Hi All,

I have read a lot of different threads on improving fuel efficiency on the Civic Hybrid 06. There is a lot of information but the information is in a lot of different threads. As a lot of people will be getting their Civic hybrids shortly, I think that it would be a great idea to summarize all of the information in one thread!

Having said, this, I will need some help. Basically, I will try to recap what I have read. Please let me know if there are any mistakes in what I write. I will edit the first post in this thread so that people can easily see the best techniques.

Also, since this is to be used by first time hybrid owners, I want to make this as readable as possible. It should be written in clear English without the use of acronyms. We can use acronyms but with the English definition first (i.e. higher fuel efficiency (FE) can be achieved by ...).

Think of this as a Honda Civic Hybrid (HCH) 06 FAQ!

Note, this is what I have gathered so far, things will change.

Also note that my intent is for this to be a good primer from an 'every day, average driver' point of view. This is not intended as a how to get 1000 miles from your tank. It is meant to follow 80%-20% rule. This should be seen has how to quickly achieve the 80% goal. I want this to be a 'civic 2006 hybrid for dummies' kinda guide. For people to get 1000 miles from their tanks, they will have to work on the remaining 20%.

So, you didn't read the manual

Here are two very important things to know. To the left of your tachometer, you will find two very important pieces of information.

The battery level gauge

This will tell you how much power is left in the battery. The battery will recharge when you brake or when gliding / accelerating. It is important to maintain a good state of charge (SoC). This will make sure that when you need the assistance from the electric motor that it will have enough battery to supply the required assistance.

The integrated motor assist (IMA) gauge

This has an upper and a lower gauge. The upper gauge is called the assist. This is to inform you that the electric motor is used to assist in propelling the vehicle. The more bars are lit on this the display, the more assist the electric motor is supplying and thus, the more battery it is using.

The lower gauge is called the charge (or regeneration / regen). This is to inform you that the batteries are being recharged. This can happen while braking, accelerating or when you remove your foot from the gas, the car will automatically go into a state of recharge (regen). The more lines are lit on this gauge, the more charging the batteries are getting and the more the car is being slowed down by the regeneration process.

Non driving fuel efficiency tips

When heating the car, turn the A/C off

To heat the car in colder weather, turn AC off when using AUTO mode by following these steps:

- Press AUTO to set automatic climate control on
- Adjust temperature
- Press A/C button to turn the A/C off

If you don't use it, turn it off

If you are driving during the day, you don't need your night lights, turn them off. If your rear window isn't frosted, you don't need the defroster. Basically, if you don't need it, turn it off.

Zero fuel consumption glide (this is referred to as an EV glide for electric vehicle glide)

This is the first thing to try and achieve once you get your new Civic Hybrid 2006! Although I put this as the first thing to try and achieve, it is not an easy technique and I consider this an intermediate technique. Basically, what happens is that the fuel engine stops consuming gas. You know you have achieved this state when your Instantaneous (current) Fuel Consumption Display (the display on the top left of your upper display area) is maxed at 100 miles per gallons (MPG) or 0 liters / 100km. To enter the glide follow this technique:

- When your are rolling at a desired speed remove your foot from the gas pedal
- Wait until your Instantaneous (current) Fuel Consumption Display maxes out to 100 miles per gallons (or goes down to 0 liters / 100km) and that you see some regeneration (green lines on your ASST / CHRG display)
- Very gently press on the gas pedal. Your aim is to eliminate the regeneration and (if possible) get a few lines of assist (1-4 lines of ASST). Your Instantaneous (current) Fuel Consumption Display must stay at 100 miles per gallons (or 0 liters / 100km). If the Fuel Consumption Display moves, the engine is running which is what we are trying to avoid. This is the tricky part that needs a lot of practice.
- Let yourself glide! Please note that while gliding, you will gradually slow down.

The number of bars of assist that you use will vary depending on the situation. If you are city driving, go ahead and use as much assist as you can (up to 4 or 5 bars). Whatever battery you are using in city driving, you will be able to refill it using breaking. For highway driving, this is different. The more assist you use, the faster your battery will drain. Since you can't brake on a highway, the regeneration will have to be done when you accelerate after your glide. Depending on how much battery you used, the car will be more or less aggressive in it's regeneration. If your battery is low, it can go to 3 or more bars of regeneration. This will cause your fuel efficiency to go down. From the limited amount of information that we have, 2-3 bars of assist while gliding on the highway seems to be a good start.

This is probably the single most important technique to master. What I suggest is that once you get your car, find a flat stretch of road with very little traffic where you can practice this technique without the fear of getting yelled at or honked.

Civic hybrid 06 city driving technique

General fuel saving tips (not hybrid specific)

Something that really hurts fuel efficiency is stopping and starting continuously. Learn to look ahead and predict when the traffic is slowing down or when lights are turning red. Your goal is keep moving as much as possible. Learn how to let the car slow down instead of catching up traffic and having to brake suddenly.

Observe the speed limits. Rolling at speeds over 60 miles per hour (or roughly 96 kilometers per hour) will consume more gas than rolling at 60 miles per hour.

You can read more fuel saving tips at http://www.tips-to-save-gas.com/.

Beginners technique

- When starting from a stop or a light, accelerate to the desired speed using about 30-50% assist (3-5 bars on the ASST display). This translates to an acceleration at about 2000RPM.
- Once the desired speed is reached, keep your motor running at ~1000RPM.
- When approaching a red light or a stop, remove your foot from the gas pedal. The battery regeneration will kick in and the car will slow down. Practice gliding to a stop or a red light.

Intermediate technique

- When starting from a stop or a light, accelerate to the desired speed using about 30-50% assist (3-5 bars on the ASST display). This translates to an acceleration at about 2000RPM.
- Once the desired speed is reached, perform a zero fuel consumption glide as described above
- When gliding, you will loose speed. The rate at which you loose speed will depend on a lot of factor. So, at one point you will have to accelerate to get back to a speed from which you can start another glide. You must strive for a glide that is longer than the time it took to accelerate prior to the glide (unless you were coming off of a full stop). For the acceleration, again go up to about 2000RPM.
- Learn how to maximize battery charging by changing your braking technique. Removing your foot from the gas pedal will enable regeneration of the battery and this will naturally slow you down (like compression for people used to driving manual). Use the regeneration cycle to slow you down it's easy to do and it recharges your batteries!

Civic hybrid 06 highway driving technique

There are 2 major technique here: using cruise control (beginners technique which seems to give adequate fuel economy) and using pulse and glide (an intermediate technique that pushes fuel efficiency even more).

Using the cruise control

- Reach the desired speed
- Set cruise control
- To maximize fuel efficiency, keep your speed at around 60 miles per hour (or 96 kilometers per hour)

Using pulse and glide (this is still in review)

1- reach 60 MPH (as per NASAngineers test, this seems to be the best highway speed) miles per hour (or 96 kilometers per hour)(still need data to determine if we need to avoid using assist)
2- Go into a zero fuel consumption glide
3- You will decelerate slowly
4- When you reach 50 MPH (this lower limit is still to be defined) miles per hour (or 80 kilometers per hour) go back to step 1. The acceleration phase from 50MPH should be done with assist.

That's it for now! Please comment this post, we need to summarize all of the knowledge in one post to really help people get the most out of their cars!

Cheers,
Stephane.

 

Pulled

 

Hi Don,

thanks for the hint on A/C being on! That will make a good difference. BTW, do you have numbers on the lights on / off? I would think that the impact would be somewhat minimal. This might affect the battery depletion rate though.

Thank you,
Stephane.

 

Pulled

 

I have left the climate control on both the Ody and the Sub out of AUTO mode since fall. The results for the Ody has been approximately a 10%-15% increase in mileage (19MPG-->21-22MPG). However, the Sub has been unaffected. I think the massive amounts of torque produced by the engine can easily handle the load that the compressor creates.

Stephane,
Thank you for the hints. I will be able to test them out in a few more weeks.

 

Very easy to read and understand. I think alot of New owners will appreciate this (summary) of FE Driving Hints.

Well done.

Terry

 

I would add that alot of emphasis should be placed on the gliding routine anytime one is traveling downslope. Speed can be maintained, if not even increased at that time. The combination of assist and gravity is the ultimate! And of course, control any unwanted speed with emphasis on regeneration. It's still not free energy, but it's the best return on energy already used, if slowing or stopping is unavoidable.

 

Oh, yeah, Don't press on the gas too far, because the gas engine will restart defeating the purpose of the glide.......and the 100+MPG readout.

 

how long should you hold the gas pedal for from 40 mph to 65 mph again? and what should the MPG readout be when your "pulsing up to speed"? it seems when you pulse with electric assist you get high mpg but it seems your battery takes the hit for the better.

 

That's a good question. And the Hypermiler would approach this from one of two standpoints. Either by establishing a minimum MPG readout during the pulse--OR-- by establishing a maximum amount of assist during the pulse. Both would determine how long or how far to push the gas pedal during the pulse.

I'll let someone else suggest the most efficient figures, but for MGP method it might be 17-20 MPG min (or a number of "blocks" on the bar graph) for the pulse. The assist method would be zero-5bars during the pulse.
One really has to experiment, or rely on those who have.