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Old 12-17-2010, 07:53 AM   #26 (permalink)
Artric
Hypermiler Extraordinaire
 
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Deltona, FL
Posts: 22

Insight - '01 Honda Insight
90 day: 90.11 mpg (US)
Thanks: 1
Thanked 3 Times in 2 Posts
Hi Bob,

I was also using the MIMA system to allow me to tell the car to not waste gas by charging the battery and to more efficiently use the charge (to allow me to stay at 100MPG by assisting with the battery to go up hills).

I was able to make it to 1200 miles on that tank, but that was very extreme - charging as much as possible, driving extremely slow at times, doing some things that certain people might consider dangerous...


OCD MPG by Artric, on Flickr

I still have the stock battery pack, and since I no longer have my 25 mile commute, I've been working on using the battery power to its full potential for shorter trips. The other day, I was able to just barely max out the MPG meter at 150MPG over almost 14 miles. But this was a round trip, starting with a pretty much full battery, charging at my friend's house (though only a little less than half of the battery capacity), and arriving home with a mostly-depleted battery.

I was sticking up around 125-130MPG on this tank, until my girlfriend got mad at me, took my car and ruined my MPG last night. WOMEN! It's probably a good thing though - I don't want to get caught in that trap, as I'm trying to kill OCD (which can make achieving these higher numbers more likely, but also potentially can add a lot of stress). The tank's potential will likely be killed with a long trip for Christmas, unless I get lucky and don't have to drive in the dark either way (I've been able to get 110+ with cruise control in the sun).

That prior tank remains my best, though this current one could give it a run for it's money. The in-town trips can give amazing numbers, but are obviously going to take more electricity to achieve. I'm only now starting to measure the kWh that I'm using. I'm actually only measuring the kWh that I'm paying for, so if I go to fix someone's computer, or help them run some cables, etc, the 11 cents it costs to fill my battery is a part of their charge!

So I've found that it takes a little over a kWh to reach 100% on the BCM display. I really love this, as it's helped tremendously to allow me to use my battery in the most efficient way possible. Also, by powering it up along with the BCM, I'm able to see the charge recognized immediately, and not have to waste gas every day on battery recalibration (I wonder how many more miles I could have gotten on the above tank with this?) This isn't a great picture, but gives you an idea of what info it gives me.


BCM Gauge at Work by Artric, on Flickr

To learn more about it, you can read this thread on InsightCentral. I MOST HIGHLY recommend this item!

To answer your question, no other MPG-saving mods. I was using a radiator block for a bit, but in the hot FL weather at the time, I don't think it made a difference. I also keep my tires pumped up very high - around 50+PSI then, and around 60PSI now, if my gauges are accurate.

RobertSmalls actually asked me to post about my charger over here. I've really been meaning to do so, and want to say I have no excuse not to, as I'm currently unemployed, but I've been crazy busy trying to knock things off of my to-do list. Once I get through my emails, I hope to get that done!

Art
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