You guys are amazing and dedicated. My hat goes off to you.

In Phoenix, with temps in the triple digits - the A/C is a must. Since I've been running the A/C and taking shorter trips (since I work from home full time now), I have seen a drastic decrease in MPG - it hovers around 42 or 43.

If my HCH is getting this type of mileage and it is designed for fuel efficiency, I can only imagine what other non-fuel efficient cars are getting under the same circumstances.

 

I have been averaging about 38-40mpg in my 97 Civic HX the last month or so with heavy use of the A/C for my 20 mile commute to and from work. I have a ScanGauge so I can calculate fuel economy per trip too. I just did about a 3 mile round trip drive to the store to pick up stamps. The SG showed 28.2mpg for that trip. Keep in mind the HX is rated 36/44. I think this is where the ability to run all-electric for a portion of the trip would be helpful, especially if you had a pluggable hybrid so you could always be topped off before leaving home.

 

Further update

Got lucky again today. A big ole storm was brewing tempting me to cheat and drive another vehicle to avoid driving IMC in the rain. Well at the last minute I decided to take IMC anyway. The storm changed the wind direction which is usually blowing to my disadvantage. The tail wind made up for any water on the road and my mileage actually went up from 83.6 mpg yesterday to 84.4 mpg displayed today. I'm very happy and excited about this tank.

I'm tempted to make another video as I suspect that there will be disbelievers. Heck I barely believe it myself.

 

LD,
I watched your video. IIRC you were in the mid 70's. Is this improvement to the mid 80's due to P&G?

Don't worry, I believe you. I'm at 85.0 MPG at 488 miles. My first 1000 mile tank is within reach!

Not too bad for an 11.9 gallon tank.

 

Yes, P&G and also a tire pressure check. One tire got a flat and was never inflated as well as the others. It was down to 25 psi. The others were at 40-42. Now they are all at 45psi.

P&G helps for sure. The biggest surprize has been on long shallow hills that did not provide enough grade to maintain 40mph. I had been using lean burn on such hills. After trying P&G I discovered that while the hills would not sustain 40mph they would sustain 30mph. Now I'm coasting down all hills ICE off instead of just the steeper ones.

P&G adds a whole new dimenton to hypermileing. I've yet to determine the perfect technique. Thanks for sharing the idea.Amazing. Hope you make it.

 

I'm glad that IMA can benefit from this also. Not having ever driven one I wasn't sure it would. This tank is similar to yours in that it is my normal commute to and from work and includes errands and picking up the kids from grandmas house. Mid 80's appears to be another wall that I am running into. Before that it was the lower 70's. It seems that P&G has yielded similar results for the both of us.

I have proved that under optimal conditions, 105MPG + in Prius II is sustainable, so that is my ultimate goal. The only way that i can improve further is if I can get better feedback that might help me understand optimal ICE RPM, accelleration rates, etc... I am working on getting better instrumentation to aid me in that effort. Hopefully I will be able to make discovery that will help me break into the 90's. If not this summer, then maybe next.

In the mean time, keep those gloves off stay hydratred!

 

I'm very excited to see the P&G results at the pump. Keep in mind that my display tends to run 3 or 4 percent high so I'm expecting the calculated at the pump results to be about 80 even. Since on the last tank the calculated numbers were higher then the display it is likely I will pay the price this tank and end up with dissapointing calculated results.

 

Hi Lakedude:

___P&G is amazing, isn’t it

___Krousdb, I PM’ed Lakedude with his own take on P&G optimizations in the HCH and I look forward to hearing any more from you before we get together next month for the “Realllllyyyy Big Shoowwww” as Ed Sullivan used to say In particular, if a soft acceleration with the only arrow from the MGSet to the pack showing or fast accelerations with the MGSet to the wheels and pack is the most optimal. I believe the former given our record segment(s) behind the wheel of your Prius II a few weeks ago vs. your record segments prior to and some future segment(s) to come. Your past Extreme Hypermiling experience speaks volumes in and of itself and I am sure you have an idea as to which nuance is the better of the two.

___AZCivic and Azwildbill2, I know the Phoenix area is unbelievably hot right now but you have all winter to make up for it, right? With that, have either of you ever used a Forced Autostop and reboot with ICE off into lights, down hills, off-ramps, crawling traffic jams ahead, and such? If not, figure out how now because the non-hybrid’s FE screams up to and beyond many regular hybrid drivers when using this technique. Although not the P&G technique, I have used Forced Autostops for years and it simulates some of the best that the G portion of P&G can offer in the exact circumstances as described above. If you are really aggressive (I would be careful with this in a non-hybrid), you can even use P&G directly although it is not without many caveats in its implementation given the way our non-hybrid tranny’s handle neutral from speed, neutral with ICE off, re-engagement after ICE restart at speed, and how our ICE’s and smallish electrics handle multiple restarts off that smallish gear reduction motor and small 12V lead acid battery. I use Forced Autostops, reboots, and re-engagements at speed and/or when coming into a stop but the P&G technique is a bit to aggressive for my non-hybrid’s to use over and over without possible damage. Not to say I do not use it when the opportunity presents itself but I try and keep my Forced Autostops, reboots, and restarts to ~ 1 for every 10 + or - miles and this has been my average over the last 40,000 + miles in the Accord and Ranger. The non-hybrid Honda Auto tranny was built off the manual and can be manipulated at speed but even Honda could not have dreamed I would be using one of their “bread and butter” non-hybrid based automobiles like this. Just be careful out there and try and rev match on re-engagement to the best of your ability as that can only help …

___Good Luck

___Wayne R. Gerdes
___Waynegerdes@earthlink.net

 

We have some secretive folks here....P&G ??

 

Pulse and Glide.