I saw tons of Prii on the road over the years... Many of them have a relatively slower steady acceleration and deceleration. But I did notice some people who seemingly stomp on the gas pedal when accelerates from a stop light. I have a scan gauge. I typically rev the engine to around 2400~ top until i reach 30mph on local roads if permitted... How hard do you stomp on the gas pedal from a stop light?
if some one is behind me, i stay just a bit slower than the person in front of me. if i'm first, i accelerate unto the power zone until i'm a bit over the speed limit. if i'm alone, or last in line, i accelerate just to the right of ev. slow and steady saves gas, reduces pollution and saves lives.
^^^ That's exactly right. I don't do a whole lot of stop-and-go. Interstate speeds mostly. It chaps my hide when I get behind somebody merging onto the interstate at less than the posted speed limit. Most of those fogeys at MUCH less than posted limit. I fly out there at 78 mph and keep on going.
I have a 50 mile commute to work and 45 miles are freeway miles. Fairly flat highway roads so I do a lot of pulse and gliding. Lately I've notived that I can pulse and glide in Power Mode and still get pretty nice Gas Mileage. I used to be stingy about using Power Mode and now I find it pretty useful!
On semi-level roads I try to keep the Hybrid System Indicator's bar graph display in the hatched zone: On down grades, I'll try to avoid engine-on completely, by keeping the bar graph to the left of median. On upgrades, especially steep, I just do what I have to do, to keep the speedo ticking upwards at a decent rate.
Roger, you're smart to hold the engine revs to 2400 rpm, especially on a cold engine. High rpm on a cold engine start at 2500 rpm. Anybody who forces a cold engine to hit high rpm will increase their engine wear, especially up in the valvetrain. Accelerating in the ECO range will benefit the mileage at all engine temps. Generally, I use the ECO bottom on a cold engine, the ECO top when it's warm. Mendel's graphic is excellent. Light traffic will allow me to accelerate from stop lights in the ECO range (staying in the right lane). People who want to go faster can pass on the left. Heavy traffic often demands stronger acceleration, so I accelerate from stop lights in the PWR range. However, I try to avoid the top of the PWR range unless it's a matter of safety. Also, I try to leave slightly early. Sadly, many hybrid owners will never hypermile. They never adjust their driving techniques to get better mileage, instead driving it like a conventional car - abusively. This means stomping on the gas pedal (jackrabbit starts), bad mileage, and accelerated wear.
I accelerate in the Power Zone until at speed and then try to glide as much as possible where I can. Around here I have to just to keep up with traffic. I always try to drive using the Golden Rule.
ECO Mode 95% of the time. I drive about as fast as a Garbage Truck or City Bus. I accelerate as gently as possible, try to start out on Electric whenever possible up to 15 or 20 mph usually. Coasting whenever possible. On the freeway I generally go 60 to 65 on flat ground, 70 on downhill sections, down to as low as 55 on upgrades. I'm usually always in the slow lane so I don't bother anyone except people trying to pass in the SLOW lane. I don't hold up other drivers on roads without passing lanes. The Reward is usually 54 to 58 mpg.
I operate my car in a manner that is a cross between Bisco and Mendel, wife Elsie has a '12 ''v'' and tries to live up to her nickname, ''Elsio Andretti''. I sometimes think she likes the pretty red light at the top of her ''power'' bar, I accuse her of it anyway.... Although, in all fairness to her, she is getting better.
I go into the power zone all the time, but never beyond it. Staying below it is just painfully slow. I've always been curious as to which is better: PWR up to speed, and initiate pulse and glide sooner OR ECO up to speed, and thus needs to run the ICE longer.
Thanks for your comment. The reason i stay below 2400rpm is because the engine gets louder when it goes past 2400rpm. Are there other reasons you say 2500 rpm is start of high rpm for a cold engine?
I often wonder about mileage and higher power output. From the efficiency graphs posted by Toyota, the Prius engine is more efficient at higher power outputs. So it -may- be more efficient overall to accelerate to speed at higher power, -then- pulse and glide. But I've found it almost impossible to measure, due to the many variables I can't control. I find I tend to leave most traffic behind if I'm first at a light. For about 100 m, then they catch up, as I am using low throttle to just maintain speed at low fuel consumption. But don't take my advice, I'm not a "hyper miler", and I -certainly- don't get the high fuel economy numbers those from central and southern US get. Short trips and cool weather are not a recipe for good mileage. BTW, when on cruise, the Prius will rev. up to 3000 RPM on steep inclines. Just remember, a cold engine is only cold for the first 5 min or so. After that it's a warm engine.
