Putting the PHV through it's paces in the hot desert... (Rick's turn for the PHV)

View in at least 360p to see SG II numbers, 720p recommended.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uu5gEu772Y"]YouTube - Prius PHV test w/ ScanGauge II in EV[/ame]

 

I'm thinking I'm going to make one more run, but use cruise control to hold the speed. Thr% won't be avail, but it should yield more constant torque values. I can display MG2 RPM as well instead of MPH since that's already shown on the speedo (granted they don't always agree, and I'm inclined to think SGII is more accurate).

 

Correct. The EV "plug" on the left, means EV is possible (Sub1 or Sub2 have sufficient charge to allow EV). The EV indicator (where Eco normally sits) means that you are in EV, and that the ICE is not activated. If you trigger the ICE, your MPG gauge will drop and EV above the HSI will extinguish.

 

You know, I believe it's constant, though I haven't experimented enough over the varying SOC ranges (nor can we see these until someone figures out an XGAUGE query that works for each pack).

One exception is once you're at the magic 1.6 mile ICE pre-heat mark, very light pressure will jump the HSI into the PWR range. Also, once in hybrid mode, if the SOC is low, the HSI also becomes far more sensitive.

It's a behavior I've seen in my 2010 as well, but was based more on supposition and suspicion rather than hard gauge facts.

 

Took another video, this time using cruise control. Unfortunately, I disabled motion compensation in the camera which ended up being a bad idea (it was clipping edges last time), which ultimately makes it not post-worthy. Fortunately night time makes videos smaller and exposure more consistent, so I got 17 min, which allowed me to capture some decent data points. These numbers are straight off the gauge, not allowing for any error in the XGAUGE formula for torque, etc. Speed was taken from vehicle speedo this time. I was viewing Thr %, MG1 Torque, MG2 RPM, and MG2 Torque. Cruise control was used to "hold" speeds. MG2 RPM is approximate for each speed as it did vary somewhat +/- 50rpm at a given speed.

Speed, MG2 RPM, Torque range (notes)
45mph, 5270rpm, 5.8-8.0ft/lbs (slight down-hill mix)
36mph, 4170rpm, 5.4-6.4ft/lbs
44mph, 5100rpm, 6.1-7.6ft/lbs (more level)
46mph, 5372rpm, 7.2-9.0ft/lbs (rougher, typical 8.2)
56mph, 6500rpm, 11.5-14.0ft/lbs (rougher caused rise, typical 12.2, flat to very slight up-hill)
45mph, 5230rpm, 9.8-12.0ft/lbs (typical 10.8, opposite direction, slight up-hill)
35mph, 4135rpm, 4.2-6.5ft/lbs

With these numbers, we should be able to establish realized HP/kW, but still don't have a good idea of what the input current is to achieve it.

Some pedal positions observed that triggered ICE:
Very low speed, ~80% ICE threshold eco
45mph, ~70% ICE threshold eco

Max regen torque -80.2ft/lbs low speed, but higher speed (i.e. 40mph) just -14ft/lbs w/ "chg" full. Probably current related/limited.

 

I'm not sure I'll be in such a situation to do a long down-hill test before I need to return the vehicle. There's a few highways nearby where this could be achieved (I-17), but as I have to go to work the next couple of days, the only drives I can do are commutes.

 

LOL hill, I wish I had the time. My family would kill me if I embarked on a 1-2 hour road trip for this sake...


Today's stats:

EV:
13.7 miles EV (11.371 miles full w/o ICE)
97˚F ambient, but higher humidity
83/17% EV/HV ratio before EV exhausted. Note: this is VERY consistent for me and the same values I saw in Torrance when EV range ended.

EV exhausted 1.5 miles from freeway. Took my "normal" route today. Took a bit more freeway as a result, but that was post EV exhaustion (see beginning of thread for distance).

Tomorrow I'll reproduce the route I used for the first trip.

Vehicle stats at end of trip:
26.1 miles
44%EV/56%HV
34mph average
MPG pegged at 99.9mpg

SG II trip stats (not fully calibrated, so distance does differ):
66 mph max
32mph avg (I had to capture this quickly as it was dropping while I was parked)
112mpg avg
.23 gallons consumed
25.5 miles
4208 rpm max (on-ramp merging)
0.7 hours

Some *VERY* interesting observations now that I have SGII available. Once the 1.6 mile mark has been hit, I noticed that the HSI sensitivity was increased even after ICE warm-up (though not as sensitive as during ICE warm-up). I could apply pressure into the PWR range (or cruise-control would do the same) and disable the "EV" light, but ICE RPM was still at zero! I wonder if this means it's drawing from the HV pack as well. MG2 torque was at a similar value as when in full EV (6-8ft/lbs), so I know there was no ICE assist. Either way, it's a bit mis-leading, and makes me wish I could see current draw from each battery pack (main and sub1/sub2). Also, while ICE was warming up, I did see periods of cruising MG2 negative torque values at 45ish mph.

 

You'll likely end up using EV on the highway along w/ the ICE, however I don't have a good way to truly validate this as I'm at least 8 miles from the nearest freeway onramp where I could exceed the EV speed. We've all commented that we REALLY want a way to toggle EV where possible. It would allow us to regen the EV packs on long down-grades, and conserve EV only power for city driving.

I thought it would, but my first trip w/ the engine warmed up revealed 65.8mpg, whereas my 2010 would have gotten low 50s, best case. The Lithium-Ion batteries do help in other ways, despite the additional weight.

Loud and clear, its better than you think.