Accelerating from a red light

Outside of Danny's home base state, he won't be forced to collect it anytime soon.

Customers owing sales tax for online purchases from out-of-state vendors is another issue. It is still owed, but it is usually up to the customer to fess up and pay it.

I bought my second SG through that site three years ago. By that time, he was stocking enough 'group buy' inventory to ship as members ordered, no longer waiting for a critical mass. Mine was delayed because he was traveling, not because he was waiting for a certain number of orders.

Cheapest price, for those with no site loyalty but plenty of patience to wait a long time for the lowest possible price.

 

"Cheapest price, for those with no site loyalty but plenty of patience to wait a long time for the lowest possible price."

Don't mention the Amazon daily special, you got to look out for small fish Danny.​

 

great question!!
i have scanguage and have monitored ...mpg..rpm...lod....soc.....amps....and more etc...and my conclusion is that the hsi is very good on its own....once you get to know it......
HSI

the accelerating question left me wondering how to get maximum....!?
so it seems use ev up to 10-15mph..then go to ice but make sure the power showing on hsi is getting nearer the pwr but staying just between halfway and below pwr zone for best efficiency
...but keep in mind this all happens reasonably quickly!
that's what seem to coming from this thread

the hsi or hud will do this perfectly for you
but i'm sure there's more to learn

 

The HSD already has an iMPG gauge: the vertical stack of small horizontal bars to the left of the gear position indicator. The problem (for me) is that it's too short and impossible to read accurately. The Scangauge displays a number which is easier and quicker to read: therefore LESS distracting. It's not something I watch constantly - just a quick flick every now and then. And I sometimes glance at the HSD iMPG indicator too.

The horizontal ECO/ICE range bar indicates something akin to load, not iMPG.

I find the more I drive the thing the less I need to look at these displays: I can feel what it is doing, and need to glance at the displays only to confirm.

 

I found the Prius' iMPG bar too difficult to use - its easier to use the HSI bar instead.

When I am monitoring the iMPG I'm using a ScangaugeII MPG xgauge because its easier for me to match the ScangaugeII MPG numbers with the Prius' speedometer's MPH number. i.e. when trying to optimize fuel efficient during an acceleration - I am trying to get iMPG=MPH

 

I tried the whole 1/2 of iMPG thing today and it's so slow! Accelerating at 30 iMPG when you have to go from a stop to 60mph ain't gonna cut it. My acceleration around here needs to be more like 15 iMPG or less.
Probably easier to do when you are on a 35 mph residential road, not an FM road.

 

Agreed! Here in the Bay Area in a typical rush hour morning commute, using the 1/2 iMPG method will quickly make you a victim of road rage and/or turn you into a "Prius hate" victim. I estimate the 0-60mph time of using this method to be about 25 seconds or so. To keep up with traffic when leaving red lights , so that I don't become a lane blocker, I frequently have to push my HSI indicator to beyond the red power zone.

This being said, I 'm still doing lots of research into how I can maximize my MPG in this type of traffic.

 

I'm opting to ignore the HSI display while I'm accelerating from stopped to my cruising speed. The engine will let me know if I really put my foot into it, but my main point is that controlling my glides and stops is far more influential (to my mileage) than how I get up to speed. It's less stressful to me and the people behind me if I drive more normally in this way.

- Chris

 

I strongly agree here. The Prius already does quite well on the acceleration side for typical drivers who drive 'normally'. For them, there is much more to be gained by learning gliding and more efficient stopping, including DWB ("driving without brakes"), than there is by modifying their acceleration style.

Learn the basics first. It is quite reasonable to put off acceleration style changes as an advanced topic, to be learned later. Most Prius owners will be quite happy with their results without ever getting to the advanced topics.

 

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fuzzy1...css28.....antiglare...all valid points..we want to give prius good reputation

so lets turn this thread in that advanced course.....so we can maximise our knowledge

 

Gathered PriusChat’erz – Typical drivers who drive “normally” are driving conventionally powered “Gas Guzzlers,” not Prius Hybrid “Fuel Sippers.” We Prius owner-operator drivers are the “New Normal.” The iMPG = ½ iMPH acceleration technique works to save incremental gasoline to deliver increment MPG gains. If applied properly, it provides a “Brisk,” reasonable rate of acceleration off the line, which in my experience leaves surprised Corvettes, Bimmers, Subie WRXs, Duallies, F- 250/350, Ram 2500/3500 GMC 2500/3500 Pick ‘Em Up Truck drivers in my rearview with “WHAHOPPENED?!?” faces.

If you, as a Prius driver, choose to bypass changing your driving technique to drive your fuel-sipper to collect these 2± MPG gains in your Per Tank-Full fuel economy, it is your choice. I happen like these easily accrued 2± MPG fuel economy add-on gains, therefore, I shall continue drive “Hybrid $mart” off the line a red lights to reap these available MPG rewards.

For me, the “will quickly make you a victim of road rage and/or turn you into a ‘Prius hate’ victim” does not cut it, because I do not let other people driving Gas Guzzlers, “in a hurry to go nowhere,” dictate my driving techniques and behaviors. I am a courteous driver on the road who has mastered how to Hide In Plain Sight & Stay Below-The-Radar driving Hybrid $mart midst the surrounding, milling gas guzzling herd. I stealthily and inconspicuously apply fuel-saving techniques, never drive to break traffic laws or impede or obstruct normal traffic flow on the highways and byways I travel. However, I am not an “intimidated, wussified” driver on the road who lets impatient “Throttle Jockeys” riding my bumper cause me to start driving in the same fuel-inefficient manner as they are driving.

 

A suggestion: consider using efficient acceleration when the road is clear behind you. IOW, modify your driving to take advantage of what traffic (or lack of it) offers you.

 

I do this sometimes as well - is so much fun... With the electric motor and not gears to shift (even with an automatic transmission) you have a head start. The after reaching the necessary speed of 50-60kmh I just stop, I want to drive safe and not get a fine. And with most hot heads in Audis, BMWs and the such here in Munich, is nice to seem them standing there behind you at the traffic light.... Though I know my limits, so I do let the guys with the big muscle take the lead - it's not a competition after all and one has to know his place, hasn't it?

 

Appreciate your passion and zeal. That being said...

The issue is not intimidation or being a "wussy"... it's more that safety is hugely increased by following the "basic speed rule," where driving with (not faster, not slower) the flow of traffic will cause the least disruptions for both yourself and others.

Now, how much you actually need to follow this rule is a function of the traffic density of where you live and type of commute you have. I drive through stop-and-go traffic on congested freeways cutting through the heart of Silicon Valley... the "basic speed rule" dominates over staying within the maximum speed limit in this area.

So, what are some techniques for maximizing MPGs in commutes where you need to accelerate hard (beyond the red in the HSI) from 0-40 mph, brake down to 15 mph after 500 feet, then reaccelerate? I think I know the answer the "pure" hybrid driver would have - pulse and glide to average 20 mph and keep plenty of distance in front of you, so that, even if traffic ahead is stopped for 30 seconds, he'll be slowly creeping up and never needs to apply his brakes.

How about repeatedly accelerating from one stoplight to the next, where the lights are not synchronized to be green and promote the flow of traffic (if anything, they are timed to be red at every light)? During my 17 mile commute home from work, there are days where I literally have to stop at 25 stoplights on a road with a 45 mph speed limit. Talk about city planning deliberately designed to bring down gas mileage and promote fuel consumption

 

can we get back now...to how we accelerate for best economy?

then each of us can decide for ourselves when we do it if we want to do it at all

 

That's not the basic speed rule. "Basic Speed Rule. The Basic Speed Rule requires vehicle operators to drive at a speed that is reasonable and prudent." (Introduction ) It says nothing about the speed that other drivers are going or anything about going with the flow.

In your state (CA), the driver's handbook (
California Driver Handbook - Laws/Rules of the Road
) states:
"California has a "Basic Speed Law." This law means that you may never drive faster than is safe for current conditions. For example, if you are driving 45 mph in a 55 mph speed zone during a dense fog,
you could be cited for driving "too fast for conditions"." IOW, the basic speed rule envisions that conditions may require you to drive slower than the PSL in order to be safe and prudent.

"Driving faster than the posted speed limit or driving faster than safe for current conditions on any road is dangerous and illegal." Notice the "or": the basic speed rule does not justify speeds above the max limit, but it may require speeds below the PSL. Arguing that going faster than the PSL to stay with the flow of traffic because that is safer probably won't get one very far.

 

$150 to buy. Install it yourself. No voiding of warranties.