High Speed Driving In a "C"

I remember a oil commercial that stated most engine wear occurs at start up. I think it was like 90%. If this is the case hybrid engines must be built very well and should use oils that reduce wear that happens before oil is pumped through the engine. or should use an electric oil pump to pre oil the engine.

As to how hard you drive your car it will impact how long things last. I think it has a greater impact on suspension, steering componets and the drive train. The engine is controlled in how high it will rev. and will likely protect the engine from short life, but I am think if you'r nice to your car it will be nice to you. If you plan on keeping your C past 100k it would be wise to treat it nice.

 

In a Prius the engine is spun up to about 1100RPM by MG1 and oil pressure is established before either fuel or spark are applied to allow the engine to run. This strategy helps to mitigate start up wear.

 

modern cars have antiskid break systems so the tires will almost lock up. This is so the car will stop as fast as possible. these cars sometimes have stability systems that also help.

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WRONG!

Car's have brake systems. Anti-lock/anti-skid systems will often result is longer stopping distances.

 

Thanks for the info. I was not sure. What is MG1?

 

I remember on older cars if the back locked up and the front didn't they had a tendancy to fish tail. so at least in that instance of breaking the back tires locked up didn't have the ability to slow as fast as the front tires not locked up.

In our 2012 hycam if you stomp on the breaks, it stops really fast. I am shocked how quickly it can stop. I estimate my speed just under 50 mph. and I think the car would have stopped in about 50 feet. it was a little up hill just about to go onto a bridge so that would have helped also. The pickup following me would have rearended us if I had not let off of the breaks to give him/her room to swerve onto the shoulder where they came to a stop about half way up on our car. they were following a little to close but that pickup could not stop nearly as well as the camry. Thank God I was watching out for the rearend collision.

I guess if you are a rockstar driver with a magic touch on the break pedal you could out perform the computer systems for breaking. But panic stop implys that just that "panic". and in that case most people stomp on the pedal and that is where antiskid will often save your car and maybe your life.

 

But cruising along at 75 mph... the ICE is not being driven that hard. It's an otto cycle remember. For me that was one of the unexpected things about this car. I thought the 1.5L would be screaming on the freeway. It doesn't. You put pressure on the car on steep hill climbs, not on the freeway.

 

Yes, it is possible to brake to a stop in a shorter distance than ABS achieves. However consider that if you achieve that at the expense of locking the front wheels then you will have no control over the direction you are travelling. Also, not even a rockstar can supply different braking effort to (say) the left wheels and the right wheels if, for example, the right wheels are on gravel or ice and the left wheels are on dry clean road.

 

I set my Scangauge to show horsepower and checked the readings on a short highway run this morning. My top speed was about 65 mph; the HP was anywhere from single digits when coasting, up to about 30 HP when going up a slight grade. On level ground in moderate traffic at speeds between 50 and 60 mph, it varied between about 15 and 25 HP.

Stepping on the gas to merge into 55 mph traffic on a fairly short ramp showed about 50 HP, as did a quick acceleration to get around a slow driver in the middle lane.

 

I had to stop suddenly on encountering traffic in front who had applied emergency braking to avoid a truck. I found the ABS lagging somewhat as it still shuddered violently after I eased off the brake pressure.

I was doing 100kmh with 5 on board.

 

Hmmm, I'm wondering if this is a different feel with the HSD?

You've reminded me though... I never did find a quiet car park to do an ABS familiarisation run in this car (as I didn't want to do it during my running-in period). I really should do that. I've had a few small sharp stops in this car, but never a significant freak out.

The other thing is that I've never driven vehicles with the other features like Brake Assist... and although I've experienced ABS before, I have since had a long time driving non-ABS vehicles prior to the c.

 

I think what you experienced is called Brake Assist part of Toyota's Star Safety System Toyota Safety | Traction Control, Brake Systems & More

 

Yup. I was on a road trip and on a long downhill I somehow ended up behind a slowpoke in a 4x4 (seriously... downhill and he's going only 55 mph when everyone else is doing 65...?)

Anyway the lane finally split into two, but the split also occurred at the bottom of a long steep uphill (like a 15 degree grade) plus that was where he decided he wanted to speed up. Uugh... tard... well I had the rpm in my hybrid up to 3600 to complete the pass at the top of the hill at 65 mph. My engine was roaring. (Fuel economy for the entire round trip was a nice 57 mpg, so I have no complaints, other than one for breaking my engine in more.)

 

Probably was and certainly knocked any stupor out of my system such was the violence of application.

 

Or he can do the maintenance on it... if it's burning a qt of oil, he either has a bad piston ring (which is most likely from hard driving) or a bad gasket. gaskets are easy to change, but the ring isn't so much. But it's still doable.

 

High speed driving isn't "torturous" to any Prius...but all things are relative, aren't they?
What's high speed?
For that matter...what's torture?(**)
80MPH isn't normally outside a Priussy's safe operating envelope because even with its diminutive power plant, you're not operating at anything close to max rated power.
IMHO your friends Prius is a victim of neglect more than abuse.
After all...it's kinda hard to to drive a car kinda hard when there are no gears and the engine is fly by wire.

Outside of competition environments abnormal engine wear almost always occurs from neglect or ignorance.
Period.
WOT (wide open throttle) launches, engine room "modifications", semi-occasional fluid checks, botched maintenance/repairs all can contribute to any engine having a shorter service life.
Motoring along at 80?
That's probably one of the more benign things you can do with the car, provided you're in an environment that can support those speeds, and even in the US?
Those roads exist.
Some are even legal.....

I average 200K in my vehicles before I unload them, and I've NEVER had a vehicle consume as much as 1q every oil change (3-5K).
Usually?
They burn NO oil.

You do it your way, and Vaya Con DIOS.
I'll do it mine!

Good Luck!



(**) I've owned vehicles with 6X a Priussy's max rated BHP, and I spent a year in GTMO, so my particular definition of "high speed" and "torture" may be a little different than yours.

 

Hey, I DID pay for it, and I WILL drive it like I want. Thanks for your concern.

 

Its the 'spinning up to 1100 rpm' that is the most wear and the fact of neither gas nor spark are aplied is entirely beside the point that most wear occurs on startup where oil pressure is not up as the engine spins up to 1100 rpm, especially in cold weather.
The reason manufacturers perfold cold weather starts as you've seen in TV ads is to determine the wear limits on engines. In most conventional cars the 'spinning up' is done by the starter..

 

The C has a continuously variable transmission. There are plenty of times driving 70 to 80 mph when I still average over 50mpg. It is more about drive style and conditions than absolute speed.

For instance, If i accellerate to 80 going downhill I can do so with little help from the ice. Then i let the momentum help me up the next hill which I crest at around 65. Even on a straight flat highway 70 to 80 often puts little strain on the ice if there is no headwind or rain to add resistance.

With continuously variable transmission the car will automatically use the slowest engine speed possible to maintain speed. The ice gets more wear from heavy accelleration driving than from cruising at 80 in good conditions.
SCH-I535 ?

 

Break in is everything!