Just to mention the perhaps not so obvious.

The only thing better than regen braking is not needing to use it.

I read the system can only recover 30% of you car's kinetic energy, store it, and covert it back to kinetic energy.
That means 70% is wasted.

It would be better to waste 0 %.
You do this by letting the car go as far as possible after you have burned the gas to get it up to speed.

I try to do this as much as I can by avoiding breaking or even regen.
I leave a ton of room in front of me so I seldom have to brake.

Plus, when you DO have so slow avoid lifting on the gas pedal too much.
Sure this increases stopping distance - so stop going to fast.

If you were to pop the transmission into neutral and coast to a stop that is the rate you want to simulate.
This way you go as far as possible on the gas that got you up to speed.

Pretend your brakes have failed, and simulate your coasting rate of deceleration.
This is my mantra.

I don't want to see either ACCEL or CHARGE LEDs light up on my IMA readout.

Isn't there a guy (Wayne Gerdes?) in a non-hybrid Accord who averages 60 MPG? This must be what he does.

If you think about it I am avoiding using my hybrid system.
Ironic when you consider my lifetime average over two years is 64.4 MPG.

 

Good point, Kenny --
If you *really* want super regen braking, just go from D to S whenever you want to slow down/stop. But it really slows the car in a hurry -- and if you want or need that rate of deceleration, what it really says is you probably wasted some energy holding the car at a higher speed longer when you could have let off much sooner and slowed more gradually.

Something that really motivates me in how I think about braking is hearing reports here of how good a shape the brakes of hypermilers can be in at 100,000 miles or similarly ludicrous figures, just because they do so much coasting and do as much decel as possible with regen rather than brakes. I'd like to have one of those not-yet-finished sets of pads at 60,000 miles.

cheers --
doug

 

It's topics like these that I dearly wish hypermilers would get their own dedicated section. Because it looks like proselytizing to me. Hybrids being driven like they're 10-speed bicycles.

 

Kenny, it allmost sounds like the hybrid system[IMA] does nothing to help you achieve the #"s you get? I guess it turns the engine off when you do have to stop, but other than that it appears you do not use it much. Am I ready you correctly? H

 

Last sentence. Am I reading you correctly. H

 

Harold, the IMA system does help him achieve high-mpg because the IMa system allows the HCH to have a smaller engine, allowing for better fuel-economy. I guess ou could remove the IMA system, and keep the tiny engine, and still get good fuel-economy, but the car would be underpowered.

 

I fully agree, Kenny. Your comments are so relevant. When I talk about my HCH, I usually say. 75% is the behaviour and 25% is the hybrid. And with the time and experience, I believe the % is higher than 75%. When I use the electricity mode only, it is just for the fun of not producing any co2 but, I agree, it is not the optimal behaviour.

PierreM

 

Proselytizing? Huh?

This is a hybrid forum.
I am sharing a seldom-heard approach that I have discovered raises my MPG.
That's what we do here.

Many here do value MPG-improving suggestions.
Just ignore stuff you don't want.

Peace.

 

I actually was stunned when it happened to me at first...but, now I expect it and it is a "normal" thing for me.

After the regen to regular breaking kicks in (about a half a second) if I continue to slow...the auto stop kicks in while I am still rolling...I use this to my advantage and usually can roll for up to a minute on auto stop...saves gas in the long run.