|
Now that I'm getting used to driving a hybrid, it's awesome!
Here are a couple of tricks that seem to work best for me that I've been prcaticing over the last couple of weeks:
#1 - Getting it up to speed as quickly as possible gives it the most time possible in lean burn. At cruising speed (45-50 mph) on my normal route, it'll hold 100 mpg or better the entire time, so I get to that speed as quickly as possible.
#2 - Turning off the AC before coming to a stop seems to charge the IMA a little better, and leaving it off until I'm back up to speed gives the little 3-cyl a boost, getting me into lean burn a little quicker. Once I'm at speed I kick in the AC again
#3 - A very light sustained braking over a longer period in fifth gear charges the IMA really well. I can now bury the charge light without slowing dramatically, extending the full charging time, and I'm learning to feather the brake pedal as much as I am the gas pedal!
#4 - When slowing to a stop, once I've squeezed the last charging out of the braking action in fifth gear and the charge light goes off, I throw it in neutral, tap the brake pedal once pretty hard at about 25 mph, and kick in the autostop. Then I glide to a stop with the motor off. Of course, if somebody's right behind me I just downshift into second instead, and get a little more IMA charging. Most of this tank I was able to keep the IMA between half to full.
I'm sure there are more tricks I'm going to learn, but I'm getting some pretty good results already. Any other tricks (or corrections to my current tricks) anybody is willing to share would be much appreciated!
__________________
|