[Fred]

. . . and this time I've got a JPG as proof.

It was a hot day, well into the eighties and on a 54.7 mile run, in "The Silver Bullet" I managed to get 75.9 MPG for the run.

For those of you who have an Insight with a CVT, yes you can come close to matching an Insight with a manual transmission.

MPG wise I was actually in the low nineties again when I got into Stroudsburg but going around in those crowded, noisy cities, all those stops and starts, all that "crawling" from one traffic llight or stop sign to the next it's not hard at all to quickly lose a high MPG reading at the end of a good run but then most of you already know that.

Fred / Proud Owner of "The Silver Bullet"

 

[b1shmu63]

Nice driving. I think many CVT owners assume that those kind of figures are unreachable, so they don't try. A few legendary hypermilers have encouraged those with 5 speeds to excell. You may encourage the CVTers.

 

[Dougie]

How does your CVT do when coasting in neutral? It looks to me like there are clutches on both ends of the transmission, so there shouldn't be much drag when in N, but my brother says his CVT doesn't coast all that well...

 

[jimb517]

good driving

I just recently set a new record - 68.6 mpg on my 105 mile daily round trip commute (CVT) WITHOUT drafting a truck or coasting in Neutral.

Usually average 62.2 mpg (spring, summer, fall) lower winter.

LMPG 58.6 over 38,000 miles

 

[Fred]

... coasting in neutral?

About that "coasting", like "drafing" I wouldn't recommend it ... way too easy to get into trouble, trouble which can come at you very fast and from what appears to be from "no where:' tire blow out, driver in the wrong lane (for any number of reasons, drugs, drunk, having a stroke or heart attack, etc) or simply not paying attention, wildlife jumping out in front of you, etc.

At the end of every day, after puting "The Silver Bullet" in "the barn" for the night, I record the MPG and milages from the "A", the "B" and the "L" displays. None of those readings reflect "... coastng in neutral." Coasting, yes whenever and where ever I can reasonably get away with it - but not in neutral.

Fred / Proud Ower of "The Silver Bullet"

 

[Fred]

Re: good driving

... recently set a new record - 68.6 mpg on my 105 mile daily round trip commute (CVT) WITHOUT drafting a truck or coasting in Neutral. ... LMPG 58.6 over 38,000 miles

Not that you have anything to be ashamed of at this point, I'd bet a nice cold beer, in a year or less and with very lilttle additional effort on your part, in this warmer weather, with that CVT you'll probably be in the low to mid seventies on those daily commutes.

Fred / Proud Owner of "The Silver Bullet"

 

[Fred]

... CVT owners ... don't try."

Yesterday I went to Philadelphia. Used the PA Turnpike, both ways.

- Got on the NE Extension at the Pocono Exit, just me in the car, half a tank of gas and no air conditioning.

- Got off at the Willow Grove exit. MPG was in the high seventies. Lost a bit of that while wandering around that Warminster area - way, way too many people and cars!

- On the return run, with an adult passinger and the a/c on most of the way, got back to the Poconos with just under a quarter of a tank. (Gasoline went up another penny per gallon up this way while I was gone!!!)

- My daily MPG Log shows: 67.2 MPG, 217.0 Miles

For those of you with CVTs, if I can do it, so can you.

Fred / Proud Owner of "The Silver Bullet"

 

[Dougie]

"way too easy to get into trouble, trouble which can come at you very fast and from what appears to be from "no where:' tire blow out, driver in the wrong lane (for any number of reasons, drugs, drunk, having a stroke or heart attack, etc) or simply not paying attention, wildlife jumping out in front of you, etc."

I've never understood what any of this has to do with coasting. I'm not going to be "accelerating my way out of trouble" in the Insight, that's for sure. The brakes, steering, lights, etc. all work just like they always do.

In any case, IF you coast in the CVT, how does it do?

 

[Insightful Trekker]

Sorry Dougie but that's a bit of an oversimplification.

Coasting, Engine-Off has been extensively discussed in the past. Its not illegal in many states merely as another violation revenue stream (ticket).

Once the supply of brake boost vacuum is exhausted should anything sudden occur that the full braking performance be needed, you won't get stopped in time.

Yes its reasonable to "argue" that such a combination of events would be a rarity, but should the practice become commonplace there _will_ be grim statistics to corroborate the results.

And besides Fred's MPG achievements are CVT spectacular, without the extra risk.

HTH!

 

[Fred]

... The brakes, steering, lights, etc. all work just like they always do. ...
/quote]

Dougie; I can guarantee you that those brakes and steering will NOT always work "like they always do." I know for a fact that brake lines DO rust out (from the inside-out leaving you with essentially no brakes, save for the parking brake. Failure of a power steering system is much less of a problem but if it happens at a high rate of speed it to can present a real problem - probably an additional one you just don't need at the moment! (Murphy's Law - don't laugh - it works!)

Have you at least thought about what you would do when that, when one or the other or both occur? If not, now would be a good time to think about it. Just what would you do today if those brakes of yours failedl If you're going down the road at sixty MPH or so and your power steering fails, what would you do?

Without fear of contridiction I can say that those spectacular scenes of automobile accidents in which one or the other cars involved have been ripped in half - that does NOT happen if the vehicle(s) were going thirty or so MPH or slightly faster. As a former member of our local volunteer ambulance squad I can offer that when you huddle over a youngster whose been crushed or torn apart in an accident caused by that individual or another going way too fast and for whatever reason he or she lost control of the car (tire blow out, slipping on ice or an oil slick or a head-on collision) as you watch the life ooze out of him, knowing there's nothing what-so-ever you can do about it except screem with rage, perhaps you'll begin to understand how I and others see this coasting in neutral hazard.

If you're going to coast, there's a time and place to do it but at all times keep that transmission in "D" for Drive. Yes, it's a small engine BUT if you're doing your job as the driver properly, odds are on you're side you just may be able to scoot out of danger and/or evade (even if it's by an inch) serious damage.

Drive Defensively, drive as if you expect one of those idiots coming at you will probably "cross the line." Keep an eye on their front tires. Look for the ones who're riding "the line" and those who actually cross that center line. As soon as you see that happen, presume that he/she will continue on course and it's up to - YOU - to start looking for a way out. You may only have five or six seconds - if that - to react properly and if you have to put the car back into "D" or put it back into gear - that's time you just may not have.

Now off of my soap box!

Fred / Proud Owner of "The Silver Bullet"