What's your best fuel range?
 

2010 ES350 with 88,000 miles in Northern NJ using 87 grade regular gas.

• Great mechanical and cosmetic condition.
• New idler pulleys and serpentine belt
• Fresh fluids
• New OE air filter
• Michelin Premier A/S 17" tires with 15,000 miles
• No alignment issues

With gas prices going higher and higher, I've been experimenting with different driving techniques to see how I can squeeze more efficiency out of the car. Here is some changes I've tried:

1. Raise tire pressure to 35psi from 32psi.
2. Switch the instrument cluster display from Time Elapsed to TANK AVG (helped change my mindset).
3. Minimize idling to 60 seconds or less and shut off immediately after parking.
4. Follow the speed limit on cruise control (when possible)
5. Take routes with less stop lights.

Best displayed range: ~420 miles (until 0 remaining).
Best displayed TANK AVG: 28.3
Best manually calculated MPG: 27.8

I've noticed there is a big discrepancy in the TANK AVG calculation, where it can be over or under estimating from 0.2 - 1.5 MPG
The total range seems to be a more accurate representation of how well you're doing.

I am now trying out 93 grade Premium gas to see if it makes a difference.

What sort of performance have you seen from your car?


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I commute to work 43 miles round trip everyday, all highway, I average about 33MPG I use regular gas, no hard accelerations and just cruise the speed limit, very consistent week after week

33MPG, is that dislayed on the TANK AVG readout or manually calculated? Any idea of what your 'total distance to 0 miles' is like?

My commute is 18 miles: 25% rural/ 75% highway.

When I used to commute daily, about 65 miles roundtrip, mix of city and highway... the computer would display a 26-27mpg average for the tank.. Morning commutes would be better (less traffic) and afternoon commutes a little less (more stop and go). I usually run 35psi all around as I felt it improved ride and handling.

Almost all open road:

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You guys got some good stats.

I do about 70% freeway and 30% city driving. Tank average is about 23.5 MPG and regular MPG is about 19.8.

Total Trip averages around 330 miles. I guess my engine is a bit carboned up cause the tank only fills about 14.5 gallons.

I run 32 PSI in the tires and only premium (91). I should probably get those rear plugs changed out…….

Wow! Was that a road trip or just average performance for you?

Road trip.

What do you mean by a carboned up engine causing a smaller fuel tank capacity?

2007 ES350 with 180k miles. I live in Colorado and commute between Colorado Springs and Aurora (Denver), so driving is all at high elevation. Average of over 6000 ft and I cross one small pass at 7340 ft. Round trip is a bit over 150 miles and I drive the speed limit (mostly 75 mph). Around 135 of the 150 miles is highway. I average 35 mpg to Aurora and 32.5 mpg on the way back. It's not uncommon for me to average 37-38 mpg there. I've hit 40 mpg several times.
I keep all my tires at 34-35 psi and run nothing but the cheapest unleaded -- never Plus or Premium. I've tried Premium when I first bought the car (around 45k miles) to see if it made a difference -- maybe 1-2 mpg at the *most*. Lucas LCS100013 Fuel Treatment adds 1.5-2 mpg. Cleaned and waxed seems to improve mileage by about 1 mpg. I've done this commute an average of 3-4 times per week for the last 5 years, so know *exactly* what to expect.

Wow that's incredible, I would have assumed that higher elevation would mean worse fuel economy due to less oxygen and lower horsepower, but I guess your commute is really easy on the car.

I switched from the TANK AVG screen to monitoring the RANGE instead and have the Trip A showing the travelled distance. So far I got to about 440 miles on a tank of gas, but I'm still half way through the tank. Premium gas doesn't seem to make a big difference as mentioned previously.

436 miles, manually calculated at 28.9MPG (highest ever recorded)

• 2nd tank of 93 premium
• mostly all highway driving with 4 longer trips of 40 miles each way
• cruise control at or slightly below the speed limit
• tires at 35-36psi
• recently washed the car

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My observations have been that my best MPG is long distance cruising at 75mph, *without* cruise control.
My ES will consistently give me 33-34mph under those conditions, (87 octane gas) given no heavy traffic that forces me to brake, and accelerate again & again. I also note that the 3.5L motor does not give as good mileage at 60-65 mph. It just seems to like the RPM at 75. Shrug.
BTW - have tried premium gas, and found a 5-7% mpg increase, but considering price differential of well over 10%, "doesn't pay"