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Does ECO mode really effect?

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Fuel Economy' started by Slicer89, Jan 17, 2017.

  1. Slicer89

    Slicer89 Junior Member

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    I've been wondering this, My girlfriend has had her 2010 Prius in Eco mode for a while and I really haven't seen much of a difference (Alot of our driving is highway at 80mph+) and I was wondering if it has any real benefits on the highway? I know that it changes the way throttle response is (which I feel defeats the purpose because I feel like I really gotta romp on it to get it to go, which uses more fuel) and changes how the A/C and heat work... but does it matter on the highway? Is it bad for highway use?
     
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    not really. it's a throttle pedal modifier. so if your driving at one speed, it doesn't do much. more for back roads. it does, however, suppress the heat and a/c, which saves some fuel.
     
  3. Slicer89

    Slicer89 Junior Member

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    That's what I thought. I know in the summer we couldn't figure out why the AC was crap, then I Googled it and found out - Didn't do much research beyond that. What about power-mode? Would it do anything on highway driving?
     
  4. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    nope, same thing. it's called throttle mapping. because the car is drive by wire, the pedal is electronic, allowing the computer to determine how far you have to press it to achieve more acceleration.
    in all 3 modes, full pedal does the same thing.
    btw, after trying all 3, some people claim they do better in normal or power, because the pedal is more sensitive, and easier to feather.
     
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  5. Slicer89

    Slicer89 Junior Member

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    That's what I thought, too.. And EV mode only seems to work up to 25mph... I really don't even know what it's uses are good for honestly. People claim these cars are supposed to make 50mpg with normal driving, but the most we've gotten is 380-400miles out of a tank, and that's doing 80mph, cruise set. Brand new Douglas All-seasons, fresh oil change, new air filter.... and the hybrid battery charges and acts as it should, I've romped on it before and the battery didn't discharge any faster... so it isn't an hybrid issue. I guess it's probably the cold weather and winter fuel (We live in Columbus, Montana)
     
  6. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Exactly. I used ECO for the first 6 months, got tired of the pedal travel, switched to normal (neither button).
     
  7. JimboPalmer

    JimboPalmer Tsar of all the Rushers

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    For most of.us "normal driving" is 60. Montana is an exception.

    Aside from A/C, the modes are user interface, different users will like different modes. I use cruise control 95% of the time so no mode matters.
     
  8. Slicer89

    Slicer89 Junior Member

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    Well, When we are on the interstate and it isn't icy or snowing, The cruise is set at 80-82mph. Even when doing 55-60mph, it gets closer to 50mph, but I honestly am now beginning to think it's the cold weather and winter blend of fuel.... After doing some google.

    I wish it would average over 50mph at 80, because 400miles to a tank doesn't seem like much.
     
  9. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

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    Yup, EV is limited to 25 mph. It is for low speeds only, under certain limited conditions. Remember, this is still a fossil-fuel car, not a true electric car.

    Even with warm weather and summer fuel, that Prius simply isn't capable of 50 MPG at your high speeds of 80 MPH. For much of the country, that speed is not 'normal'. To get 50 MPG, you/she must slow down significantly:
    Updated MPG vs MPH chart | PriusChat
     
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  10. Slicer89

    Slicer89 Junior Member

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    I mean, 40mpg isn't bad... and it only takes $25 to fill up, so I think $25 to go 400+ miles (Might be better at all highway) isn't too bad, I just remember driving my roommates 05 Prius and drained the tank in a little over 600miles.
     
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  11. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

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    No, it just uses the same fuel as the same acceleration in the other modes, though such is achieved with lighter pedal touches.
    It is not good or bad. It really has no impact on the car. It mostly just modifies the 'touch and feel' of the user interface, at the gas pedal. It doesn't actually change anything in the propulsion system.

    Minor effects might be seen from different auto-shutoff behavior during warmup in stop-and-go conditions off the highway, and from the climate control system. On the highway, these differences should pretty well vanish.

    If the driver had perfect reflexes, zero reaction time, infinite patience, and perfect fine motor control of the foot, these modes would make absolutely no performance or MPG difference. But normal humans are not perfect. With common human foibles and limitations, a plurality will do better in ECO, while smaller numbers will do better in Normal or PWR. And while not actually perfect drivers, some will still get the very same results in each mode.
     
  12. Slicer89

    Slicer89 Junior Member

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    This is kind of irrelevant to the thread, but how long can a 2010 Prius run on just the battery should it ever run completely out of gas? One thread said that it won't go at all, Even in EV mode, and another thread I found said they were able to drive it on battery, but completely ruined the traction battery and had to buy a new one.
     
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  13. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Maybe fugedabout stretching tanks, focus more on mpg? There's really no rewards with the former.
     
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  14. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

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    Very crudely, it can go one mile, but slowly. But the 'it depends' factor is quite large.
    The ruined batteries were in prior generations, not the 2010+.

    For what really happens when the battery runs out, read the first post of this long thread:
    [WARNING] Running out of gas (Gen III) | PriusChat
     
  15. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

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    Under the same conditions, the 2010 will usually go a little bit farther than a 2005. Were you driving the 2005 slower than 80?
     
  16. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    2010 has a bigger gas tank? maybe you drove the '05 in the summer, that would definitely help.
    douglas tyres, hmmm...
     
  17. jerrymildred

    jerrymildred Senior Member

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    Force = mass times the square of velocity. So wind resistance goes up exponentially with speed. There is a lot more wind resistance differential in going from 60 to 80 than in going from 40 to 60. MPG really starts to drop above 60 mph and the rate of drop increases a lot faster than the speed increases. That, and cars get worse mileage in Montana winters than in Florida "winters." If you get 40 mpg at 80 mph, I'd say you're doing great. You're getting well over twice the mpg of most conventional cars at that speed.
     
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  18. JimboPalmer

    JimboPalmer Tsar of all the Rushers

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    As a passenger, stick an arm out the window at 60 and then at 80. your car is pushing a lot of air.
     
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  19. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

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    Force = mass times acceleration.
    Energy = mass times the square of velocity.
    Polynomially, not exponentially. Usually expressed as the square of speed.
     
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  20. jerrymildred

    jerrymildred Senior Member

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    Right. I guess I'm getting old and forgetting my physics formulas. Should have made sure instead of trusting ancient gray cells. Or I should have kept it simple and just said it increases with the square of the speed. Just the way the length of a meeting increases with the square of the number of people attending it.
     
    #20 jerrymildred, Jan 18, 2017
    Last edited: Jan 18, 2017
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