speed for best fuel economy

[sanlen]

Hi,

I own the camry 1998. This car is seldom going on highway. We plan to have along trip for the coming month.

Could you please advise what speed should i go on highway in order to get the best fuel economy out of this car?

Your comment will be very much appreciated.

Thanks,
sanlen

[Mister_Perkins]

Do the posted speed limit or slower, and you will get the max MPG. If you speed, you will loose MPG.

[ghettosled]

i found its not necessarily the speed you travel at that yields the best fuel economy, its how much you press on the skinny pedal. do not use cruise control. if you roll with the hills this tends to work the best. take advantage of downhills to gain speed and momentum and go slower on uphills. never accelerate enough to have the car downshift.

ive gotten just over 37mpg on my 450 mile trips on several occasions and with reaching speeds of 85 on the downhills, slowed to 55 (in a 65 zone) on steeper uphills and cruised at about 73-75 on flat surfaces. also following other vehicles on the road helps wind resistance. im not saying get close and draft them, but if a vehicle passes you going slightly faster, speed up and follow them from a safe distance. the increased speed with the lower drag seem to balance each other out.

[Mister_Perkins]

thats a good tip too!

I like to follow the Tractor Trailers because they get a nice column behind them that you can sqeeze into and you minimal wind resistance

[iovaykind]

^that's what I did on my trip to maryland. ended up getting 38mpg even with a CF hood strapped onto the hood.

like ghettosled said, don't use cruise control. its actually bad for mpg. i have a monitor, that can tell me throttle %, and i keep it at around 18%. then when your foot rested in a comfortable position, let the car speed up or slow down as it chooses depending on hills. i've found that on downhills, the car will get up to 70mph depending on steepness, but will not go under 55mph. i usually cruise flat around 60mph, seems to save me the most gas.. and also makes for an extremely quiet engine and ride.

[hill8570]

In my 4-banger '95, I start to lose mileage once I get above 55-60. Of course, on a lot of interstates, that's dangerously slow.

[black98camryv6xle]

55 mph on highway with cruise control when you can, i read that driving at 65 mph it takes like 10 or 15% more fuel, i drove this way and i got more mpg, also check your tire pressure cause its the number one reason for bad mpg and if you have the chance like if theres a downhill where your car can pick up momentum put your car in neutral, works for me. i also have a 98 camry v6

[iovaykind]

no, never put your car in neutral while rolling. kills your transmission as it doesn't get fluids while in neutral.

[Mister_Perkins]

if it were a manual i would put it in neutral. I did that all the time on my cars that were manual

[fenixus]

yeah, 60mph is max for highest MPG on 4cyl engines ... and I usually do not go below 70mph ... hard to drive slow around here when the whole freaking traffic flies between 70-80mph (in 55 or 65 zones! haha)

just a word of advice on following the tractor trailers or buses ... please don't do that. you will be driving in his/her blind spot, it's really unsafe to do so ... same as driving along the trailer/bus ... the bigger the vehicle, the bigger the blind spots, keep your distance.

[black98camryv6xle]

Originally Posted by iovaykind

no, never put your car in neutral while rolling. kills your transmission as it doesn't get fluids while in neutral.

yeah i agree with you that it could hurt the tranny. i find that it helps with fuel economy if my car as alot of momentum though, i dont do it to often anyway. just a thought though

[capnblinski]

Best fuel economy?

I get mine at zero. lol.

[Silent Runner]

This makes me think back to the old "Drive 55", thing from the mid 70's, until it was dropped just about everywhere. Back then, alot of cars were non-aero dynamic bricks, without overdrive transmissions, and slowing down to 55 from 65-70, made a big difference. Today, I really dont think it makes as much difference, and if your going to be a "rolling roadblock" on the highway, it might not make much sense to slow down to less than 60mph, from a safety perspective. Things like keeping the car in good tune, checking tire pressure, and making as little use of the air conditioner as possible on the highway will probably be worth more in milage gains. Most of the advise I've looked into says that cruise control does improve milage, mainly because most of us have twitchy throttle feet, and don't maintain steady speeds as well as the electronics do. (Bigger speed variations and throttle inputs)

Just set the "cruise" at about 60, pay attention to traffic, shut it off when you have too, and avoid heavy footed throttle interventions. If the car is properly maintained, you will probably get the best balance of safety and fuel economy.

[vincentfox]

As I opined in other threads:

Lowest RPM in top gear.

For my Gen4 5SFE this seems to be around 2100 RPM.

[Life2]

Originally Posted by capnblinski

Best fuel economy?

I get mine at zero. lol.

A camry idling uses about 1.5 Liters of gas per hour.... 0 mpg...Nice try though


why has no one mentioned the torque converter?


At least for whatever tranny is on the 1mz, the torque converter can be locked around 45mph and stays locked as low as 39mph. Keep your speed there and your foot pressed very lightly on the throttle. Your revs should be at about 1300. You'd be shocked what this does for fuel economy.