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Short trips? Here's a trick!

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Fuel Economy' started by nooaah, Sep 19, 2008.

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  1. nooaah

    nooaah New Member

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    Alright, when I'm at work I sometimes have to go to the orthodontist or run errands. These trips take me 1-2 miles, or less than 5 minutes total drive time. Killer on mileage, right? Yeah, it was for me, too. That is, until I figured out a little trick!

    If you have the time and patience, drive one block. Pull over and park. The ICE will shut itself off within 15 seconds. Sit there for a few minutes. After that, you should be ready to go. I can do a full pulse and glide with no problems. My mileage from these frequent short trips are completely unaffected.

    I hope this works for the rest of you! I also don't know if this will work well in cold weather. It's in the 70's-80's in Philadelphia lately.
     
    #1 nooaah, Sep 19, 2008
  2. efusco

    efusco Moderator Emeritus
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    Yup, you've discovered how to get into S4...and once the ICE shuts off there's no need to wait...I typically just keep driving until I get to a stop light then I make sure to fire up the ICE and then let it shut off into S4.
    It won't work as well in cold weather and the distance needed to drive will vary quite a lot. What you're looking for is an ICE temp over 154F (I've heard 157, but I seem to be able to get into S4. This is yet another reason something like a scangauge is invaluable. You drive until you see 154/157F or higher before you try to get into S4.

    What I do on those very short trips with a cold ICE is I tend to use my EV button to simulate S4. The other day I did this for about a 2 mile drive and I actually never got the ICE temp up to 154 b/c I did short pulses and forced EV glides whenever possible on side streets.
     
    #2 efusco, Sep 19, 2008
  3. nooaah

    nooaah New Member

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    Unfortunately I don't have the EV button, so waiting out the warming time is my only option. This would work for longer trips, but it's not really worth the time, IMO.

    This has definitely helped my mileage tremendously, though. I get about 52MPG right now in a very hilly area and with my tires at 32PSI all around (I know, I haven't had time to properly inflate them). Before, I'd get about a .3 or .4 mpg hit from a short trip and about 100-200 miles on the current tank (fairly significant, I'd say). With this, my mileage stays the same or even goes up a little, depending on which hill I take.
     
    #3 nooaah, Sep 19, 2008
  4. efusco

    efusco Moderator Emeritus
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    Again, it's worth the time, but not worth the time to take a stop just for the purpose of getting into S4 usually. Using my EBH I can usually stop at the stop sign for my little subdivision ~1/4 mile from my house. I make a complete stop, wait the 5-7 seconds (if my temp was up to >154), let her go into S4 then take off. It helps a lot on slower sections of my commute.
     
    #4 efusco, Sep 19, 2008
  5. nooaah

    nooaah New Member

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    Unfortunately, I have no way of gauging the temperature so I just estimate when it's ready to go at full efficiency. I see people using their mobile/palm devices to interface with the computer and get this information. Can a program do this via bluetooth or is there a more complicated hack involved?
     
    #5 nooaah, Sep 19, 2008
  6. efusco

    efusco Moderator Emeritus
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    No hack really, you just need the cable/connector for the OBDII port and the proper software. But I strongly recommend the Scan Gauge...the amount of data and quality and convenience for the price is worth it...you'll have a hard time coming close with a PDA and the cost will probably being about the same.
     
    #6 efusco, Sep 19, 2008
  7. nooaah

    nooaah New Member

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    I've actually been tempted to buy one but I need more education as to what data it really provides me other than more accurate fuel usage...Which is an issue with my car. I get down to two pips with under 400 miles left. I refuel and can only put in 5-6 gallons before it clicks. I understand the whole "fuel bladder" concept but I think I'm a bit on the extreme end of things.
     
    #7 nooaah, Sep 19, 2008
  8. ken1784

    ken1784 SuperMID designer

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    I believe he was in S2 instead of S4.

    Ken@Japan
     
    #8 ken1784, Sep 19, 2008
  9. efusco

    efusco Moderator Emeritus
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    Ken san, I hesitate to question you at all, but how could he do a full P&G unless in S4?
     
    #9 efusco, Sep 19, 2008
  10. ken1784

    ken1784 SuperMID designer

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    Hi Dr. Evan,
    The S2 behavior is exactly same as S4 including a full P&G.

    Ken@Japan
     
    #10 ken1784, Sep 19, 2008
  11. diamondlarry

    diamondlarry EPA MPG #'s killer

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    I thought you had to be in S3 to be able to P&G. If I'm not at 155F(coolant temp) or above I can't P&G. Once I hit 155F, I can go into a glide if my speed reaches at least 35 mph. I was under the impression that S2 only meant that the ICE would auto-stop at stop signs/lights?
     
    #11 diamondlarry, Sep 19, 2008
  12. rarthur

    rarthur New Member

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    very nice.............
    ------------------------
    Richard Arthur
     
    #12 rarthur, Sep 20, 2008
  13. Neicy

    Neicy Member

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    What about the 34 mph requirement along with the 154F temp? Thought that was a requirement too!
     
    #13 Neicy, Sep 20, 2008
  14. ken1784

    ken1784 SuperMID designer

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    Japanese NHW20 Prius can do full P&G in S2.
    Is the NA Prius different?

    Ken@Japan
     
    #14 ken1784, Sep 20, 2008
  15. JimboK

    JimboK One owner, low mileage

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    AFAIK, the only NA Prius that can do an ICE-off glide in S2 are those with EV switches. Are you able to do S2 glides without the switch?
     
    #15 JimboK, Sep 20, 2008
  16. ken1784

    ken1784 SuperMID designer

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    I didn't know that.
    Japanese NHW20 Prius behavior is...

    S1a:ICE-on at stop:no ICE-off glide:no ICE-off by EV switch
    S1b:ICE-on at stop:no ICE-off glide:ICE-off by EV switch
    S2:ICE-off at stop:ICE-off glide:ICE-off by EV switch
    S3:ICE-off at stop after several seconds(S3->S4):no ICE-off glide:ICE-off by EV switch
    S4:ICE-off at stop:ICE-off glide:ICE-off by EV switch

    Therefore, the Japanese Prius S2 behavior is same as S4.

    Ken@Japan
     
    #16 ken1784, Sep 20, 2008
    1 person likes this.
  17. efusco

    efusco Moderator Emeritus
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    I believe that in NA in S2 you can only get an ICE-off glide in S2 if you exceed 34mph then try to enter glide.

    I can never get an ICE off glide below that speed unless the ICE is above 154F and I've done a full stop and let the ICE self shut off during that full stop...S4.
     
    #17 efusco, Sep 20, 2008
  18. nooaah

    nooaah New Member

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    Maybe my car is Japanese because I can run fully on battery (99mpg) doing this. When I glide, I still end up in the 70'smpg but the fact that I can even black out the energy screen is better than what it was before!
     
    #18 nooaah, Sep 21, 2008
  19. rolin

    rolin New Member

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    I would be grateful if someone can explain "ICE" and all the abbreviations that are uses in this thread.

    Thank you
     
    #19 rolin, Sep 22, 2008
  20. nooaah

    nooaah New Member

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    Ice = Internal Combustion Engine
     
    #20 nooaah, Sep 22, 2008
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