Driving style doesn't change mpg?

[Nick1994]

I have yet to see much of a change in mpg with my driving style with my Camry. I normally drive it quite hard, floored often when passing and merging (it's pretty gutless). But this last tank I drove it quite slow, I accelerated smoothly, set the cruise control while on the highway and was overall a lot more calm. Gas mileage went from 22.7 to 23.1. Hardly a difference. Same commute, 65-70 miles a day. The last 30 miles of each day on my way home is almost all freeway, no traffic. In the morning there's some traffic and city driving. It gets better gas mileage in the winter, 25-26. I haven't turned the A/C switch off in months. I have every record for fuel since I've bought the car logged on Fuelly. My previous 1996 Silverado did the same thing, 15.5 mpg no matter how I drove it. TDI same way too.

I guess driving way more calm during my commute doesn't make much of a difference. Last year it got new plugs and wires

It gets good gas mileage when doing constant highway driving at a decent speed, well into the 30s.

Does this happen to anyone else?

Link to Fuelly records
http://www.fuelly.com/car/toyota/camry/2000/nickfancher1/382541

 

[dishdude]

I haven't manually calculated my mileage, but if I baby my Grand Cherokee and avoid short trips, the DIC claims 23-24. If I short trip it and have a heavy foot it's more like 19-20. Short trips seem to have the more of an impact than anything.

 

[Noobie]

I'd say that driving conservatively might save up to 10% fuel when compared to driving aggressively.
Thinks like driving at the right speeds, coasting as much as you can . . . hypermiling etc.

 

[chrisri]

I have similar experience, with normal cars change in driving style does nothing. However it does with sport engines of old that can be driven hard.

Your Camry is a 2 litre automatic right? A/C on all the time, that is not bad consumption at all. Friend has a 07 Accord (Acura something for you guys), same thing as yours 2.0 NA , only manual. A/C on for months. He only gets 19 mpg . My old Alfa 156 (2.0 manual, but bit smaller car) I was getting 23-27 mpg. Later on open roads.

 

[Rick in PA]

I'd say driving style accounts for about 10% difference. When gas prices spiked a few years ago I consciously changed my driving style and that's about what I observed.

Since then, I try to drive more conservatively, easier on the gas, coasting to red lights, etc. Once in a while I'll "punch it", gotta clean out the carbon. But overall, easier on the driving. Beyond a little better gas mileage, it promotes longevity of the mechanicals; brakes, clutch, etc.

 

[KrisZ]

Pretty sorry mileage for such a gutless vehicle and nearly all interstate commute. Certain vehicles simply cannot take advantage of a smaller engine. I bet a V6 would return similar, if not better mpg and would be a much better ride.

 

[Silverado12]

If I drive the Mustang all highway I can get up to 27 if I keep the cruise at 65. If I'm in mixed driving with the a/c on driving normal, it gets 21. If I get on it much, it gets 13 lol. Big difference in driving style with this car. The Cruze averages within 2 mpg no matter how I drive it, so it really depends on the car. I would say to drive the Camry normally and don't worry about mileage too much. It really doesn't make that much of a difference in most cars. My guess is that you're using close to full power with your 2.0 because that's a decent sized car. This is why you're seeing similar mileage results with your car whereas the Mustang has a big motor way overpowering the car, and will completely wreck my gas mileage averages if I mash the gas too many times merging.

 

[Kira]

To the OP (Nick1994) and everyone else:

You hit it with, "It gets good gas mileage when doing constant highway driving at a decent speed, well into the 30s."

You need constant running at highway speeds to reap mileage benefits.

Just took my 1999 Saab 9-5SE (~25mpg avg.) on a 700 mile weekend with lots of 70 mph highway....I cleared 32mpg on 89.

 

[Bamaro]

Driving style has a large effect on mileage. Not sure why yours doesn't. Maybe you are not modifying it as much as you think.

 

[djb]

You can still find stories that echo advice from a half century ago.

Like "a clean air filter saves gas". With a carburetor a dirty air filter results in a rich mixture. With most fuel injection a dirty filter just reduces power at wide-open-throttle and has no effect on fuel economy.

A favorite phrase was "jack rabbit starts waste gas". Carburetors have an accelerator pump that squirts in extra gas as the pedal is pushed down. This compensates for lean-out from reduced vacuum and a higher airflow, erring on the side of an over-rich mixture which helps power.

With computer controlled fuel injection there isn't a need to err on the side of over-rich. A open throttle can actually increase efficiency by reducing pumping losses.

So go ahead, live a little bit, accelerate when merging onto the highway. Especially you, Prius driver.

 

[supton]

I get more of a seasonal effect it seems. Cold weather gets lower mpg; and that is with nothing but highway driving. Snow tires and winter gas. My jackrabbit starts are too far inbetween to have a big impact I suspect; cruising speed has a 10% or so impact, going from 60 to 75, give or take. Some days it doesn't seem worth it to go slow, not for 10%.

 

[Fsharp]

Accelerating more quickly won't necessarily use more gas. Somebody mentioned less pumping losses, and also you'll get to cruising speed with the torque converter locked up faster.

I've noticed something similar with my Tacoma. I get between 20 and 21mpg regardless.

 

[Vikas]

Once again, many centuries ago, there was a guy saw an apple fell from a tree. His name was Isaac Newton. He is in Google. Look him up.

Seriously, you already said and Kira pointed out that at steady highway your car returns mileage in 30's. On my 1999 I strive to achieve that by keeping sane speed in my 30 mile one way commute.

Put a raw egg between your feet and the pedal and then your mileage will go up

 

[IndyIan]

Quick acceleration isn't a bad thing for mpg as long as you aren't matting it and getting into open loop mode.
What I find helps a bit is to drive like a truck, with reasonably hard acceleration but coasting more to time lights and to avoid slowing or stopping.
A scangauge or ultragauge is the tool to learn with though, instantaneous mpg and trip mpg show you right away what works and what doesn't. Idling is a killer and you can watch your trip mpg plummet while you sit in a drive-thru.
Coasting in N down hills helps quite a bit too if you have the right slope, as some cars waste stupid amounts of gas(like my focus) when they could be using none while coasting in gear.

 

[TiredTrucker]

There is a lot more to driving style than how fast you go. Like when a stop is coming up, seeing it well in advance and gradually slowing or coasting more to the stop than getting right up on it and braking hard. Not only improve mpg, but saves brakes also. And watching further ahead than just one car length to see how traffic is flowing up ahead and pacing one's self to avoid having to hit the brakes just before rear ending someone and minimizing the speed up / slow down accordion effect. There are lots of things that go into sensible driving beyond just how fast one is going. Watch the traffic as far ahead as you can to avoid being surprised by anything and enable better pacing. And the "egg between your foot and the accelerator" analogy is also good advice. How one takes off from the light is just one of many aspects of sensible driving that can improve mpg. In my 2006 Caddy, it averages 2-3 mpg more than both the city and highway EPA estimates. My commercial semi truck, I average a solid 20% better fuel economy than the industry average for commercial trucks of the same class and activity. My 2015 2500 6.0L Z71 3/4 ton Silverado has a lifetime average of 14 mpg and does 17-18 mpg on road trips. Driving style does matter.

 

[JC1]

What speed are you driving on the hwy? If you stick to 60mph you may see an improvement.

 

[Rand]

Originally Posted By: IndyIan

Coasting in N down hills helps quite a bit too if you have the right slope, as some cars waste stupid amounts of gas(like my focus) when they could be using none while coasting in gear.


And can cause transmission damage.. and waste gas as the engine will be idling and burning gas instead of less gas while coasting.

 

[Dorian]

In my Camry it does. With the A/C on the mpg is much lower. I average ~27 in my commute. It is very mixed driving. I also drive aggressively. On the highway, it is great on fuel with an average speed of 70mph. ~32mpg. My mileage drops in the winter due to remote start. ~25mpg. The A/C kills the mpg.

 

[supton]

Originally Posted By: Rand
Originally Posted By: IndyIan

Coasting in N down hills helps quite a bit too if you have the right slope, as some cars waste stupid amounts of gas(like my focus) when they could be using none while coasting in gear.


And can cause transmission damage.. and waste gas as the engine will be idling and burning gas instead of less gas while coasting.


Only if one doesn't rev-match when engaging the clutch, and doesn't have dynamic fuel cutoff. Luckily my vehicles have cutoff and thus have never needed to coast in neutral.

I usually skip shift when coasting to stops.

 

[The motor guy]

I think it's because it's hard to gently get up to speed in small hp vehicles like that. You spend 20 seconds accelerating and the rpms are at 3000rpm on those little cars. Vs a big engine you can gently get up to speed and still get up to speed pretty quick.