http://www.hybridfest.com/HF%202008%20MPG%20PR.pdf

Last weekend at Hybridfest 2008 was the third running of the MPG Challenge. This year the challenge was more difficult then ever before, without a doubt earning it's name. The course itself, a hilly ~27 mile course had roads that were speed limit 50 MPH, with several traffic lights and stop signs. Additionally, the course had a very strict time limit never before seen: Following the speed limits exactly would take 46 minutes, drivers had 51 minutes, with a 2% MPG penalty for each minute late thereafter, to 10 minutes, which resulted in Disqualification. This was no slow race. Drivers were required to maintain an average speed of 31 MPH, which given the driving in a park and stoplights, made for a very challenging event, and one that simulated "real world driving" more then ever before.

In Division 5 (Chevy Malibu Hybrid, Mercury Mariner Hybrid, Ford Escape Hybrid, Mazda Tribute Hybrid, Toyota Highlander Hybrid, Lexus RX 400h, Saturn Aura Hybrid, Saturn VUE Green Line Hybrid)
Richard Krueger of Warren, MI, 44 MPG (61% over EPA estimate) driving a 2006 Ford Escape Hybrid. Original MPG was 47.3 MPG, but was penalized for time.

Okay, so I'm bragging a bit, since that's me. I also won Division 6 in a Tahoe Hybrid that GM asked me to compete in.

 

Hey Rich,

What techniques were you using on the course?

 

And you were driving your 4WD 2006?

 

A lot of EVing and battery management. The course starts and ends in a park at the top of this big hill, so you get this fantastic EV down and out, but you've got to make sure you've got enough SOC to get back up the hill to keep the ICE off. (Last year I didn't.)

L -> D or L -> N to get the ICE off once at speed, high speed pulse and glide, and lots and lots of coasting.

I did a lot of modifying my speed for traffic lights and stop signs, in those areas, though coming back, I had a police cruiser behind me, so I had to stop for a light that I would've called "amber" I also suspect that if I had made it, I would've made my time, or had been far closer. Dang Madison WI has long red lights!

I also did some terrain management, using downhills to charge the battery when necessary, and then utilizing the ICE once it did pop on to get up to speed ASAP. Several of the larger hills I'd use L to keep the speed right at 40 MPH to keep charge trickling in and speed at a nice cruising speed. (Again, signs were 35-50 MPH on the course, and we needed to be pretty close to that.)


Yep, 4WD all the way! I keep telling people that it seems that every year, it performs better and better. Though this year is a bit odd, I haven't had any tanks (even the tank coming back home) over 40 MPG yet, while last year I had 2 or 3 at this point, but as a whole, the FE has been far better, it's been months since I've been under 38 MPG.

 

Good job Rich! That's awesome given the changes to the rules.

 

Great job with the FEH and the Tahoe Hy. The FE that you and other participants achieved is a testament to your knowledge and understanding of the Hybrid system on your cars. Did you get a chance to "induce" the EV mode on the Tahoe like someone (couldn't find?) on this forum mentioned?

I looked around the Hybridfest site and had a few questions that maybe you or someone could help with.

- What happened with the original Division 7 (modified hybrids)? Is there any inspection to insure that there are no modifications to those vehicles in the other divisions?

- Any idea why 2008 EPA numbers were used to evaluate all the divisions except the non-hybrid Division 7? Using the 2008 "adjusted" EPA numbers the Division 7 winner would have been 116% above it's estimated combined rating, narrowly beating the overall % winner.

- Brady mentioned a change in rules. I couldn't find much detail on the changes, could you (or Brady) elaborate?

 

Thank you. I'll try my best to answer them. I was never able to induce ICE off in the TaHy, but it did seem to be pretty quick to get the clue that I wanted it off every time, save once when it was recharging the batteries. (I really wish the TaHy had a SOC display of some kind on the screen.)

It came down to a numbers issue. There were very few with modified hybrids this year, so those who had MIMA installed disabled it on their Insights, and those with the EV Button on the Prius (3 as I recall) took a pledge not to use them, and they were lumped together into their parent category.

I talked to Jared, winner of the Prius division, who mentioned that there wasn't any good time to use the EV Button even if he could.

No clue. I didn't even get a chance to see anyone's score that day, or how things went until the next day. I was honestly shocked when they announced at the awards ceremony that I had won division 5.

Last year, we had 87 minutes to go ~27 miles, on a course that took 40 minutes as I recall driving the speed limit. This required an average speed of about 18 miles per hour to make the time.

This year, we had 51 minutes to go ~27 miles, on a course that took 46 minutes driving the speed limit, with a 2% MPG Penalty for each minute after 51 minutes until 61 minutes, which resulted in instant disqualification. This required an average speed on the course of 31 miles per hour to make your time. So, coming in at 55 minutes would result in an 8% MPG penalty, and coming in at 61 minutes and 1 second results in disqualification.

In every challenge, getting a ticket results in disqualification, as does getting lost. You are also allowed the use of a Scanguage or similar item, and your MFD. For those who think they can get high MPG, they are provided a Scangauge for the duration of the Challenge if they don't have one.

 

This seems to have made a huge difference in the MPG compared to the 2007 results. Interestingly the change made the least difference with the Div 2 & 3 TPH and HCH. The HIH and FEH dropped significantly.

With the previous rules it is easy to dismiss these FE results as favoring hyper-milling and not representing "real world" driving. But with the current rules requiring the course to be completed in a time that requires the driver to average at most 10% less than the posted speed limits are pretty "real world"

 

I bow to the *MASTER*

(But next year ... )

[Brought to you by "Better late than never" )

Seriously, Rich - Congratulations for both wins As I've said before, no one really *loses* in the MPG Challenge, because of what we've saved, & what we learn as a result

 

The thing about average speed on a course like that is that if you're not paying attention, it's very easy to miss your target time. It's easy to get lulled into a sense of not needing to do the speed limit, or that it's some gift of time where you can go slower, but you can't and still make your time. With more then a quarter mile in a park, several stop signs, and several stop lights, the average speed drops considerably rather quickly. As I mentioned, my normal commute is 1 mile on speed limit 40 MPH, then 25 miles on speed limit 50 MPH, roads which are light timed at those speeds, so I drive those speeds. I tend to average 27 MPH according to scangauge due to just a few stops on the drive. Most drivers average 25-30 MPH on their city driving commute, so 31 is very competitive, and for some people, too fast, as their average speed is far slower.

LOL, thanks Debs, glad you got home safely.