Finally better MPG!

[fongster]

I'm happy to report that we got great mileage on a recent highway trip from OC to Yosemite, CA and back. I'd only been getting 18.5 to 18.8 city/combined but we got 22 on the way up and 25.5 on the return and that was with 3 people, cargo area and 2nd row seats fully loaded with gear and a/c blasting. Tires were 33 PSI front and rear. It has only 1500 miles on it. I heard mileage may go up on new cars after break-in, is that a myth?

[TrailDust]

Originally Posted by fongster

I'm happy to report that we got great mileage on a recent highway trip from OC to Yosemite, CA and back. I'd only been getting 18.5 to 18.8 city/combined but we got 22 on the way up and 25.5 and that was with 3 people, cargo area and 2nd row seats fully loaded with gear and a/c blasting. Tires were 33 PSI front and rear. The car has only 1500 miles on it. I heard mileage may go up on new cars after break-in, is that a myth?

IMO it's not. Seems like an extra 10% improvement is what I've experienced. BTW, I'll be following generally the same route as you next month on a trip from OC up to Lake Tahoe, with four people and full luggage on board. Past experience under those conditions with A/C blasting and 70 MPH speeds has yielded about 24.5 MPG. Of course, on the way back I'll be filling up with non-ethanol gas in Carson City, Nevada, with a net downward altitude trend on the way home, so I'm estimating 25.5 to 26 MPG on that leg. When I get back I'll report up the results.

[fongster]

Originally Posted by TrailDust

IMO it's not. Seems like an extra 10% improvement is what I've experienced. BTW, I'll be following generally the same route as you next month on a trip from OC up to Lake Tahoe, with four people and full luggage on board. Past experience under those conditions with A/C blasting and 70 MPH speeds has yielded about 24.5 MPG. Of course, on the way back I'll be filling up with non-ethanol gas in Carson City, Nevada, with a net downward altitude trend on the way home, so I'm estimating 25.5 to 26 MPG on that leg. When I get back I'll report up the results.

I might've gone a little faster than 70 mph in a few stretches, BTW, one area (I think it was the downhill as you leave Gorman and descend towards Grapevine) was being worked hard by the CHP.

[Yazon]

If you drive at speed limit (as you should) the MPG will go to 28 on freeway and about 23 city.

[becks]

Just returned from a 300 mile trip (150 each way) to the Jersey shore. Averaged 21 mpg
with 3 occupants, full luggage load and (2) 11' Kayak's on the roof.

[Jerseyglock]

Originally Posted by becks

Just returned from a 300 mile trip (150 each way) to the Jersey shore. Averaged 21 mpg
with 3 occupants, full luggage load and (2) 11' Kayak's on the roof.

I'm not surprised with AC running, kayak and cargo.
Check your tires' pressure and keep it under 70mph on GSP

[05Moose]

You will almost always get better MPGs going UP into the mountains than you will on the flats closer to sea level. Air density at lower elevations kills MPGs. I average about 3 MPG more driving uphill into the mountains than I do driving downhill into the Sacramento Valley and heading toward the coast! Been that way in every vehicle I've ever owned. And like TrailDust said, going downhill from the mountains back home is just icing on the cake! (FYI, I live at 4K feet and end up usually around 8K foot elevation when driving up into the mountains.)

[becks]

Originally Posted by Jerseyglock

I'm not surprised with AC running, kayak and cargo.
Check your tires' pressure and keep it under 70mph on GSP

I think 21mpg is pretty good with all that gear, and remaining at 60-65 mph.

[fongster]

Originally Posted by becks

I think 21mpg is pretty good with all that gear, and remaining at 60-65 mph.

Agreed. 21 sounds good. Especially with those yaks on top. I'm going to start cycling again. Wonder how a couple bikes up top will affect MPG? At least my rack will be lower than my Outback's was as I get to use the factory crossbars instead of Yakima's towers and round bars.

[TrailDust]

Okay, I got back from my trip last night and the mileage numbers are in. On this trip I used regular unleaded since that's what most members appear to use, and where noted I used non-ethanol gas in Nevada. Some initial stats. My HL is the 2008 Base model running the OEM Duelers, and the loadout was four adults including myself, A/C used about half the time, and about 200 pounds of luggage and other cargo all carried internally. As always, I calculate mileage based on literally filling the tank to the spout lip at each fill up, then dividing the mileage driven by gallons used.

First leg from home to Carson City, Nevada, at 470 miles was 25.57 MPG. I drove all uphill segments at 65 MPH with cruise control handling the uphill, and taking the Highlander out of cruise control and coasting on the downhills. Flat, open road sections (trending uphill on this leg) were driven at 70 MPH with cruise control.

Filled up at Carson City with non-ethanol regular unleaded, then drove uphill all the way to Lake Tahoe. Unloaded the luggage and drove 2 to 4 adults on short trips all around the lake, and included an up and down "hilly" freeway trip to Reno and back to Tahoe (70 MPH all the way), then drove back down to Carson City for another fill up for the trip home. Overall, it was 270.8 miles driven for that segment and mileage was 26.3 MPG.

Next segment was from Carson City to Lone Pine, California, with two side trips on steep, winding roads up to Sierra Nevada lakes plus another side trip at slow speeds and lots of idling on the dirt trails around the Alabama Hills, all of which accounted for about 60 miles of the total miles driven on this leg. Highway was at 70 MPH. Total mileage was 294.8 miles at 26.55 MPG.

Last segment from Lone Pine to home was driven about half at 70 MPH and the other half at 75 MPH, but I haven't filled up yet for a calculation. I suspect mileage will be about 24 MPG due to ethanol gas and higher speeds even though trending downhill.

[fongster]

Dang! That's some decent MPG. Ethanol-laced gas sucks I guess. Thanks for posting!

[TrailDust]

Originally Posted by fongster

Dang! That's some decent MPG. Ethanol-laced gas sucks I guess. Thanks for posting!

No problem, glad to offer it up. Based on past experience with non-ethanol gas the difference in mileage is about 10% better. Also based on past experience, I think if I were to be lightly loaded, driving strictly freeway, and have the cruise control set to 65 I'd be able to pull 28.5+ MPG. I've never heard of a non-hybrid SUV this size that can get those kind of numbers....

[05Moose]

Doesn't actually surprise me. At Tahoe's elevations, that's about an average increase. When I take my Tacoma from home to Reno going around the west side of Tahoe and back, I can easily get a 2 mpg increase. I think I remember us getting about 25 mpg in the HL last time we made the trip to Cabelas and back. That's about a 2-3 mpg increase from our local highway numbers.

Now do a similar trip at the coast and you won't see those numbers regardless of ethanol content. The air is just too dense.

[TrailDust]

I know what you're saying, altitude definitely provides a mileage increase. As for the ethanol/non-ethanol, probably the best test I've had for that has been filling up on the California side and driving around Death Valley on the main roads with the altitude varying between -100 feet to about +400 feet. On the same or different trips I've filled up at Beatty or Pahrump in Nevada and then driven around Death Valley. Running the numbers it usually comes up about 8% to 10% improvement in mileage. In the end, there's so many damn variables, but variable #1 is how the driver drives.

When I get my new tires my mileage will take a hit for a while, but I'm not so obsessed that it'll freak me out too much....

[AVConsult]

Nobody suggests *why* they get better gas mileage at altitude.....