Quote:
Originally Posted by hayden55
You should quit using EV mode and see if your mpg goes up. I noticed mine did when I stopped using EV mode. We aren't grid charging so that's not really how these cars work. EV mode is also very hard on the battery compared to png.
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I've been driving as little as possible with out using the battery, I noticed a jump up in mpg when using EV mode and SOC for the hybrid battery was about the same as when I left (within 1%).
Pulse and glide isn't always an option, the hybrid battery is a electronic way that's probably less efficient version of doing pulse and glide.
Toyota knew what they were doing on these batteries, I haven't done the research myself, but I've read that NiMh batteries kept in the range that Toyota does makes them last for just about forever. Something like 40-60% charge is ideal. Lowest I've had mine so far is 49% and highest has been around 65%. I mean most batteries last 10 years or less, this car is 16 years old, so I'd say the battery has served it's life well. Internal resistance might be higher, not sure, but the capacity seems alright.
This is the chart I've been referencing. Notice the huge bump up right at 41mph? That's the point where it can do the automatic electronic version of pulse and glide.
My numbers aren't nearly as high as those, but I'm not running in ideal conditions on flat ground with no wind either.
Basically some of the driving I do I can do 45mph and at times I can drop down to 40mph, so I'm experimenting with the EV mode stuff. I've done a few trips at steady speed 40mph and it doesn't seem like anything special until the engine warms up enough to kick off and it does a "pulse and glide" cycle and by the time the battery is charged back up, it brought up the average pretty well. I could coach it into keeping the engine on, but based on that chart, it would be lowing my average mpg. I'm pretty much just wanting to try to get longer glides since my typical trip the car is ready for a 2nd glide, but it's more hilly and it doesn't like to go back to ev mode. If I could get it to go a bit farther on battery, then charge up for say an extra mile, it would be about perfect for my trips.
The stage 4 or whatever state for "normal operation" requiring a full stop for 5 secs is kind of dumb, would be nice to be able to spoof that. I suspect that might be part of why the car acts a bit goofy, I have only one stop in each direction for the trips, and the first time it's too cold to be in normal mode, and the 2nd one it's all fields so I treat it more like a yield sign and roll through if it's clear.
I probably should setup a cam on the car screen and scangauge for one of these trips and see where I'm doing things wrong besides longer coasting (I brake about 25mph and typically do a little coast down regen at 35mph that's probably where I can improve) and the potential for pulse and glide or driving slower.
Not real long ago, I was in a rush and drove 55mph and was taking off more around 2300-2400 rpm and the overall trip ended up being around 50mpg for a longer trip. I didn't coast much and wasn't taking off as ideally I don't think. If I drove 45mph in the sections I could, I probably would have hit 55-57mpg. for the trip. I know coasting is better than regen, but it seems like overall it's a pretty small effect, that or the way I coast down and let off the gas fully at around 35mph to slow down faster is doing the same thing as effectively flying up to the corner and slamming the brakes on. I'm still learning the distances for coasting. I've actually been wanting to play around with that a little for testing, like "normal stop" vs coast a ways then slow down with gas pedal off completely, and regen only at the end with brakes. About the only way I can think of testing the different patterns of stopping like that is to coast from the same spot at the same speed. More I think about it, the more I think it doesn't matter too much when the braking happens as long as the friction brakes are used as little as possible. The starting point of the coast is probably the main factor.
