Ok, my wife and I went out for a drive this afternoon and I got consistently over 50MPG!! I raised my pitiful MPG after 61 miles (30.something) to almost 40 in only about 20 miles. Thanks for the tips. Now for the questions ... When there are no arrows, the battery isn't being charged (nor discharged, for that matter), and the ICE is off. I've got that. What I'm not clear about, is why would it not make sense, MPG-wise, to let the coasting charge the battery by just letting off the accellerator? I thought charging the battery was a good thing and would automatically help MPG. Secondly, When I tried pulsing and gliding up hill I couldn't get the arrows to disappear. Is that hard(er) to do? In responding, please remember I'm just a guitar player ... Brian
When you are regenerating electricity (charging the battery) you will have more drag than when you are gliding with no arrows. So you won't coast as far when you completely let off the accelerator. However, if you are going to have to stop anyway, then let off the accelerator as soon as possible. Yep. I would like to be able to play guitar like Eric Clapton. Can you teach me how to do that?
Assuming for just a moment that you're at all serious ... :violin: I can teach you "Tears In Heaven" ... Beyond that I'm a fingerstyle player ... Thanks for your help.
As an additional point, a lack of arrows does not necessarily mean the engine is off, it only means that no power is being delivered. The engine sometimes runs to provide heat even without delivering power to the wheels. From an efficiency standpoint, you should try to avoid creating electricity only to store it for later use. As the previous posted stated, it makes sense to do this when you have to brake, but otherwise it is a horribly inefficient way to get power to the wheels. There are losses involved in generating the electricity, in storing it in the battery, and in converting it back to mechanical motion. You loose about half to heat. With normal braking you loose all of it to heat, so half is better, but it's a poor way to do it if you don't have to. Tom
I was being facetious; I actually like Clapton's blues guitar playing the best. Unfortunately, I don't even own a guitar, and I think I should have started at least 20 years ago.
I figured that you were being facetious ... As to the 20 years ago statement - it's NEVER too late if ya wanna have fun doing it and are only modestly attached to the performance side of playing. It's one of the best stress reducers I know of ... ... after you throw your guitar out the window there's a moment of really low stress ... LOL!!
