Real World MPG for our 2010 Prius. After 2,173.9

[a64pilot]

I think it may have been me that said that I believe that P&G had little effect at "highway speeds" It seems that quite a few consider highway speeds to be speeds above 75MPH or so. I believe if you P&G between 55 to 75 say you will get much better fuel mileage than running a constant 75 because your average speed is lower.
LOOK at Bob's graph. I'm a boogger eating moron compared to him, but I can read charts. Pretty much what they tell me is there is ONE sweet spot, 18 MPH. Above that mileage begins to fall off. A lot of people want to think there is a sweet spot up there at highway speeds, but it just isn't so, or I don't think it's so anyway.
I believe that P&G may be real beneficial at speeds below 46 MPH because unless I'm mistaken below that the ICE may shut down. From what little data I have been able to get it WON'T shut down above 46 MPH. What that tells me is that while P&G may be effective at speeds above 46, it really becomes effective below 46 because of ICE behavior (I'm talking Gen III here) or apparently ZVW30, but while I believe the earlier cars will shutdown the engine above 45 mph, it isn't efficient because you are using electrical power to spin a dead motor.
I believe the most effective thing any of us can do to get better mileage is to slow down if highway driving.
An opinion of mine is that if you really want to get good mileage, get off of the highway and take secondary roads.
If your in a hurry and want to take the highway, set the cruise control and set back and enjoy listening to music or something. An un-educated opinion of course

[toxicity]

Bob, I read your post, I'm just waiting until I can do a 62mph cruise to further our conversation.

A64: Sometimes you just have to take the highway. Sometimes its more convenient. Sometimes its the only way. I can't take country roads up to Dallas for example, only I-45. I, fortunately, am able to choose what time I leave on a trip though so I tend to leave at midnight, because at that point, the road is mostly empty; usually you will see a truck-trailer every mile or two but thats it.

So basically, I can choose whether to go at a steady 55mph (or higher) or PnG between 55-70.

I guess it just depends what kind of vehicle you had before the Prius. I had a Jeep that would reach 19mpg on the highway, 14mpg otherwise. Compared with that, I could drive the Prius at 106mph and probably still double what I got in the Jeep! Anything above 36mpg and I am good; anything more than that and I am very happy!

I don't know what the 2010 does with regards to shutting off fuel to the engine but I assume its the same, I mean, why not? It saves fuel, and thats the point right?

With regards to using electrical power to power the motor and engine; the engine will generate enough power on the pulse to overcome that, I'm sure. Especially on the highway where you are just constantly driving at efficient speeds. Sometimes it seems to me like highway driving is that efficient that there is an excess of battery power, judging by the green battery icon appearing frequently on long trips, and almost always when I get on the off-ramp.

[Son of Gloin]

Originally Posted by FreakinToddles

It would be much easier for you to use the handy search box on the top right side of the page like everyone else. There are several threads that go into detail about the technique.

To say that it's "much easier ... to use the handy search box" is rarely-if-ever true. I've tried using the so-called search box MANY times, and have generally been taken to a listing of about 50-or-more POSSIBLE threads that MIGHT help me out, but seem to provide info to TOTALLY unrelated subjects.

Personally, I much prefer the "helpful link provided" within a response to a question as that posed by those of us who may ask for guidance from time-to-time ... rather than a simple "use the search box" reply. If a person doesn't have time to be helpful, he/she shouldn't take the time to respond at all ....

[bwilson4web]

Originally Posted by toxicity

Bob, I read your post, I'm just waiting until I can do a 62mph cruise to further our conversation. . . .

No rush on my part. You're helping us to understand this wonderful vehicle and any data points contribute to our knowledge.

THANKS!
Bob Wilson

[DrJon]

Originally Posted by lutece7

it would seem that the traffic tickets one would accumulate in a year of driving pulse and glide would offset the fuel savings. Am I wrong?

Before responding to this, I don't really get what you are implying "between the lines." Are you assuming that someone driving like this would be exceeding the speed limit during the pulse phases. Are you implying that a cop would pull you over for going to slow. Are you implying that a cop would ticket you for impeding the flow of traffic? What do you mean by this?

When I P&G, I am usually on a 4 lane highway through our small town with a maximum posted speed of either 35 or 45. I can be in the right hand lane and "pulse" up to about 45 (in a 35 zone), and then "glide" down to about 34 or so. I then repeat this over and over to my turn off the divided highway. I glance periodically in my rear view mirror to make sure that I am not holding up traffic. Rarely is this the case, since the speed demons can pass me on the L. Of course, if they pass me toward the end of a "pulse," they really are risking a ticket by our friendly police force!

When I am on a two lane road, I REALLY pay attention to if there is any traffic behind me. Most of the time there is not (its a small town). I think in general that following someone who is P&G'ing can be mildly annoying so I alter my P&G to be less noticable. I accelerate to just shy of 10 over the posted speed and then use more battery in my glide phases to keep the speed up longer (staying below 1/2 way to keep ICE off). I also will accelerate again sooner than letting speed drift down to just below posted speed cause it seems like many people just will not drive at the posted speed limit!

When on hills, I will use the hills to extend glide and/or recharge the battery as necessary depending on the current SOC and knowledge of the route ahead to maximize the MPG. When I know I have a significant hill coming up, I will sometimes use the previous downhill and or more speed to use max momentum to carry me up the hill (to minimize battery). If there are no cars behind me, sometimes I will hit the top of the hill at only 10 mph or so. That is when I feel like I really nailed it! I then use the downhill to assist my next pulse!

My second tank fill up is going to be very close to 700 miles!