Keep trying on the ecodriving – the xB is mechanically the same as my xA, save the boxy shape and the longer wheelbase. There are 29 xB’s (1st gen) in the EcoModder.com garage: two are about 47MPG, and about four are at about 40MPG, and the rest are 34-40MPG.

http://i.imgur.com/9SpdikV.jpg

2a. Remove all unnecessary weight like boxes of books, but a few pounds here and there won’t matter very much. Pump up your tires to close to the maximum printed on the sidewall – this will reduce your rolling resistance far more than removing even 100 pounds.

3a. If you want to actually measure your MPG accurately (so that you can know if you are actually improving your ecodriving) then you should just fill the tank up all the way each time, and keep a record, in a notebook or on your smartphone.

4a. This is huge – the aero drag goes up with the square of the speed, so 55-65MPH is *much* better than 75MPH. Also, coast in neutral down all hills, and use the engine to slow down – this shuts *off* the fuel.

5a. Well, again I have to quibble – if you can hold the throttle steady (whereas the cruise control tries to hold the *speed* steady) you will save more fuel that way. GET A ScanGauge or an Ultragauge TO SEE YOUR ACTUAL FUEL USE is real time. There is nothing like feedback to help you learn how to ecodrive.

6a. This relates to 8a (see below). Moderate acceleration is best up to the appropriate cruising speed. Instead of accelerate/brake, you should accelerate/coast/brake – this uses the kinetic energy you have “invested” in the moving car to actually move the car, rather than just heat up (and wear out!) your brakes. Again, downshift ahead of and during braking as this shuts off the fuel to the engine, and lessens the use of the brakes even more.

7a. Yes, avoiding thick traffic will save fuel. If you are at a traffic light where you know the pattern, and you can see when the light will turn green – and you are sitting still for 15s or more – shut off the engine. I drive a standard so restarting is easy; though in automatics, you’d have to shift into neutral, so use your judgement.

8a. This step is better titled “Drive Like You Don’t Have Brakes” – don’t accelerate to a stop. Accelerate, then coast, and then brake also using the engine to slow down. If you need to, accelerate/coast/accelerate/coast/etc. -and you can learn to use the terrain to improve your coasting. Your MPG will jump up to 200-300+ MPG while coasting.

9a. As I mentioned earlier – tires should be *at least* as much as recommended in the owner’s manual and you can safely go as high as the sidewall maximum; which is usually 44PSI or 51PSI on some better tires. You will notice better coasting, and you can back off accelerating earlier – and you will save even more fuel.

10a. Warming up an engine ahead of time just wastes fuel – it will warm up just as quickly if you start driving right away, and you get some actual use out of what you have paid for.

http://ecomodder.com/forum/EM-hypermiling-driving-tips-ecodriving.php

As I mentioned earlier, a few simple mods can save you a lot more fuel, and once you try some, you may want to try some more:

http://ecomodder.com/forum/fuel-economy-mpg-modifications.php

Neil

In other words, I average ~46MPG all year round, and I have averaged well above 50MPG in the summer. So, instead of ~350 miles a tank, I average about 475 miles and as many as 620+ miles on a tank. In five years or so, I have saved over 1,200 gallons of gasoline.

It is well worth learning to ecodrive, and the best tool you can get to help you save gas is a ScanGauge or and Ultragauge. These plug into the ODB II diagnostic plug under the dash, and read out lots of useful things like average and instant MPG, and also temperature gauge, voltage, etc.

Neil

Neil