I wanted to start a thread for increasing MPG's. Outside of driving style and driving conditions things we can do to get the most Mileage out of each gallon.
- Inflating tires (I prefer not to go above the Max PSI listed, but some may not have an issue with going higher)
- Clean Air Filer/Oil Change
- Reduce Weight (Additional items you may be carrying around)
The Smart works best in the 45-55mph range in 5th gear (45 level / slight downhill, 55 with varying terrain). You can easily get 50-60MPG for a few minutes or hours if you're really insane about it.
A method to achieve this goal in city traffic: Get up to 40MPH pretty quick; don't baby it. Time spent at 20MPH is gas wasted. Light on both pedals, so plan ahead and keep a consistent speed... your MPGs can increase 30% or more just by holding the pedal steady. Key to this: let fast people pass you but don't be a safety hazard. Pay attention to drivers around you, lights, so that you don't have to brake. I've gone an entire 5 mile city route without hitting the brake a half dozen times, and got 49MPG. With a rush I get 25, normal driving is right at the rated 33.
(Sorry, I just re-read the "outside of driving style" after posting this)
Last edited by SuperGeek; 10-16-2009 at 10:52 PM.
Reason: oops, I can't read
The Smart works best in the 45-55mph range in 5th gear (45 level / slight downhill, 55 with varying terrain). You can easily get 50-60MPG for a few minutes or hours if you're really insane about it.
A method to achieve this goal in city traffic: Get up to 40MPH pretty quick; don't baby it. Time spent at 20MPH is gas wasted. Light on both pedals, so plan ahead and keep a consistent speed... your MPGs can increase 30% or more just by holding the pedal steady. Key to this: let fast people pass you but don't be a safety hazard. Pay attention to drivers around you, lights, so that you don't have to brake. I've gone an entire 5 mile city route without hitting the brake a half dozen times, and got 49MPG. With a rush I get 25, normal driving is right at the rated 33.
(Sorry, I just re-read the "outside of driving style" after posting this)
We really need to keep the "outside of driving style" as one of the prime considerations to imcrease MPG.
Let's face it: this car's technology walls out around 45-47 MPG, (short of esoteric (to me), expensive upgrades).
I just got back from a 120 mile run playing around with my new SGII and have made an astounding discovery: The "pulse" method of driving considerably increases MPG. At first, when I read of it, I poo-paa'd it, but the Smart's fuel shut off feature, foot off the gas pedal, using the car's momentum, pulsing back from 60 MPH to 50 MPH, making sure not too many fellow drivers are on the road and preferably on level or declining roadway, really drives up the MPG.
Side note: I have a feeling this following statement may open the proverbial can of worms, but I let the tank deplete to ".2 gal remaining" and filled with 8.42 gal. From this, I deduce the total capacity WITH reserve is: 8.7 g.
What were you able to get the MGP's up to using that technique? My pulse and glide is more a product of taking my foot off the accelerator as soon as I see a red light and back on once I know I don't have to touch the brake. My best result was to get the SG up to 56MPG using this technique, but once I get closer to work and traffic picks up I end up loosing about 3 of those MPG's in the last 2 miles of the commute. I also noticed that the actual sweet spot for this car even though many claim 45-50 and some have mentioned 60 is actually 37-40. If i stick to that speed with a constant throttle, the SG bounces between 60 and 70 MPG. (problem is there is are very few areas with the speed limit at 35 where I could actually get away with that without getting the finger)
Well, I have to admit: I just *discovered* the pulse/glide technique during the final phase of my play time, so I can't really give you an upper limit, but my average mpg during this run, according to the SGII, was 49.5 MPG.
I caveat, the gauge may or may not be properly calibrated, so give me some time.
I am prone to believe the technique works best on level or slightly hilly terrain.
And caution: One probably should not perform this with dense traffic patterns.
...my mpg are killed by the short distance I drive every day to and from work (14 total)...my best was down to the Dragon run..SLOW and easy really boosted the mpg.
I do have all four tires at 40 which is above recommended but below max. I do alot of late night driving, so I can putt along at the speed limit of the highway, 60mph. My tank average jumped from 38 to 42 in just slowing down 10 mph. See? Slowing down does work...
My #1 mileage killer is idling at long lights. On my particular route I am VERY familiar with how long the lights are so I shut down on those really long lights. On average, when I do shut down it saves me anywhere on average from 3-4mpg per tank. It has been a while since I've done it as I just haven't been into saving gas lately. I still get around 39-42mpg
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tmater
I tend to try to conserve my momentum too...it's kind of a fun challenge.
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