Splitting this off from the "My '07's melted already!" thread...

I'm honestly not sure whether or not the VTEC kicks in. The only other cars I've driven were all battleships (88 Taurus wagon, 92 and 96 Sable sedans) or larger (99 Dodge Ram, 00 Ford F-150, 02 Dodge Dakota, a couple Econoline vans, and just last week an 06 Chrysler Town and Country), so it probably is and I just don't realize it. What I do notice is that coming up the ramp (uphill) at about 35mph/2000rpm, and stomping the gas (flat at the cloverleaf top) gives me a surprisingly quick ramp-up to about 55mph/6000rpm, enough to complete the 315S-270E merge plus one buffer lane without getting thwomped, and before the 315N-270E > 23NS exit chaos. Getting from 55 to 65, though, usually requires that I almost completely back off on the gas to one regen bar, hesistate, then hit it again (but not quite as hard). This is probably giving the CVT a chance to readjust itself, as it doesn't seem to like adjusting with engine rpm above 4000 or so. Without that pseudo-shift-by-foot, though, it's really lethargic on the 55>65 acceleration. I will say this much, though... the power is *definitely* in the low end where the electric can do its torque-boost. While the electric whine above 3500rpm is pleasant to my ears, the rotor is really spinning too fast for it to do much good.

As for the FE hit, typically whatever I lose there I'm able to make up by the time I exit at SR-3. There's a very long and gradual downhill slope from I-71 to just after the Cleveland Ave (OH-710) ramp, and it's fairly easy to get the Impg gauge into the 80ish range at 60mph there.

 

As far as I remember the VTEC system in the HCH is geared towards FE and not power.

 

Livvie, it would make sense for Honda to do that, given that everything else in the HCH is geared for efficiency. Noflash's question, though, makes sense given that in non-hybrid versions, VTEC is intended for performance instead.

 

I've only really had to floor mine's once pulling out onto a service road from a Honda dealership no less (not mine's). The service road curves so it's hard to see if you're "clear". I don't know how high I took the revs but going from 0 sent the tires spinning (I have OEM dunlops, don't know how grippy they are) and it sounded really loud. I only needed to get to 40mph but that short manuever ate 2 bars of charge and the car did forced regens the rest of the way home.

 

Thanks for creating the new thread.

I find the power pretty gutless over 4k rpms, but honestly, I have never been close to redline. I fear it!

Also, that's good advice to fake shift the CVT to get the rpms back down to get the IMA to kick in... do I have that right?

 

I've taken an demo from the dealer for a testdrive before i ordered mine and i must say it revs pretty easy. I dont like the sportmode, this makes the car much to nervous going through corners because the cvt will go back in gearing and accelarate at the same time to get to peak hp a.s.a.p and then continue to accelarate keeping the rpms at a steady 6800 or so.

Don't know about tractionloss yet because euro versions have tractioncontrol incl dynamic stability control as standard and i didn't want to diengage that on my first ride in somebody else's car. I've ordered mine wit 17" Michelin Pilot Sport 2 so plenty of traction for 110 BHP

Vtec and the computer wil try to optimize combustion in all situations incl high performance. if i ain't misstaken vtec in the hybrid is 3 steps and the sparkplugs (two per cilinder) vary in spark interval

 

I had other Honda's that had "true" vtec performance. My GS-R had it in both the intake and exhaust side. Same goes with my S2000, and I had a civic that just had the vtec lobes on the intake side. I am wondering if the vtec portion on the HCH has to do with shutting down cylinders. There is a mode where 3 cylinders shutdown to the point that the valves do not open or close but instead help create a vacuum. I suspect this is where vtec comes in, the 3 cylinders have a "missing" lobe so that the valves never open or close. I'll have confirm this.

 

Pretty much. The '03-'05 HCH can shut down 3 cylinders, and '06+ can shut down all four entirely. It eliminates pumping losses to reduce resistance while gliding. Somewhere on the net I saw an animation of how VTEC works, and it seemed to involve some kind of secondary cam that works in tandem to vary the amount of valve lift in a linear fashion. (I could be wrong, and that could have been BMW's system I was looking at.) Either way, I think most implementations of VTEC are designed to maximize available power while at the same time providing as much efficiency as possible during normal operation. So there really isn't much of a distinction between using it for power or using it for efficiency, it's just a matter of how much of each the engineers were after.

 

I've found a file with extensive information concurning the powertrain of our hybrid. I can post the text here but i'm not sure if this will be apreciated (thread hijack, or perhaps to large) so for now i'll just post the link.

Perhaps some one on the board is a member of the press and can download the complete information package but this would probably be hosted somewhere because of the size

For now enjoy the read of our high tech honda!

http://hondanews.com/CatID2013?mid=2...41801&mime=asc

 

Noflash, you got that right. It's a "fake" shifting by letting off the gas, letting the CVT recover, then accelerating at the new gear ratio without making it slip back into a lower one. The "crap I gotta downshift" point seems to be in the 5000rpm area on mine, and the "Ok, time to get efficient" at 3000rpm.

John, the only time I lose traction on my OEM Bridgestones is when I get aggressive from a stoplight in the rain. I also run 44-46psi, so water channeling while moving is better, but I lose grip getting started from a full stop.

If you guys haven't seen it yet, check out http://world.honda.com/HDTV/news/200...05b/index.html. Be warned, even with a 6Mbit DSL line, I still get a fair bit of stuttering as it streams. The video talks about the iVTEC, IMA, and the various lobe modes and such.