New 2008 Prius Owner- Advice Needed!!

[broski499]

Hey guys, I've finally made the jump to a hybrid. I was going back and forth of what to get and I found this 2008 Prius with package 6 for a great price. I was driving a 1999 toyota prius so this is quite an upgrade for me. Here is where I'm at.

I have an ultraguage and I have been reading that the scanguage is better for use with the Prius, if someone could explain why I would really appreciate it. Don't want to drop 150 bucks nothing.

Also, what are some quick hybrid hypermiling techniques I can start with. Its been around 100 degrees in CA so I have been blasting my AC. Right now I'm about a 1 to 2 gallons in and I am averging 40MPG. I'm so used to messing around with my automatic transmission the CVT feels funny. Not sure what the best technique is when accelerating.

Thanks for any help!!

[Daox]

The four gauges I use on my Scangauge are:

1) coolant temp - This helps get through the warm up stages faster, and let me know how much heat I can use.
2) rpm - I use this to gauge my acceleration. I keep it between 2000 and 2500.
3) gas pedal position (SG programmed gauge) - This shows how far the gas pedal is pressed down. Its useful for EOC P&G and coasting with or without using battery power.
4) battery amps (SG programmed gauge) - This tells how many amps are being drawn out of or put back into the hybrid pack. Its very useful for feedback on how much you can regen brake before the physical brakes kick in. It also shows you if you're using battery power to accelerate.

I'd recommend a SGII for a hybrid. Those two gauges are quite important IMO.

[vskid3]

I don't think the SG-II is really worth the expense if you already have the UG. The UG will do fine for day-to-day use. The SG-II is much better for diagnosing problems with hybrids, though.

There are some helpful videos on Youtube with Prius MPG tips. The ones featuring Gen3 Prii will have different instrumentation, but the concepts are the same.

What PSI are the tires at? Are they LRR? How long are most of your trips?

I have LRR tires pumped to the sidewall max of 51PSI. Most of my trips are less than 15-20 minutes, but with a little technique, I can pretty easily beat the EPA ratings while blasting the AC. I personally believe that brisk acceleration (usually at least what the rest of traffic is doing) is best in a Prius, provided you're not accelerating right before needing to stop.

[Orca]

(Going from memory of when I drove my parents' 2005 Prius for five-ish years until a year and a half ago.)

Here's all I did: coasted at every opportunity (I made a game of trying to roll through every light), gradual acceleration (no idea what the RPM was, I just went by feel and sound), and I took full advantage of the battery.

A big part of it for me was keeping an eye on how charged the hybrid battery was, and knowing when to coast and brake to ensure a lot of battery charge. If it was at least half charged and I was going speeds that was just a smidge too fast for the engine to shut off, I would slow down and purposefully run off battery power until I needed to get it charged again. This was especially effective when I knew my route.

For example, when driving home I'd use the red lights on the highway to coast the entire time and keep rolling when they turned green; coming up to my exit I'd coast on the incline of the overpass to help me slow down, then brake on the decline and exit and go around 25mph before coasting to the stop sign; and then on the secondary highway I wouldn't get to highway speed but to a higher speed that was still easy on gas (50mph). By the time I got to the gravel road leading to my home, the battery would be charged enough for me to drive around 25mph and run purely off of the battery the rest of the way.

Speeds where the engine would typically shut off for me (roughly, by memory): 0-28mph, 37-40mph (touch and go when the battery isn't more than half charged), and 46-53mph (as long as there's no head- or crosswind, so this especially worked on sheltered roads).

It was normal for me to get 52mpg in the summer. In winter it was 46mpg (can't do much about Canadian winters, sadly).

Good luck!

[Daox]

Typically, you want to actually avoid extended battery usage. The conversion losses from converting momentum to electrical to chemical and then back to electrical and mechanical are higher than if you were using gas in a P&G (pulse and glide) type method.

The exception being if you know you can regenerate a ton of power for example by going down a huge hill. Then, I'd try to drain some battery power, so I can refill the pack by going down the hill.

[broski499]

Originally Posted by vskid3

I don't think the SG-II is really worth the expense if you already have the UG. The UG will do fine for day-to-day use. The SG-II is much better for diagnosing problems with hybrids, though.

There are some helpful videos on Youtube with Prius MPG tips. The ones featuring Gen3 Prii will have different instrumentation, but the concepts are the same.

What PSI are the tires at? Are they LRR? How long are most of your trips?

I have LRR tires pumped to the sidewall max of 51PSI. Most of my trips are less than 15-20 minutes, but with a little technique, I can pretty easily beat the EPA ratings while blasting the AC. I personally believe that brisk acceleration (usually at least what the rest of traffic is doing) is best in a Prius, provided you're not accelerating right before needing to stop.

I'll have to check on what kind of tires on on them, the do have the green caps which I believe means they are filled with nitrogen. My trips are around 8 miles to work and back. The area I live in is rather hilly so one way is efficient and the other way is more uphill.

When coming up to a stop is it better to lighly press on the brakes to use the regen part or put the car in B mode. I've read different things about B mode and if it is just a strong regen break or actual engine braking.

Thanks for all the help.

[Daox]

B mode is for engine braking. Stick to D unless you need to engine brake.

[Orca]

Originally Posted by Daox

Typically, you want to actually avoid extended battery usage. The conversion losses from converting momentum to electrical to chemical and then back to electrical and mechanical are higher than if you were using gas in a P&G (pulse and glide) type method.

The exception being if you know you can regenerate a ton of power for example by going down a huge hill. Then, I'd try to drain some battery power, so I can refill the pack by going down the hill.

Indeed. I do everything I can to generate power in anticipation of using the battery.

Pulse and glide is a new term for me - I'll look it up and try it out.

Originally Posted by Daox

B mode is for engine braking. Stick to D unless you need to engine brake.

^
I only use B in winter, when absolutely necessary.

[broski499]

Thanks for the great advice everyone!