engine brake, gas tank

[Wots]

Hi All


Craig here from the south east corner of Chicago (cough cough)
Just picked up my Classic Silver Prius, package #3 last Saturday.
Thanks to all the posts here there were no surprises.
Just a few questions tho.

With the fuel tank, does it make more sense to keep it filled up
for the first month to make sure it expands fully?

Can you get an accurate mpg using miles/gallons?

With the transmissions “engine brake” does this use the ICE
or does it use the regeneration cycle?


I have been looking at the Prius for the last year and a half. Now I don’t
Get as PO’ed when going past a gas station


Thanks

Craig

[efusco]

Originally Posted by Wots

With the fuel tank, does it make more sense to keep it filled up
for the first month to make sure it expands fully?

Nah, won't help. It expands and contracts with the load and with the weather.

Can you get an accurate mpg using miles/gallons?

Is there any other way to get mpg? If you mean is it accurate to manually calculate the mileage by dividing the miles on the tank by the gallons used to fill then the answer is....yes and no.
Over the life of the car that is clearly the most accurate way...there are fewer variables over time. The computer seems to be generous by ~2-5%. But for any individual tank the computer will be more accurate b/c of the variability of fill volume depending upon what pump you use, the temp outside and the phase of the moon!

With the transmissions “engine brake” does this use the ICE
or does it use the regeneration cycle?

Both...usually. If you're in an ICE-off glide going less than 20mph and go into B-mode the ICE will not start up and you may get a little more regen than you would just coasting.
At any speed over 20 the ICE will come on and use back pressure to slow your car along with a little extra regen (about twice what you'd get with coasting).

[richard schumacher]

With the transmissions “engine brake” does this use the ICE or does it use the regeneration cycle?

(Geez, what's with all the html cr@p? Simplify, simplify.) To be precise, if you shift into "B" it uses the ICE. But note "B" is only meant to be used going down a long grade, to avoid riding the brake pedal. If you use "B" in normal driving it will noticeably reduce MPGs. As a former Cheesehead and frequent visitor to Flatland I can state confidently that there is no place in northern Illinois where "B" is needed.

[randylud]

Originally Posted by Wots

Hi All


Craig here from the south east corner of Chicago (cough cough)
Just picked up my Classic Silver Prius, package #3 last Saturday.
Thanks to all the posts here there were no surprises.
Just a few questions tho.

With the fuel tank, does it make more sense to keep it filled up
for the first month to make sure it expands fully?

Can you get an accurate mpg using miles/gallons?

With the transmissions “engine brake” does this use the ICE
or does it use the regeneration cycle?


I have been looking at the Prius for the last year and a half. Now I don’t
Get as PO’ed when going past a gas station


Thanks

Craig

Craig,
What is ICE??
Randy

[richard schumacher]

ICE = Internal Combustion Engine. I humbly submit that it's clearer just to use "engine" for the gasoline engine.

MG = motor/generator (there are actually two of them even though the Multi-Function Display shows only one)

[randylud]

Thanks for the clarification Richard, I am a little out of touch with some jargon and acronyms. I might have figured it was something like that but wanted to be sure! LOL