Higher pressure generally means higher mpg, but I also live in San Diego and found that the 40 psi I pumped my tires up to makes it harder to climb hills. Or at least it seems that way. I might try 35psi next time.

 

After 187 miles, I'm getting 50.7. My best trip so far was 54.0, all Friday rush hour freeway traffic.

 

Hi CGameProgrammer:

___Ok, lets try a fresh description from scratch … You are in a steady cruise at 65 mph and you let off the gas. Full regen and Fuel cut more then likely appear. Regen drags you down like a 400 # boat anchor attached to your HCH was thrown out the window Let us say you are in steady cruise at 65 mph and you let off the gas and reapply just a few mm’s (not fully) of accelerator. Do you achieve ICE-OFF with the CVT in a free spin mode or a Fuel cut mode (all valves sealed up tight) in a Neutral like glide all the way down or is there straight up fuel cut and regen? I am not exactly sure what you described? Disconnecting the CVT takes a hell of a lot less energy then spinning that ICE (valves closed or not) for any reasonable distance … There is a distinct difference between a regen coast down and a Glide as in an AS mode at much higher speeds then has ever been reported. Maybe even the EV mode although that is supposed to be just a 10 - 30 mph feature? What you appear to be describing may be the latest Honda Killer App and one that should have been incorporated long ago … Please try and get a handle on the various modes via both the tach and feel through your bottom as to what is going on from various speeds during any deceleration. Hopefully early tomorrow in warmer temps and please let us know what you find because there is at least one non-hybrid owner that is absolutely dying to hear what you and NASAngineer have in store for all of us!

___NASAgineer, it sounds like you are thinking about it … The HCH-II has ~ .5kWh of useable pack. This is my estimate using 20 - 80% of listed CAP anyway. A Prius II and/or Escape HEV at slower speeds (35 mph and under use) between 125 - 175 kWh/mile. My guesstimate again … Because you are spinning that ICE (intake and exhaust valves closed or not), I suspect you will not achieve nearly the length of EV/Glide mode distance as a Prius I/II or FEH at a given SoC let alone having ~ half the size pack (more then ½ the pack of the Prius II) but who knows? The SoC of the FEH is controlled much tighter and you actually have more useable potential available to you then in it. There have been some crazy long distances traveled while under in EV in the FEH if you care to read up on them … It would be nice to find out what your HCH-II’s capabilities are in any case? If you have a long shallow descent or long flat through the middle of a town on your daily commute, test this out and let us know? If the speed limit is 30, do 30 and bleed down to 20 while in this quasi EV mode. Try and maintain this EV mode for all its worth and watch the SoC. While you are at it, let us know what the bottom of the SoC meter will show. After a ton of assist/EV, you might see just 2 bars? At the top, are you seeing 20? I forgot how many bars but will look up a dash pic tomorrow and count them

___Either way, the both of you can help future HCH-II drivers with their FE in very short order …

___CGame, we are going to make a hypermiler out of you yet

___Good Luck and thanks for the information posted so far!

___Wayne R. Gerdes

 

Now that I've had a bit more experience with the car, I'm finding that I can enter EV mode at will. Just follow these steps:

1) Take your foot off the gas (coast) and wait for the instant MPG gauge to max out at 100MPG. At this point the valves are sealed and no gas is flowing.

2) GENTLY apply pressure to the accelerator until you see one or 2 bars of assist showing. If you do it gently enough, you can get anywhere from 1-3 bars of assist (3 is my record so far) with the instant MPG still pegged at 100MPG.

Depending on a variety of factors, like incline, wind, speed, etc., the assist may be enough to hold your speed or even slightly accelerate (much harder).

I also noted that speed is irrelevant. I got into EV mode at 60 MPH. Granted, it was a slight downhill, so gravity was making up for the difference in air resistence at the higher speed, but it shows that the ECU does not take speed into account, only whether it thinks it can meet your needs (based on throttle position) with assist alone. I also got it one time on a slight uphill, although my speed was dropping slowly (although not as fast as it would have without the assist).

This might sound like a complicated routine to go through to get into EV mode, but I found that all I really needed to do was use a very light touch on the accelerator and keep my speed down, and the car took care of the rest.

Just for fun, I reset one of my trip odometers and tried this method as I drove through the streets of San Francisco (after getting my FasTrack transponder so I can send off for carpool lane stickers, WooHoo!). I tried to use the EV mode as much as possible between red lights. After 1.0 miles on the trip, my trip MPG was reading 78.5!! and that included stopping at 5 red lights. Then I hit an uphill segment and it went to hell

 

Hi NASAgineer:
___Now this is what I was waiting to hear!
___Complicated? You have never seen a P&G using a FAS/D-FAS and re-engagement afterwards performed in a non-hybrid with a Stick or Auto
___Now that we know what is possible, lets see if you can extend that kind of FE out a bit more … A Pulse should bring up your SoC and you can enter right back into EV/Glide. Oh boy am I excited about what I am hearing! High Speed P&G w/out Regen and it’s built in! By god Honda finally did something right by the sounds of it

___NASAgineer, are you positive that you have Assist w/ ICE-Off at those 60 mph and under speeds? Secondly, try and drop your assist to 2 bars or none w/ ICE-Off as this is where the real EV distances will come from. We call this a Glide and it is the most important tool to maximize your HCH-II’s FE.

___Good Luck

___Wayne R. Gerdes

 

Yes, that's exactly what I see. I can directly control the amount of regen with throttle position. It normally does not go into full regen anyway when I let off the throttle (unless SoC is low or it's a steep downhill). If there are a few bars of regen showing, I can get rid of them with a bit of throttle pressure while still maintaining zero fuel flow. A bit more pressure and I get some assist, still with zero fuel flow.

I really wish they would let me take the car out on the runway at Moffett Field to run some tests . I don't know how long I could really hold the EV since something always happens (hill, curve, car) to cut it short. So far I have not seen SoC drop below 50%, so I don't think I'm really even stressing it.

 

Hi NASAgineer and CGameProgrammer:

___One other item I have been wondering about and hopefully you already know. The HCH-I (non-PZEV anyway) has a mode called lean burn where she actually runs a maximum 22.5:1 A/F mixture. The FE during this mode is in the low 80’s and can be achieved by hitting lets say 55 mph and backing off just a hair to 53.5 mph to hold a steady mph for example. Can one of you perform this on the highway tomorrow for us and let us know what you see on the instantaneous? What FE does she hold at a steady 53 mph for example?

___Thanks again and Good Luck

___Wayne R. Gerdes

 

Hi NASAgineer:
___Hot ****!!!
___You won’t need any airfield to do the tests. Once you know how to DWL and completely control your Fuel Cut modes with little to no assist, you will be doing this under all kinds of terrain and conditions. ****, I cannot wait to hear some more reports from the two of you and I hope that both of you can incorporate much of what you have learned into your daily commutes!

___Good Luck

___Wayne R. Gerdes

 

Is this fact or fantasy?

If regen kicked in at full force as soon as you took your foot off the pedal it would feel like a rather heavy foot suddenly hit the break. I hope that's not how the HCH works.

In my RAV4 EV, when I take my foot off the pedal it applies just enough regen to slow the car down a little - simulating the deceleration of a conventional gasoline vehicle. It also has a [B]rake gear which applies more regenrative power and slows the vehicle down significantly. I can use [B] when approaching a stop light or when going down a steep hill - instead of using the brake pedal. If I stay in [B] with my foot on the accelerator and then take my foot off, the car lurches unpleasantly. As noted, I sure hope the HCH doesn't always behave as if it's in [B] gear.

I noticed that the Prius also has a [B] gear, although I don't know if it behaves exactly the same as on the RAV4 EV.

Can anyone say if the HCH has a [B] gear or something similar?

 

True, If I can do it, anyone can

I really wish there was an 'I-VTEC Cam Mode' indicator showing either high-speed, low-speed, or closed. Without it, I can only assume that 100MPG means no fuel flow. I am positive that I have sustained assist with a 100MPG reading. I've also been listening more carefully (stereo off!) and there is a slight sound/vibration change when it comes out of EV and the cylinders start firing again, so I'm pretty confident.

Tell me more about the pulse. When I accelerate at 50% assist (as HotGeoigia2004 described in his article) I only get 20-30MPG showing. In fact, it seems to be the same no matter how hard I accelerate. Is the idea to go to 50% assist in order to get the acceleration over as soon as possible? What speed range would you recommend?

Thanks (this is fun!)