MPG B Mode Trick

The thing is: you miss one or two lights, get where you're going 4~5 minutes later, and guess what:

1. You didn't give someone in the through lane a near heart attack.
2. Chances are you managed to stop in time to avoid piling into someone's rear bumper.
3. You didn't roll over a pedestrian's feet (or worse).

 

4. Someone rear ended you
5. News helicopters covered a long tail caused by a unnecessary slow prius
:-P

BTW, I actually WAS stopped once by police in Germany for driving too slow. It was night, raining, and my wife was driving at ~110 km/h on a highway. They let us go, however, we just looked suspicious, as everyone else were driving at 130-140 passing the police car. I think it was a 120 limit area


iPhone ?

 

"SOME are plain idiots?" LOL!! In my part of Tampa, it's more than some. My theory is that most of the people in FL were exiled here from their home states because of their driving.

As for B mode, I can't speak for a hatchback or a C, but my PiP decelerates pretty aggressively when I put it in B with my foot off the gas. And the regen bar doesn't seem to move far enough to fully justify that much deceleration. I theorize that it's using engine braking like the manual says it does along with the regen that would happen in D. AFAIK, the brake lights don't come on in B mode. Oscar Grope, hermetically sealed in his belchfire V-8, may not look up from the video he's watching quickly enough to notice that he's about to ruin both our days. So, safety is the main reason I don't do it, but also, I believe it reduces economy.

I can't say 100% for sure that B is helping your mileage or hurting it, but I suspect that in going to B you're also making some other little change in style that's the real benefit such as anticipating the stop better or something.

 

Not really, if you just go with the flow, you are fine, regardless of the speed limits. I wish they would do the same here, unfortunately here they just stop speeders, not the slow cars




iPhone ?

 

sign on 70 mph rt95 in southern virginia: driving over 80 mph is considered reckless.

 

2 out of 3 ain't bad.

 

All traditional-transmission cars can be downshifted. It is also a common driving maneuver, especially with old-school drivers, and is necessary for safety in certain conditions, especially in older-generation vehicles. None of them turn on their brake lights when doing so.

A standard (non-PIP) Prius placed in B mode doesn't slow down any faster than those other downshifted cars, old or new.

Oscar Grope, watching his video, is a hazard to everyone one and next to the road. Prius occupants are at no greater hazard than occupants of other vehicles of similar size.

 

I take it that VA doesn't have a law declaring speed more than 5 mph over the limit to be 'road rage'?

My home state did this at one time, but it must not be in force anymore.

At the time and place where I learned to drive, a habitual 5 mph of the limit would typically lead to sufficient points for license suspension in roughly a year. A relative who is currently an officer of the court, sees plenty of speeding tickets for 5 over. Many issued to out-of-staters who didn't grow up locally, but are passing through from areas where higher speeds are now considered a birthright.

 

Plug-In-Prius.

Nowadays, that has sometimes narrowed to just the Gen3 Plug-in, as the Gen4 plug-in has been relabeled as the Prime. But I used it with the wider meaning.

 

That was my assumption, but whenever I assume, I get proven wrong.

I don't think the PiP (or any Prius) decelerates in B any faster than other cars when downshifted either, but it does decelerate faster than I would expect from the regen indicator. In fact, a friend recently complained about someone slowing in front of them without braking and he almost hit them. I said, "Then you're following too closely and not paying attention."

AMEN!!
I'm pretty sure the only way to get a ticket in FL is to actually hit someone or get caught driving VERY aggressively. It's like the law of the jungle now.

 

after spending the last 5 weeks there, i agree with you. but the whole east coast seems to be pretty much the same now. the world is growing smaller.

 

Does B-mode shut off the regen braking?

 

^ No, there's still some regen, but it does reduce it. Whether that's solely due to engine braking I do not know, but that's the end result.

General comment: I put the car in D, and leave it there. Unless I'm coming down Mount Seymour. Also, I don't buy into the idea of baiting tailgaters, trying to surprise them by shifting to B.

 

No but downshifting to decel is NOT a maneuver that an "old school" driver would consider doing in traffic.
And neither should new drivers either.

 

Also, if you have a manual transmission, downshifting wears the clutch faster. Brake pads are cheaper than clutch plates and the labor is a LOT cheaper. I've witnessed some pretty heated debates about this on motorcycle forums. It also puts more braking force on the drive tire contact patches than on the other tires.