Pulse & Glide mod?

[MikeSF]

Now I've read everything about how pulse & glide can give you some serious efficiency, but I'm curious is there any possible way make a program/chip to do this for you?

*note I know nothing of computers with relation to how they work in cars, hence the speculation about how "easy" it'd be *

Seems to me you can add a program to the car, perhaps integrate it with the view screen that you can set a pulse-glide setting similar to cruise control (perhaps remove the cruise control in favor of this?) where as you can set the high value and low value for speed and then simply let the computer do it all to make the most efficient accelerations possible. This instead of the standard way of barely touching the gas pedal to the point where if you twitch too hard you ruin it.

Sorry for the speculation, just something I thought I'd shoot out there for someone with actual talent to maybe try

[auricchio]

I suppose a "cruise P&G mode" could be programmed.

But I wonder whether a P&G driver anticipates terrain...something the car could never do.

And, as far as I know, no owners have modified any of the car's software. I haven't even heard of people trying to do so.

[eagle33199]

While i'm sure it could be done, i doubt anyone would really want to go trying to modify the software for fear of screwing something up. Additionally, this is something that i doubt Toyota will ever include in the car... While cruise control is acceptable, having a car automatically P&G introduces too many potential problems. for example, it could pulse at an unexpected moment and cause you to rear end someone (and then toyota needs to worry about law suits)

While i'm sure it could be done, i doubt anyone would really want to go trying to modify the software for fear of screwing something up. Additionally, this is something that i doubt Toyota will ever include in the car... While cruise control is acceptable, having a car automatically P&G introduces too many potential problems. for example, it could pulse at an unexpected moment and cause you to rear end someone (and then toyota needs to worry about law suits)

[MikeSF]

Well maybe not a full on PnG auto-drive system, but perhaps something as "simple" as a button that gives you that sweet spot of no-arrows.

[Wildkow]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(MikeSF @ May 20 2006, 05:15 PM) [snapback]258640[/snapback]</div>

Well maybe not a full on PnG auto-drive system, but perhaps something as "simple" as a button that gives you that sweet spot of no-arrows.
[/b]

That's what I want! Tired of checking the MFD and the car is so smooooth I can never feel it change from one mode to the other.

Wildkow

[Redblue88]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Wildkow @ May 20 2006, 08:33 PM) [snapback]258649[/snapback]</div>

That's what I want! Tired of checking the MFD and the car is so smooooth I can never feel it change from one mode to the other.

Wildkow
[/b]

After driving the car for a while, I'm starting to get the feel of the "sweet spot" without using the energy screen. I usually keep the consumption screen on so I can see the mpg bar with my peripheral vision. On a few occasions where I've been wanting to pulse and glide I've found that I'm already on "no arrows" when I switched over. Not 100% at it yet, but I'm guessing it's possible to train yourself so that a p&g switch isn't necessary. Plus, so much of p&g depends on terrain, it would be very hard to program effectively.

[hdrygas]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Redblue88 @ May 20 2006, 07:33 PM) [snapback]258691[/snapback]</div>

After driving the car for a while, I'm starting to get the feel of the "sweet spot" without using the energy screen. I usually keep the consumption screen on so I can see the mpg bar with my peripheral vision. On a few occasions where I've been wanting to pulse and glide I've found that I'm already on "no arrows" when I switched over. Not 100% at it yet, but I'm guessing it's possible to train yourself so that a p&g switch isn't necessary. Plus, so much of p&g depends on terrain, it would be very hard to program effectively.
[/b]

I agree you will learn to feel when you are in glide and after a while you can even discern when small amounts of power are coming from MG2.

[benighted]

gliding is easy, what we really need a button for is "dead band"

[darkecho]

I had this idea, and I think it can be accomplished easily...

here is the idea.

two people go in the car, hook up a voltmeter to the throttle wire and monitor the voltage that the pedal sends out at certain pedal positions,

get into dead band position, capture the throttle voltage.
get into glide, capture voltage

once you have a voltage for the minimum pedal position for each "mode" you fabricate a circuit board that has circuits for each mode and a switch to activate them..

then with the right reisstors and what not, you can trigger those modes by sending the correct voltage down the throttle wire and simulating pushing the pedal to that *Perfect* position.

this way, when driving, you flip the switch and the car thinks that you are just pushing the gas pedal.

I think it could be easily done. just needs someone who can get the voltage reading and find a way to simulate that voltage.

[mtsarpilot]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(MikeSF @ May 20 2006, 06:15 PM) [snapback]258640[/snapback]</div>

Well maybe not a full on PnG auto-drive system, but perhaps something as "simple" as a button that gives you that sweet spot of no-arrows.
[/b]

I think we already have one in the car. It's the shift lever. Pop into Neutral and you are in Glide. Bump it back to Drive to engage the HSD again. That's effectively what Glide is, or am I missing something.

After a week I'm getting better at hitting the right pedal pressure without having to look at the MFD. Problem we have in Colorado is there is rarely a flat road. Most road at least have a minor pitch to them, or they have a rolling aspect where they go up a little then down a little. Glide won't cut it on the up sections, but sure is nice on the down sections.

I'd like to be able to cut off the engine in the glide above 42 MPH. I have not tried the Neutral trick, as I don't want to be dinking around that much, just want to do it with the foot when it works for the terrain.