Pushing the v to the limit

congrats! those are great numbers for the v, all the best!

 

As a 2012 v Three owner, and ex-Gen2 owner.

It is both heavier, and less aerodynamic. (more frontal area and higher cD)
The 17 inch wheels/tires have more angular momentum (harder to get them turning, harder to get them to stop turning) and wind drag; good LRR tires are rarer in 17"

I live on flat ground (I can drive 154 miles and change elevation by 90 feet) and I find the cruse control allows much more electric operation than my right foot does.
Both my Prius liked hot weather to 85, I am not sure SF will ever be hot enough.

 

50.5 mpg (your Fuelly stat after 4 fillups) is excellent for a v.

Good time to clean the EGR, also the intake manifold and consider an Oil Catch Can. Watch @NutzAboutBolts videos pinned in the 3rd gen maintenance forum. The v is a different vehicle obviously, but the engine is pretty much identical.

 

You're getting very good mileage, Remember EPA is like 41 MPG. I only get 50+ MPG during the summer and I'm sure as mentioned above, San Francisco's terrain doesn't lend itself to the best mileage. But at least it doesn't get below zero there, which REALLY hurts MPGs.

 

2012 v owner here. Car was in somewhat rough shape when we purchased it ( see link in my signature ). I've done a lot of work on it and it is in pretty good condition now. See link in signature for the full saga.

Looks like your average is around 50...which based on other threads is pretty much unheard of for a v. EPA is 43 city, 39 highway and 41 combined. Good job! I guess your tire pressure, tires, and the fact it is mostly stop and go 'city' driving must make a huge difference.

For us freeway commuters it is pretty much impossible to achieve high MPG numbers in the v.

We also have a 2010 liftback..which is *much* easier to 'pulse and glide'. In my opinion this is almost solely due to the fact that the v is much heavier ( the 2012 v has a curb weight of 3,274 lbs while the 2010 liftback is 3,042 lbs ). BTW, the 2015+ Prius v model years are even heavier... 3,340 lbs! Lugging around that much more weight makes a huge difference...especially with an arguably 'under powered' drivetrain to begin with.

BTW - The average Prius v MPG on fuelly appears to be the high 30s to low 40s...which seems absolutely in line with the EPA estimates. And remember that folks who use fuelly (especially Prius drivers) usually care more about MPG than 'normal average joe' drivers so the fuelly averages might even be a tad optimistic.

All in all I'm frankly not really all that satisfied with the MPG of our Prius v. However, I like it for what it is...a great hauler that replaced our gas guzzling minivan.

 

50 mpg is great mileage.
As for your question on pulse & glide.
The ECO setting slows down the throttle response.
In other words it takes more throttle/ pedal travel to attain the same acceleration.
Maybe that is what you are experiencing?
Try the NORMAL and the POWER settings and report back?

 

I had a gen 2, a gen 3, and a 2012 v five. So I relate to and agree on most everything started. Combined i probably did 130k miles driving all 3. I loved how the gen 2 you could so easily glide without any arrows. The gen 3 got amazing mpg with the right LRR tires. The v was probably my favorite around town because it had a different final drive ratio so it was always kinda perky off the line, and it was so smooth! I hated it on the highway though, the engine would rev on the slightest hill. I did lots of highway miles and it worked the engine so hard, even at 70 mph. So hard it started burning oil around 120k. I still miss that car though. It was beautiful too.

 

Last week I was on a mini road trip. I went up a long and straight mountain incline.

There were 4 cars that started this incline. My v, a Tesla Model S, Porsche and a Mustang. We were all clustered together before the start of the incline.

I had 5 passengers on the road trip. I accelerated before going into the incline because I knew I needed momentum. I was not racing. I was able to maintained the momentum the entire incline.

As I was almost to the peak of the incline. I looked behind and all other 3 cars that started the incline at the same time were way way far back. I was thinking "how is that possible?". My v had no trouble climbing a straight mountain incline even with a full load of passenger. All of those cars should have easily kept pace with me and I'm not sure why they didn't. I think accelerating into the incline gave me a head start, but I was surprised that I can maintain the speed all the way up.

So I have nothing but respect for my v. I didn't sense any engine stress or anything that would alert me to slow down. I hope I don't push it to the limit too much.

It's unfortunate early models are being powered down for the inverter recall. But I am amazed at what power I can use right now.

 

In the past I have tested the OEM paper filter going up long inclines vs K&N engine filters. I did sense engine stress on the engine w/ the OEM. I sense no stress with the K&N. I tried switching back to OEM, but it did not give me what I needed while driving. Confidence. That my v can handle it.

 

You buy a filter for its ability to filter dirt out of the air before it enters the engine. Ever seen a test of a K&N against a stock filter? Both tests (Consumers Reports and a car mag) I've seen have the K&N passing more and larger particles into the engine.

Your choice.

 

I'm sure the other cars weren't even thinking about having to maintaining speed, so they probably just fell back not even thinking about it. The prius v can do about anything you need to do, mine did 104 on a freeway once. Even though it might sound like it, I don't drive fast, i am ususually in the slow lane, but I like to know my C-max has the power when I need it. It does 0-60 in 7.7 vs the v 10.4 seconds.

 

For sure I wouldn't want more dirt entering my engine. I can't find the consumer report on K&N.

I did find one guy who did an oil analysis comparing dirt level on stock vs K&N and found less dirt with K&N.

I would also like to do an oil analysis at some point. If I get more dirt than I should I definitely would stop using K&N ASAP. I will see about getting an analysis on my next oil change.

 

For that mini road trip I chose to fill my tank with SeaFoam.

SeaFoam engine revs are really quieter and smoother. They claim that it not only cleans but lubricates the pistons.
I prefer SeaFoam over Techcron when I think my engine will rev a lot on a road trip. Then Techcron before an oil change.

 

So this is what the free Blackstone analysis kit looks like (does not include the pump and tube). You can get the pump on ebay for around $40-$60 and more tubes at homedepot. Very simple to use. Very little to no mess using the pump. You just siphon directly from the dipstick slot. The kit and return postage is free but the sample report is $28.

Will be curious to get my first analysis. I will switch back to stock filters after this oil change and then get another analysis. Other PC users went with Blackstone so I will compare to their analysis as well. The Blackstone reports also comes with recommendations.

 

I got my first Blackstone report. This engine has 25k miles on it. Of that, about 15k was running on K&N engine air filtration. This report was based on 5k miles since the last oil change and all on K&N filtration. Next oil sample will be submitted in another 5k miles and all on stock engine air filter. The report didn't show anything unusual. The person that wrote the analysis didn't mention any major alarm bells. So let's see in another 5k miles to get a better comparison. Overall I don't see anything to be alarmed about. It's also good to read up on other PC users posting their results for comparison.

 

I used K&N filters in my dirt bikes many years ago and cleaning and re-oiling them was part of my service routine for them. They were pretty much a necessity for them because of the dust/mud that fouled paper filter elements. I have not used them for my road vehicles because it is a lot easier to just replace a filter than do that maintenance.

Here is a link to a test of various brands of of air filters. The K&N filters allow slightly more dirt into the engine 96% to 99% for the OEM. You can decide whether the benefit/cost/performance of them is worth it to you.

K&N Air Filter Review - Debunking the Myths (and why OEM is better)

 

I'm at the 30k mile mark and ready for my oil change. But I can't seem to find my pump to extract oil, so unless I can find it, I will most likely order another one and delay my oil change until I can get it.

I have both the engine air filter and cabin air filter K&N.

I notice that both have very clean sides of the filter where it's suppose to be clean. Almost as if brand new.

On my cabin air filter OEM, after about 10k miles both sides seem dark. The debris side has debris lodged in it. The clean side looks dark.

The K&N cabin air filter had probably 5k miles on it. So I will keep an eye on the clean side as long as it looks perfectly clean I will consider it fully functional and doing it's job.

But still can't wait to see the results of the OEM engine oil filter once I can find or get another pump.

Note: the K&N cabin air filter had that new rubber/plastic smell to it which went away after a few weeks.

Edit: Ok I just found my pump and will submit my oil sample this Monday and then do my 30k oil change.

 

My 30k oil analysis came in. The report mentioned good overall results. Basically "an engine that's at the top of it's class in terms of wear".

I notice the magnesium was unusually high. But according to this site, it is likely due to the detergent additive that I am adding. So far so good. I switched back to K&N and will compare again. So far the stock filter seems to filter slightly more silicon than K&N. But the difference in time period might contribute to the change (winter vs fall). Overall the stock seems to do well but very slightly.

Engine Oil Analysis - Bob is the Oil Guy

I also notice that when I am on K&N I like to put the petal to the metal a lot more.

 

I have been using SeaFoam in every fill up. Not a full can. But anywhere from 1/4 to 1/2 of a can. To me the result is noticeable. Smoother and more quieter revs at high speed. I use it to help slow the wear of the engine metals.