2009 Prius Base - $19k

[Unforgiven]

Heh, I hear you on the girlfriend issue. Mine refuses the idea of a Prius and is insisting on a 4Runner... so far I have managed to convince her to save first and keep an open mind... lol

[1337]

Originally Posted by Drive Stick

Nice deal you got and girlfriends never agree on car purchases, I just buy what I feel like because I can replace the girl - can't always get a good deal on a car. Haha! I'm terrible.

Or, you just have to find the right girl. Despite the fact that I sometimes chauffeur her around in a Mercedes, my girlfriend wasn't at all let down when I bought the Mazda.

She especially likes the Mazda now, because I taught her to drive a manual in it, and because she helped make the grill block.

In fact, she's so sold on the benefits of ecomodding that she's looking for a Metro now!

[1337]

Originally Posted by Unforgiven

Heh, I hear you on the girlfriend issue. Mine refuses the idea of a Prius and is insisting on a 4Runner... so far I have managed to convince her to save first and keep an open mind... lol

Haha, I really haven't had that problem.

I suppose the level of humility needed to drive a slow car efficiently is also necessary to date me!

[Matt Herring]

Pale:

I chuckled a bit when I set up my sig for the Prius too...can't wait (in due time however) to post that first tank in the Prius!

This morning's commute:
48 degrees
63.7 mpg on the SGII (56.2 mpg in-car mpg)
120 "research miles" now logged in the new buggy

* Note: Today the car dealership is coming to my work to pick the car up to slap an inspection sticker on the car and give me the registration. I'll be watching what my tank avg. slips to after the car guy drives it 6 miles round trip to/from the dealership (the entire reason I'm waiting until this weekend to add my mods and fill my tank...no way I was letting that guy mess up my first "official" tank!!!).

Unforgiven: if you needed any more proof of why a prius is a better choice than a 4 runner (as long as you don't need the space or the 4x4...print this thread and give it to her...you can print my old 4runner fuel logs too!). I see the Prius Energy Screen in my mind when I close my eyes to go to sleep...this is too much fun bro!

[Matt Herring]

Had a good weekend with the buggy...got the grill block on and pumped up the tires after topping off the tank and getting my SGII calibrated for my first "official" tank.

Grill block (photos are included...it was raining...sorry guys): was extremely easy to do. Blocked the top grill and one row of the bottom grill with foam pipe 3/4" insulation cut in half. Bottom grill needed slightly smaller amount of material so I trimmed one half of the material down with scissors. Just folded the material in half and stuffed it in the grill. There are vertical pieces of the grill that do not allow the material to be stuffed in as easily as the other areas so I have a wavy effect in the grill.

Really can't see the grill block unless you look closely. The bottom grill is longer than the top so it is not completely blocked. I may go with two separate pieces on the bottom grill block because a little bit popped out while driving on Sunday (not enough to blow it out but enough that I'd like to make an adjustment). Might block the first two slots in the bottom grill and see how the temps react to that (getting braver by the day).

My max temp. on Sunday during 40 miles of driving was 195 (it was 60 degrees). Today in 45 degree weather my max temp was still 195 (hit that going up a big hill). I'll keep my eye on it and see if it gets over 200 when the weather warms up...but it's fine for now.

My grill block got my temps up to 160 within 5 minutes today...on past commutes it was in the 7-8 minute range (that's good news). And...I noticed my energy screen recorded about 37 mpg in the first 5 mins. today compared to 25-30 mpg before the grill block was installed.

PSI: Pumped up the tires to 44 on the front and 42 on the rear. Slightly bumpier ride but nothing I can't deal with. Other people in the car might notice but I'm good with it.

My commute to work today was:
45 degrees
57.0 on the SGII (58.1 on the in-car)
Guessing I'm somewhere in the 57-59 mpg range right now (with the current mods and temps). Compared to my previous commutes I'm about 2 mpg higher with the mods in place (will see what mpg numbers I get this week).

[Matt Herring]

Update following mods - 1 week of testing...

My in-dash mpg guage seems to have settled around 56-57 mpg after a week of driving (about 150 miles). My SGII has me at about 54 mpg...interested to see after my first official tank fillup where I am at. This week's temps have been between 40-55.

Today was 60 degrees on my commute and my SGII reported 63.4 mpg over the 11 mile course. The warmer temps and how they affect start-up time is dramatic. I got up to 160 degrees under 5 minutes today where other days it has been 7-8 minutes before I blocked the grill. I had to stop twice on my commute today and I left the car running on battery power in park for 1 of the stops (about 10 minutes). It's great to leave the car running on battery and not use gas (although it did drop the battery bars from 5 to 4).

I'll have some time this Saturday to work on the lower grill block (most likely using two sections of material instead of one in the lower slots). Probably going to block two of the five instead of just the one I am running now.

The goal for now is to: 1) get over 650 miles on a tank. 2) stretch the tank into May

[MetroMPG]

I remain envious! HSD is a rolling fuel economy game, and Prius is tops in that regard.

Originally Posted by Matt Herring

After a few days in the Prius I'm surprised how far the car allows you to drive in "dead band" without engaging the ICE even when you have your foot on the gas pedal for acceleration.

The Prius is much easier to deadband with just your right foot than the Camry, from my experience.

I expected to be in "dead band" in a neutral coast but had no idea I could do it while "actually using the throttle and speeding up."

Oh? That doesn't sound like deadband - at least my understanding of it. Sounds more like you were in EV mode using battery power. My understanding of deadband was no power flow in any direction to/from the battery or from the engine. Essentially neutral engine-off coasting, no regen, no assist.

[Matt Herring]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

Oh? That doesn't sound like deadband - at least my understanding of it. Sounds more like you were in EV mode using battery power. My understanding of deadband was no power flow in any direction to/from the battery or from the engine. Essentially neutral engine-off coasting, no regen, no assist.

I've experienced two separate scenarios where no gas is being used. "Dead band" in neutral coast with no arrows on the energy screen in any direction (no power flow in any direction). And in EV mode with arrows going from the battery to wheels (power flow from battery to the wheels). Didn't want to confuse anyone with the terms "dead band" and EV mode (but both result in no fuel usage).

EV mode seems to function from a dead stop up to about 40 mph. Usually from a dead stop the engine will kick in at some point unless I am extremely skillful at feathering up to speed and not going uphill. I have been able to EV mode from a dead stop to 39 mph over a 1.5 mile course (this happens on my way home from work in heavier traffic from the 1.5 mile mark to my parking spot at home).

Because my commute home is generally more uphill than the commute to work I really try to get into EV mode over the last 1-2 miles to regain some of the lost mpg on the way back home compared to the more downhill drive to work. I am able to get the last mile or so in EV mode on the way to work also.

[MetroMPG]

Gotcha.

The Ford Fusion hybrid has an indicator on the dash that will tell you exactly how far you can press the accelerator while in EV mode without provoking an ICE restart. That would be useful, eh?

Been working on pulse & glide at all? That's where you'll punch out the really crazy numbers.... and all with your right foot. No fancy dancing around the cockpit, limbs flying, like drivers of regular cars.

[Matt Herring]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

Gotcha.

The Ford Fusion hybrid has an indicator on the dash that will tell you exactly how far you can press the accelerator while in EV mode without provoking an ICE restart. That would be useful, eh?

Been working on pulse & glide at all? That's where you'll punch out the really crazy numbers.... and all with your right foot. No fancy dancing around the cockpit, limbs flying, like drivers of regular cars.

Wow...the accelerator indicator to stay in EV mode would be great! I tried using my SGII to monitor throttle position but because the position I need to actually accelerate at a reasonable rate changes based on the level of terrain I'm on (flat or going up a hill) it's difficult to get it right every time and I trip the ICE once in awhile.

I haven't used P&G to it's full potential yet...and I know it. There's alot going on in the cockpit right now and it's a little bit of info. overload (compared to driving my 4runner) trying to keep track of the SGII and the energy screen...not to mention keeping the car between the lines and on the road!

I noticed I've been babying the throttle up hills a little too much (straining the engine in high rpm) and have been toying with giving it a bit more throttle to get up the hill quicker but then giving me a little more mph to coast down the hills. Instead of cresting a hill at 40mph struggling at 2200 rpm to get up the hill I've found a little better luck with keeping steady acceleration up the hill and cresting at 45 mph and coasting down further...work in progress.