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Which driving mode gives you the best mileage?

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Fuel Economy' started by windstrings, Oct 7, 2009.

?

Which mode gives you better overall mileage combined city and hwy?

  1. Eco Mode

    17 vote(s)
    53.1%

  2. Normal Mode

    10 vote(s)
    31.3%

  3. Power Mode

    5 vote(s)
    15.6%
  1. windstrings

    windstrings Certified Prius Breeder

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    While its easier to accelerate too hard in normal verses eco mode, its also easier to let up on the gas which stimulates the ICE to idling rather than staying revved up for take off.

    I wondering if this is why my mileage is better now in Normal mode?

    I've always liked normal better at high speeds than eco to accommodate for the subtleties of freeway driving.
     
    #1 windstrings, Oct 7, 2009
  2. tumbleweed

    tumbleweed Senior Member

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    Good poll the results should be of interest, I voted for ECO but I must admit I really haven't used the other two much.

    But from what I understand about how the different modes work I suspect that if you use the HSI indicator and drive to keep the bar in the same places it won't matter which of the three modes you use. My understanding is that the differencein modes is the sensitivity of the go pedal for the first half of it's travel, plus more economical AC operation in the ECO mode. If that's true, and if you discount AC operation, the results from the three modes should be identical if you use the same amount of power. The only difference would be how far down your foot is to give you that amount of power.
     
    #2 tumbleweed, Oct 7, 2009
  3. windstrings

    windstrings Certified Prius Breeder

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    Thats something I haven't accounted for is AC.. this time of year Im barely using it.

    Also, yes the bar HSI indicator seems to accurately reflect status regardless of what mode your in.
    You can keep the pedal in the exact same spot and go out of eco mode and the car will start to speed up and also the bar will go forward to reflect what the car is doing.

    Apparently, the different modes determine how much voltage is the gas pedal "[ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Actuator"]actuator[/ame]" to signal how much acceleration is desired.

    Almost like flipping between 3 different resistors.. but Im sure its much more complex than that.
     
    #3 windstrings, Oct 7, 2009
  4. SureValla

    SureValla Member

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    someone clearly lied voting for power...
     
    #4 SureValla, Oct 25, 2009
  5. hptsang

    hptsang Member

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    in the other thread, people said the Power Mode gave them even higher MPG compare to the Eco mode. I just got my car, so I still haven't really tried to use the power mode yet. But I did find a little bump on the MPG from using ECO mode to the Normal mode.
     
    #5 hptsang, Oct 27, 2009
  6. windstrings

    windstrings Certified Prius Breeder

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    For someone who has a trained foot, power or normal mode can be easier to save gas than eco mode.

    Keep in mind that the more sensitive the pedal is "such as in power mode" the easier it is to disengage the ICE and go to battery or a mixture thereof when the gas is let off just a little bit, whereas when in eco mode, the pedal has to be dropped back quite a bit to engage the same process.

    Of course on the other hand, acceleration can be much harder to manage without ruining gas mileage when in the more sensitive modes, unless the foot is trained well from years of driving the prius.

    Eco mode is easier for most who are new to the prius, but for those who have driven a while, they may find normal or even power mode may get a tad better mileage.
     
    #6 windstrings, Oct 27, 2009
  7. Gasitman

    Gasitman New Member

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    My car is in power mode 90% of the time and I still get 50+mpg. I just watch the display and keep it out of the dark orange area if not accelerating from a stop.

    From what I was told, it just manages the gas pedal and how much you have to push. I could be wrong, and I am sure someone will correct me. :D
     
    #7 Gasitman, Oct 27, 2009
  8. windstrings

    windstrings Certified Prius Breeder

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    Thats my understanding, it merely manages how much pressure does what with the pedal.

    The MFD display seems to be accurate regardless of what mode your in, so whether in Eco, or power, if you can get the MFD display to respond the same in both modes based on how you feather the pedal, the car will respond exactly the same in both modes.
     
    #8 windstrings, Oct 27, 2009
  9. ken1784

    ken1784 SuperMID designer

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    I think it depends on who drives Prius, Dr Jekyll or Mr Hyde. :)

    A conservative (Dr Jekyll type) driver likes ECO mode and an aggressive (Mr Hyde type) driver likes PWR mode.
    I have no data, but I would like to see the mpg results, such as Dr Jekyll drives in PWR mode and Mr Hyde drives in ECO.
    Maybe, Pulse in PWR and Glide in ECO mode cause the better results.

    Ken@Japan
     
    #9 ken1784, Oct 27, 2009
  10. windstrings

    windstrings Certified Prius Breeder

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    I think you nailed it! :eek:

    What happens when your both.... Monday morning and Fri afternoon headed home is [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strange_Case_of_Dr_Jekyll_and_Mr_Hyde"]Mr. Hyde[/ame] and Sat afternoon is Dr. Jekyll!

    I do think its much easier to find the sweet spot of (no gen, no power) when in eco mode.... unless I"m striving for that, I prefer power or at least normal now that I"ve had time to play with it a while. I'm getting about 55mpg on power mode and I'm just driving with the flow of traffic pretty much.
     
    #10 windstrings, Oct 28, 2009
  11. hobbit

    hobbit Senior Member

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    Y'know, the way people worry so much about these stupid buttons,
    they're losing sight of the pure essence of pulse-n-glide.
    The buttons don't change pedal output voltage; they change what
    the hybrid controller DOES with said outputs. Look at the curves
    in the HSI rundown again -- they represent DEMAND determination
    relative to pedal angle, all done in software and pretty slowly
    at that. I don't believe you would get any benefit from trying
    to swap modes between pulse and glide and frankly would create a
    higher likelihood of crashing due to driver distraction. Hands
    on the wheel, please.
    .
    Pick a curve you like, stick with it, and learn what the right things
    FEEL like with your foot when you're driving, and you will get to
    the point where you hardly need to look over at the HSI anymore to
    know you're in the most efficient states. Any long-time genII
    driver has learned that long since, and it's high time for the 2010
    newbies to return to the basics.
    .
    _H*
     
    #11 hobbit, Oct 28, 2009
    1 person likes this.
  12. windstrings

    windstrings Certified Prius Breeder

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    Your right about in the sense that unless you want to have your eye glued to the MFD all the time, you must find your preference and stick with it because bouncing back and forth is like typing without having your hands on the home keys.
     
    #12 windstrings, Oct 28, 2009
  13. patsparks

    patsparks An Aussie perspective

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    You are spot on from what we were told by the gurus in Detroit in January.

    In my GII I find I get better results by accelerating quite hard but for a short time then trying to glide as much as I can. I think power mode would suit my driving style.
     
    #13 patsparks, Oct 28, 2009
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