Efficiency on longer highway trips...

[corncobs]

To be honest when I'm driving cross country I let her do the work.

 

Last week I made a 400 mile round trip (2 days) thru the cheese state. It's was mostly 55 - 65 MPH highway and countyroads with a few small towns far and between.

 

I did set ECC to speed limit plus 4-5 MPH and enjoyed the ride. I didn't take a pic of the trip but Trip 1 showed 45.2 MPG after 8 hrs of driving.

[acdii]

I get an error message.

Permissions

 

[hybridbear]

This is the same thing we get when I force the car to keep the ICE running. You can go for many miles like that. The ScanGauge shows about 15 HP at that point. The Prius ICE will go all the way down to about 8-10 HP in similar situations with the instant MPG showing 100+.

 

The only downside to such driving is that if you come up on a red light with the SOC that high you can't store it all in the HVB. I had a couple times where I could see a light coming up in the distance so I let the car kick into EV mode to burn off some charge. Good thing I did because both lights then turned red. With the Disp SOC at 80% like that it doesn't take much to max out the HVB. I was able to drop it to about 70-75 though before starting to brake and one time I stopped with the Disp SOC at 99% according to Torque Pro and the other time the Disp SOC topped out at 97%. There was also one light where I didn't burn off charge first and the Disp SOC reached 98% before the light turned green again so I was able to stop braking.

[acdii]

I max out the charge since accelerating back up to 60 uses up some of that extra charge, so it doesn't use any ICE energy to put back into the battery. I am getting better than 47 this way in the mornings. sadly can't do it coming home due to traffic being denser with more idiots on the road. Also the lights are against us going home where in the morning we can usually breeze through 90% of them.

[kuzzi]

Here is something I discovered recently. I was getting 50 MPG doing 70 MPH today. What I did was get the HVB up as high as it will go and feather the throttle to stay on ICE, and maintain speed. When going up grade I let it slip down in speed and recovered the speed on the other side.

 

Here is a shot I took of it last time I noticed it.

 

 

Here is the trip result from today.

 

This is why I would like to go back to the old software programming. I could get 45+ mpg on the ICE alone at 70mph if I set cruise control on. Now it cycles between ICE and EV so often that I'd be lucky to get above 40 at my 70 to 75 mph interstate speeds.

[GrySql]

This is why I would like to go back to the old software programming. I could get 45+ mpg on the ICE alone at 70mph if I set cruise control on. Now it cycles between ICE and EV so often that I'd be lucky to get above 40 at my 70 to 75 mph interstate speeds.

Wouldn't an EV On/EV Off button be nice?

How do we hot-wire one in?

Edited June 30, 2014 by GrySql

[tr7driver]

Wouldn't an EV On/EV Off button be nice?

How do we hot-wire one in?

This would really be helpful. We make several cross country trips a year, and after a while you just turn the cruise on and let the computer do the work while enjoying watching America pass by.

[Ryan Goodlett]

Great thread. I have been doing this for the past few days and have been getting great mileage. Got 48.7 this morning on a 11 mile trip to work in Houston traffic.

[mwr]

I have been doing this for the past few days

You mean turn the cruise on and let the computer do the work?

[Ryan Goodlett]

You mean turn the cruise on and let the computer do the work?

No. I am letting the SOC get up to the top and using the ICE only.

[swingdj]

Here's a shot of a trip to Toledo -- tried to stay out of EV as much as possible and averaged somewhere around low 60 mph on the highway but as high as 70. Kept the charge as high as possible.

 

[jsolan]

I'm not sure how you guys stay out of EV at a high SOC. Mine likes to use EV assist once I get over about 80% charged until it drops down to about 65-70%, then recharges itself.

Either way, I'm still going to rely on cruise control and be reasonably happy with the 38-40 I get at 70 mph.

 

I do wish Ford trusted their drivers a bit more to make a decision about EV usage though. I'd love there to be 3 modes:

Normal - current

Max EV - EV+ all the time

No/limited EV - what we're trying to accomplish in this thread. I do think that having EV available at high speeds is a fuel saver for going down long downgrades, but flatland and uphill it appears to be less efficient than the atkinson.

[hybridbear]

I'm not sure how you guys stay out of EV at a high SOC. Mine likes to use EV assist once I get over about 80% charged until it drops down to about 65-70%, then recharges itself.

That's what we mean. We keep it from going into EV mode, keeping the ICE on the entire time. For me I use CC but keep my right foot near the gas, then when we hit a downhill stretch that would normally make the car turn off the ICE I gently step on the gas just barely enough to keep the ICE on. This causes the instant MPG to go to 60+ and the HVB is charging. This appears to be more efficient that letting the ICE turn off & then drain the HVB in EV mode on these stretches.

 

Then, when going uphill the car uses EV as assist which allows the ICE to continue to run on little fuel keeping the instant MPG near 40 MPG even when going up a hill.

Edited July 15, 2014 by hybridbear

[jsolan]

That's what we mean. We keep it from going into EV mode, keeping the ICE on the entire time. For me I use CC but keep my right foot near the gas, then when we hit a downhill stretch that would normally make the car turn off the ICE I gently step on the gas just barely enough to keep the ICE on. This causes the instant MPG to go to 60+ and the HVB is charging. This appears to be more efficient that letting the ICE turn off & then drain the HVB in EV mode on these stretches.

 

Then, when going uphill the car uses EV as assist which allows the ICE to continue to run on little fuel keeping the instant MPG near 40 MPG even when going up a hill.

 

I understand what you guys are saying, my car just doesn't seem to behave that way.

I don't mean mine goes in EV mode to drain the battery, it uses EV assist (both ICE and EV at the same time), even on flat terrain, until it depletes the battery about 10%.Then recharges. It's like it constantly wants to cycle. During the EV Assist on flat terrain, I see instant MPG at around 50 or so, but it's also depleting the battery and needs to recharge so it's a wash. And there doesn't seem to be anything I can do to make it ignore EV assist. If I give it more gas, it assists more, if I back off on the gas it goes into full EV. Granted I only tried it 4-5 times on my 900 mile trip to Boston over the 4th, so maybe I wasn't doing it quite right.

Edited July 15, 2014 by jsolan

[acdii]

It's a balancing act with the right foot. Just enough pressure to keep it on ICE, and not enough to accelerate, but enough to maintain speed on ICE and charge, at times I have been getting it in equilibrium status where there are no arrows on the battery. Thats the hardest part. My wife can't do it either, she had the car since Friday and only got 42 MPG in it, while this morning I got 48.5.

[Ryan Goodlett]

 

I understand what you guys are saying, my car just doesn't seem to behave that way.

I don't mean mine goes in EV mode to drain the battery, it uses EV assist (both ICE and EV at the same time), even on flat terrain, until it depletes the battery about 10%.Then recharges. It's like it constantly wants to cycle. During the EV Assist on flat terrain, I see instant MPG at around 50 or so, but it's also depleting the battery and needs to recharge so it's a wash. And there doesn't seem to be anything I can do to make it ignore EV assist. If I give it more gas, it assists more, if I back off on the gas it goes into full EV. Granted I only tried it 4-5 times on my 900 mile trip to Boston over the 4th, so maybe I wasn't doing it quite right.

 

Make sure you are using the Empower gauge. With the wrong gauge you are just herding cats (chasing the impossible).

[hybridbear]

 

Make sure you are using the Empower gauge. With the wrong gauge you are just herding cats (chasing the impossible).

When I'm doing this on the highway I switch back & forth between Empower & Engage. I like Empower because that allows me to make sure I keep the power demand above the EV threshold. But, I like Engage so that I can see when the car is using EV assist along with the ICE.

[Ryan Goodlett]

When I'm doing this on the highway I switch back & forth between Empower & Engage. I like Empower because that allows me to make sure I keep the power demand above the EV threshold. But, I like Engage so that I can see when the car is using EV assist along with the ICE.

 

 

I see what you are doing there.... :) I use the empower along with the battery SOC arrows to see if the car is using the ICE and EV together.

[hybridbear]

I see what you are doing there.... :) I use the empower along with the battery SOC arrows to see if the car is using the ICE and EV together.

I watch the arrows too. But I like the Engage screen because it allows me to see how much EV assist is happening.

[darrelld]

I fust completed a 400 mile road trip, averaging 34 mpg at 80 mph and 38 mpg at 75 mph. Avg ambient temp was 95+ degrees. As a comparison my previous Passat TDI would avg 38-39 on the same trip under those conditions. Accounting for diesel fuel 10% per gallon greater energy density the Atkins cycle Fusion is on par in thermal efficiency.

 

I am very pleased considering only 2k on the FFH drivetrain.

Edited July 16, 2014 by darrelld

[corncobs]

I fust completed a 400 mile road trip, averaging 34 mpg at 80 mph and 38 mpg at 75 mph. Avg ambient temp was 95+ degrees. As a comparison my previous Passat TDI would avg 38-39 on the same trip under those conditions. Accounting for diesel fuel 10% per gallon greater energy density the Atkins cycle Fusion is on par in thermal efficiency.

 

I am very pleased considering only 2k on the FFH drivetrain.

Yep very common results!

[md13ffhguy]

 

I understand what you guys are saying, my car just doesn't seem to behave that way.

I don't mean mine goes in EV mode to drain the battery, it uses EV assist (both ICE and EV at the same time), even on flat terrain, until it depletes the battery about 10%.Then recharges. It's like it constantly wants to cycle. During the EV Assist on flat terrain, I see instant MPG at around 50 or so, but it's also depleting the battery and needs to recharge so it's a wash. And there doesn't seem to be anything I can do to make it ignore EV assist. If I give it more gas, it assists more, if I back off on the gas it goes into full EV. Granted I only tried it 4-5 times on my 900 mile trip to Boston over the 4th, so maybe I wasn't doing it quite right.

Don't worry, dude, I don't get it either! I just set the cruise on the highway, and let the car work its magic! Seems to do just as well or better than what's reported with this technique... The way it's explained here, it would seem you could do away with EV mode altogether for highway driving. No way do I believe this Atkinson ICE could produce such MPGs on its own.

[Texasota]

The way it's explained here, it would seem you could do away with EV mode altogether for highway driving. No way do I believe this Atkinson ICE could produce such MPGs on its own.

 

I'm skeptical also. There has to be a reason the engineers designed it to operate in this manner.

[corncobs]

Don't worry, dude, I don't get it either! I just set the cruise on the highway, and let the car work its magic! Seems to do just as well or better than what's reported with this technique... The way it's explained here, it would seem you could do away with EV mode altogether for highway driving. No way do I believe this Atkinson ICE could produce such MPGs on its own.

Yes and yes!

 

1. Let the car do it's magic on the highway and enjoy the ride!

 

2. With out the load of charging the HVB you can see 50+ on flat road @ 65 MPH. This is basically what happens when the HVB is near "full" charge and the ICE propels only the car and not any longer the generator on top of it.

[lolder]

I fust completed a 400 mile road trip, averaging 34 mpg at 80 mph and 38 mpg at 75 mph. Avg ambient temp was 95+ degrees. As a comparison my previous Passat TDI would avg 38-39 on the same trip under those conditions. Accounting for diesel fuel 10% per gallon greater energy density the Atkins cycle Fusion is on par in thermal efficiency.

 

I am very pleased considering only 2k on the FFH drivetrain.

That's the marvel of the Atkinson. It's going to move the same weight down the road with the same fuel BTU efficiency as a good diesel. It's similar in some ways; it runs with little intake manifold throttling and is pretty lean most of the time. Those were always a source of loses in gas engines in the past.