Southern States MPG

[keithsm2]

Do you think those of us in the deep hot south will see better MPG when the weather cools off?? I mostly see everyone waiting for it to warm up on here.....but down here....we really seem to take a hit to run the AC.

[gadgetguy]

Do you think those of us in the deep hot south will see better MPG when the weather cools off?? I mostly see everyone waiting for it to warm up on here.....but down here....we really seem to take a hit to run the AC.

where do you live?

[jeff_h]

Location on his left says TX... so when hybridbear in MN starts to note how his MPG is tanking, Keith's will be heading the other way..

[gadgetguy]

Location on his left says TX... so when hybridbear in MN starts to note how his MPG is tanking, Keith's will be heading the other way..

On mobile you can't see that.

[jeff_h]

On mobile you can't see that.

Roger.

[djminfll]

I'm in Fort Lauderdale, got my FFH in February and have been pretty much using the A/C 100% of the time. I usually have temp set at about 73F. I haven't done better or worse based on it being a little hotter now than before. I think having a real winter takes a toll on the mpg, but in warm weather, even using the A/C, the engine warms up faster, and it takes a lot more energy to make heat than it does to cool.

[hybridbear]

I'm in Fort Lauderdale, got my FFH in February and have been pretty much using the A/C 100% of the time. I usually have temp set at about 73F. I haven't done better or worse based on it being a little hotter now than before. I think having a real winter takes a toll on the mpg, but in warm weather, even using the A/C, the engine warms up faster, and it takes a lot more energy to make heat than it does to cool.

I agree. Running the ICE in the winter to make heat hurts MPG more than running AC in the heat. Conditions for peak MPGs seem to be whatever the maximum outside temp is that you don't use air conditioning. Because the ICE will only operate more and more efficiently up to air temps in the 90s I've read, so if 80 is the max outside temp before you turn on AC then that's where you'll see peak efficiency.

[terryb]

My experience so far is that my '10 really didn't feel the A/C much at all. I made the road trip to WI and PA and had tanks to 43 with ambients to hi 90s. My '13 seems to take a much bigger hit with the temps into the low 100s. I'd sure like to find the magic solution.

[fusionTX]

My experience so far is that my '10 really didn't feel the A/C much at all. I made the road trip to WI and PA and had tanks to 43 with ambients to hi 90s. My '13 seems to take a much bigger hit with the temps into the low 100s. I'd sure like to find the magic solution.

Have you played with turning EV+ off. If most of your trips are short range and near home, I am wondering if that keeps your battery depleted.

[terryb]

Have you played with turning EV+ off. If most of your trips are short range and near home, I am wondering if that keeps your battery depleted.

Yup, I've tried it with and without EV+. At 5500mi, dealer says "it's still learning". My short trip <5mi ;umps around but is generally below 40 and can be below 30. It's all over the place.

[keithsm2]

wish there was a way to filter Fuelly by region......would be intresting to see if the MPG in southern states are going down...

[keybman]

I can tell you with certainty that my MPG has leveled off with the temps now remaining in the mid-90s. (100 predicted for this weekend!) My tanks previously were averaging about 51 MPG, and now they are around 48 MPG.

 

The only advice I can share at this point for Southerners is :

1) go to work early enough in the morning when you don't necessarily have to run the A/C

2) turn the A/C off upon take-off from a stop and turn back on when you reach your speed (easy as "Climate On", "Climate Off")

3) treasure and savor the tropical fronts that will move through your area in the summer (of course, the wind and the rain will then hurt your MPG)

4) be patient and wait for the 4th week of September when the 1st cold front of the Fall will arrive

5) be appreciative that your MPG is not affected as deeply during the winter months as your fellow FFHers in the North.

[keithsm2]

wow...you are doing awesome on mpg keybman.....I think i would drive myself crazy turning on and off the ac....I have started increasing the initial cool down temp to about 78 and then walking it down as i drive... where in texas are you?? what is your typical drive like for you to manage 48 avg??

[keybman]

I am in Houston. Typical drive to work is 17.6 miles each way - 5 miles of stop&go at 35 MPH, 11 miles of undulating freeway/beltway at 60 MPH but with standstill traffic for half the trip, and then 2 more mile of stop&go at 35 MPH.

 

The A/C on/off isn't too bad actually. I don't always do it, but the ICE struggles more to get up to speed from a dead stop if the A/C is running full blast. And I just use the voice commands, so I essentially just talk to her.

[keithsm2]

hmmm...what is the command?

[keybman]

hmmm...what is the command?

 

"Climate On" and "Climate Off"

[acdii]

Getting a low of 48, hope you isnt complainin! :) LOL

[SteveB_TX]

I can tell you with certainty that my MPG has leveled off with the temps now remaining in the mid-90s. (100 predicted for this weekend!) My tanks previously were averaging about 51 MPG, and now they are around 48 MPG.

 

The only advice I can share at this point for Southerners is :

1) go to work early enough in the morning when you don't necessarily have to run the A/C

2) turn the A/C off upon take-off from a stop and turn back on when you reach your speed (easy as "Climate On", "Climate Off")

3) treasure and savor the tropical fronts that will move through your area in the summer (of course, the wind and the rain will then hurt your MPG)

4) be patient and wait for the 4th week of September when the 1st cold front of the Fall will arrive

5) be appreciative that your MPG is not affected as deeply during the winter months as your fellow FFHers in the North.

 

WOW! Only 100? Gonna be 106 here on Thursday, and 108 on Friday. Thank you A/C !!

1) Work?

3) Tropical fronts? HUH? Rain? What's that? Can you say ... drought? Wanna share some of the wet stuff? :)

4) Fall? That season exists? ;)

Edited June 26, 2013 by SteveB_TX

[fusionTX]

There is no doubt that the heat in the south will mess with your MPG on your daily commutes. It will affect some more than others depending on several factors. For instance, if you car is sitting in the sun all day, your car will take longer to cool off, and your MPG will suffer more. Once the car cools off, you can see that the climate impact on MyView is less, and you have a chance to make up some Mileage. But if your commute is not long enough, you may not have a chance to recover fully.

 

If you car sits in covered parking, the impact should be less.

 

Of course, there are all the little tweaks you can do that have been previously discussed to minimize the impact of the A/C. But ultimately you want to be comfortable in your car, and have to find the right balance that works for you.

 

I always keep the A/C on recirculate, and once I am comfortable, will lower the fan and sometimes raise the temperature. I find the A/C works very well, and cools the car fast to where I can adjust things once I am comfortable. The exception is when it has sat outside in the Texas heat.

 

I do not sacrifice my comfort for miles. I just try to be as efficient with the A/C use as makes sense for me.

[keybman]

Getting a low of 48, hope you isnt complainin! :) LOL

 

 

No complainin' here. I'm saving all my complaints up for my dealership's service department. Would like to get my shifter knob, fuel module and ping-pong match stopped before anything gets worse, but Vicki apparently ain't broke yet. So, I will wait semi-patiently until its "okay" to have the correct parts on my car. But then that's another thread...

 

[hybridbear]

When the car is heat soaked we find it helps to roll all the windows down as we walk up. Then we start driving a bit before turning on the AC and rolling them up. Then if it's really hot we'll set the AC temp to 80-85 until the energy draw on MyView starts decreasing. Then we can lower the temp one degree every 15-30 seconds without increasing the power draw until we get down to 73 of so. We've found on our road trip that 72 is too cold and 73 is too warm so we alternate back & forth between the two.

 

It seems that with the AC the big power demand is when first turning it on, even if it isn't hot outside. In Vancouver we've had to turn on AC just because of the humidity with temps in the upper 60s and it draws a ton of power at first just like if it were 100 degrees outside. Turning the temp higher seems to get it to stop drawing lots of power sooner and then turning the temp colder doesn't make it draw more power