Quote:
Originally Posted by pitokhato
How do you manage increase your speed from 5 to 30 miles per hour in slow and go trafic?
For me if engine warm enough, I can increase speed from 5 to 15 miles per hour most in all electric mode.
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Gently! I find I can accelerate up to 40mph in EV (electric vehicle mode) if I take my time. I've learned how far I can press the "go" pedal without causing the ICE to start. If I need to pick up a little speed, I'll just set the pedal for "gentle" acceleration and over a minute or two I pick up speed. The key is traffic must be slow enough that letting the distance between you and the next car grow 10 or 15 car lengths temporarily doesn't bother you. I often will start to pick up some speed (25mph or so) and the cars ahead of me slow back down, closing the gap. With some patience I can avoid using my brakes and stay in EV mode quite a long time. When I can make it to a downhill slope in EV mode, I can recharge the battery by feathering the brakes as I coast down hill in traffic. It's a bit of a challenge, but fun!
I often find I will get a few cars/trucks behind me that seem to appreciate a somewhat constant speed and not jabbing my brakes everytime the car in front of me slows 0.5 miles per hour.
Quote:
Originally Posted by pitokhato
When ICE starts after all EV mode, I usually accelerate quickly to little more than desired speed and give up gas for fraction of second and than try to go in all EV mode. (yes, usualy Pulse and Glide technique) Is this is the only way to keep on returning to all EV mode and shut ICE off or there is a better way?
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Yes pulse and glide; even if you are not using EV mode, really helps your mileage. It took me a long time to figure out what makes the TCH drop into EV mode. Here is my take on it from 18K miles of driving:
- The ICE must be warm - temp gauge reading about 1/3 scale or slightly higher, traction battery SOC should be over 2 bars.
- ECO mode helps "encourage" the use of EV mode by making heat/AC climate control a secondary objective. (note Defrost, Min/Max settings disable ECO)
Once the ICE is warmed up, there are two modes of EV operation:
- a) Coasting at speeds between 36 and 42mph for a few seconds will most times put the TCH in EV mode. However, once the ICE restarts, it will stay running until either a) reoccurs or b) happens.
- b) If you stop with the ICE running and warmed up for 7 - 10 seconds, the ICE will stop, AND the TCH sets "hybrid" mode. From this point on, if you start coasting at any speed under 40mph, the TCH enters EV mode quickly (2-3 seconds)
Hope this helps!
