with everything else aside, I wonder what engine speed gives best mileage.

I have experienced getting close to 50 km/l ( 100 mpg ) at 1200 rpm and 1500 rpm. Vehicle speed at 1200 rpm was at around 60 km/h while at 1500 rpm was at around 75 km/h.

Although we could get info from iFE meter, it would be helpful if we know at what speed the engine gives best FE performance.

Similarly, it might be better to rev up (just to illustrate) to 2000 rpm or 2500 rpm or even 3000 rpm for a quick acceleration and then release pedal to glide to get better mileage. Has anyone tested? Accelerate slowly or quick acceleration helps? At what rpm? Torque is almost constant from idle to 3000 rpm, so there is no point going above 3000 rpm.

 

That's a great question, because ALL the energy comes from burning gas in the ICE. I suspect that efficiency of the ICE will depend will be dependent on both RPM and throttle opening, and that there will be no magically super-efficient RPM.

But there is another important factor in overall fuel efficiency, that would be the degree to which regeneration energy is collected and used. Extremely light throttle uses very little of this reclaimed energy. If the battery pack is always near fully charged and seldom called upon to contribute its recycled energy, what's the point of having it?

I suspect that the computerized energy creation/use matrix is far more complicated than we may suspect, and that there is no simple guidance for drivers which will produce optimal results. Terrain, temperature, length of trip, traffic conditions and personal driving habits will all have an effect on overall efficiency. What works in my world may not work so well in yours.

I trust that the engineering Honda has done considers all these factors for "normal" "average" or "moderate" conditions, and drive accordingly. No jackrabbit starts but no ***** footing with the throttle either. And I've been quite happy with the results, even without the certainty that I am producing the highest efficiency possible.

 

I remember from Tarabell's article she found a slight increase in FE running between 40-50 mph on flat terrain as opposed to 30-40 mph.

Additionally wind resistance really picks up after about 61 mpg or so.

Depends on the terrain, weather, road conditions etc... but I do notice myself cruising along at about 40-45 or so can give the best results.

 

My little weekend drive today (320 miles) had my FE jumping up to mid 50's (MPG) when cruising closer to 45 than 55...

 

Yep - I believe that FE will tend to drop continuously starting at 55mph (or even lower). Have not tested, but seem expect 40-50mph gives about the best FE.

 

from what I've seen around 50MPH seems to be the best and everything about around 57 it drops off quickly for every 1MPH increment. doing 70MPH everywhere when its warm I average 45MPG whereas doing 55MPH everywhere I average 50MPG and 50MPH gets me around 57MPG and I simply haven't been able to go slower than that for any decent time.

I have a drive I do more than twice a week that is about 30 minutes each way on nice flat road that is neither brand new or bumpy, nice smooth older road which I do my speed tests on.

 

I did my experiment too... most economical is around 70 km/h to 75 km/h ( about 45 mph ). On flat ground, I could achieve around anything between 35 to 40 km/l ( around 95 mpg ). I find that I could achieve very high mpg by releasing the accelerator pedal and depress lightly after each acceleration. This will help get the HCH II into very low fuel consumption mode ( from what I see on the i mpg indicator ).

 

Yes, that technique is what many of us commonly call "CVT fake shifting".

Cheers;

MSantos