"B" Range...What's Really Going On...

Not in my case. The battery is meant to be used and I'm pretty good at using it when needed and preparing for long stretches in my commute where I can do 40 on EV almost the entire way. I think 60 MPG on a 2013 Prius 2 is pretty good and I've only been able to accomplish that, since this trick. I still hypermile too. I use to have a sticker on the back that said "IHypermile"... BAD MOVE! People can be nasty! I thought I was being nice! I really want to put a sticker that says, "BACK OFF, I go slow!", but I don't want to be antagonistic either.
I've never driven with such intention, or slow before in my life! Driving my Prius is like s Zen experience for me now. So much so, that when my hubby misses me goodbye in the morning, he no longer says "Drive Safe", he says, "Drive like a Prius Owner!" LL!


iPhone ?

 

I really like the link to the standard-setting statute. I agree that you do not need to use the supplemental braking for speeds less than 25mph, but this does provide benefit in some cases.,if you want to maximize the regen of electricity in shorter amount of time this is useful.

It is unfortunate that new technology is confusing. But there really is nothing more to say other than what Toyota calls it. "Engine Braking".

 

Every Automatic made has a L gear. You use it rarely, for steep descents. Someone at Toyota was too honest to call theirs L because it is not a lower gear ratio, it just adds engine Braking via software. If they had lied and called it L, no one would ever try to make it what it isn't.

 

B mode activates the ice. It takes the kinetic energy from the car and add drags from the ice. So now u have have 3 systems working together to slow down the car. Drag from the ice, regen, and friction brakes. All this prevents the nose from diving down and maintains balance in the car. Balance equals tires that can grip to their maximum potential. Driving is less about steering angle or more about maintaining balance. Takes time to learn as it’s counter intuitive

 

Proper use of the right foot on the brake pedal does exactly the same, plus activating your brake lights for the person behind you.

 

Yeah, but that's telling the drivers behind you exactly what your intentions are, but I thought that when you drive on this side of The Pond (I learned to drive in the UK) the idea was to keep your intentions to yourself, e.g. the reason drivers over here never use direction indicators "…well, it really is none of your business which way I intend to turn, I'll turn if and whenever I like, and it's none of your damned business!"

 

As far as slowing the car is concerned, it is still just 2 systems, not 3, because the regen and friction brakes occupy the same space (tire traction). And since regen does not use the rear tires at all, it is less effective than friction brakes.

 

…but (traditionally) most (up to 80%) of the braking is done by the front brakes, doesn't that apply to the regen also? I try to brake as little as possible, and when I'm driving, I find that by looking ahead to see what is happening down the road, it really is not too difficult to drive with minimal use of the brakes, in fact many years ago when I lived in the UK, I was doing a brake-job on my Bond-Bug :

…and was unable to finish bleeding the brakes, before I was due to drive to my parents' home in North Devon from where I was living (Oxford) a distance of about 200 miles, so I drove the whole way without using the brakes, and finished the brake job at a friends garage in Devon. The Bug was a small car, and weighed around 800lbs so didn't really need huge brakes, I suppose!

 

Here in Atlanta, the people make it worse... they perform what my family "lovingly" proclaim the Atlanta left and right turn. Now to achieve this procedure, you must be in the farthest left lane and at the last minute, dart across 4 lanes of traffic and turn right at a light. If you're performing the A.L.T., you must be in the right lane and turn left.

 

I think what you describe is known here on the East Coast as "…the Mass-hole Swerve", which can be done in either direction, and garners more points the more unexpected it is!

 

I love Atlanta. When the left turn arrow turns RED, that means that 4 more cars can still turn.
Only other place I've been where that seems to be the norm is St. Louis.

 

…your post reminds me of the Traffic Light Code in the state to the south of us (here in NH):
Green == GO!
Yellow == GO FASTER!
Red == FOUR MORE!

 

One time, I had the dubious opportunity to drive a car with one rear brake (drum brake) disabled, after a brake fluid replacement. It definitely changed the brake performance: poor "response", increased stopping distance, Anti-Lock Braking activating a lot, and a strange side-to-side rocking whenever the car came to a stop.

I'd say all four brakes work in concert, and even with regen braking I'd suspect it's a blend, not one or the other.

 

My wife recently witnessed what I consider to be the absolute all time champion. Three lanes in both direction plus two left turn lanes and a right turn lane. Eighteen-wheeler makes a left turn on red ... from the right turn lane!!! I Have to break down and get dash cams one of these days.

 

I understand exactly, but I've learned never to tangle with 18-wheelers (…it has something to do with Newton's Laws of Motion )

 

Some 18 wheelers have to get creative when hanging a left?

 

As well as keeping clear of them, I check to make sure I can see any of their mirrors, hoping that if I am able to see the mirror, then assuming the mirrors are adjusted, then they should be able to see me, and if they're not texting or watching football, then they should be able to see me!

 

I assume you haven't actually driven a LONG vehicle lately.

The problem usually comes NOT with turning left but with turning RIGHT.
Think about it.

 

I will often drive downhill in B mode as I like how quickly it slows the car down before a curve, and then I can momentarily step on it before the next curve. Also true uphill.

 

Cool, at 1500 feet above sea level very likely allows you to reclaim a fair amount of regenerated electricity.

B mode on your Prime works quite a bit differently than on a Prius c with it's much smaller battery, but Cool would be a likely good choice for both to use B mode. (i remember spending nights in a Motel 6 in Auburn CA, fairly near you)