I've only recently tried shifting into neutral on downhill slopes or while rolling up to lights. I'm not sure I'm getting much benefit though. According to the meter, I'm actually dropping below 50mpg when I do this and the tach shows around 800-1000 rpms. Am I doing something wrong? When I leave it in drive and just take my foot off the pedal, it tops off at 100mpg on the meter, depending on the slope and my coasting speed, of course. I've read a lot about using neutral to improve FE, but I think I'm missing some key point to really getting the benefit.

 

You DON'T want to use neutral in the HCHII for mileage. When you use neutral, the intake valves are still open and the ICE is using gas. If you use glide, the valves are closed, and no gas is being used. There is a nominally more drag when gliding than when in neutral, but it is worth it to achieve zero gallons per mile.

To use glide, let up on the gas pedal until you see 100mpg on the iFCD and the green bars of regen start. Then gradually add pressure on the gas pedal until the green bars go away, but not so much that you are using Asst.

 

Great - glad to finally hear someone say that! Now I can focus on the other techniques and ignore the whole neutral thing. thanks!

 

Kristian is absolutely right.

Placing the HCH in neutral is the wrong thing to do except when the car is too cold to cut off the fuel on a coast. Under these circumstances, placing the transmission in N will lower the fuel consumption rate by 50% or more.
Under all other circumstances just use the built-in glide feature and let the car do the rest.

As far as I recall, this thing about placing the transmission in neutral is only applicable to traditional gas-only vehicles.

Cheers;

MSantos

 

As much as I hate to bring up FAS. You could use that technique, but I wouldn't do it unless you practise in a safe area first. Basically you can drop to neutral and turn off the engine. I prefer the above techniques.

 

I really don't see the need to FAS in the gen II cars (maybe the gen I cars too--I've never driven one). It has to be a very long, very gradual downhill without any traffic lights to make FAS worth it, because really the only difference is that you can coast further without the engine than you can with glide. What situations (if any) do you use it Livvie?

 

FAS and engine-on Neutral is one of the biggest hypermiling tools I use in the HCH1. Every morning for my 50 mile commute I sit in a ~20 mile backup. You know the ones: You stop for a few seconds, then creep under 5MPH for a hundred feet or so then stop again. Autostop doesn't function and I simply must use engine-off when possible, and regulate my speed in creeping unpredictable jams, by switching between D and N. (Left in D, idle creeps the HCH1 faster than traffic and the only other option is to ride the brakes. Very wasteful.)

If I don't use the extraordinary techniques, my engine keeps running and drop MPG's rather quickly. With the techniques I can maintain about the same efficiency as if the jam wasn't there.

-Steve

 

First gen. Civic Hybrids can't idle all four cylinders, which is why they'll always be burning fuel with the engine on, even in a glide.

A demonstration of FAS on Hwy. 75 outside Tulsa, OK, in an 8th gen. Civic (probably an EX 5MT):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqmSO9hX8MM

 

Hmmm, there are a couple of different things being said here. For the HCHII leave it in drive and your life is easy.

With the HCHI is it good to put it in neutral? I don't because that is easy time to charge up my battery. I do put it in neutral if I'm going 30mph and there is a long flat stretch in front of me (when not in neutral I usually don't make it to the end)

 

Other than using assist as little as possible, I really don't pay attention to the battery level, it just does what it does. Foot off the gas charge, regen etc take care of itself in the 90% or so time other than when in N.

If I want it to charge faster/maintain a higher level I drive with my headlights on.

-Steve