Using L instead of D for faster ICE warmup

[hybridbear]

Has anyone tried using L instead of D for faster ICE warm-up? I realize I'm asking this question just as most of the country is no longer feeling the pains of winter, but since our weather still feels like February I figured I'd ask. I just tried doing this yesterday. I don't know what the impact will be on MPGs but the ICE definitely warms up faster and thus will shut off sooner.

 

Here is an explanation of how L works for those who haven't tried it:

L enables the hypermiling technique of DWB (Driving Without Brakes). As soon as you take your foot off the accelerator the car begins powerful regen. The ICE also does not shut off unless you come to a full stop. When accelerating the ICE revs much higher than is necessary to push extra electricity back into the battery. The ICE seems to rev to around 3000-3500 RPM when it would normally do 1500-2000 RPM in D.

 

Yesterday and today on short trips I tried shifting the car into L as soon as the ICE came on the first time and using ET Mode to watch the coolant temp. Once the coolant temp showed about 35 C I shifted back into D and the ICE soon shut off. I was then able to drive the rest of the trip without engaging the ICE again. I have been able to get over 40 MPG doing this on my 1.3 mile drive to and from work yesterday and this morning. Both mornings were cold. Yesterday it was around 20 degrees in the morning and 32 in the afternoon and this morning was about 25 degrees. The MPG results from those few trips seem higher.

 

My theory is that using L while accelerating will help improve mileage by allowing the ICE to turn off sooner and not waste gas while sitting at a red light waiting for the ICE to warm up enough to turn off. This could also help to get heat faster in the winter as well.

 

Has anyone else tried this? What are your thoughts on potential benefits of using L? Will sustained use of L and higher revs on a cold engine do any long-term damage? Thanks

[acdii]

L is the equivalent of low gear in a normal transmission. If you go down a hill and drop to L the car will slow down. Its the same as the B setting on a Toyota. Engine Braking is another way of explaining it and yes it will warm up ICE quicker, but also uses more fuel.

[hybridbear]

But the question is: does it really use more fuel if it allows the ICE to turn off sooner? I think it's possible that using this mode selectively could conserve gas by allowing the car to spend more time in full hybrid mode and less time in the ICE warm up mode

[acdii]

Only way to know is to try it. A few times I inadvertently stuck my 10 in L and it did use more fuel since it has to rev much higher as if I were driving in second gear all the time. Basically where I would get 20 MPG I would get 10, then realized as I came to my first stop sign that the car slowed quickly that I saw it in L and put it in D.

 

Whats funny is the car would slow in L like the 13 would slow on its own when the pack was low.

[keithsm2]

Just from a normal ICE point of view...I would think you would want to avoid a higher rev situation until the engine is at operating temperature.. Sometimes my wife pulls out of the garage in her 5.0 and revs it to 3K going down the street..... ( not a good idea in my eyes as the oil and everything else is not up to operating temp. )

 

<<< not a mechanic

[rjent]

I am a mechanic (well at least an ex pro mechanic/hotrodder/race car builder) and with today's multivis oil, higher RPM's should not be a problem. I think the bear may be on to something, not only does it seem to regen better, like hill assist, but if in fact it does warm the engine sooner (with potentially higher HVB charge) then it probably will save fuel.....

 

JMHO

[acdii]

Try it is the only thing I can say. I know in the 10 it doenst save gas, just uses more from every time I accidently used it. Ford keeps saying the 13 isnt anything like the 10-12, so who knows!

 

Hey maybe thats how they got to 47! J/K

[rjent]

I am going to be such an expert before my car comes in .... LOL

 

Here is from the manual:

 

Trans mission position L

 

Provides maximum engine braking.

•
The transmission may be shifted into
L (Low) at any vehicle speed.

 

The any speed thing is the key. It has nothing to do with the gearing (which makes sense), but it does use all technologies (charging, gearing, and engine) to slow the car, or give it extra power which ever is applicable..

 

Damn, I can't wait any longer for my HyTi ...... :nonono: . This is the pits .....

[elle]

But the question is: does it really use more fuel if it allows the ICE to turn off sooner? I think it's possible that using this mode selectively could conserve gas by allowing the car to spend more time in full hybrid mode and less time in the ICE warm up mode

 

I've accidentally driven whole trips in this mode and then griped about my lousy mileage afterward, not realizing it. Yes, it definitely has a negative impact on mileage! Might be useful for short bursts or, as you say, for the first half-mile or so of your warming up time, but I don't really use it (except accidentally!)

[acdii]

 

I've accidentally driven whole trips in this mode and then griped about my lousy mileage afterward, not realizing it. Yes, it definitely has a negative impact on mileage! Might be useful for short bursts or, as you say, for the first half-mile or so of your warming up time, but I don't really use it (except accidentally!)

Thats what I have done too. I can usually tell when I leave the house if I fat handed it as the car slows down really fast from 55 MPH, but from my office the speeds are 25, so not really notice it until I turn and go uphill.

[hybridbear]

Obviously using L all the time will greatly lower gas mileage due to the engine RPMs being elevated. In the short term to warm up the ICE I'm optimistic that it might improve MPGs

Edited April 16, 2013 by hybridbear

[elle]

It's certainly worth a try.

[milleron]

Going along with the idea of getting the ICE to turn off faster, it dawned on me after I ordered my FFH that I should have ordered the factory-installed engine-block heater that's always been a very inexpensive add-on. In the old days these were mainly for Canadians and for those of us who had to park outdoors in the winter. They were starting and battery-sparing aids. NOW, I'm guessing that if I had an engine block heater turned on for a an hour or two before I go to work, even though the car's in a relatively warm garage, it might get the ICE turned off much faster. They draw about 500W, so that would cost me about 25 cents or about the cost of four ounces of gasoline.

 

In retrospect, was that heater even an option on the FFH? Can't recall for sure.

If it makes sense, has anyone tried an aftermarket engine-block heater? (I presume they still make such gizmos.)

 

Ron

[JSKershaw]

Going along with the idea of getting the ICE to turn off faster, it dawned on me after I ordered my FFH that I should have ordered the factory-installed engine-block heater that's always been a very inexpensive add-on. In the old days these were mainly for Canadians and for those of us who had to park outdoors in the winter. They were starting and battery-sparing aids. NOW, I'm guessing that if I had an engine block heater turned on for a an hour or two before I go to work, even though the car's in a relatively warm garage, it might get the ICE turned off much faster. They draw about 500W, so that would cost me about 25 cents or about the cost of four ounces of gasoline.

 

In retrospect, was that heater even an option on the FFH? Can't recall for sure.

If it makes sense, has anyone tried an aftermarket engine-block heater? (I presume they still make such gizmos.)

 

Ron

Yep it was an option for $100.

[milleron]

Damn, I'm old enough to remember when I had one added to a Cutlass special order for $15, just because it was so cheap, not because I expected to need it. However, I most certainly did need it. It was a lifesaver.

 

$100 buys about 30 gallons of gasoline at present prices. If it would allow the ICE to turn off sooner, I wonder what the payback time might be. Of couse even if it worked, it would be useful here in the midwest only about 5 months of the year.

You can buy recirculating block heater kits for $35; they get the whole block toasty, but installation can be problematic. I think I will get a recirculator installed in the late fall of 2013, and I'll report the results about ICE-off here when the nights are cold again.

[neod192]

Yep it was an option for $100.

Are you sure? I didn't see it as an option, or I would've added it. It's standard in some northern states (free), and not available in all other states. Sure, the dealer cold order all the parts and put them in after the fact, but that's not done at the factory.

[camelot]

I have to agree with Kiethsm2. I operate a 70's vintage steam turbine in a powerplant, and The ge book says hold turbine speed at 3k till oiltemp hits 110 degrees. Then I canrollup to 3600 rpm and phase in for load. I know spectrum oils are supposed to be flexible in cold temps but I just don't push cold engines. Turbine oil acts like hydraulic fluid to me. Real light. This brings the question of just how long these Atkinson engines are gonna last with them starting up while we are driving in the cold. mine starts about 150 ft away from my house when its 50's out and usually while I'm backing out of my garage in winter. Though I keep my garage 40ish in winter Due to my hobbies. 5 /20 still flows slow below that. I also notice the ice seems to just idle for a while till the o2's warm up before takeing full load while driving.. Again I don't push the car cold. Luckily I go 2 miles at 40 mph before I hit the interstate.

[JSKershaw]

Are you sure? I didn't see it as an option, or I would've added it. It's standard in some northern states (free), and not available in all other states. Sure, the dealer cold order all the parts and put them in after the fact, but that's not done at the factory.

Yep, it was an option on the SE Hybrid here in Canada. It is standard on SE and Titanium gas models.

[hybridbear]

Yep, it was an option on the SE Hybrid here in Canada. It is standard on SE and Titanium gas models.

In the US it is not an option to buy, Ford puts an EBH standard on cars going to certain states at no cost. In MN we get the block heater standard. I'm surprised in Canada Ford wouldn't do the same since block heaters are pretty common up there. The office where my wife worked in Winnipeg before we got married had outlets throughout the whole parking lot for employees to plug in their block heaters during the day while at work.

[tombarker13ffh]

I Ordered my car in Illinois and was told I cannot order it with an engine block heater.

[gkinla]

Here is something that is not in our owners manual, and has to do with engine heating up faster.

 

I was wondering why on this 2013 FFH, I was getting cabin heat much faster than my 2010 FFH, I mean noticeably faster. I looked it up. I don't remember where I got this. This is what I remembered.

 

Energy Recapture Exhaust Manifold

• Helps warm up the engine quicker by circulating engine coolant through the exhaust manifold

– Helps the engine warm up faster than the previous Fusion Hybrid system with a conventional manifold

• Uses one inlet and one outlet tube that allows engine coolant to flow in and out, heating the coolant that runs through the hot exhaust manifold, allowing the engine to shut down and the vehicle to enter hybrid mode faster

• Heating the coolant using the exhaust manifold decreases the length of time the engine has to run

– The quicker the engine shuts off, the less fuel is wasted, helping improve fuel economy