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I give up - No more HSI

Discussion in 'Gen 1 Prius Plug-in 2012-2015' started by bielinsk, Aug 7, 2012.

  1. bielinsk

    bielinsk Gremlin

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    I have tried the pulse and glide.

    I have tried hypermilling.

    I have tried very slow starts from lights.

    I have tried every technique I have read about or watched on youtube.

    I always get about 60MPG HV only.

    So now I use Power Mode and just drive the car as I would any other car (then try to feather for EV when at speed)

    The engineering in this car really is superb. I don't believe you have to drive it special to get fantastic mileage.

    I still think too much battery was allocated to Traction. I estimate I would need to drive 10 miles at 35 MPH to deplete the traction portion and cause the ICE to kick on.
     
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    so you want less ev and more hv?
     
  3. devprius

    devprius /dev/geek

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    No I think he wants more EV and less HV.
     
  4. What is your maximum speed and for how long ?
     
  5. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    yes, i'm not sure what 'too much battery was allocated to traction' means. isn't it all allocated to traction? if i drove 10 miles in ev and then the ice came on, i would want more allocated to ev. but that's just me. i'm not sure what more allocated to hv would do unless you live in a really hilly area and could recharge a lot on the down hills? but that would happen in ev anyway.
     
  6. Paradox

    Paradox Prius Enthusiast / Moderator
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    I think he means he wants less kwh dedicated to what is available once EV is gone and the car is running in sole HV mode. Thing is, the PiP uses the same amount of kwh dedicated for HV as the liftback. Difference is it's li-ion not nimh. Does that matter? No idea, but I'd imagine if the engineers could have given more kwh to ev mode driving taking away from hv mode, or if it would have mattered much to increase ev mode driving distance, they would have done it.
     
  7. bielinsk

    bielinsk Gremlin

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    Paradox is the only one that understands me.

    My typical driving is all under 50mph with an average around 30.
     
  8. Paradox

    Paradox Prius Enthusiast / Moderator
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    Thanks Bielinsk, I was hoping I understood what you were getting at in your threads concerning this.

    I do have to admit that in my PiP as well, once I am in HV mode the segmented battery indicator does seem to drop much slower driving using only the battery than in the 2006 and 2010 I owned. I can only think this is in fact due to the difference in chemistry of the battery (the PiP being Lithium-Ion). Does that still mean using Li-Ion they can allocate less kwh to HV mode driving in the PiP? I just don't know, unfortunately...
     
  9. bielinsk

    bielinsk Gremlin

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    Yep, and it seems like it fills up SOO fast. I have not been able to get it to the point where the ICE has to start to charge it. Just breaking and leaving lights is enough to keep it full.
     
  10. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    i have gotten it to half full using gentle throttle to keep it in ev. it does charge up quickly which is a good thing (i think).
    to get it lower, i think i would need to go thru a car wash or stop and slow on the highway.
    generally speaking though, it may be beneficial to mpg's to have the battery at a steadier charge level.
     
  11. Under 50 mph, your consumption should
    be incredibly good. My last Freeway trip was 135 miles, doing 65 mph with 68 mpg.
     
  12. CRT1

    CRT1 New Member

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    Hypermiling takes practice and technique. There are folks that get 75-85 regularly in Prii. I've gotten a ton of good info over at CleanMPG.com which is mostly focused on hypermiling technique. I've been able to get my mileage in my Honda Fit up to ~44 mpg average from about 30, but it took about 5 months of practice. I'm not satisfied with that which is why I am considering the PIP. 60 MPG is far better than 99.9% of people on the road today, so if you are happy with that don't sweat it. Just enjoy the drive!
     
  13. Jimbo69ny

    Jimbo69ny Active Member

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    What he is saying is that he cannot use those techniques to get better than 60mpg. I agree. On a recent 2 hour trip to Rochester I was only able to get 66. I had the ac on low and I was doing between 60-70 on the highway. I have also noticed that I cannot coast as far on my daily work commute. I had a whole routine worked out with my 08. I think its just because the pip is just heavier.

    Luckily most of my commute is within range of ev. I live in an area where there are a ton of large hills I lose a lot going up but I gain going down. I am getting about 15.5 miles on ev. On most trips the ice turns on at the tail end of the trip. I can usually cruise low speed at the very end so even in hv I am usually keep it in ev. Once the ice is warmed up that is.

    Today I was able to get almost 17 miles the only time ice turned on was when I ran out of juice in ev mode. Once it was warmed up i kept it off and stayed in ev.
     
  14. Gun owning Prius driver

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    Lol I would kill (not really) for 50 I was proud cause on 325 mile trip I got 45.
     
  15. bielinsk

    bielinsk Gremlin

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    Yep, that is what I am saying. I have tried every technique, and it actually added a bit to my stress while driving as I was always watching some line, or pushing some button etc. And I wasn't seeing any advantage to mileage. So now I just drive it, and I get 60+ and am more than happy.
     
  16. Totmacher

    Totmacher Honey Badger don't give a carp

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    Same boat, I gave up on trying to squeeze the extra bit out of the HV. My problem is 99% of my HV driving is during the "warm up period" and uphill. My daily commute is 100% EV from home to Gym (16 miles down hill), charge at Gym, 100% EV to work (8 miles) then 12 miles home but uphill at 8 miles EV, 4 miles HV. The last 4 miles is the most up hill.

    That 4 miles I get horrible MPG no matter what. The first 30ish seconds I hold about 50 MPG because the car uses more battery, but since I am going up hill in that 30 second span it literally takes the battery down to 2 blips. Then once the warm up is done the ICE is working tripple Duty trying to power the car, replenish the depleated battery and finish warming up. So I average about 34 MPG over that last 4 miles.

    Really not complaining as the entire Daily commute nets me about 400-450 MPG with free charging at work and the Gym.

    I really wish we had the Ability to FORCE the car to EV mode when it was in HV mode like I can in my wifes 2011. Reverting back to my previous explanation of my commute by the time i am getting near home i could force it to EV and drain the battery before pulling into the garage and pluging in since the ICE basically charged it right back up again.


    Back to your point though i completly agree to much of the battery is "reserved" for HV. On long trips freeway or around town in 100% HV mode I never see it dip to the lower 1/3 unless its a combo of warmup/uphill. I would easily take an extra .6 - 1.0 EV miles at the loss of that portion of the HV that never gets used. Or as i said give me the ability to force it back to EV when it is in HV like in the 2011 model.
     
  17. Warm the engine up first on the easy portion home leaving a larger portion in EV for reserve later. When you get to the hill, see if you can make it home in EV.You are doing so good anyway, but it may make a slight improvement.
     
  18. Gun owning Prius driver

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  19. devprius

    devprius /dev/geek

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    HV is Hybrid Vehicle mode. EV is Electric Vehicle mode. By default the car wants to run in EV mode, drawing on the battery pack primarily to move the car. When you deplete the usable power available for EV, it's switches to HV mode, which means you are now using the car like a regular Prius where it uses the gas engine along with the electric motors and the battery pack to move the car.
     
  20. ProximalSuns

    ProximalSuns Senior Member

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    That's pretty good getting 60 mpg from a car rated 50 mpg.

    Whoops...a PIP...never mind.