I have written a draft article intended for the Knowledge Base, describing the five stages of the Prius hybrid system operation. The article is HERE. I would welcome comments or corrections. Please post them as replies to the article itself, and I will edit the article as necessary, until we think it's ready to be posted in its final form. Thanks.
Looking at what I had stashed off on my PC from a previous outline: S1/S2 temp = 40C - 104F S2/S3 temp = 72C - 162F I seems to me that the Prius will go through the stages every time it is started. Whether the ICE is hot or cold, it will start off in stage 1. If the ICE is hot it will move to stage 2 between backing out of the parking space and exiting of the parking lot. So even with a hot engine short trips are a MPG killer.
I'm not sure how they have it set up. Yesterday, for the first time ever since taking delivery of my classic, the engine did not start when I "started" the car. No lights, no warnings, no nothing. It just happily beeped to announce that it was ready, and I was able to stealth all the way across the parking lot at the feed store to pick up the bag of feed that I had bought for my ducks.
It is probably good that Daniel posted this thread for his 5 stages work. Lets put our feedback here to keep his main thread cleaner. Finding a server at work down, I took time to read through your document. <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(daniel\";p=\"39909)</div> Since the "Prime Directive" was to cut polution. The ICE is loaded as little as possible in S1 to keep the polution down while it is at its dirtiest. So for pollution, it is probably better to use the EV button only if the distance and SOC will permit staying in EV for the trip. Question: At which point does the thermos get pumped? It may be that when starting one needs to hit the EV button quickly to keep form emptying the thremos and have it refilled with cold fluid. <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(daniel\";p=\"39909)</div> The information I've seen is that the S3/S4 temperature is the same as the S2/S3 temperature. The Prius goes into S4 based on operation. <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(daniel\";p=\"39909)</div> I have seen both 5 and 10 second quoted. If you are right about getting to S4 when the ICE does stop. This rough shut down may be a good indicator of getting to S4. The previous posts indicated something about the need to get above 34 MPH (probably 55 KHP which is fractionally higher). It may be that the speed determines whether it requires a 10 or 5 second stop to get to S4. So if you did get to S3b then it might only require a 5 second stop and 10 seconds if you did not get to S3b. Thanks for working on this.
JF: Thanks for the temps. I would appreciate actual corrections or concrete information to be posted in the thread with the article itself, so that I don't miss it. Other conversation can go in this thread. I think only moderators can post an actual Knowledge Base article, so once the article is complete, I'll ask Danny to post it there. That sounds plausible. I don't know.
ONE LAST CALL FOR COMMENTS OR CORRECTIONS ON MY ARTICLE ON THE 5 STAGES OF PRIUS HYBRID OPERATION. If nobody has corrections or comments, I will finalize the article and ask Danny to put it in the knowledge base.
I have completed my article, deleted the draft referenced in the link above, and moved it to the Knowledge Base (which was where it belonged in the first place, if I had been able to figure out how to post it there in the first place.)
Good write-up. I personally like the term "stealth" mode over golf cart mode. Using golf cart mode cheapens the Prius IMHO. Using stealth does not necessarily "militarize" the Prius. Instead, stealth technology is very appropriate for the Prius. As we all know, stealth technology is the latest greatest technology for going undetected. The Prius is a great example of the latest and greatest technology put into an automobile. I'm not quite sure how you arrived at the conclusion that the Prius is a "peaceful" car. The car itself does not promote peace, but rather provides great gas mileage, encourages more conservative driving, and raises the "middle finger" to OPEC. Those are some of the things that Prius emulate. Just my $ 0.02 worth. :lol:
I like "stealth" over "golf cart" mode, because it's more widely used to refer to driving the car on the electric motor. However, I don't think it harms the article at all; and since you put the hard work into researching it and writing it, it's definitely your call.
You're absolutely right. I didn't mean in any way, shape, or form to say that the article in itself was bad by using the term golf cart. It was and is, and excellent article. I was just stating that I didn't think the term "stealth" militarized the Prius, in fact I think it compliments the use of high technology by calling it a stealth...in fact, I like to think of my black Prius as my "stealthmobile" because at night, you can't see it or hear it coming... :mrgreen: :lol:
I know -- when I was driving a Prius this weekend, my brain kept flashing back to the old Green Hornet TV show. His car had a "silent mode". Being the eternal 12-year-old, I love that the Prius has a similar feature.
