MSantos,

Thanks for the tips.

One thing that is bugging me is whether or not P&G gives higher FE than just using cruise control. I dont see why it would...

Long portions of my daily commute is 55mph or 65mph freeways with few hills. I tend to just stick it on cruise at the speed limit and its returning good FE. I might consider P&G if it would yield another 5-10+mpg, but it seems like a hassle versus CC if its not a big FE boost.

Happy problems - trying to see if P&G versus cruise control gives you 65mpg versus "only" 55mpg

Carl

My answer is to experiment and compare the results.

If you have a flat strech of highway you can cruise, P&G may not benefit much.

Based on what spartybrutus's description, I'm wondering if I'd drive his commute with little P&G, but also without cruise control, watching the FE readout?

If you look at the instant mpg, it's easier to find hills and see the FE hit - positive or negative.

61.5mpg lifetime - 82mpg in recent months

Best Run >
www.cleanmpg.com

"fanatic" is what the lazy call the dedicated

I totally agree with Delta. The best is to experiment, record and compare the results. This way, you'll define a baseline for what you can achieve and then stick to the method that suits you best.

I would also add:

Since you have a few hills, I would suggest you limit the use of cruise control to the flat segments of the road. Cruise control can become very agressive when climbing small hills and that hits your FE. Likewise on the other side of the hill, the cruise control will engage regen to keep the speed which is not the most optimal thing to happen especially if you already have a good state of charge. Regen is nice when you got no other choice; but in most other scenarios it amounts to an overall loss in FE.

Instead, your foot should to the work of keeping a reasonable target FE on the display then let the speed bleed off a little when going uphill. This is typically called driving with load (DWL). When on the other side, try to avoid the regen for as long as it is possible and safe. In fact, when descending small hills you can use a little EV especially if you see another small hill ahead. This way it is possible to gain enough speed in the descent that you'll need to climb the next hill; all the while using the least amount of gas in the process. It is alot of fun.


Cheers;

MSantos

Thanks Guys - I will experiment not using CC and try to use P&G instead. P&G does seem pretty effective around the neighborhood (30-45mph).

Yep - I am too lazy to keep my right foot "just so" while monitoring the FE and EV/regen at the same time. I tend to use my right thumb on the CC up/down switch:

- On flats, I just leave it at speed limit (say 55).

- As I start up a hill, I watch the Assist climb ot 3-4 bars/tach start to climb to 2k rpms/FE drop to 50mpg - at which time I CC down to 54mph. I will repeat this 2-3 times depending on the size of the hill. I dont like to bleed off too much speed to PO the drivers around me.

- After the hill crest, as FE climbs towards 75mpg+, I will up the CC 2-3mph (back towards 55mph).

Thanks to you Guys - I am 80 miles from my first 600mile ~56mpg tank.

Carl