Hi GreenAndBlue:
___Let me thank you for the opportunity to drive your premiere hybrid for that long a distance! I learned quite a bit about the AH’s inner workings and I am still thinking of ways to hold back that regen as we did in the 2.5 miles locally when heading back to my home near the end of our trip. Hopefully you will be able to do a stepped speed trial to see if that gentle throttle angle reduction will keep regen at bay for when you really do not want it but would rather take the free coast instead …
___Hey guys, I had the tail wind for the last 50 + miles so that is the only reason I have a slightly better average then what Mark fought through on the way up. In detail, through the rolling hills of southeast Madison to almost Milwaukee heading back, we seemed to top out at ~ 43 mpg give or take a couple of tenths. This was with a 5 - 10 miles per hour side wind. They do not help either
Once we were away from the hills (Milwaukee to the IL. border), we had an ~ 5 - 7 miles per hour tailwind (20 or so degrees off the rear) and flat country. That is when the FCD started climbing from its 42.8 - 43.1 range at the ~ 85 mile mark to the 45.8 high before hitting local suburban traffic in and around Gurnee, IL. In suburban traffic, there are some tricks yet to be discovered from what I saw of the FCD in Mark’s AH. At some points in time, we would be in a steady state speed with the instantaneous north of 70 mpg. This was not highway speeds of course but in the high 30’s/low 40’s while running through stop light to stop light traffic. The non-regen action had me quite enamored for the last 2 or so miles and I wish I had a few more miles in Mark’s AH to explore the possibilities as to what can be done there. Wait and see what Mark’s future tanks will hold in the warmer temps is about all I can add.
___Besides the AH, Mark received a 30 minute orientation into the ways and means of Insight hypermiling
Although I forgot to reset one of the segment meters for him, from my calc’s, he nailed an ~ 85 mpg round trip from cold over ~ 23 miles. I do believe he was quite surprised given my instructions as I was shooting commands his way like a drill sergeant at boot camp and he was doing well just to keep up given all the “drive with load up the next small slope”, “coast w/ regen here”, “coast w/out regen”, “induce auto-stop while in neutral” , “this is a forced auto-stop”, “ease up”, “lean-burn is enabled”, “you just had a NOx-purge”, “watch your instantaneous”, “pull back on the accelerator to remove the 4 bars of assist in second”, “again”, “there you got it”, “Ok, get into third w/ no assist”, “up shift”, “do not pay attention to the up-shift light at this point”, “shift down and grab 4 bars of regen”, “shift down again and grab some more regen”, “clutch to the floor and coast in w/ Auto-stop”, “do not use the mechanical’s”, “hold your speed” instructions … Afterwards, I was thinking about how much easier it might be for many to drive the AH for hypermileage then the Insight. Although both are completely different in terms of purpose, the instructions I was giving Mark to achieve 20 - 30% above EPA estimates on his drive through a rural stop and go, out onto a state highway, and back into a rural stop and go vs. the instructions needed to achieve similar results in the AH were night and day. In fact, there were but a few details the AH driver would have to even pay attention too other then the instantaneous in fact.
___After all was said and done, there is a nice advance in Honda hybrid technology just due to the fact there are so few workarounds needed in the AH vs. the Insight 5-speed for a similar % amount above EPA estimates imho. This would be for the average driver as well! Although all of the tips and tricks of the Insight are second nature to me and an AH would never hit 115 mpg + segments, the AH with its much more luxurious amenities, performance, ride, handling, comfort, and its ease of use move it up on my personal list of automobiles that everyone should try at least once before making a decision on exactly which hybrid to purchase. It may not be the most efficient of your choices but it sure is a great choice if you are in the hunt for one
___Mark, I hope you enjoyed the Insight experience as there are so few in the world that have and/or that will. Another 10 + hours to smooth out your clutch and shift action, learning the regen and assist nuances, how to somewhat control its lean-burn/NOx purge cycle, and learning the techniques us hypermilers use everyday and you would be an old pro! Your ~ 85 mpg average for a mixed suburban stop and go to highway and back showed me you have the capability indeed.
___With that, thanks again to Mark for the opportunity of a life time. It was a great experience.
___Good Luck to you all.
___Wayne R. Gerdes
___Hunt Club Farms Landscaping Ltd.
___
Waynegerdes@earthlink.net