ominousinc

Nice. When I was in high school, I drove an ice cream truck during summer break. There was no air in these converted mail trucks, and the summers here in Detroit can get pretty hot. So.., being the Macgyver fan I was, when I emptied my freezer for the day, I would unscrew the ceiling fan from it's base, and I fashioned a milk crate that wedged the freezer door open, and also housed the fan and aimed it perfectly at the back of my head. And there you have it, homemade air conditioning on the fly!

Mind you, I smoked a lot of dope back then, so that may explain this outlandish behavior....

borninussr

If I remember correctly....I remember watching a MythBusters episode where they tested 2 identical suvs. I was running on the ac the other with the windows open. Basically the end results where if you are going under 50 its more economical to have the windows open. But if its over 50 too much drag is being created so its actually more efficient to use the AC.

insaneintenti0n

Here are my numbers from my last fill

Tank: 308.9 miles
Additional Range: 50 miles
Gas Input: 9.617 Gallons
Computer Calculated Gas Mileage: 33.4 mpg
My Calculated Gas Mileage: 32.12 mpg

These are numbers I like.
This was 3 days of driving (ie: 3 days of work).
50 miles each direction.
Windows up in the mornings.
Windows down in the evenings.
Used cruise control really only one day.
Slower acceleration than normal.
Slows speeds.... for me (stayed under 75/80)
The other 9 miles unaccounted for were local driving, in which I used some AC.

I'll see how long I can keep numbers in the 30 range... i don't expect it to be long, because I do a lot more local driving on the weekends. So i'll probably bounce back and forth between 27 and 30 from now on.

JoanMarshall

Racing from stoplight to stoplight only gets me 24 mpg... and I wouldn't have it any other way.

XBFred

but oh so much more fun that getting good gas mileage

sammorris

The way I look at my highway/local split is to use the average mile per hour. Some week I have 17mph, and about 24mpg, and I thought I drive 50/50 on highway and local. But 17mph does not justify that. Some week I have 34mp and I get 28mpg. I think this is more like a 50/50 split. So I based my calculation on the average mile per hour to compare how it perform.

roXor_boXor

Recent road trips have produced some interesting and somewat confusing results.

Colorado trip (I had 3 adults and a very full load of luggage.)
Best
Miles driven: 325.2
Gas Input: 10.857 Gallons
Computer Calculated Gas Mileage: 31.8 mpg
My Calculated Gas Mileage: 29.95 mpg
Average speed per computer: 52 mph
This was part Interstate (70 mph speed limit) and part 4 lane (65 mph speed limit) highway with a few stops. A/C on continuously.

Worst
Miles driven: 289.5
Gas Input: 10.940 Gallons
Computer Calculated Gas Mileage: 26.6 mpg
My Calculated Gas Mileage: 26.46 mpg
Average speed per computer: 71 mph
This was all Nebraska Interstate (75 mph speed limit). A/C on continuously.

Oklahoma trip. 1 adult and luggage for one (I'd guess 40 pounds)
Best going down there
Miles driven: 309.6
Gas Input: 9.695 Gallons
Computer Calculated Gas Mileage: 33.9 mpg
My Calculated Gas Mileage: 31.73 mpg
Average speed per computer: 65 mph
This was all Interstate (70 mph speed limit) with a few stops. A/C on continuously.

This is where it gets confusing.
Best coming back
Miles driven: 237.0
Gas Input: 8.951 Gallons
Computer Calculated Gas Mileage: 27.8 mpg
My Calculated Gas Mileage: 26.48 mpg
Average speed per computer: 70 mph
This was all Interstate (70 and 75 mph speed limit). A/C OFF continuously.

I have to do more checking on this because it makes no sense. I got better mileage on every single tank with the A/C on than I did with any of the ones with the A/C off.

BTW, ALL of the windows were up in all situations. The only variable was A/C on and A/C off besides the driving variations that are unavoidable. Same driver. Same driving style. Cruise control used in all listed scenarios. I'm starting to wonder if I need to check the direction of the prevailing winds yesterday. It was windy.

jamesfg49

"ForbesAutos interviewed Wayne Gerdes, a "hypermiler" who can squeeze 84 miles per gallon out of a regular Ford Ranger pickup truck"

Drive with no a/c? In Arizona? Is he stoned?

I get around 31-35 in the city with my air. Good nuff for me.

Yeah like I'm gonna drive to work with a button up shirt and tie with no air when in the dead of summer it's already 90 at 7am. That'd go over real well with my co-workers sweaty and 'tinky.

RichB

On my very fist tank, I averaged 31mpg and I calculated very close to that mileage on my fill-up so the avg mpg display appears to be reasonably accurate. This was on a trip of country state route driving... avg speed for the trip was only around 40mph. I was keeping the RPMs below 4,000 though during this break in period (the car is brand new) and was moderate with the throttle as well as doing much driving in the higher gears.

One thing for some folks to think about with the xB (and I have seen this with other cars). I have seen as much as a 2 to 3mpg difference in fuel consumption on same day round trips (this was with my VW Passat Wagon). Why? Fighting a steady firm headwind in one direction and then having it as a tail wind in the other direction on my return trip! I'll bet roxor_boxor's mileage difference on his OK trip was because he had a headwind in one direction and tail wind in the other!

xbbox

iTrader: (1)

The way I look at it is this. My car needs gas to run, I need my car to go to work. I like my car, I will drive the way I want, so I don't care how good/bad it gets or what gas cost cuz there's nothing I do about it. If I was that worried about it, I would have bought a prius or something.

danos_XBox

I don't think there's anything that I can do to get better mpg. I work 4 and a half miles from work. and about the same for other ventures. I can jump the highway for about 2 miles but they are doing new work on it so I go back streets. About same timewise. But the highway is backed up most of the time so back streets it must be. Only averaging 23 total overall.

borninussr

Now heres a good question. How is it possible that the xB weights 200 lbs less than the camry but only gets 22 city 29 highway, yet the camry gets 24 city 34 highway? I mean they have the same exact engine. Is it due to the aerodynamics of the car? Or due other factors play in?

danos_XBox

What does camry have for tires? Used to be larger wheels and tires or gearing would change mpg. Good question indeed.

Bigfieroman

Those camry numbers are from the old MPG scale. On the old MPG scale, the new xB is 25/31.

On the new 2008 scale, the Camry gets 21/31, it also has bigger tires AND taller gearing.

roXor_boXor

No tail wind on the trip down. There was basically no wind on September 9th and 10th when I was going to Oklahoma, but I went back and checked the weather history at Wichita, KS, Kansas City, MO and Des Moines, IA for Friday 9/14 when I was driving back.

Most of the places I drove through that day were reporting 15 to 20 mph winds from the North Northeast with gusts from 25-30 mph. So a big factor just as I guessed and as RichB suspected, I was running into a pretty strong headwind almost all day.

So, big shocker, the car is not very aerodynamic.

eyeeatingfish

I was amazed at how much gas can be saved by driving behind a big rig on mythbusters.

About the camry vs the xb, wind resistance and gearing both probably play significant roles in any difference of gas milage. I dont know if the camry is geared differently.
The 2.4 automatic 2007 camry i test drove didnt seem as responsive to me as does my xb.

Jan06xB

You got it on how it works and the way to stay cool and not use a lot of A/C is to recirculate the air in the car instead of constantly taking in warm damp air from outside. This reduces the load on the A/C and can keep you cool and dry at the lowest settings - coldest temp and slow fan speed. Also going slower reduces the warming effect of driving through all that hot outside air warming up the car but you need to be moving fast enough (20-30mph) to cool the condensor in front of the radiator without the radiator fan having to run to further save a heavy electrical load.
Now if you want to get a little more efficient you should increase the fan speed when slowing down in gear since more load on the engine at that time should not increase gas use because the engine is being turned by the energy in the car slowing down and downshifting to get the rpm up a little can really help in this area as well to spin the compressor faster.
Also if you do need to accelerate more quickly it is better to rev the engine a little more with light gas pedal use than to keep the rpm low and put your foot into it since high revs with light pedal increases timing advance giving the fuel more time to burn and also improves engine breakin and lubrication and cooling inside the pistons and cylinder walls by the increased oil flow/spray. My first few tanks of gas were in the low to mid 30mpg range on my 06xB and have been going up ever since now averaging over 40mpg all the time.

vertastang

i have about 2600 on mine and i pull about 31-32 mpg, in myrtle beach Pimpin aint easy!! HEHE

borninussr

okay this sucks no matter how hard i tryed on my last fill up, still got 24.7 mpg

How in the world do you guys manage 30 mpg !_!

SilverXBox

I only have 1630 miles on my xb, but i just returned from OCM on sunday and managed to get 31mpg doin like 95mph most of they way. If u can manage to mix up the cruising and hard accelerating you should have no problem. And don't forget your xb runs rich for the first 1000 miles to help with the break in period (per the scion dealer) Cuz let's face it i was told there was no break in period, but the manual says so...that can have a large impact on how your ride performs. don't forget tire pressure either!!!