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Red bullet VVTI seloniod

Discussion in 'Prius c Accessories and Modifications' started by Max Taiwan, Apr 9, 2019.

  1. CSuirp

    CSuirp Active Member

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    Thanks Roy for your feedback! I was thinking EGR valve too as an item to change....but i cant find the stupid thing. Lol. I think it's on the right side of engine (facing engine) and slightly buried towards the back. If you change urs...please post some picts on where it is exactly and what socket size u used. Thanks!
     
  2. CSuirp

    CSuirp Active Member

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    Disks and drums were cold after arriving home from 16 miles.
    With regards to the ECO line to maintain 60mpg, see pic below. My ECO line is slightly higher than urs Max to maintain that speed on highway over a flat even stretch of road. I wonder why.
     

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  3. Max Taiwan

    Max Taiwan Active Member

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    Hi CSuirp, that is odd indeed. May I suggest taking it out of ECO mode.
    I heard about it on Honda, I know it doesn't apply here but maybe, just maybe it would.
    I don't know why or how but maybe your ECO is forcing the VVTI to run on low range while in reality you need that high end performance to come out.
    I'm at school right now so keeping it short, but maybe give it a shot.
    Royston and I both dont run ECO at all. I nurse the city driving, you know with the technique I explained previous and let the car do its thing on highway and higher load and higher speed.
     
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  4. ztanos

    ztanos All-around Geek!

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    Eco mode only changes the throttle mapping... but theoretically, this could be done through the bullet. I turn ECO off as my mileage went down from having it on.
     
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  5. Max Taiwan

    Max Taiwan Active Member

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    Isn't that interesting? Ztanos I just had a quick look through your fuelly. average 460-470miles per 9.4gal would you say? I can see you do run pretty close to bingo all the time!

    I live average of 6 miles too from my lab and campus, the campus around 5.5km - 8.3 km and the lab around 9.4 km and 12 km with mostly 90% in the city, its easy to see with my average speed lately that i am always in traffic. With the Red Bullet I am getting 27km/l which is 63+ miles per gal. My average speed is 24km/h on this majority city driving tank.
    I have not had the ECO on since i bought the car.
    After my 900km challenge, I am thinking about doing 2 individual runs, just have not decided which to do 1st.

    One is to run a tank on ECO and the other is to stay in normal model but with the stock OEM solenoid in the car.
    I hope CSuirp will get better results by turning the ECO off. 57 is not a bad run if it is all highway.
    I was told by Honda techs that the leaf mode in the civic, fit... were not to be used on highway. Says it does not help with the mileage that much and runs very poorly. I am wondering if that is the case here.
    Update we are 750/901km right now. I think by Monday we will have a winner.
     
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  6. CSuirp

    CSuirp Active Member

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    hey there Max! Hope school is going well with you today.
    I took the ECO off today as I drove to work. 16 miles all side roads with only 1 stretch of road where I can do about 50mpg for a few miles. The gas pedal felt tighter and much more responsive the whole way. I just touched it with foot and the car responded quickly...felt like very little gas was needed. I was able to get the gauge to 60-61 mpg approx. and when I arrived at work and shut the car off, the dash summary read like 62.5mpg. I actually thought that the ECO button, when engaged, made the engine shut off at low speeds...but I'm wrong. The engine still shut off with the ECO button not in use during low speeds. Shows you how much I still need to learn about these cars. lol. I'll keep the ECO off tonight when I hit the highway all the way home. Max...I should be able to keep the ECO gauge level at the same point you have yours to maintain 60mpg, now with the ECO not being used. I'll post when I get home to let yas know.

    If it turns out the ECO button shouldn't be used while the Red Bullet is installed...that begs the question of what are we loosing out on with the ECO not being used in these cars then? Not using the ECO function at all feels...like I'm cheating the car out of some functional benefits that are part of the design. Perhaps I'm mistaken...perhaps the Red Bullet does a better job overall than what the ECO feature can do. What are your thoughts Max on that?

    With regards to 2 more tests, yeah...I would definitely like to see you test a full tank on ECO mode with the Red Bullet in it. You may get the same drop in fuel we've been getting too. If that happens, then maybe the instructions need tweaking to suggest to the customers to shut off the ECO mode while running the Bullet. I would think several duplicate tests to reflect that outcome would be needed first before confirming those results are true, thus needing to alter the instructions. The other test (running stock VVTI in normal mode) would be helpful too, like you said.
     
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  7. CSuirp

    CSuirp Active Member

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    Valuable info Z...interesting to hear that your mileage went down too with ECO on. thanks!
     
  8. Max Taiwan

    Max Taiwan Active Member

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    I think you are totally right about having to include this in the installation manual.

    I'm speaking out of my experience.
    I tried the ECO mode once on my test drive before signing the vehicle, I had the sales guy next to me and a friend onboard. I was very distracted to say the least, I was also running Dr Prius app on my lap at the time.
    I felt the AC ran a bit weaker, blower spool down regulate, throttle response was reduced, and slightly rougher on pickup from a standstill with a choppy vibration feeling when stepping on it for power demand.
    I have a theory of what's going on. I'll write my thoughts about the matter in a bit. I just got to the lab on a Saturday.

    I am happy its working out for you CSuirp! I had to reply before I am totally swamped.
    Keep us posted on your situation!
     
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  9. CSuirp

    CSuirp Active Member

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    Thanks Max for the encouragement! I agree about things in ECO mode just responding in a lazy and weird way. Here's the latest update from my commute home:
    19.+ miles home with 95% highway. I had the ECO off the whole time. Car started out with 60-61mpg and it actually maintained an approx 61.5mpg highway driving doing around 57-60mph. My ECO line on gauge was in the same spot as it was with the ECO engaged when trying to keep the car at 60mph, which is about exactly 1/2 the distance from the ECO line to the PWR line section. This gauge line is slightly more than yours Max when you maintain your 60mph (98-100km). Although the line on my ECO bar stayed the same, the amount of fuel needed seemed much less. I didn't have to give it much throttle on the pedal to keep the speed I wanted....which, i assume, had a direct relation on obtaining good mpg on highway at 61.5. When I reached my destination and shut the car off...the summary report gave a rating of 63.8mpg for doing the 19 miles. My tank is still on the full mark. I'll keep it off ECO for a while and see how it goes...i'll post as i go.
     
  10. Max Taiwan

    Max Taiwan Active Member

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    Hi CSuirp!
    63.8mpg seems right on the penny buddy! I had exactly that when I did my road trip.
    I am so happy for you!
    The paddle feathering will need more work now that your length of travel has shortened.

    The transmission seems to adapt to the reduced throttle impute as time goes on, maybe you will see the power bar picture drop a bit in the future. I recall that I was doing roughly one quarter in the begining to sustain highway speed on my trip going but as the trip went on the bar went lower and lower with less engine rpm generated/ needed, and to best describe my observation as time goes on, is the CVT goes for a lower ratio sooner reducing the RPM for higher speed.
    I feel when I'm cruising at 65-70km that the engine is just running at idling speed. I was even able to continue to accelerate even letting off the gas a bit on flat stretch of road. The engine speed will drop and the car will actually continue to accelerate with less throttle input. In traditional gear terms, the car goes into overdrive earlier even with reduced throttle.

    I'm so glad you are getting awesome results. Let's give it a good run before we reach any conclusions. But its nice we have two cars that are stock, running similar highway numbers 10,000km away from each other. Maybe you will do a 560 mile challenge after me!
    Remember! Don't get throttle happy!
     
    #210 Max Taiwan, May 18, 2019
    Last edited: May 18, 2019
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  11. Max Taiwan

    Max Taiwan Active Member

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    Hi CSuirp! Just quickly ran your trip today through my Asian brain. ( 62.5 +63.8 )/2 = 63.15mpg = 26.84km/l. Our numbers match for highway driving!!
    Going one way can usually be biased concerning road condition and geographic location. But doing a return trip eliminates most of the uneven conditions.
    Have a great weekend and keep us posted! Let me know if you could hit a all time high in the city this weekend. 70mpg+! With the technique I mentioned before! Good luck!
     
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  12. CSuirp

    CSuirp Active Member

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    Hey Max! haha..yeah...70mpg is actually my goal now. I kinda am realistic though and won't cry too much if i can't make that my continual norm. If I can do a consistent 65mpg that would be cool. Great that our #'s match now. So weird that we had to trash the ECO use to get it. You mentioned that you may know why...when you get the time, share your thoughts as to why that is. Be very interested in hearing them.
    Yeah...time has to run it's course before jumping to hard conclusions about the ECO and Red Bullet relationship or lack there of. It is pretty cool you're on the other side of this globe but we in sync with the same cars. (y) Nice to know we have a place to chat with others to get knowledge and guidance from.
    Have a great weekend too man. I'll be hitting the highway and side roads on Sunday again as i help family out, so i'll be posting afterwards. ttys!
     
  13. Montgomery

    Montgomery Senior Member

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    Is the red bullet available for purchase yet? I want to buy one soon and test it on a 2015 model II. I want to test it primarily to see what the difference is in acceleration if I use the "power mode" in conjunction with the red bullet. The model car I have comes with a "power mode". This mode makes the gas pedal extremely sensitive and cause engine to move to higher rpm's much faster. I have enclosed a photo of the 3 modes I have. EV, ECO (which I use all the time) and PWR. Has anyone reading this post and has the same model car I do installed the red bullet? If so, what differences have you experience?
     

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  14. Max Taiwan

    Max Taiwan Active Member

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    Hi Montgomery,

    I really like your wood trim dash. Nice to own a Prius with extra room and fancy trims!
    The Red Bullet is not available for ordering here on PriusChat. So hopefully it will be available here soon also.

    The promo period is over, but PriusChat members please include your membership avatar and we will extend it to those who have contributed during the discussion, you can also do it for other people too. We extend the benefit to you and your friends.

    Thank you for your interests in the Red Bullet. Please share the info that the Red bullet will work with all vehicles that share the 1.8l platform as the prius Gen 3.
    Although my stock list says this same variant will fit 2006 all the way to 2017. So this must include the Gen 2.
     
    #214 Max Taiwan, May 19, 2019
    Last edited: May 19, 2019
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  15. Max Taiwan

    Max Taiwan Active Member

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    This was a bit faster to the lab today, no traffic on the weekend. 20190519_094745.jpg
    Will be back to campus on Monday. Those are nice 30+ everytime.
    Right now we are at close to 800km with 2 bars of gas remaining on the meter. I estimate the point when we hit the last flasher should happen around 815km. Still on schedule to reach the mark of 901km just don't know how much fuel will be left.
    Please keep those guess the gas entries coming in.
     
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  16. CSuirp

    CSuirp Active Member

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    That 71mpg (30km/L) is so mouth watering. lol
     
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  17. Max Taiwan

    Max Taiwan Active Member

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    Hope your weekend ECO off is doing you justice.
    I have a feeling you will post that number up very soon CSuirp! Keep gliding!
     
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  18. CSuirp

    CSuirp Active Member

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    haha...You're on to me Max! lol. Just got in from a 50 mile run...95% side roads at 30-40mph (48.28-64.37 kph). No ECO engaged, no cabin fan running, three windows down with sunroof opened on an 80-85 degree spring/summer day, music blasting. Some bumper to bumper traffic about 15% of my trip home. Total 65.8mpg. Up from my last reading of around 63.8mpg. Car has good acceleration when I need it and you can feel the engine sipping that fuel through a straw it seems, just like you said Max. lol. My full tank line went down 1 notch at around 110 miles (177km). It's spring/summer months so I usually get better fuel economy these days anyway, but I can feel the difference with the Bullet installed compared to last year. The 65.8mpg was increasing right to the end, so I may hit 70mpg someday soon...maybe by end of this week. I'm feeling more and more convinced there is a conflict going on with the ECO engaged while using the Red Bullet. Hopefully we'll figure out exactly why that is. Will keep ya's posted on mpg as i go with this tank. (note: This tank full is not 100% non-ECO use, so next fuel tank refill will be pure non-ECO use which may increase my mpg reading even more). (y)
     
  19. Max Taiwan

    Max Taiwan Active Member

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    Hi CSuirp!

    Great! I'm so jellies about the SUNROOF!!! I have not seen one here in Taiwan. Everyone is so afraid of the sun here! I don't know how to live without a sunroof but here its nearly impossible to get one with it. No one orders it like that and dealership discourage customers because they want to sell what they have in inventory. But yeah I'm totally smiling to the thought of your weekend drive.

    My data this round for 90% city driving has kept my average in a healthy 27.1+. In the beginning I was gunning for the 30km/l average, but with regular city driving it turned out to be difficult, due to the irregular short trips and running low on battery because I was circling and circling at really slow speed to find a parking spot, depleted my charge. That was a heavy toll on my economy.

    For your situation doing side roads will definitely set you on the path to higher numbers then what I have for sure! Given some traffic, you might be able to beat my average this round. Slight traffic with a steady flow improves your glide to ICE ratio which is good for mpg. Heavy traffic or no traffic is not good also because you will either run out of juice going bumper to bumper or need to continually run the ICE to keep up with traffic on a clear road. With your environment, I think you should see high 70+ for trips pretty soon!

    I'm really happy you have those results! 177km before hitting the 1st bar gives good projection of a 800km+ tank. Try to observer your range between each fuel drop. If you do well then you should be seeing around 50-60 miles per bar.

    Im happy you got to enjoy your vehicle for the weekend and the Red Bullet was able to give you plenty of pop without sacrificing economy! Keep us posted! Don't hesitate to millage brag it!
     
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  20. Montgomery

    Montgomery Senior Member

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    Here is a better photo of my dash trim................
     

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