages along the way and in town. If the trip is *long* enough, fuel economy reliably exceeds 59 MPG-US. I drive the top trim/heaviest Camry with 18" wheels.

[@Trades46]

My family owns a Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV and a Ford Fusion Energi. Both are plug-in hybrids, so it is very interesting to learn how to get the most EV range out of them when they are charged & similarly, how to maximize their fuel economy when the gas engine finally does fire up. Very good points - though over-inflating the tires is something I'm skeptical about performing.

[@darkbyte2005]

Wow, thanks for this information , I will now put some of those tips into practice.

[@charlesdarwin6349]

Are u still running the ct200? I am now easily getting 65-67mpg. 600 plus miles on a full tank. Change I made was use bp ultimate

[@Yurkevich22]

Great points! However, I don't get your idea behind under-inflating the tires. The less you inflate the tires, the flatter the contact patch will be (aka more tire touching the ground). The more the tire touches the ground the more rolling resistance there will be. More rolling resistance = worse mpg. So I think over-inflating the tires slightly should be better thing for mpg.

[@TheTunneys]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/pX23gYBmgLqbqKs Lexus recommend you pump to 31psi, the MAX on the side of the tire is 50psi and the manufacturers told Wayne they test them to double that max. So I pump to 45psi, 14 psi ABOVE that recommended by Lexus.

[@Yurkevich22]

Oh, I must have misunderstood:) Wow, you are inflating way above the recommended pressure then. Did you ever compare if there's a significant difference between recommended pressure and 45psi?

[@TheTunneys]

I have not measured it, but whenever I feel I am struggling to get over 50mpg I pull in and check the psi...

[@BenVallack]

Hve you established how optimistic the on-board readout is compared to measuring tank to tank?

[@TheTunneys]

It over estimates by 2-3 mpg which is similar to reports for the Prius.

[@asusreviews]

Amazing my Lexus RX300 from 1999 is spot on within one or two tenths every time. After I checked it like 10x I stopped checking regularly because it was just so darn accurate.

[@MANDOFITLIFESTYLE26]

What would be the best way to use your car (ct200) gas-efficiently when reaching/going on a steep hill?

[@corporatevideoproductionco9267]

Keep acceleration/rpm constant so whatever speed you loose going up is then regained on the way down. But this must be done not st the expense of stalling others so be close to speed limits.

[@garytango]

👍

[@RobObertelli]

Over-inflating the tyres is stupidly dangerous, and especially when you do it by an additional 14psi, almost 50% over standard. You reduce the tyre contact area and also reduce tyre tread compliance with the road surface. That means less grip when braking and a greater tendency to break away when cornering. So your efforts to save a bit of money selfishly puts all other road users and your passengers at greater risk. You also have a far greater chance of getting punctures, a harder ride which puts more load on suspension components, and uneven tyre wear as it tends to wear out the centre line of the tyre long before the tread edges; so your fuel savings may well be offset by higher tyre consumption and suspension maintenance costs. The maximum psi rating on the tyre does not mean it's OK for you to ignore millions of dollars of vehicle manufacturer research and ignore their recommendations. Finally if you get into an accident and investigators discover what's been done (and they DO check if there have been injuries) you can expect the coverage to be reduced or even cancelled as it would be an unauthorised modification. it's shame as one really stupid bit of advice spoils a lot of good advice.

[@TheTunneys]

This car has an amazingly low center of gravity due to the batteries low in the middle of the car. I have thrown it around corners at speeds that would cause a Nissan GTR to slide. All this with PSI of 48-50. Breaking distance is half that of the old PT Cruiser I had 'cos it didnt have ABS...

[@RobObertelli]

All totally irrelevant. What you've done seriously impairs the braking and handling compared to what it should be. Advising others to copy you is recklessly irresponsible, particularly as much of your other advice that it's wrapped up in is eminently sensible. Comparison to a GTR which lacks stability control (and is largely unsuited to it), and to a PT Cruiser which is a much older design with primitive brakes and dynamics is also ridiculous.

[@TheTunneys]

www.tirereview.com/can-psi-adjustments-fix-handling-and-ride-problems/ Some quotes... The burst pressure is a shockingly high multiple of the “max pressure.” Can we improve handling and ultimate grip by increasing tire pressure? You bet! Michelin performed a hydro­planing resistance test using pressures above the “max press­ure/max load” rating. The test was motivated by the common practice among law enforcement officers of inflating their tires above that recommended by the vehicle manufacturer. The test almost doubled the “max pressure” without discovering where hydroplaning resistance reached a plateau. Goodyear test results from www.nhtsa.gov/sites/nhtsa.dot.gov/files/fmvss/tirepressure-fmvss-138.pdf Surface Speed psi 17 25 29 35 Macadam 25 mph 32.4 30.8 29 27.4 Macadam 45 mph 107.6 101 100.8 98.6 Concrete 25 mph 47.4 48.2 48.2 48 Concrete 45 mph 182.6 167.2 167.4 163.6 And from www.autospeed.com/cms/article.html?popularArticle&A=108915 Myth 2: A larger contact patch = more grip Okay, most people will come to the conclusion that if you have "more rubber on the road" you will have increased grip. Sorry to say this folks, but to very close to 100% accuracy, the size of the contact patch is irrelevant. The actual grip that a tyre can generate is dictated by the coefficient of friction of the rubber compound used in the tyre. And... One issue to consider is that, for wet weather driving, despite what you may have heard, it is better to increase your tyre pressure, not reduce it. ------------------------------------------------------ Conversely, a 5 psi drop below the manufacturer’s recommended pressure showed a notable reduction in the tire’s ability to disperse with deep water. ----------------------------------------------- Under-inflation is FAR more dangerous - Ford Explorers Flipping over at recommended tire pressures... I have run the car for 16k miles in the last year, mainly at highway speeds and there is virtually no wear on the tires. I will take it in and have it checked in the next few days because you raise interesting points. Let's see! Comparison to the GTR and the Cruiser was a little flippant but I have moved from the Cruiser to this car and I could load it up with weight and it would still stop well before the Cruiser ever could. Maybe we should just remove all the old cars from the roads. Anyhow, I appreciate the feedback and I have added an annotation to that portion of the video.

[@paladain55]

Not as long as you're under the max sidewall pressure. Its not that extreme mom...

[@kubanskiloewe]

i drive over inflated tires for near 30 years now ! no problem at all and saved always some fuel !!

[@miketresham4783]

Unlistenable, turn up the volume and re-record.