After the PCM software update/recalibration - observations by Hybridbear

[djminfll]

II just returned from a 1288 mile trip from the Philadelphia area to Northern Ohio and averaged 46.2 average mpg. This was after the PCM update. with speeds in PA of 68 mph and Ohio at 73 mph. In July the same trip/route produced an average of 44.5. This was a definite improvement with the same car as the speeds were lower in July. I had no trouble getting the car to go into EV at speeds up to 85 mph. I was going to take the Z on this trip, but I wanted to get an comparison.

 

Very happy with this car.

I know my update was done correctly because it does go into EV over 62mph and the blue bars are always in the Empower read outs (thank you corncobs for pointing this out!), but as I posted yesterday, 120+ miles at 70 mph on flat roadway yielded under 40mpg. I can't get mine into EV much over 68mph. I'm not sure why some can do things that others can't. I love my FFH but the discrepancies from one vehicle to another are disturbing.

[corncobs]

I know my update was done correctly because it does go into EV over 62mph and the blue bars are always in the Empower read outs (thank you corncobs for pointing this out!), but as I posted yesterday, 120+ miles at 70 mph on flat roadway yielded under 40mpg. I can't get mine into EV much over 68mph. I'm not sure why some can do things that others can't. I love my FFH but the discrepancies from one vehicle to another are disturbing.

It doesn't go and stay in EV when decreasing the set speed on CC?

 

Mine doesn't always go into EV either even at 65 MPH. Yesterday it wouldn't go this morning I couldn't stop it from going into EV not sure what was different. Without it going into EV I probably would have broken my 55.7 MPG record but I got "only" 54.1 ;-)

[keithsm2]

has anyone noticed it being harder to get a good brake score with the new update? Seems harder for me.....But....I did get my best MPG on morning commute today.....43 vs 39 before....could of just been state of battery...but anyways...it happened! :)

[hermans]

Mine before the upgrade 91% after.....94%.

[jeapa]

It is to soon for me to say much about the update. This mornings commute was not typical because it was a hard down pour, windy, and stop & go traffic when I got off the highway. Roads were flooded all around Newark so it was not a fun drive. I ended up with 45.4 mpg which was about 1.5 less then my normal numbers. I think this was all road conditions. I am worried about the constant cycling between the EV and ICE at higher speeds. I hope the rain is gone for my ride home so I can get a better idea of how this update effects my cars performance.

[djminfll]

It doesn't go and stay in EV when decreasing the set speed on CC?

Mine doesn't always go into EV either even at 65 MPH. Yesterday it wouldn't go this morning I couldn't stop it from going into EV not sure what was different. Without it going into EV I probably would have broken my 55.7 MPG record but I got "only" 54.1 ;-)

Since I was using the Adaptive Cruise Control set on 70mph, it never decreased in speed. I was on the highway with zero traffic. It does go into EV mode when I slow down to take the exit ramp or if traffic slows in front of me, but never when I'm maintaining 70 mph or above. It does, however, go in and out of EV when I'm maintaining 65mph.

[MXGOLF]

Ok I had the update done and did a 861 mile vacation over the weekend. Results 35.4 MPG. :cry: Very disappointed to say the least.

[Eddie Sessum]

Ok I had the update done and did a 861 mile vacation over the weekend. Results 35.4 MPG. :cry: Very disappointed to say the least.

Was your vacation in the hills or mountains?

[acdii]

has anyone noticed it being harder to get a good brake score with the new update? Seems harder for me.....But....I did get my best MPG on morning commute today.....43 vs 39 before....could of just been state of battery...but anyways...it happened! :)

Yep, I noticed that too. Still doing good, but there were times where it felt like it was 100%, but came up as 98 or 99 instead. OTOH I noticed it is easier to accelerate, and switch to EV now.

[hybridbear]

I've noticed that the acceleration coach is changed in how it calculates your score. I usually drive in a way that has the bar filled all the way up. Sometimes I accelerate harder and lower the bar because I can see upcoming road conditions and know that accelerating hard now is better than accelerating gently and then having to stop for a red light. It seems that now the car is less forgiving in the coach of those occasional harder accelerations. I have not seen any difference in the brake score. We were at 99% before over 16,500 miles and we're at 99% now in the few miles since the update.

[hermans]

Your yellow lights must be timed longer. Ours are at 3 seconds,lots of red light cameras, therefore harder stops.

[Eddie Sessum]

Hybridbear, As for the AC power consumption that is more related to highway. I noticed once I hit 50mph today after the update the ac power usage dropped to half. The tech at the dealership mentioned that the fans will turn down and than turn off if there is no need for them (at 50mph there is enough air force to cool the ac on lower settings and the ICE i guess)

 

Would make sense tho for sure.

[hybridbear]

Your yellow lights must be timed longer. Ours are at 3 seconds,lots of red light cameras, therefore harder stops.

Red light cameras were declared unconstitutional by the Minnesota Supreme Court a few years ago so we don't have to worry about them. Our lights are also generally pretty well timed to move traffic and limit how often cars have to stop. There are some stretches where I can drive for 3 or 4 miles without stopping at a single red light because they're timed to all be green. That's often 10+ traffic lights in a row all green, sometimes I've gone through as many as 20 without a single one being red.

[acdii]

Red light cameras were declared unconstitutional by the Minnesota Supreme Court a few years ago so we don't have to worry about them. Our lights are also generally pretty well timed to move traffic and limit how often cars have to stop. There are some stretches where I can drive for 3 or 4 miles without stopping at a single red light because they're timed to all be green. That's often 10+ traffic lights in a row all green, sometimes I've gone through as many as 20 without a single one being red.

AND then there are some that are RED just as the one you are at turns green, the next one turns red, and so on , and so on ,and so on. What PITA that was!

[dalesky]

Red light cameras were declared unconstitutional by the Minnesota Supreme Court a few years ago so we don't have to worry about them. Our lights are also generally pretty well timed to move traffic and limit how often cars have to stop. There are some stretches where I can drive for 3 or 4 miles without stopping at a single red light because they're timed to all be green. That's often 10+ traffic lights in a row all green, sometimes I've gone through as many as 20 without a single one being red.

Are you talking about driving on Park or Portland Avenues? Used to time those just right,and cruise along for many miles.

[hybridbear]

Are you talking about driving on Park or Portland Avenues? Used to time those just right,and cruise along for many miles.

Park & Portland were repaved last summer and reduced down to two lanes each while turning the former third traffic lane into a huge bike lane on each street. When the city did this they also lowered the speed limit to 30 from 35 MPH and re-timed the lights so now I avoid those streets because you now stop at almost every single light. It's awful.

 

I've found that France Ave from near 494 in Edina all the way up to the Lake Calhoun area of South Minneapolis you can get through without stopping or with minimal stops. Same thing taking Minnehaha Parkway all the way across south Minneapolis from near Edina to the Mississippi River. Broadway St NE and Lowry Ave NE are also setup pretty well that way as well as Fremont & Emerson Avenues in North Minneapolis. Timing is also very good on Marquette and 2nd Avenues through downtown if you're going north-south through downtown. Washington Avenue is also timed pretty well coming out of downtown going into North Minneapolis.

AND then there are some that are RED just as the one you are at turns green, the next one turns red, and so on , and so on ,and so on. What PITA that was!

You were driving in St Paul, not Minneapolis, that's the difference.

[jeapa]

I am still trying to get used to how the car responds since the update. I almost think driving a little faster on the highway will yield better results. Today's commute was about normal overall and I think for me the update will not be much improvement, but I was getting very good milage anyway.

 

From the drive in to work:

 

 

From the drive home:

 

 

Combined avg:

 

[djminfll]

Well done, especially considering that you only have 1497 miles on your FFH so far! I'm impressed!

[jcg1005]

I had mine done this morning and had a 180 mile work trip to take for the day. It was windy and it is nearly all highway. I got 43.1 for the trip. I expected worse due to the wind.

 

I was also in the middle of a 87 octane vs. 91 octane commute study. I was just about 3/4 through what I planned. I need gas in the morning, so I guess I'll start over.

 

By the way, in my non-scientific study, 91 was looking like it was going to beat 87 by about 2.5 mph. When I complete it, I'll post the results here and the base blueovalforum.

[acdii]

I had mine done this morning and had a 180 mile work trip to take for the day. It was windy and it is nearly all highway. I got 43.1 for the trip. I expected worse due to the wind.

 

I was also in the middle of a 87 octane vs. 91 octane commute study. I was just about 3/4 through what I planned. I need gas in the morning, so I guess I'll start over.

 

By the way, in my non-scientific study, 91 was looking like it was going to beat 87 by about 2.5 mph. When I complete it, I'll post the results here and the base blueovalforum.

In the Hybrid, that 2.5 MPG difference wont pay off the difference in cost. But in a car getting 18 MPG, the 2.5 is HUGE.

[jcg1005]

Actually, for current gas prices by me, 2.5 mpg difference is right at the breaking point by pennies.

 

500 miles @ 45.5 MPG - 10.99 gallons of gas. Premium is $4.15 = $45.61 to drive those 500 miles.

 

500 miles @ 43.0 MPG - 11.64 gallons of gas. Regular is $3.89 = $45.24 to drive those 500 miles.

 

I am going to test a couple of more times. What I found earlier, and what got me on this, was the performance difference when it was hot (85 or over). Then, I was seeing more like 4 MPG difference between the fuel grades.

 

I guess I will be switching gas based on the weather!

 

Oh and as for gas prices - Welcome to NY. HORRIBLE. I am sure some of you are paying anywhere from 50 - 75 cents less per gallon.

Edited August 16, 2013 by jcg1005

[KingJL]

 

Oh and as for gas prices - Welcome to NY. HORRIBLE. I am sure some of you are paying anywhere from 50 - 75 cents less per gallon.

$3.03 here!

[jcg1005]

3.03?

Good God. I looked on gasbuddy.com and the lowest I saw was in the $3.10 range in South Carolina. Either way, that hurts.

 

Must be nice to fill your tank for $30 instead of $40!

[anguyen]

Red light cameras were declared unconstitutional by the Minnesota Supreme Court a few years ago so we don't have to worry about them. Our lights are also generally pretty well timed to move traffic and limit how often cars have to stop. There are some stretches where I can drive for 3 or 4 miles without stopping at a single red light because they're timed to all be green. That's often 10+ traffic lights in a row all green, sometimes I've gone through as many as 20 without a single one being red.

Little off topic, did they physically remove the camera, or it still mount on the light and not monitor it.?

[anguyen]

Hybridbear, As for the AC power consumption that is more related to highway. I noticed once I hit 50mph today after the update the ac power usage dropped to half. The tech at the dealership mentioned that the fans will turn down and than turn off if there is no need for them (at 50mph there is enough air force to cool the ac on lower settings and the ICE i guess)

 

Would make sense tho for sure.

 

Maybe this why I get better mileage on the interstate than city driving with 98-100+degree