107 mpg. 1,100 mile tank. Enginer system back on track.

[ericbecky]

I wanted to report in on this customer again.

He just called me to say that his latest tank took 34 days to use up the gas. 1,162 miles at 91 mpg! That's in the Midwest during December!

He normally gets about 42 miles before the system shuts down.

He has had no problems since I last checked in until this week. He had a charger that died which is now being replaced.

He is anxiously waiting the new charger since 60mpg just doesn't cut it for him anymore!

[Rich London]

I find the results above either very hard to believe or very frustrating to me. I had an Enginer 4kwh pack installed in my 2009 Prius about a month and a half ago. The mpg is VERY traffic and road dependent. When driving in rush hour in slightly hilly terrain I have gotten 80mpg. An average for most of my driving (3 - 6 mile trips 30 - 45mph) is about 68mpg.

Interstate driving brings almost no benefit. I have found that it is best to turn the unit off on the highway and then back on about 3 miles before my exit so the Prius battery can fully charge. That is so when I am on local roads again the ICE doesn't kick in to charge the Prius battery.

ericBecky, any advice on what I can tweak?

Anyone else's real world numbers would be appreciated.

[dan2l]

Hi Rich,
Be assured that this is true. I and one other person that I did an install for have also done this.

First there is a big difference between a 2009 and a 2010. The 2010 regularly gets 10mpg more than a 2009. Also the GenII car limits the input from a system like the Enginer system to 15a. I have run as much as 19a into my 2010.

Finally the mountains and freeway do make a big difference.

Thanks,
Dan

[ericbecky]

The results are true. But, the customer is truly an outlier. Most people will not be able to duplicate his results since he has a car and a drive which is a great fit for the Enginer kit.

2010 Prius. Just the right length trip 42 miles. Lower speed roads (35-45 mph). Zero interstate or above 55mph driving.

Your 3-6 mile trips will be very hard to make any difference in mpg. The warm up cycle simply hammers down the mpg too much to recover from in such a short trip.

Your interstate driving will continue to be an aggravation to your mpg, unless you commit to not exceeding 55 mph (which is legal on most 65 mph roads). If you have time, and there is an option, try a side road more conducive to mpg.

If you had the same car and the same trip as my customer, you could probably duplicate his results.

If you want to give me a call, we can talk more specifics. 608-729-4082

[usnavystgc]

Originally Posted by ericbecky

The results are true. But, the customer is truly an outlier. Most people will not be able to duplicate his results since he has a car and a drive which is a great fit for the Enginer kit.

2010 Prius. Just the right length trip 42 miles. Lower speed roads (35-45 mph). Zero interstate or above 55mph driving.

Your 3-6 mile trips will be very hard to make any difference in mpg. The warm up cycle simply hammers down the mpg too much to recover from in such a short trip.

Your interstate driving will continue to be an aggravation to your mpg, unless you commit to not exceeding 55 mph (which is legal on most 65 mph roads). If you have time, and there is an option, try a side road more conducive to mpg.

If you had the same car and the same trip as my customer, you could probably duplicate his results.

If you want to give me a call, we can talk more specifics. 608-729-4082

Eric,
There is an old saying that says "Trust but verify". I know I would really like to see some pics and I have a feeling others would as well. Would you please ask your customer to take some pics of his MFD for us? I would really appreciate it.

Thanks in advance

[Stretch53]

See attached pictures. The first is the miles driven and the second is the fill-up; 113 miles/gallon.

[pjc]

Originally Posted by ericbecky

If you had the same car and the same trip as my customer, you could probably duplicate his results.

Eric,

Any other ingredients to the secret sauce of your customer? Does he/she take any other measures, especially cold-weather related (grill-blocking, EBH, etc.)? I'm in MN with similar winters and am struggling to get 65 MPG with my 09 Prius + 4 kwh Enginer. And our winter has been very mild this year. With the latest cold snap (weak that it has been), my daily MPG has fallen to more like 55 MPG. My commute is not ideally suited to the PHEV kit in winter, though (short, 45 MPH, hilly route).

[ericbecky]

Nope. This guy does not do any special driving techniques, or other extra effort. The route itself is the key. In his stock Prius he gets 60 mpg or so on this route normally.


For MN you could try adding some warming and insulation on your system.
Or even pre-heating you cabin in some way. For example a small ceramic heater.
You certainly should do the other cold weather techniques like grill blocking, block heater, etc. Also be sure that you understand the 5 stages of hybrid operation and get into the highest/most efficient stage as much as possible.

[ericbecky]

Originally Posted by usnavystgc

Eric,
There is an old saying that says "Trust but verify". I know I would really like to see some pics and I have a feeling others would as well. Would you please ask your customer to take some pics of his MFD for us? I would really appreciate it.

Thanks in advance

I've asked him to take some pics. It may be a while but I'll post them if I get them.

[sidecar]

well that beats my stock 2008 by a long ways...