2010 Prius Pulse and Glide warp stealth help

Shift into "N".

Bob Wilson

 

I'm sure this has probably been asked before, but just can't seem to find it.

Does the pulse and glide technique work the same way with a gen I prius as a gen II?

 

Yes.

Ken@Japan

 

My understanding is that being in neutral is a bad idea. I believe that the car does not go into regen mode, and so you will not be using the cars inertia to recharge the battery.

 

From what I've been reading it sounds like over 42 mph the car should be able to go into the no arrow glide, even when doing warp stealth you will see arrows coming from the battery going to the wheel, is this right?

In my 1st generation 2002 I can get it into the no arrow mode no matter what the speed, just did it at 72 mph. Is this warp stealth for the 1st generation?

 

Everyone is getting over 50mpg on their gen 3's and I just noticed mine is getting 49.1. I have been accelerating slow but I'll have to try quick acceleration and might have to check my tire pressure

 

i had my screen turned off because i become paranoid lol... i just check it when i turned off the car

 

It can be frustrating I tell ya. More so than that flappy bird game hahaha.

 

Check your profile, is that a 2007 Prius?

Bob Wilson

 

i get 45-61mpg... if its uphill its lower.. the lowest i get is 39

 

Air conditioning takes a big hit

 

The "pulse and glide" technique is as much art as science.

There are things you need to understand....

1. A "hard" acceleration is more fuel-saving than slow, gradual acceleration. In a hard acceleration, you are employing more fuel, but getting significantly more torque which increases your MPH faster. So, a "hotter burn" for a shorter time. Gradual acceleration (for more than 5 mph gain) is a slower burn, but very little additional torque. So, you are burning less, but for much longer. Being liberal on the gas to get to 40-45 mph tends to be more "gas saving" than slow acceleration.

2. Gliding by pressing the gas just enough to negate the regen braking (so you don't lose speed...or even gain speed going downhill) extends how far you can go on EV mode, but you aren't reclaiming energy to the battery. Once it drops so low, the ICE kicks in anyhow...at which point you might as well just use the gas to get your speed and keep it.

I played with "pulse and glide" for a little while. I find it's not really worth it. I live in mountains, and if I'm taking my time, I can do a lot in EV by staying under 45 and using the car's momentum to save gas, but once I know I'm going uphill, I just let the gas burn.

Overall, I'm amazed as how little a drop in MPG I realized from just driving the Prius compared to trying to milk every drop of gas out of it. My best ways to save gas is when I'm in town, and I can deliberately try and let the traction motor do most of the work.

I find if you can manage to let the traction motor (EV only) get you from 0 to 10 mph, the single biggest gas eater of driving a car is negated. Breaking inertia takes more energy than mere acceleration, and that's a place where the Prius can shine.

FWIW, I'm doing more driving on the interstate now. In spite of maintaining a 65 mph speed and using cruise control, I'm seeming an average of 58 mpg. A big thing the Prius does that you can learn from is that if the CC thinks you need to go faster, it commits the ICE to get you to your speed...it doesn't play around with gentle acceleration. Going downhill, the CC will also use the regen braking to ensure you don't go over your set speed (good in one sense, bad in another), but the CC actually recaptures more energy that coasting will...leaving you a fairly full battery when you get into town for EV driving.

 

Not to distract the thread but it's good to assess our reasoning for what we do.

I agree, trying to make a dime squeal is more expensive in time, hassle and driving all the other drivers around you crazy "which is dangerous"
I just drive the thing and enjoy the great gas mileage given from a car that was engineered to drive "not baby".

We must remind ourselves of priorities and values...

Do we serve the car or does the car serve us?

 

It is. That was my last car that was traded in last Saturday.

 

Welcome to the 1.8L club! <grins>

Do you have a Scanguage or equivalent instrumentation to monitor engine coolant, rpm, and other Prius metrics? The reason is you'll soon find there are some warm-up profiles that help.

I've never had a NHW20, 2004-09 model, just the NHW11, 2003 Prius so I'm not going to have direct experience. But the extended engine efficiency means a wider power range for fuel efficient operation. But the general Prius rule of thumb, avoid drawing traction battery power, works in both our 2003 and 2010 Prius.

Also, don't rule out issues with replacement tires. Our first used 2003 Prius had Sears generic tires with 49,000 miles on the odometer. Reading the tread wear led to better, four-wheel alignment and a new set about six months later. When I buy a used car, I expect to replace the tires soon. So you have time to plan, shop, and figure out which way to go. FYI, the tire pressure warning system may be set too low to give a good metric.

I would also recommend getting a transmission oil changed. Take a clean, dry water bottle and ask for 1 cup of used oil for testing. You'll probably be shocked at what you find. There is no requirement to test the oil, just get a sample to see what we're talking about.

GOOD LUCK!
Bob Wilson

 

Unfortunately the better tires (100k+) often get worse gas mileage due to higher traction and can feel softer and spongier and need a little more air to firm up a bit to keep gas mileage good.

 

Do the transaxles wear prematurely in the 10-14 models? This is my 3rd prius and I can honestly say I've never had a trans axle issue. My 04 had over 200k miles on it when it in a accident. Still drove after that. My 07 had 98k when traded in but the engine knock was a but scary. This one is smooth, quiet, and seems to have been taken care of. It just has 73k. I normally change the fluid myself but I have to research how it's done on this model

 

I personally haven't read of issues, they do have less drag than gen2 which helps coasting mpg.

 

Hi all! thanks for this thread, this is interesting. I also picked up a used 2010 prius last week and based on someones tip I found CC easier and giving better results than i can manage using P&G.

Using as much CC as i can in the city during my work week is already giving me 3.7l/100km (63.5mpg).
Using as much CC as i can in the highway during my weekend gave me 3.9l/100km (60mpg).
So I thought i was doing pretty good already lol (All figures btw are fromtrip computer readouts as I am still using dealers unknown fillup).

Anyway, this quote caught my eye:

My question is:

How liberal is "liberal"? Is that including going all the way to the power band. Or should i read "liberal" as just within the ICE band only? Thanks

 

well that's the question, isn't it? everyone seems to get different results. the guys in japan who get 1,000 mpg's accelerate just to the right of the eco line. some here, who get 60 mpg, say to accelerate liberally.