Video: how to Pulse & Glide in a Prius - 85 mpg!

[bwilson4web]

Originally Posted by SentraSE-R

Very nice. I drive a National Park Service Prius as a volunteer, and would love to get 85+ mpg with it.

Drive at 18-20 mph on relatively flat, paved roads with minimum winds.

Bob Wilson

[SentraSE-R]

I took a 2007 Prius out for a test drive today at a local dealership. I drove an 8 mile route, and got 77 mpg on it. The salesman was more than willing to go out again, as he'd never seen anyone get such good mileage on a test drive. The second time around, I only got 67 mpg. Still, that's 72 mpg for 16 miles - pretty good for my first attempt at P&Ging a Prius.

[MadisonMPG]

Originally Posted by SentraSE-R

I took a 2007 Prius out for a test drive at a local dealership. I drove an 8 mile route, and got 77 mpg on it. The saleman was more than willing to go out again, as he'd never seen anyone get such good mileage on a test drive. The second time around, I only got 67 mpg. Still, that's 72 mpg for 16 miles - pretty good for my first attempt at P&Ging a Prius.

I would have loved to P&G the first gen Insight. (at the dealership)

[SVOboy]

What was the big difference between the two runs?

[PaleMelanesian]

P&G works just dandy on a non-hybrid, too.

I took a 1st-gen Insight 5spd for a run once and maxed out the display at 150 mpg. 15-30 mph p&g with eoc, for a 16-mile round trip.

[SentraSE-R]

I got 50 mpg driving to the dealership in my Scion xB, and 54 mpg driving home, P&Ging. It's about 15 miles each way.

No difference between the first and second runs in the Prius, except the vagarities of traffic, and loss of concentration on my part.

[SentraSE-R]

Well, I went back to the dealership this week, and took my wife. The '07 Prius I'd been looking at was sold, so the salesman let us drive an '08. I took it halfway - about 4 miles - on the same route I'd driven before. This time, we did it in the dark, with lights on and three people in the car. I got 75 mpg. I switched drivers with my wife, and she drove back. But first, the salesman (same one as last week) took a picture of the fuel consumption display, he was so impressed.

My non-hypermiling wife drove us back, and got 45 mpg. That's pretty decent, as I struggled to get 36-37 mpg in my SE-R driving to the dealership and back (about a 40 mile trip), compared to its lifetime average of 38 mpg.

[RH77]

Any guess that it would work on a Honda IMA setup (CVT Automatic)?

First, the question, "Is it safe to EOC a CVT?"

Next, would the battery drain in the IMA example and require a similar amount of gas energy to charge?

RH77

[Daox]

I think (and I'm really no expert) the IMA in your Insight is very similar to the 2nd gen Civic's IMA setup. When you want to 'coast' the car either goes into neutral, or the engine cams basically use a vtec mode that allows to engine to pump but never compress air. This vastly reduces pumping losses but still allows EV propulsion, however there is still drag from rotating the engine.

[RobertSmalls]

Originally Posted by RH77

First, the question, "Is it safe to EOC a CVT?"

The answer is the same as the answer to the question "Is it safe to tow the CVT Insight with four wheels on the ground?". So, I dunno.

And yes, P&G will save gas in any car that can coast with the engine off. The key will be to glide as long as possible (down gentle hills is the only place I bother), and accelerate as efficiently as possible. I think the right way to do that in the CVT is with gentle action on the skinny pedal, so as to keep RPM's down.

Off topic: the 2010 Insight's "EV mode" still has the gas engine rotating, but with all 8 valves closed to reduce, but not eliminate, frictional losses in the engine.