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top speed in EV mode

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Main Forum' started by ghosteh, Mar 12, 2012.

  1. ghosteh

    ghosteh Member

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    What's top speed for EV mode? I was able to keep it in EV when driving through town, after a hill, and keep it around 41-42 for a little while before my speed dropped and I had to use a little more throttle.

    I don't understand why you can't lock in EV and deplete more of your battery at times, such as a few miles before getting on the freeway. Seems a bit wasteful, since the highway portion would give you plenty of time to build up charge again.

    Toyota seems to be ultra conservative with their programming. I'm suprised that the aftermarket hasn't come out with tuners/programmers similar to the ones available for diesel trucks. I loved being able to change the programming based on my needs.
     
  2. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

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    That is wasteful only if the upcoming highway is a steep downhill that would fill the battery solely on regenerative braking and then throw away some additional energy on engine compression braking. That is not a common situation for most drivers.

    If the highway is flat, using EV to drain the battery first is wasteful of both battery life and gasoline. Because of energy conversion losses, it would actually take more fuel to recharge the battery than it would have to run the car in ICE mode instead of EV.
    After seeing Honda's battery life pains, I can't agree. Toyota came much closer to the right answer.
     
  3. qbee42

    qbee42 My other car is a boat

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    Driving in EV is wasteful. Toyota has done an excellent job optimizing for efficiency, so EV is used only in special cases where it makes sense. Running the battery down before you get on the highway is not one of these special cases.

    Tom
     
  4. Slugdoc

    Slugdoc New Member

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    "EV Mode" with the EV button works only up until 25 mph and only if the engine is fully warmed up (which may never happen on a cold, mostly battery powered trip, even after 10 miles -- trust me.)

    If by EV mode you mean "Electric Only" keeping the gas off, by careful throttle pressure, the answer is 42 mph. And it's not exactly a software issue, it;s a hardware issue. When the ICE (gas engine) is off, MG1 has to spin opposite to MG2 (someone post the link the the converter schematic) -- And it spins faster, because it's gears are smaller. The ICE kicks in at 43 mph to prevent MG1 from having to spin too fast.

    The animated schematic makes this very clear, but I don't have the link, and am not in a googl-y mood.
     
  5. ny_rob

    ny_rob Senior Member

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    Only had my Five a few days- but I've also maxed out at 42mph in Electric Only mode on level pavement.
     
  6. ScottN

    ScottN Junior Member

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    Not doubting anyone's word on this, but if it is wasteful, why does Toyota even put it on a vehicle spefically designed for optimal efficiency?
     
  7. jdcollins5

    jdcollins5 Senior Member

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    Actually the max speed for the Gen III to keep MG1 from overspeeding should be 47 mph. The Gen II was 42 mph.

    On flat roads I can run at 47 in EV and in certain conditions a little faster before the ICE kicks in.
     
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  8. fed123

    fed123 Member

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    I sometimes use EV in traffic jams. Seems to give out at about 20 mph.
     
  9. tumbleweed

    tumbleweed Senior Member

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    As JDCollins mentioned above the Gen3 will let you go up to about 47 MPH or so without starting the ICE. But you have to keep the bar on the left half of the HSI or the engine will start. Also, I seem to need a little down hill to get up to that speed. To get the ICE to shut down you need to be below 42. But you need to be in some mode other than EV (i.e. ECO, Power or Normal), if you are in the EV mode it will kick you out of that mode at about 25 MPH.
     
  10. cproaudio

    cproaudio Speedlock Overrider

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    on certain conditions, the normal Prius can do EV at extremely fast speed. I got it at 81MPH before. the ice has to turn to protect the electric motor though. electric motor alone is 45MPH. at 46MPH the ice kicks on to protect the EV motors.
     
  11. Robsquatch

    Robsquatch Junior Member

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    Ok. Some confusion here. I've been pulsing to 42 and then keeping to the left side of the battery side of hsi when on level ground. Could I be pulsing to 45 then coasting with the engine not spinning at all?
     
  12. ghosteh

    ghosteh Member

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    It seems so from the responses here. Only 230 miles on my car, but I've pretty much done the same thing; I've been in the lower 40's and coasting. And from what I've read, the ICE will kick in at higher speeds to prevent damage.

    I was reading up on an add-on PHEV kit, and the approach this one used was to allow higher EV speeds (60mph+), while letting the ICE "run" (i.e. pistons revolving) with no fuel going to the engine. I'm not too sure that's a good idea & certainly wouldn't install it on my 2012, but it is interesting.
     
  13. tumbleweed

    tumbleweed Senior Member

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    If you pulse up to 45 (or any speed above 42 or 43) you will need to slow down to 42 before the engine will shut down. If the engine is already shut down you can ease it up to about 47 (42 in the Gen2) before the engine starts, but once it starts you still need to slow down to 42 before it will shut down.

    At speeds over 42 you can't shut the engine down by letting off the throttle, the MPG indicator will go up to 100 MPG and it looks like it's shut down but if you have a tach you will see it is still running at about 960 RPM to protect MG1 from over speed.
     
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