Running up I-95 in the sweltering FL heat for 75 miles each way to and from work.... with the windows rolled up! Yes it's as bad as it sounds. There are two promising designs I've seen for cooled seat covers but can't get any review from someone intentionally using them for FE purposes as described above. One blows air up your... ah, back, and the other circulates water cooled by a thermoelectric device. The water-cooled is about twice the cost but sounds to me like it could be more effective. Has anyone used one of these? Or am I going to be the official guinea pig? Check them out: http://www.amazon.com/dp/product/B000K3GBFA?tag=priuschatcom-20
Hi Sphyrna, You have a 25 percent more efficent AC unit than the 2nd Generation Prius, which is close to being better than any other car in the US right now. Just use it! Its not good to let your battery get that hot, and the car AC cools the battery. For best fuel economy set the temp to 80 F. It will dry predominantly, and that will make it comfortable. Get a canvas jungle hat, and soak down a sponge and put it in the pocket on top of the hat. That helps allot to keep the head cool.
This hypermiler agrees with the others: Run the AC. In the Gen II at highway speeds, the AC's effect on fuel economy is small, about 1 MPG at 65 MPH in 90F ambient temps (according to the Prius MPG Simulator). As Donee suggests, it should be even less in the GIII.
Thanks all for the replies, sorry for the confusion but I don't have the Prius yet and I've been driving my GMC Envoy (w/leather seats)up I-95. That's the car I need the seat for! Mileage is approx 25-26 mpg w/rolled up windows and no a/c vs. 21-22 with the A/C on 'sparingly' (turning it off when accelerating or going uphill). I know I only have about 1-2 weeks to go before the Prius is in the driveway, but I might need to use the SUV in the future for transporting stuff so it's not just to cool my butt for the next two weeks. So has anyone tried either of these or something else?
I have this one in my Paseo. http://www.amazon.com/dp/product/B000Q96BL2?tag=priuschatcom-20'm quite intent on not using AC unless absolutely necessary (or the wife is in the car ). For this, it works great. When your back starts getting a bit sweaty you start to feel the air passing through the cover. So, by the end of a trip your shirt is just a little moist instead of drenched. If you aren't sweating a little bit, you can't feel it doing much.
I'm just disappointed we can't get a car with the woven strips (like a lawn chair) instead of the stuffed padded seats only. That would help with cooling I would think, as well as give extra space and reduce weight. You could still build lumbar support into the tension/shape of the back part, and have weight sensors and all the rest. Am I missing something?
I know in Europe (I think France) there was a small car that had these seats. I think in the US it makes it hard to take the car seriously since we are accustomed to something so different.
Thanks for the info, I was looking at that one also but found it had lower reviews. I might go for it anyway since I may not need it constantly. Is it comfortable to sit on? Does it hold up as a quality product in your opinion?
Its not real comfortable. The cover is made of a semi-hard plastic so you don't crush the air channels when you sit on it. This makes it not conform to the seat all that great too. As for it being a quality product, it has held up well. But, I haven't used it for a full year yet. I got it at the end of last year and took it out for the winter. I do think the performance of the unit could be improved if the fan (which is just a computer case type fan) was sealed to the outside to prevent air leakage from the inlet. It kind of just sits in the bag thing that you can see on the bottom of the picture. Perhaps some rtv sealant or something would do the job.
