Japanese "Mileage Maniacs" Hack Prius To Get 116 MPG

Justin,

have a look at http://www.cleanmpg.com/
and the Hybridfest activities. Some US hybrid owners can aceive over 150 mpg with extreme measures. Checik it out all.

great work :D
well done...

wow, that seems like a lot of effort! kudos to them, but wouldn't bicycling or, gasp, walking, help tons more? not to mention be less sedentary? :)

sorry, but "green cars" give me the shivers! :P at least they consume less gas. aren't batteries toxic?

Ken

Driving barefoot :P Stinky pedals.

They might as well just ride a bicycle if they're so concerned about fuel economy. The whole trick to getting good mileage out of a hybrid is to keep the electric engine running as much as possible, which means low speeds and gentle acceleration. What's the point of driving a car then ?

1000 miles on a 13 gallon tank of gas

Wouldn't that be 76 mph?

Time and time again the Japanese are on the forefront of technological advances. The mileage obtained in this article is very impressive, but a powerplant partially based on current batteries is doomed. An example would be your cell phone. When it is new it holds a charge for a long time, but eventually it charges less and less, and then finally dies. The savings at the pump are substantial, but would be mostly offset by a 4 or 5 thousand dollar battery pack replacement every 3/4 years. I'll stick to my used Explorer for my commute to the Post Office for now.

Prius batteries are warranted for at least 8 years/100,000 miles (10 years/150,000 miles in California and maybe in the other states that comply with its emissions regulations). The pulse and glide technique doesn't really do anything at all to the battery - except not use it.

Ken O,
Walking would be more efficient, but not by as much as you'd think. If she were to take a passenger with her (which unfortunately she didn't), her trip to work with passenger would have been as fuel efficient (kCal) as walking. Biking efficiency can't be beat, but with 4 people in the Prius, driving is 70% as efficient (based on her 116 mpg average).

Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuel_efficiency_in_transportation

11011011

Having 4 toyotas myself I can see how this is fact.The 09 is going to get 80 mpg. MY RAV 4 06 GETS 29.5 USING THE AIR. MY WIFES YARIS 39 ALSO BOTH ARE AUTOMATICS.

Come on people. Are you serious? Ride a bike? Are you oblivious to the fact of a word called "distance"? What if you have to drive a long distance? Please tell me that its more than 1 in 100 people that have common sense.

Ontop of it all, i see posts saying "whats the point off driving? if you cant accelerate fast". You should be smacked and sent off to die on a small island for being so dumb.

Everyone needs to wake up and realize this global warming problem.

Hey Ken O:
in referring to Hybrid cars you said
keep the electric engine running as much as possible, which means low speeds and gentle acceleration. What's the point of driving a car then ?
Well just for fun check out an electric car that costs a ton but

0-60 in 4 seconds
top speed 130 MPH
and looks like a dream..

check this out:

http://www.teslamotors.com

I wish I could get my 350z to get that kind of Mileage. =(

I'm glad you can all have a group hug about MPG claims. but what about when those batteries reach the end of thier life cycle? How many HUNDREDS of pounds of chemicals and metal are you "recycling" or just throwing away?

By the way, in case you need to brush up on reality:

http://clubs.ccsu.edu/recorder/editorial/editorial_item.asp?NewsID=188

The Prius uses Nickel Metal Hydride batteries, which aren't toxic at all. There's nothing in them that can contaminate landfills, plus they're recyclable. You must be thinking of lead-acid batteries, of which every regular car has one of, or Nickel-Cadmium batteries, which are pretty much obsolete and only used in cheap landline telephones and other low-quality chinese consumer goods. Cadmium is very toxic to the environment.

I'll give up my supercharged 454CUI when they pry my cold dead foot off the accelerator!

BTW I get 3.1GPM

I remember when I bought my 2004 Prius. I was so excited about this Hybrid Synergy Drive, system. I average 60 miles per gallon, Gas Prices going up doesn't even bother me. if fact, as I see prices of gas go up, I actually get a little excited. to me this higher gas price means the race to make fuel efficient cars will have more members. Anyway, it's impossible to explain the feeling of driving a Prius. And getting 60 miles per gallon is just great. I use to spend more money taking the bus. So my Prius actually cost me less than a bus pass. Toyota, You Are The Best!

And let's not forget what hacking a Prius' system can do to the battery. A friend of mine did it and went through three batteries in quick succession. But here in our house, we definitely work toward that "pulse and glide" mode of driving (the car's mileage and energy consumption screens work almost like a biofeedback mechanism -- or maybe it's just behavior modification). Regardless, we regularly get 51 or 52 MPG, even in our very hilly city.

Reality check? Come on. That's an article for people that watch Fox News and the E channel; people that don't like to actually think about what they read or watch. 100K life for a Prius? The batteries are warranteed for 100K miles, which means that they'll last more than a fair bit longer. 300K life for a Hummer? Ridiculous. And you don't think that they'll change out an engine within that "lifespan?" Doesn't that seem to be stretching things a bit? That's a 200K difference and is sure to have a huge effect on the statistical comparison. Think about this for a "group hug." If you want to effect change in the world, vote with your dollars; most people driving Prii realize the downside of the batteries, however, they also realize that the more of these that are purchased, the more that they are SEEN, the more effort the capitalist engine (that we all love) will put behind these kinds of technologies and really make a positive change for the environment.

All they need to get INFINITE mpg is to drive, as we do, a Toyota RAV4-EV.

We press on the accelerator, and it calls on electric power that comes from off peak charging paid for by excess electric produced by our rooftop solar PV system. We make more electric than we use.

Of course batteries are a toxic mess if they are not recycled correctly, but how does that negate the pollution and other inherent issues associated with gasoline engines?

This is just another of those "If you can't fix it all at once, then don't bother with incremental fixes." There is no cure all to this problem, but there are many small things that help and can make things better than they are now.

I am not impressed with the above. How ever check this out and then tell me about MPG's?

Daniel Dingel: Converts More than 100 Cars to Run on Water

Inventor Daniel Dingel, who lives in the Philippines, since 1969 has converted more than 100 gasoline cars to be powered by hydrogen derived ON DEMAND from plain water. Aluminum is used in the tank to suppress a possible explosion. The Philippines President is not interested because of an agreement with the World Bank. For a link to a water car movie, see Section 12-G of http://www.byronwine.com/.

Charles N. Pogue: 200+ MPG Carburetor

In Jan. 3, 1935 Charles N. Pogue was issued a Canadian patent - 353538 - for a High Mileage Carburetor.

In Apr. 9, 1935 Charles N. Pogue was issued a US patent - 1997497 - for a High Mileage Carburetor.

In Jan. 7, 1936 Charles N. Pogue was issued a US Patent - 2026798 - for his newer High Mileage Carburetor. Pogue used the carburetor for about ten years on his car and produced about 200 carburetors thru the Economy Carburetor Co.

(Actual copies of the following three test reports plus a drawing of the Pogue carburetor can be viewed at http://www.byronwine.com/files/1936%20Ford%20test.pdf.)

and this will realy rock your brains?....

Shell Oil Company: Achieves 376.59 MPG with a Modified 1959 Opel in 1973

Shell Oil Company wrote "Fuel Economy of the Gasoline Engine" (ISBN 0-470-99132-1); it was published by John Wiley & Sons, New York, in 1977. On page 42 Shell Oil quotes the President of General Motors who in 1929 predicted 80 MPG by 1939. Between pages 221 (see http://www.byronwine.com/files/Shell%20P221.pdf) and 223 (see http://www.byronwine.com/files/Shell%20P222.pdf) Shell writes of their achievements: 49.73 MPG around 1939; 149.95 MPG with a 1947 Studebaker in 1949; 244.35 MPG with a 1959 Fiat 600 in 1968; 376.59 MPG with a modified 1959 Opel in 1973 (photos of these three cars are shown on page 223).

The Library of Congress, in September 1990, did not have a copy of this book. It was missing from their files, of course. Byron Wine bought a copy from Maryland Book Exchange around 1980 after a professor informed him that it was used as an engineering text at the University of West Virginia.

They really need to add a little detent in the gas pedal so that you can feel the critical decellerate, coast, electric only, and ICE startup positions.

Nothing that. Check out the Pogue Carb that was used in the Sherman tank in 1945 this was doing more MPG than this.

Heh... All this talk about the primus and hybrids seems to skip over a very large hypocracy..
The fact that manufacturers dont give a damn about getting as much efficiency out of the gasoline fuel as possible.
Fact is, exhaust gas recirc systems are still being installed in new cars, indicating an incomplete burning of the fuel in the combustion chambers.
Patents and experiments indicate that a proper atomization of the air fuel mixture can produce gains of many times the distance compared to what the mighty exhalted hybrid can attain.
What a scam...
Fact: Last year a device that extracts hydrogen from water was carried to the ISS;
This year the US Navy expects to test a device that extracts hydrogen from diesel fuel;
APPARENTLY, no one told then they are floating in a sea of 66% hydrogen.
This is the greed that people are up against...

Regarding the above mentioned Shell Oil Opel in 1973...Do you have the picture of the car....I may have the car here at our shop

The difference between a modified Prius getting high mileage and various mythologies about water cars and 100 mpg carbs is that anybody can duplicate the results of the Prius tests.

For all you robo-bloggers with your me-too posts claiming that hybrid batteries will somehow wear out; they don't. There are several fully documented Prii that have over 150,000 miles on the original battery in taxicab service.

Please document a single Prius that has had it's battery replaced due to failure in normal use. You can't. Not yet.

The gasoline vaporization idea was also used By Smokey yunich, in multiple cars with varing engines. He received approximately 70 MPG and 1.8 HP per cubic inch. on each car and engine. That is 271 HP and 70 mpg on a 2.5 litre engine This was in an issue of hot rod magazine approx 1984-1986 I can not find my coppy

my 1994 honda fireblade 900cc will do 54mpg
and its alot more fun than a car will ever be 170mph

DOUG... Where did you get your Electic car? If I move to LA, I might have to get a car, I'm afraid... So I'd love to have an EV one.

Hi Thank you for the post, this is very interesting. It is fantastic to see the world wide interest in protecting the planet and freedom from fossil/dino fuel.

I have a question. Someone was telling me that it is very toxic to make batteries and that disposing of the batteries is even more toxic to our environment. Is there anyone out there that can answer this question? Does battery production pollute the environment and is there a safe way to dispose of batteries? Are there resources where I can read or learn more about this?

Thank you so much thegreenqueen

All I have to say to you is, QUACK QUACK!

I laugh about the people who talk about travelling long distance. a properly structured and planned city or town would make it easy to bike just about anywhere. Im guessing those who complain of distance are american, since their whole economic ideal is based on travelling a long distance to get anything done. it was that way in the 1800's, 1900's and I think itll stay that way in 2000s, because apparently they like paying money to drive long distance between inefficiently designed cities without good public transportation, just look at what country consumes the most oil. you think there would be any good electrically driven railcar transportation with that oil consumption value? why do you think its so high and public transportation is so low? one, the oil companies need their market, two, distance combined with selfish desires about "your own luxury vehicle" have you all paying multiple times over to get anywhere. combine that with the constant traffic jams, because noone obeys the laws of the road, such as staying a certain distance for a certain speed,(if everyone did that there wouldnt be traffic jams) etc. I've been to japan, you can get anywhere by public transportation or walking, and it only takes you 10-20 minutes to get anywhere in the city by walking and rail. their city layout is designed to make it easy for biking and walking traffic to get around, and they actually have railways. compared to the US system which is all based on greed, your personal greed, the oil companies greed, its a wonder thing are the way they are for you. dont wanna pay? change the system.

The last post was the most nagging fingerpointing unfounded garbage, hindsight is 20/20 it's easy to talk about redesigning cities and a hell of a lot harder to throw down the bank to pay for it all, the world is no utopia and some people in some countries have to travel in order to make a decent wage, compare the sizes of japan and the us, quit trying to give insight into the world and ram your head through the bright screen in front of you, you incite a revolution through bullshit messages bitch.

The post that mentions the shell oil mileage challenge is intriguing, but not surprising. Those mileage numbers are from compact cars with manual transmission, tuned lean, and running rock hard tires. The latest numbers were achieved on a level fixed course, nothing conspiratorial here on the part of shell, or the library of congress. Some of the latest mileage challenges are run by trikes running bike tires and little engines. These vehicles achieve over 1000 Mpg., which is still not surprising given the conditions.

WOW, there are a lot of self righteous idealistic ignorant people on this site!

One point I have to support is the increase in atomization of fuel. Most won't like this but this is one of the primary methods that people use to increase power and mileage in diesel engines. My '02 F350 with the 7.3L powerstroke has quite a number of modifications to it including new programming in the ECU, a bigger more efficient turbo, larger exhaust and intake, and a larger intercooler. Because of the mods the truck has a LOT more power than stock and I have documented a 5 mpg increase. There was a recent article in one of the diesel magazine of a guy with a truck like mine who gets a documented 28pmg. That is really good for a 8000lb truck with almost 400hp.

BTW the vegitable oil conversion kit is almost ready for installation on my F350. With a planned rebuild next year I expect to have over 400hp/800lb-ft tq, get 20mpg(when not towing), and run 90%+ of the time on WVO or bio diesel. Talk about a green monster.

of course japan has a very efficient public transportation system,its only 378,000 square kilometers with a population 3 times the size of california, while california is over 410,000 square kilometers!
america is so damn big and sparsely populated that of course public transportation is not as widespread. san francisco in fact has a quite good public transit system, but wheres the market for a train from sacramento to LA that departs over 10 times a day? thats what you are asking when you compare us to japan. next.

aside from that, these hybrid engines are very promising, lets hope they can keep bumping up the distance per gallon,and hopefully phase out gasoline altogether.

.........i think its good that some people actually care about the environment........ its good for me ....... with all the polution u guys r saving i can drive my 2002 dodge cummins 350(w/ a banks big hoss bundle --pushing 750hp and maxing the dyno at 1200 toeque... getting 2.436 mpg}wihout having too much impact on the environment ty all for hugging trees :)))

I'd jump on Chuck D for bashing the US, but urban planning does suck here (at least in my city) and the suburbs are even worse. We've got to be the least pedestrian-friendly country in the world. I'm not interested in riding my bike everywhere I go, but in most places here its not even safe to cross an intersection on foot (6 lanes and no crosswalks). I resent having to get in the car to travel 30 meters.

I'd jump in on the Prius debate, but I've only had mine for 48 hours and my boner hasn't gone down enough yet to say anything coherent.

as to the pouge carb or the other vapor carbs. they dont work. why else have they not collected the randi challenge? as for the prii? think about this. i have a friend who has a 1990 honda crx hx that still gets 65 mpg he drives it long distance and get that. for those who talk about the need to drive because of distance. move closer to work not further and use park and rides or public transport. you also spent way more money for your vehicle to get minimal increase in over all savings over the life of the vehicle. most cars are traded or sold within 4 to 5 years then they are kept over long time periods. where as my 13k 99 cavalier that got on average 30 mpg for 7 years i saved more money then you who spent 25grand and got 55 but sold in 4 years for a new one.

what tires. i want more mpg from my newly purchased prius. i'd like an examle of this foam installation... any thing would help...........walt