Ultragauge In a Prius

[broski499]

I use the OBD connector model. I never changed any of the original gauges. I currently have instant MPG, AVG MPG, fuel level ( estimated ) distance till empty, hours till empty.

Has anyone found any other gauge to be useful? Thanks!

[JockoT]

I have a ScanGauge. I find coolant temperature quite helpful, as I make lots of short journeys.

[vskid3]

The two I look at most in my Prius are the tach and coolant temp. With those I can tell how the hybrid system is going to act and if I need to do anything to push it into full hybrid mode. I also like the intake temp to see how much my grill block is helping in the winter or if it's about to melt everything under the hood in the summer.

I have average and instant MPG showing on the screen, but I've never taken the time to fully calibrate the MPG and I just go off of what the car says.

[redpoint5]

My Prius won't shut off the engine until the coolant temp reaches 130, so I look at that most often.

Other gauges I look at are timing advance and intake air temp.

Of course I have many, many gauges for the EV side of things. MG1 and MG2 amps, for instance. This is with the Torque app. Not sure how to program these gauges with UG.

[broski499]

Originally Posted by JockoT

I have a ScanGauge. I find coolant temperature quite helpful, as I make lots of short journeys.

So I understand that the engine won't shut off until this reaches 130. How do you use this info? You just know that the engine won't turn off so you aren't wondering why its running at a stoplight. Or are you doing something to help increase the temp to get it to run in true hybrid mode faster?

[vskid3]

If you're not familiar with the Prius' hybrid stages, here's a good write-up on them: http://techno-fandom.org/~hobbit/cars/five-stages.txt

Getting to S4 means you're ready to get max MPGs. Unfortunately, the ICE has to be warmed up and idle while you're at a stop for ~5 seconds and turn off before going into S4 (don't ask me why). This is where knowing the coolant temp comes in handy. If you slow from a speed greater than 34MPH with the ICE warmed up, the ICE will usually turn off. Continue to a stop with the ICE off, and it won't go into S4. What I do is either blip the gas a little before coming to a complete stop to kick on the ICE, or when at a stop, hold the brake with my left foot and push the gas with my right to get the ICE on. Then it'll run for ~5 seconds and turn off, putting you in S4 (don't turn the ICE on if you won't be stopped long enough for it to turn off).

I also installed an EV mode button, not for trying to maximize my EV driving, but because it also acts as an ICE kill switch. The ICE doesn't even have to be fully warmed up for EV mode. I can P&G using the EV mode button and achieve pretty much the same effect as being in S4.