"I need to stop obsessing"

I agree wholeheartedly with that statement. Not only will you lower your blood pressure, but you will enjoy your vehicle more as well.

I remember when I first purchased my HCH, and started driving the speed limit; it was such a pleasure to just relax and go slower!

And then I started being overly obsessive about my MPG; and I was no longer relaxed, and every bad traffic signal bothered me, and I hated winter fuel, and my lousy 6 mile commute, etc. etc. etc.

And then, I stopped obsessing. Life is good.

 

But once the engine is up to operating temp (assuming you're not dirivng through the Arctic North) doesn't the COOLING system kick in to keep the engine from overheating, same as in warm weather? (Otherwise, why have a radiator in the winter?

And for the heater.... that shouldn't have any effect in a (charged up) '06 since the Heat/AC system is on its own hybrid system.

 

Just curious - did you notice any difference in FE between rainy days and dry days? I'm seeing better FE on non-rainy days, but I don't know if that's anecdotal, or just a slight difference in the way we drive more carefully on wet pavement.

 

Rain kills MPG because the engine, through the tires, works harder to push the water away to gain grip on the pavement. Sounds goofy, but it's true.

Also, the car is slightly heavier due to the water on the car, and the tires absorb a little water too and become heavier.

It's like if you roll a ball on dry land and then comparably roll it in 1/8th an inch of water - what's gonna happen?

 

heat is too? there's no heater core? interesting- a heat pump. I'll need to look at my HAH- its got a hybrid compressor also.

Heat and energy take the path of least resistance- if there is a steep temp gradient to the outside of the system, energy will go that way via conduction and radiation, and be lost to do useful work pushing the piston. The larger the temp difference the more and faster heat flows out of the system. That heat never even makes it into the 2nd law of Thermodynamics. I'm not a cooling system expert, though- I don't know what the relative magnitude of the effect is here.

 

I know the A/C is a 2-scroll system with one mechanically driven scroll and one electric scroll. I know the Prius suplements the coolant heat with an electric heater but I've not heard of any such thing on the Civic. Even if it does have such a system, that still doesn't mean it "shouldn't have any effect." After all, even if it runs the heat electrically for the first 5 minutes until there's enough surpluss engine heat to take over, you still have to charge the battery back up somehow, and it's been well established that the battery is not charged exclusively by regeneration. For it to trickle-charge while driving means lowering your fuel economy in stead-state cruising in order to raise the SOC. Still no free lunch, but it seems to work well for the Prius and I have no doubts that if the Civic has electric heat, it would work well on the Civic too.

 

lars -- it is good you live in Phoenix. I can just imagine the tizzy you would be in if you lived in a *cold* climate

I expect to mod my Prius II with a block heater once I clean out my garage. Priuschat.com has an extensive thread on this topic, with self installer stories.

 

Yes I do, for the reasons previously indicated. Water on road = more resistance against your tires. While it's unusual to get long stretches below freezing here, it will be between 30 and 40 and rainy for months. So I get cold and rain...

Been there. I'm only on step 5 in my 12-step "stop obsessing about your mileage" program. "Hello, my name is Paul, and I'm adicted to obsessing about my mileage."

Might make an interesting thread: Top 10 reasons you know you're too obsessive about your hybrid mileage:

10) You actually get angry at stop lights because they rob you of the momentum you've worked so hard to obtain and you have to start ALL OVER AGAIN.

9) You hate accellerating because it uses too much gas (see also hatred of stop lights).

8) The illumination of the recharge light makes you giddy.

7) You could do brain surgery with your right foot because it's become so conditioned to ultra-fine adjustments.

6) The sight of exhaust coming out of a tailpipe while you're at a stop light makes you laugh out loud, pat the steering wheel and say to yourself, "good car..."

5)

I, of course, have done none of these...

 

I just started using the Hot Air Mod this year and it has made a significant difference in cold weather mileage. Two pieces of square cardboard in front of the radiator and a 3 foot tube routed to the back of the engine attached to the regular air intake is all there is. It's easy enough to remove every time you go to the dealer, and easy enough to take out when the temperatures begin climbing again. Usually I leave it on until temps average in the 50-60 range for a few weeks. Last year I forgot to take it off and experienced some overheating on a hilly road-trip. No big deal, just got out and removed it on the side of the road. This is of course all based on my Insight, the Civic might have different spacing in the engine compartment, but I'd assume the Civic Hybrid has more room in the Engine bay, since the engine is smaller than the convnetional Civic. But, since the engine is bigger than the Insight's, it may become hotter at lower temperatures than in the Insight. Since this has worked out so well, I am seriously considering getting an Engine block heater as well since I must park outside in the cold. Only thing is I don't want to confuse people with a plug hanging out the front end

 

how much of the radiator area do you cover up, as a percentage?